We're not even 3 years removed from winning the division and people are already abandoning hope and rooting for the team to lose for an unproven rookie who has already been anointed the savior.

Take a look around the league and your own damn teams history before you start giving up so easily.  Since 2000 we have had 3 playoff appearances, one playoff win, and 6 winning seasons.  That's hardly to be considered worthy of the fan base to just give up all hope.

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With all the talk lately about the QB position and what many believe is the need for a franchise signal caller.  Many fans have declared the only way we will find the next franchise QB is to do so in the first round of the draft.  So this got me thinking about the success and failure rate of QBs drafted in all rounds of the NFL draft. 

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There seems to be quite a bit of debate as to how Bill Parcell's will conduct this year's upcoming draft.  While no one for sure can predict what he will do come draft day, I thought I would give you what he has done historically as a perspective.  For those of you who think Parcells might draft a NT in the first round.  In 21 years, Parcells has never drafted a NT/DT in the first round.  The round he's drafted the most NT/DT?  The 12th round, which doesn't even exist anymore.  As for those of you hoping the first round pick will be a WR.  You have a 10% chance of that happening.  Parcells has drafted 2 WR in the first round (Mark Ingram and Terry Glenn).  Here are the raw numbers after the jump:

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Is it me, or is this season eerily similar to the 2007 season?  Now when I reference that, it's not based on our win/loss record.  Or how inept our coaching staff was, although Dan Henning would have fit right in with that bunch.  My comparison is based on the fact that while we finished an embarrassing 1-15, we were competitive in over half of those games.  9 of our 15 losses that year were by 10 or fewer points.  6 of those were 3 points or less.  Really, the only two differences in the two teams are we had a better defense in 2007 and a better offense in 2009.  The upside is that our team is younger now, and has a much more promising future.  As for the game Sunday, I can't say I was really disappointed.  I knew this was going to be a tough matchup for us.  You can't have too high of expectations facing the 2nd ranked passing attack with 3 rookies in your secondary.

5 Reasons We Lost

1.  Randy Moss:  This guy is hands down the best WR in the game today.  If you don't respect that, he will make you pay.  There is absolutely no excuse for not having a safety over the top of this guy on every play.  Sure Vontae made a great play on the opening drive, but that ball was also underthrown.  The second pass wasn't underthrown, and look what happened.  Both times there was no safety help, and we expected a rookie to guard the best WR in the game.  Bad move.

2.  Our Front Seven:  Our pass rush and run defense has got to get better, and quickly if we want to make the push for a playoff spot.  Yes, we did get two sacks.  But other than that, we put very little pressure on Brady giving him all the time he needed to pick apart our young secondary.  They also allowed 4.5 yards per rush, which meant we had to bring up the safeties again to help our LBscontain the run.  With 3 rookies in the secondary, we need to be able to keep our safeties deep in support.

3.  Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, and Donald Thomas:  These three get lumped together because they are the ones responsible for opening up holes in the middle for our ground game.  These guys haven't dominated the middle of the line since the Colts game.  Since that game, our most successful run plays have all been to the outside.  You cannot be a successful running team if you can't pound the ball up the middle.  I know some will attribute this to teams putting 8 or 9 men in the box, but that's not every down.  Even when teams only have 6 or 7, we're still only averaging 2 or 3 yards if that.  And a side note about this game as well, Vince Wilfork played quite a few downs as RDE, and we still struggled running up the middle.

4.  Stephen Gostkowski:  The kicker?  Are you serious?  7 kickoffs, only 4 were returnable.  And the ones that were returnable he kicked high arcing kicks allowing less time for Ginn to get up to full speed.  The guy kicked off from the 25 yard line, and still kicked it out of the endzone.  Any advantages we might have had either in field position or possible return scores were negated by him.  He was also 4/4 kicking FGs.

5.  Dan Henning:  Yes, that's right.  Dan Henning keeps up his streak of making the Lose list.  Once again Henning continued to show his inability to make adjustments in a game.  I'm really starting to wonder if this guy knows he's in the NFL.  I'm also beginning to wonder if it was all Chad Pennington that made this guy look good last year.  Ok, so you run the option three times andyou gain 50 yards with it.  That's great, andI could understand running it once or twice more to see if the defense picks up on it.  But 5 more times for a 2 yard average?  After the second one failed, it should have dawned on him, maybe this ain't working anymore, scrap it and move on.  Nope, not Dan.  He goes by the mantra, if you keep trying it over and over again, eventually it'll work again.  I like Pat White, and think he can be a good addition to our offense at the right times.  Not in the middle of a drive where our QB is 4 for 4 and in rhythm.

5 Reasons We Should Have Won

1.  Our Running Game:  Once again Ricky and Ronnie put the offense on their backs and kept us in the game accounting for 14 of our 17 points.  Even Pat White got into the action with a 33 yard option run.

2.  Lousaka Polite:  I'm giving him a reason all by himself because this guy is absolute money when it comes to 3rd or 4th down and 1 or less yards.  3 runs, 3 first downs.

