SB Nation User Blog: shula13

Dolphins-themed sports bar in Los Angeles

shula13 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:46:13 -0000

Hello fello fins,

I live in LA, and a diehard fins fan. Typically, I watch the games on DirecTV, but was curious if anyone knew of a great sports bar where fins fans watch in LA. There used to be a great place in Venice called Breakshot Billiard, but it's been closed now for several years.

Anyhow, let's get ready for an awesome season of Dolphins football.

Thanks in advance for any answers.

ESPNews discusses Dolphins

shula13 — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:24:00 -0000

I'm not sure if any of you guys saw it, but ESPNEWS just had a segment on us. Todd McShay was brought in to talk about our draft. He said that we are in a good position draft-wise since we have three picks in the first 56 selections. He thinks that our needs are WR and CB (like most media members). He says that since there is depth at WR, we should take a CB with the first pick (Vontae Davis if he's still available), then go after NC wideout (I think Brandon Tate?). In our 3rd pick, he thinks the D-Lineman from Richmond would be a good fit for us in our scheme.

Then Greg Camarillo was interviewed, and spoke about how Sparano changed the culture, etc... It was pretty good. Just wanted to let you all know...

NO on Jason Brown

shula13 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:12:11 -0000

As the trifecta has been selling us all along, the best teams are built and sustained through the draft.

So here we are on the eve of Free Agency, and Miami has been busy with a flurry of activity, re-upping Crowder, Vernon, and now Gibril Wilson, who was let go by Oakland.

On the surface, it would appear that signing JASON BROWN would solidify our line. This assumption would be wrong. First of all, the money it would take to sign him would make him the highest paid Center in the League, on an offensive line that already boasts the highest paid LT (Jake Long), and now the highest paid RT (Vernon Carey). Does this seem prudent to spend all that money ? It makes me cringe thinking we'd have 3 of the highest paid O-Linemen at their positions on one team! Great Centers and O-Linemen can always be found in the middle rounds of the draft, and I put my faith in the trifecta to be able to successfully mine that talent. Look what we did last year, finding Donald Thomas in the 6th Round? Now he's ours on the cheap for several years, leaving us with more money on other players.

I'm a little nerous that in light of our recent success, the trifecta might be trying to cut corners by acquiring the quick fix in order to win NOW. Look how many O-Linemen fizzle after signing big free agent deals with other teams. The Bills just released Darnell Dockett after signing him just two years ago, and look how Damien Woody has worked out after signing big deals with Detroit and the Jets, after having success with the Pats. And while some may succeed, this apparent signing will hurt our team and financial health in the long term. Sure, I'd love to win now, but it's most important to sustain long term success, and that won't happen with huge free agent signings. The only reason I can come up with is that the trifecta would address this need now, that way we can use the draft to focus on finding a Nose Tackle, Linebacker, and WR. But again, just ask the Redskins how well they've done in free agency? I feel much more accomplished twhen rading a 4th rounder to the Cowboys for starters Anthony Fasano and Akin Ayodele. It's moves like these that will sustain our team, not the free agent signings that garner all the PR.

The most overused phrase in sports

shula13 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:41:40 -0000

The great thing about the Internet era is that it gives us multiple ways and forums to follow our teams and connect with others. But in this time of instant analysis, replays, and the like, we keep getting the same pundits tell us how something is THE BEST EVER, THE GREATEST EVER, BEST PLAY EVER, etc.... It's absolutely making me neausious. Obviously, great plays and moments happen every year, but must we trivialize those other moments and games from the past?

I remember reading Peter King's "Monday Morning Quarterback" the day after Miami played an epic regular season contest against the Broncos, probably in 2002. He declared at the time " the best regular season game ever," you can check in the archives for yourselves. But how many times since then has another game in subsequent years taken the mantle of that top billing? It's annoying. Just to stay on Peter King for a moment, last year's Super Bowl with the Pats-Giants was " the best ever" until this year's game somehow eclipsed it. How can that be? How can people be so careless with the " best ever" term? Can't we just be ok with hearing it was a great game, and that's it? Sure, I thought this year's Super Bowl was awesome, but not better than last year. Even the exciting 4th quarter wasn't as wild as the 4th quarter from the Pats-Panthers game from several years ago. Why must we annoint athletes, games, and plays as the best ever? To do that time and again just makes the whole thing a farce. As time passes on, who knows, people might think Dan Marino wasn't that great a quarterback, or that Jerry Rice really wasn't that great compared to today's players because he played in an easier era - or some nonsense like that. Let's try and keep things in perspective.

