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On the bubble

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Finatik, Aug 30, 2021.

  1. Finatik

    Finatik Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    From FanNation All Dolphins: By Alain Poupart

    The Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals put on a good show in each team's preseason finale, and the game represented a good opportunity for several young players to get extended action. As we examine the snap counts from the Dolphins' 29-26 victory at Paul Brown Stadium, thanks to quarterback Reid Sinnett's late touchdown pass to tight end Chris Myarick, what immediately jumps out is the stat line for 2020 first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene.

    The 30th overall selection in that 2020 draft played all 71 defensive snaps for the Dolphins, and that actually shouldn't come as a shocker because Igbinoghene clearly is someone who needs the reps. There's too much to work with when it comes to Igbinoghene to suggest he's in danger of not making the 53-man roster, but it's clearly he needs more development so any practice reps or game reps he can get are valuable. And it certainly was encouraging that his last play featured a fourth-down pass breakup when he had great coverage downfield against wide receiver Scotty Washington.

    Here's what else stood out from the snap counts:

    -- There were five other players who played every snap on offense or defense: Sinnett, rookie tackle Larnel Coleman, rookie guard Robert Jones, safety Nate Holley and cornerback Jamal Perry.

    The intriguing one here obviously is Perry because he's played 27 games with seven starts for the Dolphins since arriving in 2019, so it's not like he's an unproven youngster. The extensive playing time certainly could lead one to believe his roster spot was uncertain heading into that preseason finale.

    -- Wide receiver Preston Williams got 14 snaps in his first game action since he sustained that bad foot injury in the victory at Arizona last November, and the idea no doubt was to get him back into the flow of the game heading into the regular season.

    -- Guard Solomon Kindley was the only offensive lineman projected to start the regular season opener to see action, and he played the first 17 snaps on offense alongside left tackle Adam Pankey. It certainly could be perceived as curious that Kindley, and not the other young starting offensive linemen like Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt and Michael Deiter, was put in the game.

    -- Durval Queiroz Neto and Greg Little both played the remaining 48 snaps at left guard and left tackle, respectively.

    -- Malcolm Perry and Kirk Merritt got most of the playing time at wide receiver, with 61 and 51 snaps, respectively, and it's fair to suggest that both were playing to convince the coaches they should be on the 53-man roster.

    -- On defense, the two starters or prominent players who saw action were rookie first-round pick Jaelan Phillips and cornerback Nik Needham. Phillips played 29 snaps on defense, while Needham got 41. The latter one is a bit surprising given that Needham seems to pretty clearly be the third cornerback on the team behind Xavien Howard and Byron Jones.

    -- It also was notable to see veteran linebacker Duke Riley get 40 snaps, considering the Dolphins signed him as an unrestricted fee agent just this offseason. That kind of work load suggests his roster spot isn't guaranteed at this time.

    -- In all, 39 players on the Dolphins' active roster did not play against Cincinnati, including two quarterbacks, three running backs, six wide receivers, four tight ends, six offensive linemen, five defensive linemen, four linebackers and nine defensive backs.

    -- The list of those not playing included WR Mack Hollins because he's on the 53 (book it), new G/C Greg Mancz (because he just joined the team), and the others either were injured or already guaranteed (or close to it) of making the 53-man roster.
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2021
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  2. Finatik

    Finatik Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    From Fansided:

    Five players who may not make the final roster but have shown enough to warrant a roster spot and with fingers crossed, maybe the Dolphins believe they belong on the team as well.

    Patrick Laird
    Laird hasn’t been given many opportunities and he really hasn’t needed to show his value to the Dolphins. Miami knows what they have in him and he is a serviceable third-down back with good run after the catch ability. This year, Laird faces a much deeper roster at running back and the numbers are not adding up in his favor.

    Reid Sinnett
    You will not see his name on the final 53 man roster but if things go well for the Dolphins, he will be on the practice squad and could be in a position to replace Jacoby Brissett after the 2021 season. Sinnett has played well given his chances this preseason and on Sunday played the entire game. His stats were good enough to stand out as the best QB performance of any team this preseason. Of course, most QBs don’t play full games in the preseason. Still, he looks much better than he did a year ago and could be a perfect number two in another year.