3.  Vontae Davis:  This kid is something else.  He is going to be a great CB for years to come.  Not many DBs in this league can say they manned up with Randy Moss as a rookie and held their own.  He did have a missed tackle resulting in a TD, but the INT on the opening drive preventing a TD helps me overlook that.

4.  Jason Allen:  Why Jason Allen you ask?  Cause he's the guy they called on to replace Vontae while he was injured, and he played very well.  Including breaking up a TD catch in the endzone.

5.  Patriots Defense:  Bottom line, their defense isn't that good.  Sure they've got the 7th ranked defense, but look who they've played.  I'll give you the Broncos and Falcons.  Only 2 of their 8 games have been against teams with winning records.  They have the 20th ranked run defense.  This is another example of a team we should have run, run ,run against, and yet we still ended up passing more than running.

Well folks, we're at a pivotal point in the season.  We're currently two games out of the last wild card spot, and three games out of the division.  Another loss almost ends our playoff hopes, two more and it does for sure.  I think it's time for the coaching staff to start getting some of the inactives and people who hardly play a chance to show what they've got.  There's no better time to do it than right now.   I also don't think it could really hurt our chances.  Let's see what Wake, Turner, Hilliard, and hell even Thigpen (in a Pat White role, not as starter) got.

After another nail biter against the Jets, we're sitting at 3-4 and are still searching for answers on offense and defense.  While suprisingly, we may have actually found the answer to our special teams futility.  That's right boys and girls, Teddy Ginn finally showed up.  But let's not start drinkin' the Ginn koolaid just yet.  Let's see how he responds to the boost of confidence this game gave him.  So while the game wasn't pretty, on either side of the ball, a win is a win and that's all that matters in the end.  Here are my 5 reasons why this game could have gone either way.

5 Reasons We Won

1.  Mark Sanchez:  In the first half we gave him very little time to find a receiver, and it showed as the score was 3-3 at half.  But in the second half he had all day to find his receivers, and he did for the most part.  He also showed his rookies colors as he missed quite a few open targets that helped attribute to the Jets abysmal 3-14 on 3rd downs.  The real reason he's on here, that nice scramble backwards on the last play of the game, that made that 4th and 13 into a 4th and 30.  A true rookie mistake that virtually insured there was no way he was going to complete that pass.  Even if he had a wide open receiver, that extra 15 yards would have given our defenders a chance to react and defend.

2.  Jason Taylor:  With the addition of Roth to the roster to give JT and JP some breathers, I see JT having an outstanding year as he'll be fresher later in the season.  He already leads the team in sacks, and he just added to his NFL record for fumbles recovered for TDs.  This guy is a true gamer who comes to play each and every game.

3.  Brandon Fields:  A punter you say?  How the hell did the punter help us win?  By averaging 51.7 yards per punt, he helped create a longer field for the Jets offense.

4.  Special Teams:  What more needs to be said about the guys blocking for our kickoff unit.  6 returns, 299 yards, 2 TDs.  I haven't been this excited about kickoffs as a Dolphin fan since........ummmm.....ok, I admit it, I've never been excited about kickoffs as a Dolphin fan in 25 years.

5.  Ted Ginn Jr.:  2 kickoff returns back to back for TDs.  But the real question is, was this a one game fluke?  Or have we had the next Dante Hall/Brian Mitchell/Deion Sanders/Joshua Cribbs/Devin Hester on our team all along?  I'm inclined to believe the latter, but for a reason.  He didn't practice with the first or second team all week, so I'm assuming he had some extra time to focus on return duties.  Could his time being relied on as the number one receiver been hampering his return chances?  The last time he showed flashes of brilliance in the return game was during his rookie season, when there wasn't as much pressure to produce as the number one receiver.  We may have finally found Ginn's true calling in the NFL.  Cause I'm sorry to say it, WR isn't it.

5 Reasons We Should Have Lost

1.  Our Offense:  104 yards, on 51 plays, for a truly pathetic 2 yards per play.  We couldn't run the ball, we couldn't pass the ball.  While I did expect some offensive ineptitude in our second meeting with the Rex Ryan's Jets.  I was not prepared for it to be this bad.  I will give credit to Rex Ryan and his defense for really coming into this game prepared to shut down our offense, and they did.  But there's no excuse for our offense to play as poorly as they did.  We must learn to adapt to how defenses are playing us.  We can't keep going into games thinking that whatever worked last time will work this time.  Sure it might work, and if it does, keep doing it.  But if it doesn't work, don't keep doing it hoping it will eventually.

2.  Our Defense:  378 yards, 4.9 yards per play.  I don't know what happened, but in the first 4 games this year we gave up 244 yards rushing.  In the past 3, we have given up 403 yards rushing.  This is a problem that has to be addressed.  Once again our defense came up with just enough plays to keep it close in the first half, but then fell apart again in the second.  I'm starting to have more and more faith in our two rookie CBs, but I'm losing more and more faith in anyone else to cover.  We must find someone who can cover TEs.  Bell, and our LBs are not the answer. 

