Bullish or Bearish? Miami Dolphins Preseason Week 1

Welcome to the first installment of Bullish or Bearish! I am not one to touch stonks nor give financial advice, but I do love some crypto and these are two terms, we in the community use to identify whether a project is trending up or inverse to that, trending down. This year I will be bringing you a Bullish or Bearish report once a week to help you identify who’s improving and who’s regressing on the 2021 Miami Dolphins. We start Week 1 of the Pre-Season schedule for your Miami Dolphins with a  final score of 13-20 in favor of the Bears and left us with some questions answered while also leaving us with some concerns. Let’s dive in.

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Bullish

Mike Gesicki:

A bold take on the way, health permitting, we may be on the verge of a breakout season by Mike Gesicki. A breakout into possibly 1100+ yards and 10+ TDs territory. I know it’s early and many of Tua’s other weapons are out but that also lets me know that he will be reliable when those same WRs aren’t available (I expect that to be often) and most importantly is that he might be the biggest benefactor of the attention needed to guard Will Fuller and Jaylan Waddle leaving him isolated one on one like he was against the Bears and Alec Ogletree. Look out because Gesicki looks ready to make the Dolphins pay for not having paid him yet.

And just as I say that, Tua has all day to throw and lobs it up to Mike Gesicki who stiff arms Ogletree and runs all the way to the 7-yard line.

— Luis D. Sung (@LuisDSung) August 14, 2021

Salvon Ahmed:

We talked all offseason about a needed 2nd-year jump for many guys but the one we all seem to have left out is Salvon Ahmed. All afternoon Ahmed looked faster, stronger, quicker, and overall, more comfortable. Salvon was able to not just only show the burst which led to the Dolphins’ first 100-yard rushing performance by a player in nearly 2 seasons, Ahmed also showed tremendous improvement in the passing game as evident by TD to end the half from Jacoby. Coach Flores already has hinted at this being a RBBC but I wouldn’t be shocked if at some point this season Ahmed claims the job as his. 

jacoby brissett to salvon ahmed for 6 pic.twitter.com/5OGyOuCkyZ

— josh houtz (@houtz) August 14, 2021

Lynn Bowden Jr:

 Someone who desperately needed a good showing after a curiously quiet camp was Lynn Bowden Jr. Lynn was able to show everything that has me excited and expecting a substantial jump in performance. Altogether he had 4 catches for 47 yards, 2 first downs, and 1 kick return (more on that later). If Lynn can build off this performance and put together a good week of practice vs the Falcons, he could guarantee not only his roster spot but also a role as a specialists/WR.

4 total catches for 47 yards, 2 first downs and 1 kick return. A nice way to put yourself back in the competition at WR. Let's see what you can show next Saturday. https://t.co/JcpfltXC6f

— Juan C 5RS (@exclusvty) August 15, 2021

Bearish

Jakeem Grant

Some may see Jakeem’s name on the bearish side and will yell out how he had the most explosive punt return of the game when it went for 34 yards. I urge you to realize what is going on with the KR and PR positions. On KR we saw both Noah Igbinoghene and Lynn Bowden Jr get chances to show what they can do. On PR we saw a total of 7 punt returns with Jakeem getting 3, Malcolm Perry getting 3, and Waddle getting only 1. It is starting to feel like if anyone steps up and makes the returner jobs theirs, Jakeem’s time in Miami may be coming to an end.

Malcolm Brown

Another year, another power back who can’t seem to find space to operate. After some good initial runs by Brown, where he showed a nice ability to finish forward, he and the OL did their best to give us Jordan Howard PTSD. In total Malcolm had 9 carries go for a total of 8 yards with a long of 6. Think about that, he had 8 carries go for 2 yards. Outside of the pedestrian performance, the emergence of Salvon Ahmed could force Malcolm to be a key reserve or not even make the team at all. This is a situation that will require further research to see how this ends up working out.

Austin Jackson

As nicely as I can put it, that was an abysmal performance by Austin Jackson. When you stop and consider Akiem Hicks, Khalil Mack, and Robert Quinn each played less than 9 snaps while Austin had 44 total snaps, it’s extremely concerning to see him struggle as he did, against backups and third-stringers. The toughest part of watching Austin vs the Bears? He got beat in a plethora of ways, from stunts, speed rushes, and bullrushes. There weren’t many things that the defense tried, that didn’t work. Per PFF in 22 pass-blocking opportunities, Austin gave up a holding penalty to stall a drive, 1 QB hit, 4 QB hurries, and 5 QB pressures. Not the start many envisioned for the 2020 18th overall selection.

Overall, the first preseason game was just that, the first preseason game and while it did give us some things to start to focus on more (the oline) there is still time to improve and work on the things that did work. This week-to-week report could in theory having Austin Jackson as bearish but if he comes out next week and responds to the criticism he may find himself on the bullish side of things. Until next time, Fins Up!

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