What stood out in the first half of the Miami Dolphins’ season opener against the Atlanta Falcons:
— Right off the bat, we must mention the large number of frontline players who did not play for either team. For the Dolphins, the only player listed as a first-team player and wearing a uniform was fullback Quinton Bell.
– For those who have been following, the starting offensive line consisted of second-round rookie pick Patrick Paul at left tackle, Kion Smith at left guard, Jack Driscoll at center, Lester Cotton at right guard and Ryan Hayes at right tackle.
– Smith had a difficult two-play sequence early on when he was clearly beaten on a running block, then an Atlanta pass rusher tripped on his leg, causing a knee injury that knocked him out of the game.
— Edge defender Grayson Murphy, linebacker Ezekiel Vandenburgh and cornerback Siran Neal also left the field due to injuries, but Murphy returned.
— Before heading to the locker room, Neal made a strong impression. He made the tackle on the opening kickoff and then was involved in two tackles for short gains. On the second, he stripped the ball from the Atlanta player and recovered the fumble.
— Cornerback Ethan Bonner got involved early. He had really good coverage on Falcons rookie Michael Penix Jr.’s first incomplete pass on third down (his accuracy was very spotty). Later in the first quarter, Bonner was beaten pretty clearly on two consecutive plays, though he was bailed out by a bad throw from Penix on the first. The second ended with a 41-yard pass to Chris Blair. Bonner later had good coverage on a fade to force an incomplete pass on a third-and-goal attempt from the 1, though the Falcons scored on the next play. Bonner also botched a screen pass, resulting in one of two tackles for a loss by rookie safety Patrick McMorris.
— Skylar Thompson started at quarterback for the Dolphins and played the entire first half. His performance was decent, although he improved significantly after a rocky start.
— He made a poor choice when he threw into coverage in the middle of the field and cornerback Kevin King stepped in front of intended receiver Malik Washington.
— Speaking of sixth-round rookie players, Malik Washington was very active as a rusher, receiver, punt returner and kickoff returner. His highlight was a 21-yard gain after an end-around where the Dolphins caught the Falcons on a pass. He later made a nifty 18-yard punt return after catching a low line drive.
— Low points included a couple of bad drops from wide receiver Braylon Sanders and rookie Willie Snead IV. This continues a bad pattern for Snead, who has not looked good since arriving in South Florida.
— All of the Dolphins’ running backs played well, with Jeff Wilson Jr., rookie Jaylen Wright and Chris Brooks all running well. Wilson scored a touchdown on a pass reception and Wright scored on a 6-yard run up the middle where he was barely touched.
– Praise to the blocking in the second half, especially to Paul and experienced rookie Sean Harlow.
— The Dolphins failed to convert a fourth-and-two from Atlanta’s 5-yard line when both Wright (trying to break free) and Thompson (on the interception) slipped.
– Good performance from rookie cornerback Storm Duck, who covered two long passes from Taylor Heinicke that ended in incomplete passes.
– Nice to see the sack end with a sack by 2022 third-round pick Chaning Tindall and Miami going into halftime with a 17-10 lead.