3.  Davone Bess:  Davone, welcome to the dog house.  You'll be bunking next to Teddy.  Davone has really disappointed me the past two games.  He's making too many careless mistakes at all the wrong times.  Dropped passes and fumbles are things we don't expect from this guy.  And let's not kid ourselves, he fumbled on that Haynos TD drive, and had it been challenged could have had a huge impact on the outcome of the game.  I don't see Bess returning punts next game.

4.  Chad Henne:  I know he's pretty much a rookie.  I know it's only his 4th start in the NFL.  But for crying out loud kid, learn to throw away the ball!!!!  Over half the sacks in this game could have been avoided by simply throwing the ball away.  He must learn to go through his progressions quickly, while feeling the pocket around him.

5.  Dan Henning:  What will it take for this guy to get a clue how to run our offense based on how a defense is playing us?  Does this guy know how to make adjustments?  Twice, we tried running the same blocking scheme that worked real well the first time we used it against the Jets overload blitz.  First time, it results in a sack.  I gues he thought that was a fluke, so we tried it again.  Result: Another sack.  Here's an idea, how about you throw some slant patterns or drag routes for the WRs who are in one-on-one coverage?  You know, routes that don't take more than 3 seconds to develop, which is roughly the amount of time Henne has to throw the ball.

So yes, this was another ugly affair between the Dolphins and Jets.  But we showed just enough fortitude to come out the victors at the end, and as I mentioned before.....that's all that matters.

For the first 29 min and 55 seconds of this game, myself and many other Dolphin fans felt like we were on top of the world.  We had come out and just flat out outplayed the undefeated Saints to the tone of 24-3.  Now we had just stopped a last ditch effort by the Saints to get back in the game, and were going to have to settle for a FG before half.  Then Tony Sporano decides to call TO because we couldn't decide which defensive package to send out on the field, even though the Saints had already sent out the FG unit.  While I don't believe this was the true turning point in the game, it definitely had the Saints going into halftime with all the momentum.  Needless to say, we came out flat in the second half and it showed.  The result, a disappointing 46-34 loss that was very winnable.  So here are my top 5 reasons of why we lost the game, and the 5 reasons why we should have won.

Why We Lost

1.  Defense, defense, defense:  Yes, the defense put together one hell of a game for the first 28 min of the game.  We got consistent pressure on Brees.  Our secondary was playing physical with the Saints wideouts.  We were even getting some turnovers.  But in the final 32 min of the game, our defense was clueless against the Saints offense.  Missed tackles and blown coverages resulted in 23 points in the second half.  Even our run defense, which had held the Saints to 25 yards in the first half, got gashed for 113 in the second half.  Luckily for us, now that Will Allen is gone for the season, we only have 4 games against vaunted passing offenses the rest of the season (NEx2, HOU, and PIT).

2.  Dan Henning:  The reason I'm putting Henning on here is because of the very bad play calling we showed from the end of the half on.  It's like this guy has no real clue on how to make adjustments when things aren't working.  The Wildcat was not working, especially running to the outside, but we kept right on doing it for loss after loss.  Meanwhile, running out of the base formation to the outside was highly effective, yet we stopped doing it.  Hell, we stopped running all together once the Saints got to within 7 points. It was if Henning went into panic mode and thought we were down 14 points.  Does Dan Henning even watch the games?  News flash!  Pat White's only worthwhile play (by that I mean it gained more than 1 yard) all regular season was from the spread formation on a QB draw.  Why do you keep trying to run the option with him?!?!?!?!?!?

3.  Our WR's:  There wasn't a receiver on the field that didn't make at least one mistake costing us (and I'm including TEs as well).  Dropped passes, fumbles, running the wrong routes, and running bad routes.  You name it, they did it.  I would not be suprised by major changes to the receiving corps next year.  Honestly, I think they gotta give Turner a chance to play.  He can't be any worse than what we're putting on the field now.  His big body is just too valuable to be wasted by warming the bench.

4.  Ted Ginn:  I know I just listed the WR's as a whole as number 3, but I felt Teddy deserved one all by himself.  After almost 2 and a half years, I'm officially stating this to be fact.  Ted Ginn Jr. is a first round bust.  He can't return kickoffs, he can't return punts, he can't get open, and when he does, there better be no one around him or else he'll drop it.  The guy is averaging 35 rec yds a game this season, and 37 for his career.  And don't give me excuses about his size.  Devin Hester is the same size, playing his first full season as a starting WR and he's playing better than Ginn.

5.  The Replay Booth:  Sure we got the benefit of the doubt on the first series of the game, but it had no impact on the game.  The play I'm referring to is what I feel was the turning point in the game.  Sharper's INT return for a TD.  I'm pretty sure the replay booth gets to look at the same reviews the commentators get to look at, and from what I saw, he lost the ball before he got into the end zone.  Which would have resulted in a touchback, and Miami ball on the 20 yd line.  Instead, it cuts the Dolphins lead in half, Dan Henning goes into panic mode, we abandon the running game, and, well, you know the rest.

