Let's pretend for a second that I am Stephen Ross. A better looking, shorter, much much younger Stephen Ross. A Stephen Ross who doesn't want celebrity owners.

Actually, scratch all that. Let's pretend I just bought the Dolphins FROM Stephen Ross. There is no more Stephen Ross, unless you own a luxury condo in New York. If that is the case, I hope you like living next to Fergie and T-Pain.

Moving on, I, Little Nicky 21, have just bought the Miami Dolphins with my Powerball winnings. And I'm about to set this place on FIRE. Not literally, of course, except for that damned bubble. That thing is going up in flames like a grounded Hindenburg. But what I really mean is, I'm starting essentially from scratch with my new toy beloved Franchise. I'm going to lay out the moves I would make, the hires I would make, and the direction I would like the team to go with personnel. First up would be arguably the most popular move I could make...

Continue reading this post »

The Miami Dolphins 2011 Season is over. Well, it's been over. For a while now. Almost before it started, actually. As soon as we rolled out Chad Henne as the starting QB (again), led by 7-9 machine Tony Sparano (again), with a roster full of low-impact high-motor former Montana team captains (again), built by our trusty whore-hating General Manager (again...), the season was doomed to failure. So I've had a lot of time (months) to think about what direction this team will go in the future, and what the best way to get there will be. I've been able to pretty much ignore the team week to week, outside of my futile cheering every Sunday hoping for something good to happen, just once.

I'm an advocate for a complete overhaul of team management. New GM, new Coaching staff, new Attitude, new Franchise Quarterback. All of it. Start over, without having to start over. If you don't have time on your hands, stop reading now, because this is comprehensive, exhaustive, and 100% correct :-)

Continue reading this post »

With the Miami Dolphins trading for Reggie Bush last week, it dawned on me that we may never have had a more explosive player in a Dolphins uniform.  Reggie is a guy who can score from any spot on the field in a variety of ways, something we have sorely missed offensively here in Miami for what seems like forever.  He's an offensive Transformer, sometimes a receiver, sometimes a running back, sometimes a punt returner.  His NFL highlight reel (after the jump) is a thing of beauty, displaying his speed, vision, agility, and even some quality leaping ability (Gibril Wilson will attest to that).  

But there are concerns.  The injury questions are the most prominent, with Reggie missing, on average, 4 games per season since he came into the league.  He's played 60 games in 5 seasons with the Saints.  Last season in particular he was only available for 8 games due to a broken leg.  That injury itself is also a concern.  Will he still be the undeniably fast and explosive player he was?  Luckily, it wasn't a ligament or tendon injury, which tend to rob players of those abilities.  Broken bones heal fully without surgery, so it shouldn't be an issue going forward.  There are other questions surrounding Bush, however.  Take a look at his career stats. They aren't very impressive, there's no doubt about that.  But we'll go deeper into that later in this post.  Before we get started on what he can and cannot do, though, I want you to watch the highlight film and enjoy.

Continue reading this post »

Yawn.

My reaction to the Dolphins draft thus far.  So we'll be running headstrong into 8-9 man fronts all year long with our shiny new guard and BTT (Between The Tackles) RB.  3 yards and a cloud of dust!  Excitement!  Celebrity!  Fireworks!

Just what Stephen Ross ordered.  Ross knows what he wants.  The problem?  He just gave extensions to a GM and HC who don't want what he wants.  Sparano is a reincarnation of Wannstache.  Run-run-run-kick-fist pump.  Brandon Fields and Dan Carpenter are going to have career years....

CKC it up.  I'm disappointed in our draft.  Terrible.  Zero impact, zero playmakers, zero speed, and still no hope at the QB position.  Forgive me, but I am not a fan of Ireland/Sparano.  Fire.  Everyone.  Now.

CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC CKC 

Part two of this week's series will focus on the biggest defensive play of the game.  With the final whistle fast approaching, and Minnesota trailing by 4, their offense had finally awoken and had marched down to the Miami 1-yard line seemingly with ease.  It's in these situations where defensive coordinator Mike Nolan just puts 11 men in the box and lets his athletes make the play.  No stunting, no blitzing, no frills, no bells and whistles, just straight up power defensive football.  The Vikings offense did the same thing, running a no-nonsense straight-ahead hand-off.  It was a classic display of "who wants it more," where the better player doesn't always win, but the guy with more heart does.  

