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Rookie free agent wide receiver Devon Bess is showing potential
Ricky, Martin and Carpenter
By ALAIN POUPART
Dolphin Digest Associate Editor
Some random thoughts while watching the Dolphins battle an Arizona team that doesn't look anything like a typical Arizona team.
Right off the bat, we see one of the NFL's new rules in effect, as Arizona wins the toss and decides to defer and take the ball at the start of the second half. While it seems like the right thing to do, the truth is it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference.
On the very first play from scrimmage, we see why the Dolphins coaches like Greg Camarillo, as he reaches back to catch a pass thrown slightly behind him. It's a modest 5-yard gain, but a lot of receivers would have failed to come up with that catch.
Things seem to start well for the Dolphins defense, as Arizona commits back-to-back penalties and is looking at first-and-20 before it even takes an offensive snap. But then comes the early roundhouse to the noggin, a 79-yard touchdown completion from Kurt Warner to Anquan Boldin.
It's painful to watch a big play against the Dolphins defense, but twice as much when it comes from a guy the Dolphins could have - and should have - drafted when they had the chance.
That Boldin touchdown was way too easy and the result of the kind of defensive breakdown the Dolphins had against the Jets. Those simply will have to get fixed.
Ricky Williams hasn't lost a fumble yet this season, but he's really tempting fate. He put the ball on the ground for the third time this season against the Cardinals but was able to recover the loose ball.
New defensive lineman Randy Starks had himself a nice first half, dropping Edgerrin James for a 1-yard loss on a run and later sacking Warner.
Love the play when Chad Pennington drops back looking one way, the whole line goes that same way and he pitches the other way against the grain. That play seemed to work more often than not.
That play works, but the Dolphins aren't getting anything done on the more conventional runs. That's very disconcerting since running the ball was supposed to be this team's strength.
After a disappointing first year with the Dolphins, tight end David Martin is catching almost everything thrown his way this season. He's also doing a nice job of getting yards after the catch. He did have a drop in the fourth quarter, but the outcome no longer was in doubt by that point.
Great play by Jason Allen to catch Brandon Fields' high punt at the Arizona 1-yard line.
Allen, though, missed a tackle short after to allow Cardinals rookie Tim Hightower to convert a third-and-8 from the 4 with a 13-yard run.
Arizona's touchdown drive to start the second half was made possible by three penalties that gave the Cardinals first downs. While having too many men on the field is a bad mental lapse, Kendall Langford jumping and accidentally coming down with his hand on Warner's facemask on third down is just bad luck. Instead of having to settle for a field goal, the Cardinals got a cheap first down.
Dan Carpenter follows his first NFL field goal by putting the ensuing kickoff 5 yards deep into the end zone for a touchback. That's a nice 1-2 punch right there.
It's not a good play when you get flagged for offside and for having 12 men on the field, and still give up a 21-yard completion.
For those keeping score, that's two flags against the Dolphins for having 12 men on the field. This team is not nearly good enough to keep making mistakes like that.
Nice over-the-shoulder catch by Nate Jones on Arizona's pooch kickoff in the third quarter. Jones might want to make things easier on himself next time and simply call a fair catch.
Yes, it was Jake Long who was blocking Bertrand Berry on the last play of the third quarter when Berry sacked Pennington. But the truth is Berry was going nowhere and Pennington just happened to roll out in his direction.
Why did it seem as though the officials were awfully quick to call penalties on the Dolphins defensive backs, yet weren't going for their flag when Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald kept pushing defenders away to create separation with the ball in the air.
That said, the secondary failed miserably to come up to the challenge of controlling Fitzgerald and Boldin, arguably the best wide receiver tandem in the league.
Great to see Chad Henne direct a touchdown drive in his first appearance in an NFL regular season game. The only thing that would have made it better would have been for it to end with a touchdown pass instead of Ronnie Brown's 1-yard run.
Why do we get the feeling that Henne connecting with rookie wide receiver Davone Bess is something we'll see quite a bit in the next several years?
Interesting to see Fields being the one to attempt the onside kick late in the game as opposed to kicker Dan Carpenter.
It doesn't get any easier for the Dolphins next Sunday against a New England team that showed against the Jets it would be foolish to discount it just because Tom Brady is out for the year.
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