Miami Dolphins want to see how they measure up against the Falcons
The Miami Dolphins (2-0) will look to continue their winning ways on Friday night when they welcome the Atlanta Falcons (1-1) to Sun Life Stadium for a week three pre-season contest.
The Dolphins, led by head coach Tony Sparano, opened their 2010 pre-season campaign with narrow victories over in-state rivals the Buccaneers (10-7) and Jaguars (27-26).
“I think they are going to be a very solid football team, a little bit under the radar,” Dolphins legendary quarterback Dan Marino said. “A lot of people are talking about the Patriots and Jets in the AFC East, but the Dolphins had a solid football team last year. They changed defensive coordinators, and to me, the question is if they can get a pass rush, which to me they really didn’t have last year.”
The Dolphins have tried to boost their defence and will get their first look at cornerback Benny Sapp, who was acquired from Minnesota on Wednesday in a trade that sent receiver Greg Camarillo to the Vikings.
But the biggest changes came on offence when Chad Henne was named the starting quarterback over Chad Pennington, and the Dolphins improved their mediocre receiving corps with the addition of Pro Bowl wideout Brandon Marshall.
Henne has had a promising pre-season to date, completing 16-of-25 pass attempts for 170 yards, with two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Not to be overdramatic and being mindful that this is pre-season, the New England Patriots had a convincing win over the Falcons, and Atlanta did seem confused on defence with missed assignments and displayed sloppy tackling at times. This could mean a big day for Henne and Marshall as they continue to build their rapport.
“This is really a good test because I consider the Falcons a playoff team,” Sparano said on Tuesday, “and we consider ourselves one, too. We really want to measure ourselves against a team like this.”
While the Dolphins offence is clicking, the same can simply not be said for Atlanta. The Falcons first team offence has not produced a touchdown this pre-season and quarterback Matt Ryan, entering his third season, has gone a mediocre 11-of-19 passing for 110 yards in his two contests.
Running-back Michael Turner has also posted low numbers and had eight carries for 32 yards last time out.
What’s alarming is that Ryan has had the luxury of having talented wide receivers at his disposal, despite losing number one receiver Michael Jenkins at the beginning of the 2010 training camp with a shoulder injury. It’s still uncertain if Jenkins will be ready to play for the season opener.
"Michael is going to be back around the opening of the season," said Falcons coach Mike Smith of veteran Michael Jenkins who is out for four to six weeks with an injured left shoulder. "We feel good about our guys. So I don't anticipate that we need to do anything in terms of our roster."
On the injury front for Atlanta’s defence, cornerbacks Dunta Robinson (hamstring) and Brian Williams (knee) could be back in the lineup on Friday.
Tags: