In conclusion of the 2011 NFL season, championed by the New York Giants, it’s already time to start looking forward to free agency and April’s draft. For the Miami Dolphins, the most prominent need is clearly in the quarterback position—a position that hasn’t been relieved since Dan Marino’s retiring in the late 1990’s. The NFL has been doing its own shifting over time, where many have dubbed the league “quarterback friendly” and a “pass first league”. South Beach has tried to find its own gem to fit the NFL model of pass-friendly. Through trial and error, Miami finds itself in this postseason in search of a new quarterback again… except this time; it can make a huge splash into the 2012 season.

But, is there validity behind these quarterback friendly claims in the NFL? Can Miami benefit from following this league trend?

Continue reading this post »

Buffalo puts up 41 points and get a W... New York Jets slide into a comeback victory over Dallas... Now, Miami needs some magic of their own to face the New England Patriots in Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season. The loser of this game starts Week 2 in last, although that's still too early too truly matter, it's a position Miami can't get used to-- as too much is on the line for this brink season. When I say brink season I mean Miami can be a playoff contender come January, or could be interviewing for a new head coach and new quarterback amongst others. I can see the Dolphins going 10-6 this year or 6-10. It all depends on how Chad Henne delivers in tonights game. Here's some quick things that will draw my particular interest during tonights game:

1. Mike Pouncey The rookie faces a true test as a first round pick going against giants Vince Wilfork and Albert Haynesworth. How do you prove you're ready for NFL action? Go up and against the best in the league and battle them. Miami's O-Line was shaky all preseason, leaving many doubting its form for this game. Perennial Pro Bowler Jake Long, who missed the entire preseason, will certainly add comfort to that line, but a tough Patriots D-Line will test any team.

2. Reggie Bush We've seen the Wild Cat unleashed against New England in 2008. Now it's time to unleash a new weapon in South Beach. With the addition of Reggie Bush, Chad Henne can take a big load off of his shoulders if he can use Reggie Bush properly. Bush was just flashy in New Orleans, failing to live up to his Heisman (sort of) years at USC, masked behing injury after injury. Now, a motivated Reggie Bush leads a Miami running attack replacing Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Bush needs to be utilized between tackles, where he can use his speed to burst out into the secondary. I feel like the New England front is solid, but with Brandon Meriwether gone, the Patriots aren't as strogn as years past may have indicated. For Reggie, it's about staying healthy and creating an unbalanced field where Miami can thrive.

3. Chad Ochocinco I don't feel like the addition of Chad Ochocinco in New England was as big as the media played it out to be. However, 85 can still play at a level where he can thrive as a Patriot, where the ball will find you if you get open for a split second with Tom Brady as a cannon. With that being said, I don't believe 85 can perform as a number one receiver anymore. Luckily, in New England's system, last year showed you don't need a number one to win games. 85 had a weak preseason, and his entire Patriots tenure this far has been rather quiet. Whether that's the Patriot way or the decline of Ochocinco, we'll get a preview tonight. Ochocinco has always been a Miami guy, and at one point in his career made a video asking for Bill Parcells (who worked for Miami at the time) to reach out to him. I believe 85 will get 45 yards on 4 catches tonight. I like Miami's corners in this match-up, but still am excited to see how New England will use 85.

4. Brian Daboll Weird for anyone to mention a coach, but this is the first game under the Daboll era in Miami. I can't help but recall when the Cleveland Browns of all teams beat the Patriots, one of their only two losses on the entire 2010 season. Daboll, although worked with an underachieving Browns team, generally works a run-first offense, which can complement the inconsistencies of Chad Henne. If the run game is working and the offensive line comes ready to play, Chad Henne, who had an impressive preseason, will continue to gain momentum. (Henne has always raher done well in divisional play...). However, the real duty of Daboll and the entire coaching staff is to bring back a winning record at home. Home games and Monday night games are special things in the league that must be taken as gold.