Setting the Stage:

Following Jason Allen's 2nd interception of Favre, Miami had the ball at their own 25, looking to rip off a long, clock-killing drive to finish the game off.  But on the first play, Ronnie fumbled, handing the ball back to the now-fired-up Vikings.  With the ball at Miami's 24, and 5:46 remaining, Minnesota looked poised to take the lead, especially when they drove right down to the one-yard line on 5 straight Adrian Peterson runs.  Miami's defense looked gassed, and they had just barely stopped Peterson on third down.  Everybody in the stadium knew what Minnesota was going to do on 4th and 1, and with 2:22 remaining on the clock, the game fell squarely on the shoulders of the Dolphins suddenly vulnerable defense.  

Continue reading this post »

In the first part of this week's installment of Anatomy of a Play, I'll take a look at the Dolphins' only offensive touchdown of the game, a 5-yard pass from QB Chad Henne to WR Brian Hartline.  We saw Miami open it up inside the 10 and go with an Empty set, giving the keys to Henne and letting him make the play for six.  I love the call here by Henning, because Minnesota is stout on the DL, but very weak in the secondary, so a power run play would've played right into their strength, while a pass attacked their biggest weakness.  Henning's ability to identify the weak link in the Vikings D and go after it inside the red zone is a huge reason why Miami was able to end this drive with a score.

Setting the Stage:

The Dolphins are working on a 4-plus minute drive after a 4th and 2 failure by Minnesota.  This was Miami's first drive of the game, and they've worked 69 yards down the field to the Vikings 5, and now face 3rd and goal.  A touchdown here will silence the crowd, which is normally a huge advantage for the Vikings.  A failure on this play will not only get the crowd riled up, but the defense will go off the field feeling good and motivated.  Miami lined up in a 3 receiver set, with Marshall and Bess to the left, and Hartline split wide to the right.  Fasano was lined up at TE on the right side as well.  Ronnie Brown was lined up deep in the backfield, and motioned out to the slot on the right side...

Continue reading this post »

In Part 2 of this feature, I'll analyze Anthony Fasano's big reception early in the 2nd quarter that set up Ronnie Brown's TD run.  This was the first time all game we saw Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning open it up in the passing game, and it paid off with a big play.  

Setting the Stage

2nd quarter, Dolphins with the football just outside the Bills redzone at the 22 yard line.  This is the 11th play of a drive that started on Miami's own 35, and is immediately following an illegal formation penalty negating a Brian Hartline reception.  It's 2nd and 12.  Miami's normal play here is to go conservative and set up for a field goal, but Henning dials up something a little different...

The play can be seen at :50 seconds of THIS VIDEO

Continue reading this post »

This will be my weekly feature for the Phisider; I'll be analyzing 2 of the biggest plays of the previous game, and explaining what we did, why it worked, and how it affected the game.  Not a lot of fluff, just a frame-by-frame breakdown of the play.  

First play of the series is Karlos Dansby's huge hit on Bills QB Trent Edwards very early in the 1st Quarter.  The hit set the tone for the entire game defensively, and showed everyone what kind of sneaky stuff Mike Nolan can dial up at a moment's notice.

The play can be seen at :07 seconds of THIS VIDEO.

Setting the Stage

1st quarter, Bills with the football.  It's their first drive of the game, and they are stalling after a dropped pass and a deflected pass on 1st and 2nd downs.  On 3rd and 10, from their own 25, they go into a Shotgun, 4-wide set, with 3 WR's to the right in a Trips set, and Spiller in the backfield to Edwards' right.  They are looking to pick up the first and get the offense into a rhythm on their first drive, and they want to avoid going three-and-out to start the game...

Continue reading this post »

In the midst of all this negativity surrounding our team after a poor preseason, I decided to step back and take a look at the team as a whole, and try to figure out why we could be anything but excited about this Dolphins squad.  As it turns out, I can't find a reason to feel nervous about our guys going into the season.  Poor preseason play is nothing new in this league, and preseason football is NEVER a precursor to Regular Season success/failure.  I only need to give you two examples:  2008 Detroit Lions, Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts.  The '08 Lions went 4-0 in the preseason, they looked like a promising young team.  They averaged 20 points a game, gave up an average of 8.  Didn't give up more than 10 points in any of the 4 games, twice going an entire game without giving up a TD.  16 Regular Season losses later, they are in the history books as one of the worst teams of all-time.  Yay preseason!  The Colts, historically, struggle in the preseason, then win 12+ games in the regular season, always being one of the last undefeated teams in the league to fall.  The only constant on this squad is Manning.  Year in and year out, they replace OL, RB's, WR's, and defenders, fail to look like a professional football team in the preseason, then win regular season games with ease.  Once again, yay preseason!  So, yeah, the Dolphins have not looked good in the exhibition part of the NFL season, but anyone who thinks that is going to carry over into the regular season doesn't know their history.

