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Salguero and PFF: Unstoppable!

I will be partnering with ProFootballFocus.com this year to bring you the best metrics available on the Dolphins anywhere. They will provide the measurables, I'll augment with analysis and insight. Together we'll be unstoppable!

But seriously ...

As everyone knows, tonight's preseason finale against somebody or other is meaningless. If (huge if) Ryan Tannehill plays at all (I doubt it) you'll have to delay your blinks or you'll miss him. Other starters may play but I cannot be specific at this point, as coach Joe Philbin has declined to reveal his strategy for this big tilt.

I can give you some interesting information related to last week's important dress rehearsal game versus Tampa Bay, directly from the analytical geniuses at ProFootballFocus.com:

OFFENSE:

John Jerry saw his first action of the preseason against the Buccaneers with 22 snaps. He struggled in pass protection and run blocking.

(Salguero: Jerry needs more work, which is why I advocate playing the starting offensive line tonight. Play them all. They all need work. I will say that last week, Tyson Clabo had an excellent game).

In the battle for the #2 tight end position, Dion Sims saw 23 snaps with the second-team offense while Michael Egnew saw 22.

(Salguero: Sims had the better game. He blocked better. He played faster. He is ahead of Egnew).

Rookie WR Chad Bumphis played the fewest snaps (3) of any wide receiver.

(Salguero: This sounds quite alarming at first blush. And we'll know tonight whether it is if the trend continues. If the trend continues, then that means Bumphis is on the outs. But if he gets snaps tonight, it is possible Bumphis had already earned a spot on the team -- even as the No. 5 receiver -- and coaches wanted to give others a chance to get the remaining spot. There's also a chance the Dolphins were hiding Bumphis, although this is less plausible because he returned punts).

Josh Samuda played all 50 snaps at first-team right guard, but gave up 3 hurries.

Charles Clay manned 42 snaps as the first-string tight end. He picked up a negative grade in pass catching, but cancelled it out with an equally positive run blocking grade.

Tannehill attempted just two passes 20+ yards down the field.

(Salguero: He wanted to throw to Mike Wallace deep on one play, but Wallace got pushed out of bounds on a double move, so knowing that Wallace was thus ineligible to catch the football, Tannehill threw a check-down pass).

Third-stringer Pat Devlin, fighting for a roster spot, passed well when pressured (5-for-7), but stumbled when he had time (7-for-14 and an INT). He completed only 3 of 6 passes with one interception on throws of 10 yards or more and didn't attempt a pass of 20 yards or more.

Mike Wallace, Brandon Gibson,  and Charles Clay each dropped a pass from Ryan Tannehill.

(Salguero: I also recall a drop by Brian Hartline in the end zone).

Perhaps most surprisingly from PFF is this: Left tackle Jonathan Martin was much maligned in his rookie season where he split time between right and left tackle. He finished the season grading positively in only two games all year and had the third worst pass blocking efficiency among starting tackles. Thats why his first three games this preseason were a revelation. Martin didn’t give up a single pressure until Saturday. Against a mixture of Adrian Clayborn and Daniel Te’o-Nesheim Martin gave up a hit and two hurries 

DEFENSE

After releasing Richard Marshall during the week, Dmitri Patterson played 27 snaps as the #2 cornerback on the other side of Brent Grimes.

(Salguero: Patterson is your other starting cornerback, folks. Coach Joe Philbin has declined to say that's the case, but that is indeed the case).

MLB Dannell Ellerbe had 4 defensive stops on 28 snaps, while OLB Philip Wheeler had 3 stops in his 25 snaps.

(Salguero: Ellerbe has been outstanding this preseason. If he plays the regular season like he did the preseason, the Dolphins definitely upgraded).

Jamar Taylor, Nolan Carroll, and Will Davis all took at least 20 snaps as reserve cornerbacks. Carroll graded positively, Taylor was average, and Davis received a negative grade.

(Salguero: I like Nolan Carroll as a person. I'm not buying that he will be 16-games consistent as the third CB. Why not, you ask? Because this is his fourth NFL season and he's never been that in three previous seasons. He is what he is).

Dmitri Patterson was targeted three times by Josh Freeman. He allowed just the one catch for 5 yards.

The Dolphins, as a team, allowed the Bucs to haul in just 9 of their 24 targeted passes.

Special Teams

Rishard Matthews missed a tackle on special teams and did not look comfortable on the kickoff coverage team.

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