The Channing Crowder Connundrum

shula13 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:22:22 -0000

One of the most hotly discussed topics that we Dolfans have talked about is what to do with Channing Crowder. A lot has been made about his large number of tackles and the fact that we seemed to miss him terribly when he was out, specifically during the game against Kansas City. Other than that, the debate goes as to whether the trifecta will sign him.

My answer? THERE IS NO WAY THE TRIFECTA RE-SIGNS CHANNING CROWDER. How is it possible that this is even debatable??? From all of our impending unrestricted free agents, Crowder is the clear cut choice to go. I think the anxiety most people have stems from our insecurity of the trifecta not being able to find a suitable replacement. However, Crowder was serviceable, at best. Any run-of-the-mill linebacker in the NFL can make tackles after a 5-10 yard gain. In 4 years, the guy has made exactly ZERO game-changing plays and his "impact" plays have been severely limited. The only play he made last year that was clutch was the 3rd down pass breakup against the Jets deep in our red zone in the regular season finale. Bill Parcells said just last week that he wants " big, fast, and smart" players. Crowder is not big, not particularly fast, or smart. Too many times running backs were able to change direction and gain extra yardage because Crowder took the wrong angle on a cutback. Too many times I saw Channing blitz up the middle, only to get stood up repeatedly by linebackers. Those same holes that Zach Thomas found on blitzes seemed to elude Crowder on a consistent basis. For a middle linebacker to make so little impact plays in 4 years is atrocious. Maybe it's a positive for a backup, but not a 4 year starter. After 4 years, you've got to believe the ceiling to get better isn't that high.

Against Kansas City, we struggled mightily, and we began to attribute that to Crowder's absense. I wholly doubt it. Everyone had problems that game because the playing surface gave no traction due to the frigid weather. It didn't have much to do with Crowder. The only perceived knock on Crowder that I don't buy is the notion that he's injury prone. He only missed a couple of games - it's not like he missed half the season. Plus, the guy plays in pain, so you won't see me questioning his heart.

Bottom line: the trifecta has vowed to get better at every position. Just because we don't currently have anything better doesn't mean we should stick with the same old results. Channing Crowder is certainly not in the plans for Miami, especially for the price he wants. Once we find someone new, we will forget about him just like we quickly forgot Donnie Spragan, Robert Jones, and Morlon Greenwood before him.

What it takes to beat the Ravens

shula13 — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:58:45 -0000

Ok, so now that I've showered after dousing myself with cheap beer as a result of our miraculous regular season, it's now time to look ahead to the Playoffs, where the real men play.

I'm sick of hearing about Baltimore's win against us earlier this season. Their victory seems like years ago, and if anyone really takes the early part of the year seriously, they'd be pointing to Indy's 31-3 victory against this same Baltimore team in September.

However, let's not forget that the Ravens are a formidable team, having recently giving a beatdown on Dallas and should have won against Pittsburgh. So what should we look for, how are we going to attack them, and what's in our favor?

1) Pass Rush is most important: I'm very concerned about our pass rush. Even in the Jets game, we didn't hurry Brett Favre at all. We were lucky that Favre missed a bunch of open receivers, and also threw all of his interceptions even when he wasn't pressured, he just made bad throws. He had all day to throw, and picked us apart. Again, thank god Brett Favre gave us "gift" INTs. I'm also not too enamored these days with Joey Porter. He's been completely missing for three full games (except for one big play at the end against San Francisco). Joey, there's no time like the present to carry the defense on your back. Joe Flacco is not going to make the same mistakes as Favre unless we get some pressure on him. Especially for a rookie in the playoffs, we need to hit him early!

2) Our passing game will hinge on the receivers: Miami will be using Fasano and/or Martin-Haynos to occupy Ed Reed in the middle of the field. This means that our receivers will be needed to make plays without Reed in their face. Baltimore will also be playing many guys in the box to neutralize our running game and the wheel routes to Ricky and Ronnie. Ted Ginn, Davone Bess, and Brandon London will be needed to win this game. It's all on them to get open. Each one of these guys showed a lot of mettle against the Jets. Even London's one catch was a crucial 3rd Down conversion on a touchdown drive. My guess is that someone who nobody expects will come through bigtime.

3) Time of possession is key: Early on in the Jets game, the Fins made some mistakes and appeared to play tight. However, I was very encouraged because we had the ball most of the time, which always seems to pay off for us late in games. We really need to win this battle to tire out this defense. We may not score every possession, but getting a few 1st downs on every drive will be key.

