The Dolphins were forced to make a difficult decision today, ending Nate Garner's season by placing him on injured reserve. Arguably the most versatile player on the entire team, Garner can play just about every position along the offensive line, but because he was out until sometime midseason with a broken foot, the Dolphins didn't think it was worth it to waste a roster space for nearly half of the season by keeping Garner on the 53.

A big blow, of course, but if Vernon Carey and Jake Long can stay healthy, the Dolphins could avoid the possible ramifications of Garner's loss. This comes a day after Miami waived Joey Haynos, who many expected to be the team's third tight end. The Dolphins will now have to choose between keeping John Nalbone or only two tight ends, which would likely free up a roster spot for a defensive player or even, dare I say it, four quarterbacks.

Offense

Quarterback
Projected Possible Cuts: Pat White
Okay, so I don't actually see Pat White making the team. But despite all of the negative reports about his play, and despite the fact that he's done nothing to prove that he's capable of playing quarterback in the NFL, I just can't commit to guarantee his release. Should he be cut? Absolutely. But for some reason, I just have a strange feeling about the whole situation, like the Dolphins aren't willing to give up on a second-round pick after one season. Common logic tells me otherwise, though, so I'm sticking to my guns on this one.
Out: Pat White

Running Back
Projected Possible Cuts: Lex Hilliard
Before Garner went on the IR, you could have possibly made a case for the Dolphins to forgo keeping four running backs, and instead use the roster space for a tenth offensive lineman. There's really no chance of that happening anymore, though, so Hilliard is becoming a borderline lock.
In: Lex Hilliard

Fullback
Projected Possible Cuts: Rolly Lumbala
Lousaka Polite may be a little more vulnerable after turning in a poor performance as a lead blocker against the Falcons, but not enough to warrant him not making the team after a Pro Bowl caliber 2009 season.
Out: Rolly Lumbala

Tight End
Projected Possible Cuts: John Nalbone
Many fans and media members are starting to jump on the "keep two tight ends bandwagon" with Haynos gone, but I'm not quite ready to go that far. I have a feeling the Dolphins will stick to tradition and keep 25 offensive players. And now that it looks like ten offensive lineman is out of the question, it would likely take four quarterbacks or six receivers to get rid of Nalbone. With the Dolphins using so many two tight end sets, I just think it's a little too risky to only keep two on the roster.
In: John Nalbone

Wide Receiver
Projected Possible Cuts: Marlon Moore, Patrick Turner, Roberto Wallace, Julius Pruitt
Although Marlon Moore really didn't do anything to guarantee his roster spot against the Falcons, the fact that he was playing ahead of Patrick Turner as the Dolphins' fourth receiver tells me he's not going anywhere. Turner, meanwhile, has had a mildy impressive training camp and preseason, but because he's not a special-teams contributor, Roberto Wallace could come in and steal the final receiver opening with one more solid performance on Thursday night.
In: Marlon Moore, Patrick Turner
Out: Roberto Wallace, Julius Pruitt

Offensive Tackle
Projected Possible Cuts: Lydon Murtha, Andrew Gardner
This is where Garner will truly be missed. I personally wouldn't trust either Murtha or Gardner if Carey or Long were to go down. But the Dolphins have to keep at least one of them, and all indications still point to Murtha being the lucky man.
In: Lydon Murtha
Out: Andrew Gardner

Offensive Guard
Projected Possible Cuts: Cory Procter, Ray Feinga
We probably would have to go all the way back to beginning of training camp to find the last time we seriously thought Cory Procter was going to make the team. That's likely about to become a reality, though, with only three tackles expected to make the cut. That, of course, is assuming the Dolphins don't hand Garner's roster spot to a roster fringe defensive player.
In: Cory Procter
Out: Ray Feinga

Center
Projected Possible Cuts: Andrew Hartline
The only debate at center is who is going to start: Grove or Berger. Hartline has no chance of making the team.
Out: Andrew Hartline

Before we officially hit the panic button, let's just remember it's the preseason, every team is going to get a clean slate come September, and when the Dolphins head up to Buffalo for opening weekend, whatever happened in these practice games is going to be the last thing on everybody's mind. Having said that, all we currently have to go by with our evaluation of this team are these preseason games, and judging by last night, the Dolphins are a long way from becoming a legitimate contender this season.

Also, remember that the Falcons are a very good football team, and if it wasn't for a bad decision by Chad Henne at the end of the first-half, it would have probably been a respectable 10-10 ball game at halftime. But playing what ifs is a dangerous game, because then you could probably throw in the Matt Ryan overthrow which should have been a long touchdown pass to Roddy White. Anyway, the bottom line is any way you spin it, there is plenty of concern to go around on both sides of the ball right now. So let's get this evaluation over with, but if a little negativity is going to ruin your day, it would probably be wise to bypass this post.