Why We Should Have Won:

1.  Defense, defense, defense:  5 sacks, 3 INTs, 2 forced fumbles.  Not sure who else saw this little factoid during the telecast.  The Saints record when Brees throws 2 INTs+ before the Dolphins game: 1-13.

2.  Ricky Williams:  This guy was playing lights out all game.  9 for 80 with 3 TDs.  So what's the problem?  Why did he only run it 9 times?!?!?!?!?!?!?

3.  Our #1 Ranked Rushing Attack:  We had over 100 yards rushing in the first half.  I know some people wouldn't have liked us playing so conservatively, but when you're up 24-10, and even earlier up 24-3.  We are not a quick strike offense used to having big leads.  When we get them, they come few and far between, so we have to cherish them and protect them the way we know how.

4.  Jason Taylor:  He was playing like it was 2006.  Could the Dolphins take the Comeback Player of the Year Award twice in a row?  Taylor had 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, proving he's still got something in the tank.

5.  Our Coaching Staff:  Why are they on here after I blasted them as reasons we lost?  Because this is the same coaching staff we all have bemoaned for being too conservative, and playing not to lose.  But now, when they should have played more conservatively, they decide to finally attack and try winning a shoot out with the #1 offense in the league in yards and points?!?!??!?!?!?  If this coaching staff sticks to what it knows, and pounds the rock over and over again in the second half as they like to preach is what we're all about.  I guarantee you, we would have won the game.

It just dawned on me on how we can truly use Pat White.

As our new place holder for the field goal unit!!!

Alright, I know some of you are thinking, "Has he lost his damn mind!!".  I assure you that I have not, nor am I, as the name implies, drunk.  I truly think this is something they should look into for two reasons:

1.  As soon as a defense sees him out there holding they'll be mindful of a possible fake.  Which will in turn, lessen the pressure put on blocking the kick.  This will also allow DC$ sightly more time to insure more accurate kicks  Yes, I know hius nickname is DC$ for a reason, but any kicker would appreciate an extra second or two and not feel they have to rush a kick.

2.  His skill set is perfect executing the fake FG.  He can run and he has a strong arm.  His speed allows him to get to the outside.  His strong arm allows him to throw a quick pass to a TE on an out or post route before a defender can recover from the fake.

But for this to become truly effective, Pat White must learn to become a reliable place holder.  Basically meaning, if we decide to kick, he can effectively catch the snap and place the ball for a good kick.  We would also have to sell it, so that teams truly believe he is our new place holder.  The first game that he takes over those duties, I wouldn't run a single fake.  That way teams might disregard it as a simple personnel change.  I would even let him just hold for two games, if the games were going in our favor.  Then, just when teams are lulled into thinking only about the kick, you spring it on them.  After that, it could be used at any given time, even on extra points.

"Are you kidding me? We’re holding the ball, we’re unprotected, just sitting there defenseless. So they’ve got to stay away from me, they deserve to get flagged."

 

Tom Brady on the increase of Roughing the Passer calls in the NFL, after the new rule change. aka the "Brady Rule".

I just lost what little respect I had for this guy after hearing him whine like a little bitch. Here's what real QBs had to say about it:
"It’s something that has maybe been overemphasized a bit, because there are some (calls) that are very questionable, It’s tough when it may determine an outcome of a game and it’s not as obvious as you may think it is." - Brett Favre
"I want to be a football player, and the bottom line is: If we get hit, we get hit." - Joe Flacco

How can you respect this guy after saying some stupid shit like this?!?!

We're unprotected?  Does he not know what an offensive line is?

Sitting there defenseless?  Of course you're going to get killed if you just sit in the pocket and wait for a defender to crush you, it's called pocket presence and scrambling.

As for the last statement.......that's just downright pathetic.  Sound like a little pussy to a bully.  Stay away from me, or I'll tell on you!!!

Per The Associated Press:

Linebacker Matt Roth(notes) said Wednesday he is healthy and ready to resume practice after the Miami Dolphins' next game.

Roth has been sidelined by a groin injury since the start of training camp. He is on the reserve-non-football injury list and said he has been told he'll be back at practice after the Dolphins' game against New Orleans on Oct. 25. "I'll be ready to knock heads off," he said. "I can't wait."

Roth will return as a reserve after losing his starting job to six-time Pro Bowl selection Jason Taylor

So what role do you guys see Roth playing once he's back on the active roster?

I see him probably being inactive for the first week back, till he gets at least a weeks worth of practice to get up to playing speed.  Once he's back at that level, I wouldn't mind seeing more substitutions of the OLBs with Wake and Roth giving Taylor and Porter some breathers to keep them fresh.  The addidtion of Roth I'm hoping will only bolster our run defense, I'd even go so far as to suggest Roth and Taylor being the starting OLBs, with Porter and Wake as pass rush specialists.