4) This is not week 7: Many things that occured in that first game probably won't happen again. Chad Pennington, in a rare mistake, gift-wrapped a TD to Terrel Suggs that certainly won't happen again. Jason Ferguson and Paul Soliai didn't play on the interior defensive line due to injury and disciplinary issues, respectively. This led to a big rushing day for Baltimore, which I doubt happens this time around. Ferguson, and even Vonnie Holliday have been playing lights out. They believe this is their last best shot to make a serious run, and they're playing like it.

5) Baltimore doesn't have the intimidation factor: Baltimore seems to relish playing the role of intimidator. Maybe it's the aura of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, but whatever it is, it won't exist in this game because Miami has already played these guys. We've already played their physical style of ball, and I think that will help our team mentally prepare against these guys. The following exchange sums it up perfectly: One reporter asked Tony Sparano what he thinks since Baltimore already beat us the first time this year: Sparano said " yeah, so what, the Jets also beat us the first time."

Giving Thanks at the Holiday Season - Dolphins Edition

shula13 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:53:24 -0000

Since it's Holiday time, and since the Dolphins are giving me more happiness since the Lamar Smith days (I can't believe i just referenced him), I thought I'd acknowledge some people who made this season possible.

A special thank you to:

1) Bill Parcells, for spurning the Atlanta Falcons and coming to South Florida.

2) the Dallas Cowboys, for trading away Anthony Fasano and Akin Ayodele for 10 cents on the dollar.

3) the New York Jets, for firing his Holiness, Chad Pennington, and setting up a day of karma as CP10 comes back to the Meadowlands and avenges the Midnight Miracle of 2000.

4) the entire NFL, for not drafting Davone Bess.

5) Ricky Williams, for staying off the crack pipe and being a big contributor to our team.

6) Jeff Ireland, for drafting Jake Long, and not Vernon Gholston or Glenn Dorsey.

7) Patrick Cobbs, who, in 2018, we'll be referring to as the longest tenured Dolphin.

8) all the 2007 Miami Dolphin leftovers, for believing.

9) all the NFL community, for not.

10) Tony Sparano, for instilling a new culture and identity, and for re-establishing this franchise to it's rightful place of prominence in the NFL. Our fins are a team to be reckoned with again.

It's time to acknowledge Wayne Huizenga

shula13 — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:40:04 -0000

If you're like me, you've probably grown to like Wayne Huizenga through the years. While Miami hasn't been a great team during his tenure, it's certainly not for a lack of effort. He didn't pretend to throw his ego around or insinuate himself into football related decisions like a Jerry Jones (thank god- How's Roy Williams working out, Jerry?). If he is faulted for anything, it's for putting too much trust into the football experts he inserted into decision-making roles. Hey it's not his fault, he just wanted to win. If anything, Wayne has demonstrated that he's a huge Dolphins fan, and he's been through so many heartaches.

We all wanted hired guns like Jimmy Johnson and Nick Saban, when nobody else could lure these guys to their teams, and what happened? Voila, Uncle Wayne made it happen. Jimmy then recommended we hire Dave Wannstedt, and Wayne put his trust in Jimmy and allowed it to happen. Saban wanted an indoor practice bubble, and Wayne didn't bat an eye., only to see Nick " I will not be the Alabama coach" Saban, bolt for Tuscaloosa.

It's amazing to me, that with all of Wayne's good intentions, begging for anyone to take control and take the beautiful legacy of this team to the next level, nobody could do it. In retrospect, everyone was just a hired gun, and nothing worked, despite Wanye being one of the best Pro Football owners.

Sadly, the past few seasons have taken a toll on an aging Huizenga, and since his kids had no interest in the Dolphins, he looked to sell when we were at our absolute worst. Now that this team is having one of its best seasons in almost a decade, it's sad that Wayne is on his way out. You know he's proud of this team. I still can't forget him crying in the owners box when we beat Baltimore last year. The moment still gives me chills. When so many owners only care about the bottom line, it's nice to know that our guy bleads aqua and orange. To Wayne Huizenga, this season is for you, for your love of the Dolphins, and for always trying to add to our illustrious history. Cue the sappy music...

Media's Neglect of Dolphins is shameful

shula13 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:12:49 -0000

I don't know about the rest of you, but I've just about had it with the lack of attention our team is getting in the national media. All year long as the Dolphin ship has gained steam, I've looked for the pat on the back from the media, but to no avail. Most people in the media picked the 49ers to beat us. Consider the following examples:

1) Guys like Trent Dilfer picked Miami as the team to fizzle out in the 3 team horse race. Even when Miami beat San Francisco, he said " Oh well I still think they'll lose to the Jets."

