Miami Dolphins Kick Off Preseason Action Tonight On CBS4
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Do you feel it? Fins fever is spreading and the excitement is building for tonight's first Miami Dolphins pre-season game, airing only on CBS4.
While the game is just a tune-up, it will give fans a first glimpse of how this year's team looks.
There will be plenty to look for in tonight's game against the Chicago Bears including whether quarterback Ryan Tannehill will be in sync with his new receivers.
Both the Bears and the Dolphins were very busy in the offseason.
Chicago hired general manager Ryan Pace and Coach John Fox, hoping to turn around a team that won five games.
Miami signed one of the league's top defensive linemen in Ndamukong Suh.
Both teams also revised their receiving group.
Chicago traded Brandon Marshall and drafted Kevin White with the No. 7 pick.
Miami, 8-8 in 2014, drafted DeVante Parker at No. 14. Neither rookie has yet to take the field in training camp. White has a left shin injury; Parker is recovering from foot surgery.
The Bears have openings all over their defense as they switch from a 4-3 to 3-4 scheme. On offense, they hope quarterback Jay Cutler can cut down on the turnovers under new coordinator Adam Gase.
While Tannehill has steadily improved overall since he became a starter as a rookie in 2012, his grade on throwing long remains incomplete. Last year he connected on 24 percent of his passes thrown more than 20 yards (10 for 41), which was even worse than his career figure of 27 percent.
The Dolphins also need someone to step up at guard, the biggest question mark on a perennially unsettled offensive line. Tannehill has been sacked an NFL-high 139 times in the past three seasons, and shaky protection makes long passes tough to get off, much less complete. Tannehill has yet to lead the Dolphins to a winning season, but last year he became the first Miami quarterback since Dan Marino to throw for 4,000 yards. Improvement on deep throws would boost that stat, as well as the team's winning percentage.
The Dolphins take on the Bears at Soldier Field tonight.
CBS4 will have a one-hour pregame starting at 7pm.
Kickoff is set for 8pm and it's all here on CBS4, your official Miami Dolphins station. #FINSON4
Be sure to check out our live Dolphins blog where we will be posting season-long coverage, updates, photos, video, commentary and more during every Dolphins game of the 2015 season.
