Dolphins vs Bucs Preseason Game Recap Part 1

As the old adage goes, you have to take the good with the bad. And in terms of the Dolphins first preseason game, a 10-7 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday, there was definitely plenty of both to go around. The Dolphins and Bucs struggled for most of the game, but a late third quarter touchdown from running back Lex Hilliard gave the Fins a lead they never relinquished. And while it wasn’t pretty, as they also say – a win is a win.

While we don’t necessarily like to focus on the “bad,” this is the preseason after all, and even the two teams that end up in the Super Bowl at the end of the season certainly don’t play like champions in their first exhibition games. So without further ado, we’ll take a look today at some of the areas the Dolphins need to improve upon and some of the reasons that caused them to play sloppy on Saturday. Check back tomorrow for the reasons to be optimistic about the direction of the team based on the first preseason game – and believe us, there are plenty of those to go around!

- The first, and possibly biggest, reason for the direction of the game Saturday was the weather. As is typical in south Florida in August, there was a torrential downpour at one point during the day… that just so happened to coincide with the first quarter of the game. Imagine trying to get out there and play for the first time against another team amidst a steady stream of rain and on a sloppy playing field. At least it perhaps provided an excuse for some of the things listed below, which included…

- Some early miscues and bad mental mistakes from the Dolphins, including three penalties on the offensive line alone. In fact, Miami had just as many penalties as they did first downs in the first half of play… not exactly a good sign for the offense.

- Brandon Marshall didn’t exactly give fans of the Fins a spectacular showing in his first appearance in a Dolphins uniform either. The much-hyped wide receiver dropped his first two passes, the only two tosses that came his way, before he was pulled from the game for good. But then again, did we mention the torrential downpour that was going on during the first quarter?

- It wasn’t prime conditions for a quarterback, but Chad Henne certainly didn’t turn any head either, failing to get the offense to do anything in his four series of work before turning the squad over to Tyler Thigpen. Henne finished the game 5-of-11 for 19 yards while Thipgen connected on 10-of-19 passes for 145 yards. Third-stringer Pat White also saw very limited action but did not even attempt a pass.

As we mentioned, check back tomorrow for even more analysis following the first preseason contest against Tampa Bay, and be sure to keep logging in throughout the week for a preview of this Saturday’s second game of the preseason in Jacksonville! This one might not be in South Florida, but that’s a great time for you to check out our Miami Dolphins travel packages that are available through MiamiDolphinsTickets.com!