Commanders Vs. Dolphins (Preseason Game Two) – Studs and Duds

If you are a fan of exciting offensive football, Saturday night’s game may have been a snooze-fest for you. If you are all about seeing young guys being put into challenging positions on both sides of the ball, you may have actually enjoyed watching the Commanders and Dolphins second and third stringers battle it out.

As is usual during the preseason, there were some bright spots and dull ones. I feel Dan Quinn and staff took away a lot more than most fans did from this 13-6 loss, and hopefully the team can grow from this learning experience.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some Notes.

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Studs:

Jayden Daniels – Daniels played two series with the starters and again looked the part. He showed accuracy, a quick release and ability to get chunk plays on the ground. So far in two games he’s been as advertised.

John Bates – Bates’ blocking was stellar during his time on the field. He also had two receptions for 20 yards.

Dyami Brown – It seems as though Dyami is stepping up his game this preseason in an effort to be WR2 behind Terry McLaurin. Let’s see if a strong camp carries over to the regular season for the fourth-year veteran.

Quan Martin – Martin is really looking the part at free safety. He’s been able to show his excellent athleticism, and he’s made some really good tackles.

Jamin Davis – Davis was making plays throughout the game. Granted some of the plays were against backups who may not make Miami’s roster, however we can’t hold that against him

Tyler Owens – Owens continues to impress me wherever the coaches line him up. He took snaps at free safety, strong safety and dime linebacker and stood out at all three positions.

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Duds:

Andrew Wylie – In limited action with the first team offense, Wylie committed two penalties on one drive (false start and a hold). The hold negated a nice run that would have resulted in a first down and kept the chains moving for Washington. You can chalk it up to rust, but I will say that we’ve seen this movie before.

Benjamin St-Juste – St-Juste wasn’t tested that often when he was in the game, but the one time he was, he failed to get a jam at the line of scrimmage and was beaten for a touchdown by a Miami reserve receiver. We all harp on Forbes for the same thing, so St-Juste will not get a pass from me.

Michael Deiter – Regardless if he’s playing center or guard, Deiter just continues to give up pressures. His feet look slow and his hands lack punch.

Riley Patterson – I suppose this is wasting my time for a guy who likely won’t be on the roster in a few weeks. However, I’m going to call a spade a spade. His misses were REALLY bad, and at this point he doesn’t look like a professional kicker.

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Notes:

• Jeremy Reaves was having an up-and-down outing, missing some tackles early, but coming back with a few massive hits. Right now, his roster spot depends on how many safeties Washington keeps.

• Mike Sainristil is becoming one of my favorite players to watch on defense. He seems to always be in position to make a play.

• Frankie Luvu is going to be a problem for opposing offenses this year.

• If he’s not already, Wiley should be RB3.

• Jeff Driskel can move folks!

• BRob looks quicker this year and he hits the hole with a purpose.

• I hope we never have to see a situation where Trent Scott is starting a regular season game.

• Luke McCaffrey caught both of his targets for 30 yards receiving. Nothing spectacular, but he did make a nice catch on a high pass from Driskel.