With that aside, let's go Miami!

http://inphinitesports.blogspot.com/2011/09/miami-vs-new-england-patriots-pregame.html

            I can confidently assume that most of you, like myself, are frustrated and confused with the offseason our Dolphins are having.  Sure, Reggie Bush was a nice addition based on his preseason debut—but the quarterback position has the always-credible Mike & Mike landing us at 3 to 4 wins this year.  Though I really don’t care what they think about Miami, I do care about what we look for in a quarterback… especially Chad Henne, since the front office decided to stick with him, passing up on Kyle Orton amongst others.

            So, what exactly do we look for in a quarterback?  What can Chad Henne do to make us content?

            Let’s start with stats.  Since this is a “pass dominant league”, check the stats of the quarterbacks who won the Super Bowl the past three seasons (amount of years Henne has been in the league):

2009: Ben Roethlisberger

Comp/Att         Pct         Yds         Avg         TD         Int         Rate

281/469            59.9            3,301            7.0            17            15            80.1           

2010: Drew Brees

Comp/Att         Pct         Yds         Avg         TD         Int         Rate

363/514            70.6            4,388            8.5            34            11            109.6

2011: Aaron Rodgers

Comp/Att         Pct         Yds         Avg         TD         Int         Rate

312/475            65.7            3,922            8.3            28            11            101.2

            Based on these statistics, keeping turnovers to a minimum us a must.  Roethlisberger plays a much different style than Brees and Rodgers at the position, but thrives in the clutch—another characteristic of a QB.  What does Chad Henne have any business being mentioned in this group?  He doesn’t.  Because I don’t believe he has to be like Brees and Rodgers to make us happy.  If Chad could pull off a 2008 season such as Big Ben (also ran for 2 TDs and worth mentioning 7 lost fumbles), where the touchdown to interception ratio is as close as 17:15 (in hopes it will be better) and a 3,500+ yard season, I will be content with our quarterback play.  Henne’s play is much different than any of these QBs mentioned, but statistically, he can relate to the 2009 Super Bowl Champion in Roethlisberger.  To do so, his 2011 stat line:

2010: Chad Henne

Comp/Att         Pct         Yds         Avg         TD         Int         Rate

301/490            61.4            3,301            6.7            15            19            75.4

must be flipped TD:INT.  Take a look at those exact 3 quarterbacks in their third year with actual playing time:

Ben Roethlisberger:

Comp/Att         Pct         Yds         Avg         TD         Int         Rate

280/469            59.7            3,513            7.5            18            23            75.4

Drew Brees:

Comp/Att         Pct         Yds         Avg         TD         Int         Rate

205/356            57.6            2,108            5.9            11            15            67.5           

Aaron Rodgers: Super Bowl stats above

I don’t intend to make excuses for Henne.  But Aaron Rodgers had been mentored by one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game in Brett Favre.  He most definitely should shine like he has.  Besides Rodgers, Henne is in the same ballpark as Big Ben and Drew Brees entering their fourth season.  Both threw more INTs than TDs, neither achieved greater than 60.0 completion %.  They were the Chad Henne of yesterday.

            So, when we look at statistics to find what we want as a quarterback, Chad in my eyes, is six or seven TDs and 2 INTs away from being okay.  And okay is okay for us, because I still believe the Miami Dolphins are a better running team.  IF Henne collects 20 TDs and 15 INTs this season, that’s playoffs.

Now let’s look at the most important thing in all of football: winning.  Of course, stats are nice, but one reason Kyle Orton was benched last year despite a solid statistical season is because he wasn’t winning.  One reason Big Ben wins a Super Bowl with no stat close to his successors is because he is a winner.  Mark Sanchez… hate to say it, but he’s a gamer with the help of a great defense.  Chad Henne… what exactly is he?

            Henne needs to prove he can win.  A guy like Tony Romo… great quarterback, but not a winner.  It’s the hardest thing to find in this league.  Jay Cutler is another good quarterback who has never been known as a winner.  I know a win is a win, but getting that W is a hard thing to accomplish.  We brought in Brandon Marshall, Reggie Bush, and developed Devone Bess as weapons for Chad Henne to get the close loses on the flip column.  It’s Henne’s season to destroy, and only his.  With the pressure on him this year, he has the tools to make a playoff run if he can find his identity as a winning quarterback in the tight 50/50 games. 

