Well that didn’t go like any of us would have wanted but probably a lot like many of us expected. Our Miami Dolphins traveled west to take on the Las Vegas Raiders in a game that they lost. Following the game I asked the following question:
What is your overall take from today’s first game of the season under the new coaching staff with the overhauled roster for your Miami Dolphins? What are the positive and negative takeaways from this afternoon’s game? I know this is only one game and thus a very
small sample size of what we have as a team overall, but even with that in mind, what about today’s game gave you hope going forward, and what did you see that still seriously worries you going forward?
Below is a random seletion of your thoughts and answers-
Redwood_ points out that all we have seen thus far is more of the same.
It seems like every 6-7 seasons the Dolphins completely tear down the roster to the studs, and end up with BY FAR the worst talent in the NFL. That certainly appeared to be the case against the Raiders, who it should be noted (1) were without Brock Bowers, and (2) are widely predicted to be one of the worst teams in the league this season. The starting OL is supposed to be a strength but could never get anything going for Achane. The pass rush was completely non-existent. The special teams were horrific, giving up far too much yardage on punt returns AND kickoff returns, plus Patterson missed a 41-yard FG. Hafley was supposedly preaching toughness and physicality during training camp, but there was zero toughness or physicality against the Raiders. The 2019 Dolphins were horrible, but under Flores they played very hard, and they got better as the season went along. Those exact two things are what Hafley needs to get from these 2026 Dolphins.
Luvs2drnk has a little sarcasm for our former HC.
But hey, at least McDaniel showed everyone why he’s the best OC in the league.
Zen4Phins is taking a realistic and long-term point of view on where this team is at this point.
Thought they played alright for their 1st game. Wasn’t a really good game for Willis but it coulda been a 8 or 9 sack day if it weren’t for his legs, although he held the ball too long sometimes. Special teams may be a tougher area to improve on given our lack of depth and I kinda hold my breath when they kickoff.
I think I’m gonna absolutely love watching that defense develop though. D line was getting pushed around a bit and hopefully Grant can help when he gets healthy. Thought Johnson and Rodriguez were tackling everyone.
Honestly, I am not disappointed. I’m really excited about the change in the air and this was game 1.
I Hate Sports sees the struggle lasting long beyond this week.
We shall see what OC Bobby Slowik game plans next week now that he will have some tape of the 49ers D.
I don’t expect to have a remote chance in any game until Week 7 vs the Jets after a Week 6 BYE.
SabanpickedCulpepper points to a play in the game that could have swung momentum towards Miami but LV didn’t allow that to happen.
Not sure if LV series after we score at the beginning of the 3rd Q was talked about
But it was HUGE
We get the int. Turn that into a TD and then LV goes down lickidy split(2:30min) and answers with a TD
Totally deflated the team and it showed
Just my opinion
Jsutton15 has a solid and long list of tweaks this team could make as it clearly needs plenty of “tweaks”
Here are some things I saw and you tell me what you think
Asking Brewer to take on a DT on a run up the middle by himself is not using him properly. He is actually more suited for a wide and inside zone running scheme. if you run up the middle have Sav give him help so then he can scrape off and go after backers which is what he is good at.
Willis needs to be in shotgun more and taught how to properly do the read option. Making the defense account for him keeping it will help the blocking.
If he is under center, which is fine, you need to execute a couple of bootlegs where he has the option to run or throw.
When under center I didnt see the use of play action passes. Thats half the point of putting a qb under center, so use it.
Didnt see the use of a screen to keep LV’s dline from teeing off.
Kick off coverage was abysmal but not hard to fix
I did see alot of fight in the team which is half the battle
Let Brooks rush the passer more because he cant pass defense anyway and his strength is aggressive tackling
Believe it or not but the young recievers didnt do too bad considering their first start, so their is hope
Overall, with a few less mistakes they had a shot in this one. If this game happened around game eight after improving with experience, it would have been different
heatforlife points to the chance you take bringing in an unknown commodity vs the known commodity.
u bring in a harbaugh u know your going to be good eventually.u bring in a hafley?
ImRightYoureWrong says buckle up buttercup, this ain’t getting easier any time soon.
Overall takeaway, this is a confirmed bottom 3 team. Loooooooooong season ahead.
Pod of Dolphins seems to be boycotting next weeks game.
Good thing I went to the golf course. Is time to get a new hobby, please do not watch the next Dolphins game vs SF
JUK has some takes on a couple of coaches and a unit that looked horrible yesteday.
Coaching watch.
- I’m worried about Slowik (which I was when we hired him). We only threw 10 passes between 0-10 air yards and couldn’t or didn’t attack the middle of the field at all, we had one completion between the numbers all day. The deep stuff is great but it’s too boom or bust if you go to it all the time. Hated the 3rd and short call on the first field goal drive and didn’t think he called enough wide zone either.
- Haf was hard to judge. Our coverage was soft and he couldn’t scheme up pass rush when we couldn’t win our 1:1s. But things might have looked different if we get those stops on their first two scoring drives and it’s hard for a play caller when your line is shoved off the ball a lot
- Special teams was awful. This team needs to win at the margins, not give them prime starting field position over and over. The most depressing moment of the game was getting the pick to start the second half, scoring then immediately letting them into our half on the return.
Molly Polly II points to the OL having some issues with communication. Just one of a long list of issues for this coaching staff to address.
O line appears to have commo issues. Whatever the problem we should have the rite players to fix this, while Willis must realize he doesn’t have much time.
Douglas looked good tho….IMO his route running skills were on full display.
We appeared to shine at times then screw it up before we could celebrate!
HunztheMighty knows it could have been worse. Yeah, I guess so…
I saw it as a glass half full day. It could have been worse. A few of the rookies flashed. Willis is a very different player than Tua. I dont see us winning more then a handful of games but I see us getting a little better every week. (Hope Springs Eternal)
FLexile just wants to see gradual improvement. I’d take that!
As long as they play better each week lest a couple of hiccups, they will be fine.
Bill Moody says don’t be dissapointed when you knew it was going to look like this.
“The are who we thought they were.” Buckle up, it gonna be a long season boys and girls. Don’t expect much and you won’t be disappointed.
NCDolfan points to a lot of the most painful parts of yesterday but at least one bright part.
Bad. Not enough Achane and bad plays for him outside 1st drive.
DT. Horrible. Johnson picked on a lot. Willis forced some passes
Good. Douglas showed up. Willis can extend plays-should have bailed more. Rodriguez after slow start looked pretty good. If dt play better I expect him to be a stud.
Extra Bad. Time management at end of first half. Kickoff coverage. Play calling-not enough crossing routes and runs for Achane on perimeter. On D not calling enough blitzes for an immobile Cousins.
Extra extra bad. 44. Only 1 blip on the stat sheet. I didnt know he was playing. So much for being a training camp star.
Here’s to hoping Hafley learned from his first game as coach. Las Vegas isnt good and things will only get tougher. Phins up
Well, that’s our random 15 comments for this evening. It seems as if there was plenty of disappointment, but also a healthy dose of acceptance that things are going to be rough around here for a while before they get better. I for one will be happy so long as the overall trend this season shows the team getting better across the board. As always thank you to each of you who took the time to join us and answer our Phinsider Question Of The Day.