Continue reading this post »

As any NFL fan can tell you, the period from the Draft (late April) to Training Camp (July/August) is a barren wasteland of football news, programming, and discussion topics.  There's absolutely nothing going on.  There's rookie mini-camps, which nobody can see, and nobody really cares much about (hard to get excited over "soon-to-be-cut-QB" overthrowing "probably-already-cut-WR").  The Draft is finished, re-signings and free agency is pretty much over, and from now until the preseason, there is very little happening in the NFL Universe (the occasional Pacman signing/arrest notwithstanding).  

While thinking about this horribly boring period during the NFL offseason, I came up with an idea based around 3 of my favorite NFL offseason events: the Draft, Free Agency, and the Expansion Draft (last seen with the Texans).  The Expansion Draft, for those that are unaware, is when every NFL team releases a few players, and those players are picked up by the Expansion team as sort of a base foundation for a roster, filled out by regular Free Agents, draft picks, and other various leftovers.  So, taking those 3 events, I decided that holding a "Waiver Wire Draft" would give the league and it's fans another offseason event to watch, debate, and get excited about.  More about this radical new idea :-P after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Jason La Canfora (who actually has a pretty good record of being right with his reports) is reporting that the Dolphins are looking to package WR Ted Ginn Jr. to move up in the draft, possibly to take CJ Spiller.  It's all speculation, but La Canfora isn't some bleacherreport moron, and he's got good sources.  Here's the excerpt, so you don't think I'm twisting words.

Still, Ginn could be a part of a package on the first night of the draft next Thursday, as the Dolphins might trade up from the 12th spot. Clemson running back C.J. Spiller is among the players for whom they could make a move.

 

CLICK HERE to read the full article.  

The final part of my 3 part series looking into NFL Draft Strategies (hence the title) is finally here!  Celebrate!  Or, at least read it..

In Part 1, I covered the Best Player Available, and Positional Value strategies.  Part 2 went into Need-Based Drafting and Stockpiling.  In part 3, we'll discuss the last two strategies, Target and Attack, and Drafting for the Future.  Right off the bat, most of you will recognize that most teams employing either of these methods are going after Quarterbacks.  But that's not always the case.  I think this is enough of a lead-in, make the jump.

Continue reading this post »

I know, I know, it took me a while to get to this post.  Suck it up, folks.  In this installment (love saying this), I'll cover the next two Draft Strategies that I laid out in Part 1.  In the first post, I covered the BPA (best player available) strategy, and the Position Value strategy, so click the link and check it out if you haven't seen it.

The next 2 draft philosophies I'm going to delve into are Need-Based Drafting and Stockpiling.  In a nut-shell, Need-Based Drafting is EXACTLY what it sounds like, drafting based on your team's needs.  But it's not what some of you may think.  Stockpiling is a "quantity over quality" philosophy that values multiple middle round picks over singular high-round choices.  If this interests you at all, make the jump. :-)

Continue reading this post »

There are a plethora (look it up) of different draft strategies that teams employ for the Annual Player Selection Meeting.  None of them are the "right" way to do things, and most teams combine various strategies or change their preferred method based on draft talent, need, and the overall talent level of their current players.  As fans, we rarely get a glimpse into these strategies, as most information filtered to us during the draft season is intentionally misleading or completely useless, but sometimes you can determine a team's preferred strategy after the fact, figuring out their pre-draft needs, evaluating their roster, and then observing how the team drafted.  That is how we know that Ted Thompson in Green Bay loves to draft the best player on his board, and that Al Davis sleeps right up until it's his turn, then takes the best combine performer.  

After the jump, I'll cover some of the Draft Strategies that I know of, how they work, how each would affect our Dolphins' draft this season, and then I'll try to blend them into 3 or 4 "ideal" mocks based on one overriding strategy.  The philosophies I'm going to cover are BPA, or best player available; Positional Value; Need-Based Drafting; Stockpiling; Target and Attack; and Drafting for the Future.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with these, but I'm going to go into a little bit of depth into how they work and why teams choose to follow these strategies.

For length purposes, I'll break this up into 3 parts, with 2 philosophies in each part.  Part 1 (this one) will cover BPA and Positional Value.

Jump.