            So what do you look for in a quarterback to make Chad Henne accepted?  What kind of season must he have?  A David Garrard-like season where he is nothing flashy but mediocre?  (I believe a mediocre Chad Henne wins us 9 to 10 games).  A gamer like Joe Flacco, Big Ben, and Mark Sanchez? Or A Matt Schaub-like quarterback where numbers get you wins?

            To me, the answer is Chad Henne must play within himself.  He has to set the tone for the offense, and not create turnovers by trying to do too much.  He needs to go at his pace, allowing the turnovers to decrease.  Of course, his pace maybe be relatively slow, but he doesn’t need to be a Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, or Big Ben.  Chad Henne needs to become a kindergartner and play smart and safe, like how Chad Pennington played in the 11-5 season, which did not tolerate turnovers.  Henne must become a manager in the game and he will succeed.

 Peezy Out.

<!--EndFragment-->

<!--EndFragment-->

2-0 Ladies and Gentlemen, talk it up!

CKC perhaps, as well. why not? How great is it to have football back in our lives and celebrate it in a winning fashion?!

To Cameron Wake, Karlos Dansby (goal line stop = reason why we got you), and Vontae Davis.... we salute you

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

I’m baaaaack!  Although I never really went anywhere.  Took a Phinsider vacation for the most part.  But let’s get on with our lives, shall we?!  With not much going on in the NFL right now, I decided to bring back the Good, the Bad, the Ugly post that got some love when I recapped the 09 season.  So to recap the off-season this far, I give you all…..

Continue reading this post »

I’ll admit—I wasn’t the first to jump on the CJ Spiller Bandwagon.  In fact, I tried my hardest to stay off that bandwagon for the longest time.  Thinking about replacing Ronnie Brown just doesn’t seem right to me.  However, I surprisingly have begun shifting my thoughts towards CJ Spiller.  Why?  Age!

Continue reading this post »

In an effort to keep away from notable free agents and the upcoming draft, let’s take a final look back at Miami’s past season.  After finishing 7-9 (which, for many, was where they expected the Dolphins to be), there were many good, bad, and… well, ugly things to take out of the season. 

Continue reading this post »

In the days following Valentine’s Day, I figured it would make some sense to talk about the things we hate as Dolphin fans.  And my list definitely starts with the New York Jets.  The Jets and Dolphins have shared one of the best rivalries in all of football.  Once every schedule is released, I know I circle the two games these two AFC East team go at it. 

            What makes this rivalry so great?  As we look into the characteristics of some of other NFL rivalries, we see that the Dolphins/ Jets are one of the best the league has to offer.

Continue reading this post »

"With the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select Matt Ryan, quarterback, Boston College."

Several draft choices later…

"With the eighteenth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Baltimore Ravens select Joe Flacco, quarterback, Delaware."

Commissioner Roger Goodell had said what every Falcon and Raven fan wanted to hear.  And why not?  According to most scouts, these were the two best quarterbacks in the draft.  Miami, at the time had just drafted Jake Long, the beast of the trenches, a choice that clearly indicated the urgent need for an offensive upgrade in South Beach.

By pick fifty six, the third quarterback was drafted.  Brian Brohm of Louisville was taken by the Green Bay Packers.  On the very next pick, Miami was on the clock.  They took Chad Henne from Michigan. 

Now, between fifty-seven and three is fifty-four spots (for all you math whizzes), but on Sunday’s, we now can see that fifty-seven is actually much closer to number three than most of us thought.  And, let me tell you this… I’m not saying Chad Henne is the best QB out of this draft, but I am here to say that after grabbing a two-time Pro Bowler in Jake Long with the first pick overall, the Dolphins can arguably say that they took the number three pick in the draft, too.

Continue reading this post »

Jets. Colts. The final two AFC teams.  If you were to tell me at the beginning of the year the Colts would be a final four team, I would’ve believed you.  The Jets?! Not so much.  But, even though we want to find a way to trash talk the Jets, we must face the facts—they made it, and we didn’t… (Still, we swept them!).

