DolfanVince86

Ronnie Brown is gone. So is Ricky Williams. Newly imported Reggie Bush can't handle a heavy workload, and the Dolphins don't want Chad Henne throwing more than he must. That means Daniel Thomas, a second-round pick out of Kansas State, could be the man in Week 1. He should pile up the carries and has the frame to be a workhorse. He'll be key in goal-line situations, where the Dolphins don't have another clear option. Part of the reason Thomas can have early success is because this offensive line looks built to support a solid running game, and rookie Mike Pouncey will be a big part of that. Pouncey should line up at center, and went extremely high in the draft for that position. But he has a similar skill set as his brother Maurkice, who was a Pro Bowl center last year for the Steelers.

I was just wishing he didn’t overthrow the ball," said Allen, who has been a starter most of his career. "I thought I had a good bead on it. As soon as the guy took off I knew exactly what route he was running and I think one of the things I’m most blessed with is being able to read and dissect stuff during the play. So now I’m just going to take as it goes and I felt tonight I played well.

ESPN RumorCentral: There has been speculation for some time that running back Chester Taylor was in danger of being cut by the Chicago Bears. Monday morning, Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the team had informed the tailback of an impending release, per a league source. Taylor's agent, Ken Sarnoff, confirmed this on his Twitter account Monday afternoon. In a surprising turn of events shortly thereafter, Sarnoff tweeted that the team had just informed him that they had not released Taylor. While the two sides attempt to sort this out, it's possible that Taylor will survive this round of cuts as teams get down to the 80-man limit, but he will not be retained when the final cuts (to 53) are made. If that happens, Adam Caplan of Fox Sports speculates that the Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans could be potential suitors of him as a free agent.

Back on Aug. 1, we made note of the fact that veteran interior offensive lineman Shaun O'Hara was visiting with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins used a first-round pick on center Mike Pouncey, but while that is also O'Hara's position, the team could deploy both men on the field at once, with one sliding in at guard. With some lingering issues on the Dolphins' O-line, Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald reports Monday morning that though O'Hara is interested in signing with the team, there are no "imminent plans" to add him. Darlington adds that the team believes O'Hara wasn't healthy enough during his visit, and this is one reason why the move hasn't yet been made. There's another reason of course: if a vested veteran is on a team's roster Week 1, he has the right to collect a termination fee if he's cut, a guarantee of sorts. If they're signed after Week 1 has been completed, this is not the case. So for O'Hara -- and scores of other veterans -- the week preceding the Week 2 slate of games may be the time for new deals.

ESPN RumorCentral: For the first topic within his latest mailbag column, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter notes that the situation between Frank Gore and the San Francisco 49ers is a volatile one right now, and that the RB could request a trade if things don't start progressing to his satisfaction.

Kevin Seifert (ESPN RumorCentral): "[The renegotiated 2011 salary], on top of the previous knowledge that the Packers have already paid Grant a $1 million-plus roster bonus, makes it less likely from a financial perspective that the Packers will enter the season without him. There is nothing precluding them from doing so, but generally it's not good business to part ways with a player whose salary you've just guaranteed."

Kevin Seifert (ESPN RumorCentral): "In the end, I think it should require a perfect storm of circumstances for the Packers to feel comfortable jettisoning Grant. They'll need to be convinced of Starks' durability and confident that Kuhn, Green and Nance could provide credible performances during any short-term absence. They'll need to have a better way of using the roster spot, like keeping a promising young tight end or receiver they would otherwise lose through waivers. And, frankly, they'll have to agree internally that Grant is no longer a 20-carry back. Without that combination, releasing or trading a proven running back like Grant seems like an awfully risky proposition to me."