Continue reading this post »

So yeah I definitely think we should draft Dez Brya-NO WAIT!  Taylor MAys..  hes a beast, did you see his face in the 40???  determination and constipation and heart.. he's a ballplayer.  but we gotta sign sharper first, bcuz mayss needs time to learn how to play foootball and stuff.. so sign sharper, and draft dan williams first.  Anyways, what do you guys tink of Jamarcus Russell?  Bleacherreport said he'll be released, and he was the first overall pick and threw the ball like 100 yards on ONE KNEE!!  ARE YOU SERIOUS!!??!?!11!?!  crazy. he's like the anti-noodle arm.  and oakland will probably have to release him because they are gonna draft taylor mays and will need to pay him..  ok so we sign sharper, we signed dansby, whose awesome, we should trade ted ginn for a 2nd round so we can get jordon shipley, the best wr in the draft (then we can get mccoy and they can team up again.. remember my teammates idea guys, keep up).  dan williams or rolondo MCclain in the first, shipley and cody (365!!  and he dropped weight at the combine!!) in the 2nd, and then maybe taylor mays in the 2nd?  Taylor Mays is awesome guys.  

free agency - dansby (check) sharper, shaun rogers???

draft - dan williams/mcclain, Shipley, McCoy, MT. CODY!! and Taylor mays...  or what about trading up for SUHHHHHH..  we could play him at DE and move merling to NT because he doesnt play at DE.. or we could still get Cody and he will be a S-T-U-D STUD.  Either way we gotta Taylor Mays if the raiders dont, which they will..  also, we gotta draft this guy MHTD, he runs a 4.1 40 with water bottles, and nobody is more accurate squirting than him..  we can get him in round 8.  right after the take the Blunt-man Lagarratte Blunt!  He can punch rexys FAT ASS out!  he's a terrible coach, and he smells like cheez whiz mixed with foot.  not nice foot either, like nasty toe-cheese foot..  Cheez wiz foot..  

also, i <3 matty.

Tired of the same old Mock Draft?  Tired of reading every single opinion on A) our needs, B) how many awesome FA's we can sign, and C) who we definitely need to draft?  Well you're about to be disappointed, because this is exactly the same thing...   except not really.  I've been thinking about this for a while, and it's a bit of a joke, but seems like it could actually work out in some cases.  My idea here is to draft multiple college teammates.  

**Note**

Not a Serious Idea!  Just a fun scenario I had pop into my head.  I don't need multiple "This post is a joke!  Do you even watch football?" comments lol.

**End Note**

Continue reading this post »

I plan on doing a few of these posts leading up to the draft, and the first one will be on what projects to be a fairly decent WR class.  There are, in my opinion, 4 guys that project to possibly being "Number 1" types, and a host of other guys that can be solid #2's or contribute from the slot.  I'll give my top 5, followed by some mid-round guys, and finish up with a late-round sleeper or two (I'm sure some of you will know the sleeper picks, so please don't kill me for not finding some D3 guy like Garcon). 

I'm listing heights, weights, and projected 40 time ranges, followed by a short description and player comparison, and a link to a highlight video (so long as I can find one).  Keep in mind, the player comparison's do not reflect how good I think they are, just the height/weight/speed similarities and overall style they play with. 

Let's get to it!

Continue reading this post »

There's been a lot of back-and-forth about Ronnie Brown this offseason.  Is he an Elite RB?  Is he injury prone?  Is he the long-term answer at RB for the Dolphins?  What's his trade value?  Why would we even consider trading our best player?  Will he hit the 30 year old "RB Wall"?  All of these questions are legitimate and worthy of discussion, and all of them will help determine whether trading him now is the right move for the franchise going forward.  I believe that trading him is the right move, and I'll try to explain why.  Jump.

Continue reading this post »

[Editor's Note by Matty I: First off, thanks to Nicky for posting this while I was at my "real job." Secondly, I'll have a post up shortly that focuses on the Nolan hire. And finally, thanks to all those who visited the site today and posted their thoughts. Tuesday will go down as the second most trafficked day in Phinsider history - only behind day one of last April's NFL Draft.]

Just saw it on profootballtalk.com 2 minutes ago, Jay Glazer of FOX is reporting that the Dolphins have signed Mike Nolan to be their new defensive coordinator, replacing the recently fired Paul Pasqualoni.

It took all of just one day after he and Denver Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels mutually agreed to "part ways," for the Dolphins to move in and scoop up a replacement DC.  Nolan runs the 3-4, so I believe any type of switch to a 4-3 is now out of the question.

