The Miami Dolphins have been in Tampa Bay all week preparing for the second pre-season game on Friday night against the Buccaneers. After two days of joint practices, both teams will continue to play a lot of the backups and longshot free agents on Friday night as they continue to look for those diamonds in the rough.
In practice, wide receiver Chris Godwin made Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard look like an average NFL defensive back on a couple of throws as Godwin got the better of the one on one match up.
Miami quarterback Josh Rosen will get a lot of the work for the Dolphins on Friday night. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starter, but the Dolphins really want to give Rosen some extensive playing time and get him acclimated to the offense quickly.
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said Wednesday after practice that the starters will probably play about the same amount of snaps that they played in last week’s game in Pittsburgh. Arians really wants to give the young players the best opportunity to make the team or secure a spot on another roster.
Arians also said he has a pretty good idea who is going to make the roster and who will be on the outside looking in. “Our rookies have gotten close to 500 snaps, so we kind of know what they can do now,” he said. “It would be easy to cut down to 60 right now for me. But again we’ve got preseason games coming up, and maybe guys can show up more when the lights come on than they have in practice. They’ve put in the time. We’re right on schedule.”
One Buccaneer that needs to have an impact game is cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting. He appeared in the game last week against the Steelebut did not make many plays.
Arians asked Bunting after the game if he even played — that’s how easily forgotten his performance was. Arians is counting on Murphy-Bunting to make big plays in the secondary and have a big impact on the game.
The depth on the offensive line and defensive line will continue to be evaluated. Arians has gone on the record saying if the offensive line has any significant injury, it could be problematic.
The penalties were an issue for the Bucs in last week’s game. There were 16 penalties called against the Bucs with 14 accepted. Arians told the team this week that they have to cut down on the penalties. If players continue to take penalties, they won’t be playing football for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Beau Allen will continue to get the playing time of defensive tackle Vita Vea as he recovers from a sprained knee. The Bucs will also be without linebacker Lavonte David as he recovers from his meniscus tear. Additionally, Jeremiah Ledbetter has a high ankle sprain and will miss a couple of weeks.
In practice this week, the Bucs’ offense and defense looked just as good as it did in the first couple drives of the game in Pittsburgh last week.
The offense has looked sharp and crisp passing the ball and running the ball, and in goal line situations. Defensively, the Bucs have continued to be very aggressive, bringing pressure from all areas of the field.
