By Paul Smythe

Training camp is finally here.

Now we can finally watch football again and follow position battles on the Miami Dolphins that we have been discussing for months. No longer are we just speculating about certain situations. Now we can actually see how the situations unfold. Situations like who will step up as a starting free safety and who will emerge as starters on the defensive line.

I am no longer bored. The Miami Dolphins have come to the rescue.

And, as the Dolphins enter training camp there is much optimism by the players about how they will perform this year. There is also a whole lot of optimism among Dolphins fans. This is one of the best Dolphins teams we have seen in years.

Think about it. Is there any team that has looked this good to you in the last ten years?

The funny part about that is that most people outside of the Dolphins fans underrate Miami. They don’t predict much from South Beach in 2010. If you take away the article written by Michael Lombardi on NFL.com then there really isn’t much else outside of Miami that gives the Dolphins any kind of good prediction.

Don’t worry. Predictions mean nothing when it comes to game time. Sure, they are a good indicator of how a team will perform when they do play, but they are definitely not 100% accurate. Nowhere close.

One thing I am sure of is that this will be a better year than last. Of that I am absolutely certain. We have only gotten better.

While other analysts have been paying attention to the New York Jets and New England Patriots they have been missing out on the best team in the AFC East. They will find out soon enough, though.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/ 

 

 

By Paul Smythe 

The problem with the Miami Dolphins this year is they don’t have any type of identity. We don’t know whether they are a passing or running team. They probably don’t even know what they are, and that is a problem.

What we need to beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday is for our offense to find a balance between both running and passing and not rely too heavily on either.

When the Dolphins rely too much on running or passing the ball they become one-dimensional and really struggle to score. Miami needs to be able to do both without overloading on one or the other.

If the Dolphins throw the ball too much they risk Chad Henne throwing interceptions, and interceptions can really swing the momentum away. When they run the ball too much they struggle to get first downs, and then they have to punt the ball away.

Basically, leaning too much on either is bad for the Dolphins and doesn’t put points on the board. If we want the Miami Dolphins to score a lot of points, then we need them to find a good balance between the two. Balancing will help keep the ball in Dolphins hands and not the Packers, which is important when you are facing a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers with two receivers like Donald Driver and Greg Jennings.

The Packers are the 8th best team in the NFL in points allowed, and that means problems for Miami if they are unable to balance the offense out enough to score.

Green Bay is also the 8th best in the NFL in points scored. So, if the Dolphins want to be able to win this game they will need to score a lot to match the Packers offense, which is something they have not seemed capable of doing thus far.

Miami’s passing game has been pretty good in the last two weeks, but it has come at the sacrifice of the running game, and that is a problem. I believe that we can do just as well with the passing game while running the ball more. Running will keep the defense on their toes, which will help open up the passing game more.

Sure, it is fun to see a successful passing offense, but the passing offense can only do so much without a running game to accompany it. If we want to see the offense reach its full potential we need to use Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams more, and Sunday’s game against the Packers would be a great time to start because Green Bay will probably be without LB Clay Matthews, who is a big threat to backs.

I will admit that I wanted the Dolphins to be a pass-heavy team, and discussion in the commenting section of one of my articles has swayed my opinion a little bit. I still believe they need to pass more than they run, but I agree that it is necessary to run the ball consistently in order to keep the defense guessing. Passing the ball is no good when other teams know that the pass is coming and not a hand-off.

So, let’s hope that the Dolphins can find a balance to the offense by running the ball more or they may end up continuing their losing skid and drop to under .500 for the season.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think the Miami Dolphins will need to do to win on Sunday.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/

 

Debate the Dolphins offseason needs and more in The Football Fan Forum

2010 Preview:

The Miami Dolphins made what was probably this division’s biggest single splash of the offseason when they went out and traded for Brandon Marshall. However, when you look up at the two teams ahead of them, the Pats and their amazing offense, and the Jets and their amazing defense, this team comes out short, based off the fact that they don’t have one thing they do extremely well, whether it be offense or defense.

Chad Henne should be better at quarterback this year, especially with Marshall, but he’ll still have to be the one leading this team and I don’t think Henne is an elite quarterback, even with Marshall, at this stage of his career. Their running game is led by the 33-year-old Ricky Williams and the injury prone Ronnie Brown so that’s not going to be something they’re going to be great at doing.

Adding Karlos Dansby to a defense that was solid last year might make you think that their is among the best in the league, but remember, they’ve lost both Joey Porter and Jason Taylor. They had 44 sacks last year, but with Porter and Taylor gone, they may have some trouble pressuring the quarterback. Cameron Wake is expected to step up as their #1 rush linebacker, but he’s inexperienced to this point in his career. Rookie Koa Misi will start opposite him and he wasn’t much of a pass rusher in college. He was mostly drafted for his athleticism and fluidity in coverage, and he’s a rookie anyway and rookie pass rushers are almost always unreliable.