            But, oh yeah, this post.  Its concept is pretty simple: I take a look at some sort of statistic, and just ramble on about it until it leads to something.  So, the title literally is what I’m doing.  I’m just connecting a statistic with something else, to another thing, and possibly another. 

            We’re going to start with the AFC; mainly dealing with the question, how legitimate is this Conference and what makes a team survive in it?

Continue reading this post »

            So, I was sitting down one day reading my ESPN Magazine.  This issue was "New Year! New Rules!"  As we enter the offseason, I thought that it’d be fun to mess around with some of the rules of the NFL.  But we’re not just worried about improving the regular pass-interferences or holding calls—we’re doing this Peezy-style.  For those of you who don’t what that means, you’re probably not alone.

            Today, I’m the Commissioner.  Let’s do this.

       =   

Continue reading this post »

    Here's the second part of this decade-ending series brought to you by El Peezy himself.  I'd like it start it off by wishing everybody a Happy New Years and hoping everyone has a fun and safe night.  But, let's get to business, shall we? 

    The Miami Dolphins currently lack that "go-to" guy on third downs, and when we are forced to go airborn.  We could make a good argument for Davone Bess, but... he's not like how Chris Chambers was for us, although he might be in the near future.  The thing is, this decade of football for the Miami Dolphins hasn't been anything extraordinary for our receivers.  Take a look at the statistics of our receivers (WR and TE only) who have made an impact for at least two seasons for Miami.  Note: I added Brian Hartline to the list to show how his satisfying rookie year looks to some of this decade's best in aqua.

Enjoy! 

Continue reading this post »

[Editor's note by Matty I: Note that I plan on doing a short series of posts during the offseason where we vote to create a "Dolphins Team of the Decade." This post - and the ones "el presidente" will hopefully write in the future - will be very good for the debates that will follow when voting begins. Thanks to him for putting this together]

    Whether we know it or not, Sunday's game was the last game for the Dolphins of this decade.  Talk about how fast the 2000's went!  Over the years, we've met a lot of new people, unfortunately lost many people, yet for us... continued to love something throughout all of this.  That love is for the Miami Dolphins, which is exactly what we're going to discuss here. 

    The run game has seen many faces throughout the past ten years.  As I researched for this write-up, there were many times when I completely forgot about some of the players.  However, in this write-up, expect only Dolphins who were on the team and recorded a statistic for at least two years.  These are the numbers of our Running Backs from 2000-2009 of our beloved Miami Dolphins.  Hope you enjoy reflecting on the players that have come and left, and ultimately got us where we are today.

    Look for this throughout the week with different write-ups, as the year officially ends and we enter 2010-- a new decade of Miami football headed in the right direction.

Continue reading this post »

With the season just a few more weeks away, football for some has already begun--with fantasy football drafts.  In a recent ESPN Magazine, it had the rankings for Top 150 and then had rankings broken down per each position.  Although the fantasy world is much different than reality, I thought it was interesting where Ted Ginn was. 

*What we know about Ted Ginn*:  For a first round pick two years ago, Ginn has showed sparks of becoming a great NFL receiver.  The Buffalo game this past year sticks out the most, where Ginn had 7 rec for 175 yds.  His speed has been noticeable in many aspects in the game, from trick plays to returning kicks.  In a division with great WRs, Ginn enters his third year-- perhaps the biggest year for a wide receiver-- where he needs to emerge as a true #1 wide out for Miami.

Again, fantasy stats are much different than in real life-- but good play on the field translates to a good week in fantasy.

Continue reading this post »

Alright, as we know, Dolphins have the best fan base out there.  Even after a 1-15 season last year, we all stayed true fans.  And that's what makes this a great team.  Now the real question here is, where is our Fin Nation?  Simple as this: give the you're state from and city (if you want) and let's see our Fin Nation through a national aspect.

I'll start... El Prez resides all the way from Massachusetts

Go Phins!!