After watching an exciting game that, that seems to be a regular occurrence when the Phins and Jets meet on Monday night, I thought I'd highlight the 5 reasons we were able to pull out the victory.  As well as highlight the 5 reasons why we should have lost the game.

Why We Won.....

1.  Offensive Line:  Our offensive line really stepped up in last night's game, and started showing why they were worth every penny we spent on them.  They continually opened holes in the running game, and gave Henne the time in the pocket to find the open receiver.  Rex Ryan is known for throwing everything but the kitchen sink at opposing offenses with his exotic blitz packages, and our OL did a tremendous job picking those blitzes up.  They were the real key that allowed Henne to become comfortable in the pocket and go through his reads at his own pace.

2.  Chad Henne:  Have we found the next Marino?  I'm not ready to annoint him the second coming yet, but if he continues to progress like he has so far, for the rest of the season......I just might start to think about it.  Early in the game, I was starting to worry CP10 might have had too much influence on our young QB after he continually check downed to RBs and TEs too quickly.  But after watching the game again, I realized he was still uncomfortable staying in the pocket.  As the game progressed, you could see his confidence grow, as he stayed in the pocket longer and allowed his receivers to run their routes.  The result, a 53 yd perfect pass to Ted Ginn in stride for a TD.  He later showed that cannon for an arm with absolute bullets to Camarillo and Fasano, not to mention a little finesse with that beautiful 3rd down toss to Camarillo on the game winning drive.

3.  Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams:  Once again these guys showed why they are the best RB tandem in th NFL this season.  Time and time again they had their way with a very suspect Jets run defense.  With the continued development of Henne, and the offensive line finally starting to gel.  I wouldn't be suprised to see them both eclipse 1000 yards this season.

4.  Lousaka Polite:  This guy really doesn't get the credit he deserves for not only his success rate in short yardage situations, but the vicious blocks he delivers to help open up the running game. While he did have that badly missed block on a DB, that would have sprung Ricky for a long run.  He did provide many other key blocks, as well as a bone rattling hit on Jets LB Bart Scott.

5.  Dan Henning:  He did a great job in creating a perfect mix of base formation and wildact plays to effectively cause confusion for the Jets defenders.  I also give him huge props for that huge 3rd down shifting line play that not only set up the game winning TD, but completely negated the overload blitz from the Jets.  I also like how he finally used Pat White the way he should be used, spread formation (or close to it), and give him the option to throw or run.

Why We Shouldn't Have Won.....

1.  DBs and Safeties:  They played an absolutely horrible game last night.  You simply can't win games giving up a 3rd and 21.  Luckily for us, the Jets do not have a good TE, so that glaring weakness of ours was not exploited.  But the lapses in coverage were not entirely the secondaries fault.  Which leads me to number....

2.  DL and LBs:  3 words.....Learn to TACKLE!!!  We had way too many missed tackles at the line of scrimmage resulting in 5-10 yd runs, not to mention two fake punts!!!  They have got to do a better job filling the holes and hitting the gaps.  They took a step back last night from what was one of our strongest points.  Let's hope it was just a bad game, and they bounce back.  Although I'm pretty sure there will be lots of tackling drills the next two weeks to keep it fresh in their minds.  I'm also disappointed in the lack of pressure we got on Mark Sanchez, but that leads me to number....

3.  Paul Pasqualoni:  I hate to say it, but this guy could learm a thing or two from Rex Ryan about how to effectively blitz a QB.  Throughout almost the entire game, he stuck with rushing only 4 players as he has done the whole season.  Surely getting 6 sacks against a horrible Bills team didn't justify his methods.  We simply aren't getting enough pressure on the QB by rushing 4 players.  It wasn't until he started rushing 5 or 6 that we finally started getting Sanchez to throw the ball before he wanted to.  Where was Cameron Wake?  The guy gets 3 sacks and gets promoted to punt rusher?  We have the talent to get after the QB, but we can't rely on that talent alone.  I also think he should change the way the DBs man up.  If we're playing a big receiver, like Edwards, I'd like to see Sean Smith covering him all game.  It makes throwing those jump balls that much harder.

4.  Special Teams:  This is hands down the weakest part of the team.  While our coverage is getting better, our return teams have only gotten worse.  With the possible loss of Cobbs for the season, I really truly believe the Dolphins should be scouring the FA market for a decent return man.  We can't keep expecting our offense to have to go 80+ yards every time they get the ball.

5.  Dan Henning:  Yes, I know I listed him as one of the reasons why we won, but he also is one of the reasons why we should have lost.  As the season progresses I'm becoming more and more certain that Dan Henning has no idea how to run an effective two minute drill.  You do not make major subtitutions while running a hurry up offense.  You don't throw a rookie QB off the bench, sitting your hot handed starter during the hurry up offense.  Yes, they worked this time, barely.  Scoring with 6 seconds to play, and still having one timeout is not a recipe for continued success.

Thankfully, just enough went our way and we left with a win going into our bye week.  We're only a game back in the AFC East, with a 2-0 Divisional record.  We got a big test ahead against NO, our defense has two weeks to get prepared, they'll need it.