Offense

Chad Henne led group
It's tough to even think about how inefficient the first-team offense was last night, let alone give them a grade. Nevertheless, let's try and sum up just how ugly that performance was. The run game was by far the biggest cause for concern, as Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams carried the ball a combined 12 times for an absolutely pathetic 14 yards. Why exactly was there a makeover on the interior offensive line again? I know there was concern about Justin Smiley's shoulder, but I can't help but wonder if the front office is questioning themselves right now.

The passing game on the other hand, wasn't much better either, but they did show some signs despite getting zero help from the ground attack. If Ronnie and Ricky were themselves, and actually produced a little bit, you would think things would have opened up down field for Henne and company. It's just a shame Henne tried to force that ball into Fasano, because there was finally some positive momentum building after two long connections to Brandon Marshall. After two quarters and one possession, though, three points is massive underachievement.

GRADE: D-

Pennington led group
I was a little disappointed to see Pennington come in the game so soon, simply because I wanted to see Henne lead at least one touchdown drive. He did provide a little spark for one series at least, connecting on a 17-yard pass to Ricky Williams that eventually set up another Dan Carpenter field goal. Still though, with no running game, it was obvious Pennington's lack of arm strength still limits how far this offense can go with him under center, having little chance at picking up third and longs.

One area where Henne needs to take notes, though, is blitz recognition. We saw Pennington pick up the blitz instantaneously and get rid of the ball in a hurry. On the contrary, even though Henne is making a conscious effort to avoid bad decisions and usually just takes a sack in those situations, recognizing the blitz off the bat and getting the ball to a receiver immediately, would do wonders for his game, especially against blitz happy defenses like the Jets

GRADE: B-

Pat White led group
Tony Sparano said during the week that he didn't expect his fourth quarterback to play last night. Either he had a change of heart, or Pat White is really ahead of Tyler Thigpen on the depth chart. I'm going to need to hear Sparano admit the ladder before I believe it, so as of now, I'm just assuming the coaches allowed White one opportunity in a game that was really out of reach when it was time for the third quarterback to sub in. Surprisingly, though, White went a solid 4 of 4 for 27 yards passing. Unfortunately, poor field position and a lack of pass protection prevented White from possibly leading a scoring drive.

GRADE: C

Defense

First-team/a few second team members (1st half)
After a poor showing against the Jaguars, Vontae Davis bounced back in a big way last night, breaking up three passes, getting in on seven tackles, and forcing a fumble in run support around the line of scrimmage. The rest of the secondary picked up where they left off a week ago. Jason Allen, who replaced Sean Smith in the starting lineup, had great coverage on a deep pass to Roddy White at the beginning of the Falcons' second drive, but a few plays later he basically gift wrapped the inside for Roddy White on a touchdown pass from Matt Ryan.

Sean Smith, who missed most of the first quarter after breaking a team rule, wasn't targeted much, but was burned badly on a Roddy White double-move that should have resulted in a long touchdown strike from Matt Ryan. Nolan Carroll, who stayed put as the starting nickel corner, was abused a few times in coverage, most notably conceding a third and long completion that kept the Falcons first touchdown drive going.

The run defense on the other hand, accompanied Davis as two things to feel good about. Outside of the first couple drives, where Misi and Wake did a poor job of containing the edge, the run defense stiffened for the most part, and held Micheal Turner to under three yards per carry.

GRADE: C

Second-half
The second and third string front seven was pushed around a bit in the second-half, as the Falcons ground game was able to break the four yards per carry mark. The roster fringe secondary players didn't show much sense of urgency, surrendering a touchdown drive to Chris Redman and the Falcons' backup offense. All in all, despite giving up only six points, the Falcons were able to chew too much clock, and kept the Dolphins' offense off the field in a two score game.

GRADE: C-

Special-teams
We saw a little bit of improvement at least, but anytime you have to rely on your kicker to save a touchdown, you still have some things to work on with you kickoff unit. Other than that nerve racking play, Nolan Carroll took a step in the wrong direction as kick returner by not hitting the whole as hard as he did in the first two games, we learned Dan Carpenter is still one of most reliable kickers in football, connecting on both of his attempts, including a 53-yarder, and newly acquired Benny Sapp did a fantastic job as the gunner, making the first hit on the punt returner on the Dolphins' well covered punt. Overall, however, the kickoff and punt teams need to do a better job of wrapping up, or it won't be long before someone takes one back to the house.

GRADE: C-