Read it Here

They're back!!  Everyone's favorite Blogger Awards Show is back again for Round 2!  This year, it's going to be a lot tougher, because the community has grown so much.  So of course, in the comments section, please list your nominations for the following 3 awards.  As always NO NOMINATING YOURSELF AND NO CAMPAIGNING!!!

We'll start with the first 3 Awards on the program.   These are the 3 awards we will nominate for in this post. 

1. The Mercury Morris Frontpage Frontrunner Award - given to the blogger with the most and/or best frontpaged fanposts. Bonus points for rec's.
2. The Channing Crowder Lost In Translation Award - given to the blogger who has best overcome the language barrier between their first language and the English language.
3. The Brian Cox Award (formerly the Matt Roth Award) - given to the most passionate/borderline psychotic blogger.

Continue reading this post »

Last night's Fiesta Bowl Live Thread was a rousing success, and I discovered another LB prospect that I liked in Daryl Washington from TCU.  So we'll have a chance to scout some more prospects from Iowa and Georgia Tech

Tech runs the option, so we won't see much from them there, but WR Demaryius Thomas and RB Jonathan Dwyer will be available in the middle rounds.  Defensively, GT boasts DE Derrick Morgan, one of the highest ranked DE prospects, and FS Morgan Burnett, a junior who could go in the first couple rounds if he declares.

Iowa features TE Tony Moeaka, a late-round TE prospect with health issues, but the headliner for the Hawkeyes is OT Bryan Baluga, a possible top 15 pick as a LT and an absolute beast. 

Get here, chat it up, and go ACC team! lol

Come here, hang out, watch the Fiesta Bowl, and discuss some of the NFL prospects in this game

Quick rundown of the prospects

• Jerry Hughes, DE/SOLB, TCU - 6'3, 257 lbs. 
• Daryl Washington, ILB, TCU - 6'3, 234 lbs.
• Kyle Wilson, CB, 5'10, 186 lbs.
• Titus Young, WR, 5'11, 170 lbs.
• Jeremy Avery, RB, 5'9 173 lbs.
• Austin Pettis, WR, 6'3, 201 lbs.

Hughes would be a bigtime pickup if he drops into the 2nd round, he could step in across from Wake and our OLB's would be solid IMO.

Got a lot of different things on my mind, so I figured I'd just write a quick little post about what's going through my head.

Also, it'll be in full bullet-point format that I love so much.

Enjoy...

Continue reading this post »

In the final installment of my NeedTracker Series, we'll take a look at the Dolphins defense.  The D definitely needs more work than the offense, with upgrades needed in 3 of the 4 position groups, and quite a few aging pieces that don't have much longer to contribute.  And, although these guys stepped it up in the last game, I still believe that changes need to be made on this side of the ball.  So let's not waste any more time up here, Make the Jump.

Continue reading this post »

You can all stop holding your breath, I'm back with Part 2 of the NeedTracker Series.  In this installment, we'll take a look at the offensive side of the ball.  Thank god we won't be attempting to find a QB, but there are places that could use an upgrade on offense (cough-WR-cough).  Enough of me yapping, let's get to the breakdown.  Make the jump.

Continue reading this post »

So I just realized I haven't written a post in a long-ass time, and I have some free time at the moment.  For anyone who knows me, you know I'm a Positive Outlook, Big Picture kinda guy, and this post will focus on our entire roster, along with multiple players from around the league, and the upcoming draft.  Basically, I'm gonna take a snapshot of our team right now, at 5-6, and try to figure out exactly what we need, where we can find it, and how we can get it here.

First up, we'll take a look at the so-called "Generals" of our Phins-Army..

Continue reading this post »

Undefeated Saints vs AFC East-leading Patriots.  A Saints victory marches them one week closer to immortality, but also keeps us 2 games back of New England in the division race, setting up a HUGE game with us next week.  A Patriots victory ends the Saints run at Perfection, but also adds distance in the division and effectively ends our hopes at a successful Division Title defense.

I'm more interested in staying in the division race than ending the Saints perfect season at 10 games, so I'm on the Drew Brees Bandwagon tonight.  Chat it up people.

Talk football, Heat, other stuff, etc etc etc

basically, this is a ckc/live thread, and I'm just talking to use up all my words, so the post nazi won't yell at me. 

also, damn you Josh Koscheck.


a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a aa  aa a a a a a a aa a a a a a a a aaa a aa a a a aa a a aa a aa a a a a a