The OC needs to be fired.  You can not control the ball for that much time and come away with FGs.  You do not run play action under two minutes to go, down by a TD.  The Pat White plays that are being called are absolutely worthless.  Overall the play calling was subpar.  the only thing that made him look good was how well we ran the ball.

Jake Long is not a Pro Bowl OL.  He cannot handle premiere pass rushers by himself.  He has to improve his game.

The DC needs to learn how to blitz.  We cannot rely on JT and JP to be the only ones to apply pressure.  Nor can you run an all out blitz and give such a huge cushion to the receivers.  We cannot cover TEs.

Patrick Cobbs is not the answer at KR.  This guy only knows one direction returning kicks.  Forward, and that's not fast forward.  By the way Cobbs, you are not fast enough to be returning kicks from 8 yards deep in the end zone.

On a positive note, the offensive line played extremely well overall.  Dominated in the run game, and provided help and time for CP10 to make his passes.


I'm giving CP10 one more game.  I'm not saying he played badly, because he didn't.  I just feel our offense is being held back by his inability to make certain throws.

You might be wondering what I mean by a realistic expectation.  With that, I'm implying my expectations will not be based on what I think a guy is capable of doing, what I hope he can do, or what I think he can do.  My expectations are based on what a player has done.  Because all the hopes and dreams of every fan in the world doesn't equal production on the field.

So with that in mind, let's take a look at the team we're fielding for the 2009 season.

QB - Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, Pat White

         My biggest concerns here is the health of CP10, and can Henne step up if needed.  I shouldn't have to remind all of you that CP10 has never, in his 9 year career, played two consecutive 16 game seasons.  He's actually only played two 16 game seasons in those 9 years.  Now do I think we can win it all with CP10?  Yes, I do.  He may not have a cannon for an arm, but when given time, can pick apart any defense.  Now should the unfortunate happen, and CP10 goes down.  Are we really that confident Henne can take over the reigns?  I'm not fully convinced yet.  He takes way too long to progress through his reads, resulting in 7 sacks this preseason.  He may have a strong arm, but teams can take that away with lots of blitzes.  Now Pat White, IMO, is most likely never going to be our starting QB.  I think he was drafted purely as a situational QB for spread formations, and variations of the Wildcat.  I know some of you may think spending a 2nd round pick is too high for that.  But if they expand the wildcat and throw in some spread formations, he could be looking at around 15-20 snaps per game maybe more.  It's the added dimensions to those formations his presence adds, that makes using the 2nd round pick worth it.

RB/FB - Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs, Lex Hilliard, Lousaka Polite

         This may cause the most debate as to what do we expect from our RB corps.  Well, as the past would seem to tell us, not too much would be the answer.  Now I would like to believe, with our revamped OL and Ronnie a year removed from his major injury, that we can expect Ronnie to become a 1500+ yd 15+ TD back.  I think he has the talent to do it, but until he actually goes out and does it, I don't believe this FO is going to even think about offering him another contract.  This is the NFL, otherwise known as "The What Have You Done For Me Lately League".  Potential is reserved for rookies, not 5th year players.  Ricky will serve once again as a serviceable change of pace to Ronnie, giving Ronnie a chance to catch his breath.  Although I feel they need to tone down Ricky's touches and use Brown more.  Cobbs will serve as the ever reliable utility back/3rd down back/ST.  I'd expect pretty much the same from him this year, as we got last year.  I would like to see Polite get more carries on 3rd/4th and short downs.  The guy converted 9 of 10 last year during the season, yet they don't use him on 3rd and goal or 4th and goal in the playoff loss to Baltimore.  That was a demoralizing moment that showed Baltimore we don't trust our running game, and needless to say, they used it.  Hilliard is an interesting choice to make the roster, simply due to the fact that Ricky just signed a two year extension, Ronnie will most likely be under contract next year, as are Polite and Cobbs.  The only thing I can think that makes any sense is that they try to bulk him up to 250-260 and play FB.  He's already 240, so he's almost FB size anyways.  He could also be trade fodder by week 6.  Either way, he's not likely to get many touches.

WR - Ted Ginn Jr., Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline, Patrick Turner

          On to our biggest group of over-acheivers.  With no true #1 receiver in this group, this corp has had to rely on playing better than anyone thought they were (Bess and Camarillo, I'm talking to you).  Ginn is still the fastest of the group, but unfortunately, he's also the smallest of the group as well.  Which will continue to get him jammed at the line of scrimmage by bigger more physical CBs.  Bess and Camarillo are basically the same type of receiver (good hands, good route running), with Camarillo being a bit taller and faster, and Bess being tougher to bring down.  Will Camarillo be able to shake off the injury, and go back to pre-injury form?  He's looked a bit hesitant at times with that knee, which is to be expected after that type of injury.  Hartline and Turner are the wildcards of the bunch, as we've only been able to see what they can do in limited action during the preseason.  Turner showed early on in OTAs that he has the hands and big body we've been looking for in a possession/red zone receiver, but for some reason seems to have had his playing time diminished as the preseason came to a close.  Hartline on the other hand, had his playing time increase during the preseason which shows the coaches seem to like what they've seen from him.  But other than beating up on 2nd and 3rd string DBs, I haven't seen anything to get me overexcited.  If he can show up, and prove he can play just as good against starting DBs.  Then I'll jump on the bandwagon.