2) Even last night on NFL Network, Terrel Davis and Jim "Playoffs?!" Mora picked Favre over Pennington as the QB they want down the stretch. Are you people not paying attention? Jim Mora mentioned how the Wildcat has helped this team be successul. Are you kidding me? The Wildcat hasn't been a consistent success for a month; Jim Mora, are you even watching any of our games? Are any of these guys even paying attention?

3)How does Mike Smith, as good a job as he's done in Atlanta, get more press than Tony Sparano? Sure, Petrino bolted town and Vick played with dogs, but they had more wins than we did last year.

4) Peter King hasn't mentioned Miami even once in the past two weeks in his Monday Morning Quarterback. He speaks of Pittsburgh, Dallas, and Baltimore's defense in reverential tones, but how about the team that hasn't allowed a TD in 3 ENTIRE GAMES?

It seems to me that everybody agrees that Miami is a nice little story, and it would be convenient for them to fade from playoff contention to let the big boys play. Maybe it's because the so called experts feel threatened that Miami is defying all arguments that a team cannot rebuild this quickly. It's amazing to me thhat in the most team oriented sport, individuals are the ones who are always covered the most. Whether it's the 100 yard receiver, RB, 300 yard QB, the individuals are getting all the attention, while the teams that are playing the best "team" football seem to be ignored.The 1972 Dolphins won in the same understated fashion, which is a major reason why some "experts" stil ldon't consider them the best ever. Hopefully we can keep this ship going, because I'm having the best time rooting for our team.

LET'S BEAT K.C.

A diehard's thoughts on the Fins-49ers game

shula13 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:04:40 -0000

I've been digesting our latest victory, and there are several things I want to discuss in light of the happiness I feel that we are in contention, playing meaningful games in December. I'm so happy, I think I just sharted. No, really.

Ok, here we go.

Props to Special Teams: Aside from Ted Ginn running sideways and getting tackled well before the 20 yard line on two kickoffs, our Special Teams unit did an excellent job on Sunday. Much of our early 14-3 lead can be directly attributed to the field position game. Brandon Fields consistently pinned the 9ers inside the 12 yard line, and he must get credit for not pooching any kicks into the end zone. One sequence saw the 49ers punt from deep in their own territory, Davone Bess returned it 25 yards to the 30 yard line, and in something like 2 plays later we were in the end zone. Our kick coverage was also very good. I counted on 3 different occassions, the first guy down the field made the tackle (Patrick Cobbs, Jason Allen, and Charlie Anderson). Obviously this group was much maligned just a few weeks ago, with many people questioning special teams coach Jon Bonamego, but they've cleaned up the past few weeks.

Questions with play calling: Typically, I love Dan Henning's play calling during a game, but like many of you, yesterday was a head scratcher. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but I think Ronnie Brown should have been more involved. However, the play that almost cost us the game was on the down immediately preceding Dan Carpenter's field goal attempt late in the game. We were at the 29 yard line, which as we all know is borderline range for Carpenter, and Henning called a toss left that resulted in a 2 yard loss. Most coaches would agree in that situation, the best call is to run it up the gut, where you'd probably gain a yard or 2. Well, the difference in those yards contributed to Carpenter hitting the crossbar, which might not have happened had we been a couple of yards closer. Getting cute with play calling late in the game when every inch counts is probably not the way to go, but thank god it didn't cost us the game.

Bill Parcells' offseason conditioning program won us this game: How else can one explain that our defense didn't fold after being on the field for 39 minutes ? Nine times out of ten, if your defense is on the field for that long, they're going to get steamrolled in the 4th quarter. With that much playing time, I've never seen a defense rise to the occasion like that. Our offense did absolutely no favors with their consistent 3 and outs. Sparano even said in his presser that he was worried about it, scanning the players' faces, but they never showed fatigue. Which brings me to the point about Parcells. He has a specific, detailed approach to conditioning that's proven very successul both in our lack of injuries, and the abundance of stamina, particularly late in games. We all remember Jason Taylor's pissing match, telling Parcells that his role in the Nutcracker (Dancing with the Stars) has helped him to be in the best shape ever. Well, apparently not, since JT has been injured twice (the first time in his career), and has arguably had the worst season of his career. Parcells knew that players needed to condition on his terms, and we're now seeing the proof is in the pudding, especially in games played in December. Parcells, I think, deserves much credit for this win, getting the players ready, etc...