    Robert Jones
    There have been times when Jones looked like he would develop quickly as an offensive lineman and then, look terribly lost. Miami guaranteed his undrafted free agent contract and come Tuesday, Jone is likely going to be cut and then brought back to the practice squad. Jones has a lot of upside but with all the transitioning and shuffling on the line through camp, Jones didn’t get the time to develop quicker.

    Chris Myarick
    Myarick had a spectacular clutch catch in the endzone for the game-winning touchdown on Sunday but he has also been consistent from the start of training camp. Myarick’s problem is that he is behind Mike Gesicki and Hunter Long in terms of long-term plans and Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen in more short-term goals. He is a candidate for the practice squad but if he wants playing time, he may need to find work outside of Miami.
     
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  3. Finatik

    Finatik Season Ticket Holder Staff Member Club Member

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    Training camp is over and the preseason has come to a conclusion as well but for the Miami Dolphins, the work is just getting started. Through a month and a half of training, players will now sit and wait to find out if they did enough to warrant a roster spot, and in many cases, they have not. Some players will make the roster based on potential and others based on experience but that doesn’t mean they should. Over the course of the last few weeks, we have seen some shifts in practices and in the preseason work and five players have not shown enough to make this year’s roster. There are probably more but these five stand out.

    Matt Skura

    I can’t for the life of me see a reason for Skura to stay on this roster. The Dolphins made a trade with the Ravens on Saturday that brought center/guard Greg Mancz to the team. Mancz is primarily a center and will provide depth behind Michael Dieter but Skura has struggled at times in camp and considering he couldn’t beat out Dieter says a lot. Miami will likely move on from Skura in the next 48 hours and if they do not, then I have no idea what they are seeing in him.

    Releasing Skura will put another $1.3 million back into the salary cap.

    Cethan Carter

    Yes, Carter is a veteran but he has been awfully quiet this camp and through the preseason. He was banged up earlier but on the field, he has been shown up by Hunter Long, Durham Smythe, and even Chris Myarick and the final two are his chief competition and I don’t think he has done enough to earn it.

    Clayton Fejedelem
    If you take out his special teams play, Fejedelem is an expensive backup safety who the Dolphins really don’t need to keep on the roster. Fejedelem, when healthy, is decent but the Dolphins have better safeties on the roster. Fejedelem is a $2.478 million backup and his camp hasn’t shown enough to warrant that kind of money.

    Adam Butler
    We have Butler listed as our 6th defensive tackle but after watching his game against the Bengals and realizing that he just isn’t playing to the level he should be, I think Jason Strowbridge should stick around another year instead. Butler just isn’t providing the quality depth at this time.

    Shaquem Griffin
    In a perfect world, Griffin would be a lock to make the roster but he hasn’t been given many opportunities on the field and hasn’t made an impact when he has been given the chance. Miami has better options at linebacker and there will probably be a lot of options on the waiver wire come Wednesday morning but for now, there just isn’t enough to give Griffin a roster spot.

    BONUS: Two veterans who have not shown much

    Noah Igbingoghene
    As the title noted, these are 5 players that haven’t shown enough not a prediction of who will make the team and who will not. Nothing that Igbinoghene has done this camp or in preseason shows that he is taking a big step forward. A former first-round pick who has a mediocre rookie season has had a mediocre 2021 exhibition season.

    Igbinoghene played a lot of snaps on Sunday and made a game-winning play to end the third preseason game but the problem is he was playing against players that won’t be in the league Tuesday night and he was still only serviceable. He needs to mature and this year could be his last in Miami if he doesn’t improve exponentially between now and the end of the 2022 camp.

    Just disappointing.

    Preston Williams
    Yes, Williams has spent the entire camp injured but he returned in time to log in reps against the Bengals and was impressive long enough to be on the field and then dropped two passes. Williams is a good talent but injuries have derailed his previous two seasons. Still, Miami needs reliability and frankly, Williams has shown enough.
     
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  4. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    I don't envy the coaches having to make these cuts- there's a ton of promise in a lot of the names above that probably won't get good news today/tomorrow. Shaquem Griffin in particular hurts for me since he plays with so much passion and resilience.
     

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