TE - Anthony Fasano, Joey Hanos, John Nalbone

        This could be one of our weakest positions if neither Hanos or Nalbone can step up and produce similar numbers to Martin.  TE is a crucial position in our offense, considering how much we like to run two TE sets.  That means both TEs on the field need to be able to not only block, but be able to get open and catch the football. In 4 preseason games they combined for one catch for 3 yards by Nalbone.  Some of you may not have liked Martin, but the guy wasn't afraid of putting his body on the line to make the catch (which probably contributed to him being on IR now).

OL - Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Jake Grove, Donald Thomas, Vernon Carey, Andrew Gardner, Joe Berger, Shawn Murphy, Nate Garner

         This group has been hit or miss during the preseason.  At time they have looked dominant, and at other times have looked ineffective.  Most glaring would be when they played one of the better DT in the league John Henderson.  Grove was signed to be an upgrade over Satele due to his lack of strength to handle the bigger NT/DT in the league.  I'm not sure we got that.  We averaged a paltry 3.8 yards per carry during the preseason, but on the plus side, we only gave up 2 sacks while Pennington was in the game (I mention that because I believe most of Henne's sacks were due to him holding the ball too long).  This group must get better at run blocking, or this could be a long season as teams will take out a page from the Baltimore defensive playbook and go to town on us.  I am surprised we didn't carry a 9th OL on the roster considering the injuries we have sustained in the past regarding the OL.  All 5 of our starting OL dealt with injuries last year.  Can they stay healthy the whole year?  ***UPDATE*** Garner was signed from practice squad to replace TE Davon Drew.

DL - Kendall Langford, Jason Ferguson, Randy Starks, Phillip Merling, Paul Soliai, Tony McDaniel, Lionel Dotson

         Probably the most impressive group yet this preseason.  They've done an effective job containing the run, as well as getting some pressure on the QB.  Really the only concerns are, how well will Ferguson hold up during the year considering he turns 35 in Nov., and will Soliai be able to step up when he's not in the game?  So far Soliai has shown great improvement over last year.  As for any concerns about Merling, I think with Starks and McDaniel stepping up their games and becoming real contributers it makes it less of a concern.  If anything it may help bring out Merlings game as he realizes his job could be in jeopardy.

LB - Jason Taylor, Channing Crowder, Akin Ayodele, Joey Porter, Cameron Wake, Charlie Anderson, Reggie Torbor, Quentin Moses (Matt Roth - PUP)

        Probably the one position we have the most talent and star power.  With the addition of JT one would expect our pass rush to be that much better.  It would appear JT has been rejuvenated since returning to the Dolphins, and any lingering health problems that hampered him in DC shouldn't be a problem this year.  With plenty of depth of pass rushers, we should be able to keep Porter fresh for the whole season so he doesn't wear down at the end of the season (facing less double teams should help as well).  I'm curious as to how they'll integrate Roth back in when/if he comes back after week 6.  It wouldn't surprise me if Taylor continues to play well, and the team is doing well.  To see Roth get put on IR and shut down for the season.  Biggest concern with the LB corp?  Will Crowder finally become a play maker?  He's shown he can talk big, now let's see him back it up on the field.

CB - Will Allen, Sean Smith, Vontae Davis, Jason Allen, Nathan Jones

         This group played fairly well, but considering who we played against, that's not exactly a compliment.  This secondary really didn't get challenged during the preseason as we played a NO team without Brees and Colston, a TB team without it's two leading WRs, and a Carolina team without Steve Smith.  Our best challenge was a 33 yr old Torry Holt, even though it was Troy Williamson who had 4 catches for 74 yards.  I won't even go into the TB game, where if it weren't for Byron Leftwich and his erratic throws, it could have gone a lot different.  I like what I've seen so far from Sean Smith, my only concern is his tendency to want to jump routes.  A smart QB is going to use that against him, and we're facing some of the smartest Manning, Brady, Rivers, Brees, and Roethlisberger.  Vontae Davis continues to get better, and I'm sure both him and Smith will benefit from plenty of playing time during the year.  I'm sure we'll see their fair share of rookie mistakes, considering we're facing three of the four top passing yardage leaders in the NFL since 2003, I can almost guarantee it.  The rookies are going to get picked on, early and often, until they prove it to be a bad idea.  As for Jones and Allen, while neither is known for their coverage skills, they both bring something to the table.  Jones has a knack for getting into the backfield and getting sacks on nickel blitzes, and Allen is a sound tackler and ST contributer.

S - Yeremiah Bell, Gibril Wilson, Chris Clemons, Tyrone Culver

      While there's not much to speak about the safety play during the preseason, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.  The positive, only six pass plays went more than 20 yards against the Dolphins in the preseason.  The longest being 43 yards, and it didn't result in a TD.  So it would seem they are doing a good job of preventing the big play.  One change I would like to see is Bell not leading our team in tackles again this year.  If Bell is getting that many tackles, the LBs and CBs are not doing their jobs.  Wilson should be able to thrive in our system the way he did with the Giants in 2007 (78 tackles, 4 INT), and not constantly put in the box like he was with the Raiders.  Both guys don't have any injury histories so I don't see Clemons and Culver getting much time unless it's on ST or in quarter/prevent packages.

K/P - Dan Carpenter, Brandon Fields

          DC$ continues to be a solid consistent kicker, but I get the feeling the FO wants someone with a stronger leg.  Which is why I believe they brought Barth in for a bit.  Carpenter only kicked one FG over 50 yards last year (51) and he made it.  But they had more opportunities than just that one time.  He's also in the bottom half of the league in kickoff touch back %.  Fields is a decent punter, but I've noticed he has a tendency to out punt the coverage.  Allowing the returners room to react to the punt coverage.  I realize his numbers may not show that (43.9 avg), but playing in a ball control, field position offense makes him punt on shorter fields when other teams would be kicking field goals.

So with all this in mind, I'm optimistic about our chances going into the 2009 season.  I know the schedule looks daunting, but we'll see what the real strength of schedule is at the end of the season.  I also believe with the personnel we have we can compete with any team in the league.  Feel free to tell me what you think, good or bad.

Last year was only the 4th time in Dolphin franchise history the passing and rushing offense were both ranked in the top half of the league (10/32 and 11/32 respectively).  This could be signs of the team finally shedding the one dimensional attack it has employed over the years.

Throughout the 70's until 1983, the Dolphins were a ground and pound offense that finished in the top 5 in rushing yards 8 times.  Unfortunately, at the same time their passing attack finished in the bottom half of the league every year but twice.

Then the Marino era began in 1984 and we dominated the passing game until 1999 (which also happened to be Marino's last year).  During that time we finished in the top 5 in passing yards 13 times (coincidence?).  But just as during the 70's, the other side of the attack, the running game, was non-existent.  During that same period of time our rushing offense finished in the bottom 5 in the league 8 times (bottom 10, 13 times.  Not a good coincidence).

Since then the offense has struggled to put up good numbers either through the air or the ground, with the exceptions of 2002 (2nd rushing, thanks Ricky), 2005 (16th passing, 12 rushing, no thanks to Saban), and last year.

Hopefully they can build off last year, and start to get consistent production both passing and running the ball.

Here's the latest depth chart as posted by Omar Kelly on SunSentinel.com. 

Gotta say I like the way the team is shaping up.  I realize this is really early and there's still plenty of battling for starting position to be waged.  Personally I see Vontae Davis winning the other CB spot opposite Will Allen, Turner or Hartline moving up to the #2 WR, and I'd like to see one of our LB put the heat on Crowder and Ayodele to step up their games. 

OFFENSE

QB - Chad Pennington, Chad Henne, Pat White (R)

RB - Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs, Lex Hilliard, Anthony Kimble (R)

FB - Lousaka Polite, Chris Brown

WR - Ted Ginn Jr., Patrick Turner (R), Brandon London

WR - Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo (injured), Brian Hartline (R), Anthony Armstrong, Chris Williams (R), Brennan Marion (R - injured)

TE - Anthony Fasano, David Martin (injured), Joey Haynos, Ernest Wilford (also a receiver), John Nalbone (R), Jared Bronson (R)

 LT - Jake Long, Andrew Gardner (R), SirVincent Rodgers (R)

RT - Vernon Carey, Nate Garner

LG - Justin Smiley, Shawn Murphy, Mark Lewis (R)

RG - Brandon Frye, Donald Thomas (injured), Ikechuku Ndukwe

C - Jake Grove, Joe Berger, Andy Alleman (injured), J.D. Quinn (R)

DEFENSE

LE - Kendall Langford, Tony McDaniel, Rodrique Wright, Ryan Baker (R)

NT - Jason Ferguson, Paul Soliai, Joe Cohen, Louis Ellis (R)

RE - Phillip Merling, Randy Starks, Lionel Dotson

SLB - Matt Roth, Jason Taylor, Erik Walden, Tearrius George

WLB - Joey Porter, Charlie Anderson, Cameron Wake (R), Quentin Moses

ILB - Channing Crowder, Reggie Torbor, Orion Martin (R)

ILB - Akin Ayodele, William Kershaw, J.D. Folsom (R)

LCB - Will Allen, Vontae Davis (R), Nathan Jones, Joey Thomas, Scorpio Babers

RCB - Eric Green, Sean Smith (R), Jason Allen, Will Billingsley

FS - Gibril Wilson, Chris Clemons (R), Ethan Kilmer

SS - Yeremiah Bell, Tyrone Culver, Courtney Bryan