This puts a lot of pressure on their secondary, which was already one of the worst in the league last year. With Gibril Wilson gone and either Chris Clemons or Reshad Jones starting at free safety, they’ll have 3 starters in the defensive backfield with one year or fewer of experience and defensive backs almost always take longer to develop than most other positions. If this team goes from a 44 sack team as they were in 2009, to a 30-35 sack team this year, that’s only going to put more pressure on their young defensive backs to perform and that’s not a recipe for stopping elite offensive attacks. Their run defense will be better this season, but not their pass defense, and this is a pass heavy league. I don’t see them competing with the top two teams in this division.

Projection: 8-8 3rd in AFC East

Power Ranking: 20

Last season: 7-9

Draft:

#28 3-4 DE Jared Odrick (Penn State)

Odrick is a great player and a perfect fit for their scheme, but he didn’t fill an obvious need. He will have a starting role to win though, as the Dolphins are moving former end Randy Starks to nose tackle to replace Jason Ferguson. Bill Parcells style teams have done decent with smaller nose tackles before, but Starks never struck me as the nose tackle type. Still, Odrick is a great player who would fill a need if the plan were to move Starks.

Grade: B+

#40 RLB Koa Misi (Utah)

Misi is a great character and has a great work ethic and will probably be one of those players who is better as a pro than a college kid, but he didn’t have a ton of production on the college level and will have to learn a new position. I think there were better picks here if they wanted to fix the rush linebacker position. Even Sergio Kindle, who I didn’t love, would have made much more sense.

Grade: C

#73 G John Jerry (Mississippi)

Not an obvious need, but they are reportedly trying to move Justin Smiley and they needed depth on the offensive front anyway. I don’t know if Jerry fits their scheme that well though. He might not be mobile enough, but we’ll see.

Grade: B-

#119 MLB AJ Edds (Iowa)

Edds is not a perfect fit for the 3-4 scheme, but he’s a good player and is a solid value here and with Channing Crowder’s history of injuries, they needed some middle linebacker depth.

Grade: B

#145 CB Nolan Carroll (Maryland)

He’s not someone I had being drafted so taking him in the 5^th looks a bit head scratching to me, but he does fill a need and if he pans out he could allow Sean Smith to move to a more natural position in free safety.

Grade: C

#163 S Reshad Jones (Georgia)

I know this was a strong safety class, but Jones had no business being available with the 163^rd pick. He could start sometime next year which is something you don’t normally here about guys taken in the 5^th.

Grade: A

#212 RLB Chris McCoy (Middle Tennessee State)

With Jason Taylor leaving, they needed to find another rush linebacker and I like the selection of McCoy here, value wise, more than I like their selection of Misi.

Grade: A-

#252 MLB Austin Spitler (Ohio State)

I know Bill Parcells likes his linebackers, but he may have gotten a bit too linebacker crazy with this pick, his 4^th linebacker of the weekend, 5 if you count getting Tim Dobbins in the trade with the Chargers. Spitler doesn’t fill a need and I would have hoped the Dolphins would have taken a running back at some point. If Ronnie Brown gets hurt again, Ricky Williams probably won’t be able to carry the load.

Grade: C-

Overall:

Overall, there were some things I didn’t like about this draft. Misi doesn’t make a lot of sense in the 2^nd. I think he’s a real boom or bust guy who has more of a chance of busting than being someone who is starting material. He also hasn’t played linebacker before so he won’t be able to contribute right away the way Eric Norwood or Sergio Kindle would have been able. Odrick is a great player in the first, but again, I don’t like the idea of moving Starks inside. They made some decent late rounds picks, but overall I think they ignored too many needs, running back, tight end, true nose tackle, in favor of bulking up their linebackers, but I love the steal of Rashad Jones in the 5^th.

Grade: B

Key undrafted free agents

3-4 DE Vince Oghobaase (Duke)

NT Travis Ivey (Maryland)

WR Roberto Wallace (San Diego State)

CB AJ Wallace (Penn State)

Positions of need:

Rush Linebacker:

Jason Taylor is a free agent this offseason and either will retire or be brought back on a one year deal as a nickel rusher and nothing more. Joey Porter is expected to be cut on March 5^th and he was their #1 rush linebacker last year. They cut Matt Roth midseason so all of a sudden, their once deep rush linebacker corps is looking very thin. Jason Pierre Paul or Brandon Graham could be options in the first.

Drafted Koa Misi (#40), Drafted Chris McCoy (#212) 

Middle Linebacker:

Channing Crowder is their best middle linebacker when healthy, but he’s rarely healthy. Even if he stays healthy, they would still need an upgrade next to him. They likely won’t let Rolando McClain slip past them in the first, but if he’s not available, they will look for help at this position in the middle rounds.

Signed Karlos Dansby, Traded for Tim Dobbins, Drafted AJ Edds (#119), Drafted Austin Spitler (#252) 

Wide Receiver:

It seems like every other game they had a new leading receiver. They have a bunch of good depth guys at the position, but no true #1 receiver. Dez Bryant could be an option at 12 and they’ll have a few options, Arrelious Benn, Marshawn Gilyard, Eric Decker, Jeremy Williams, in the 2^nd round.

Traded for Brandon Marshall 

Nose Tackle:

Jason Ferguson will be 35 before week 1 next year. He’s also a free agent, coming off of a long stint on IR, and has hinted at retirement. They don’t have another true starting nose tackle on the roster and may take one in the first to avoid having to reach for one in the later rounds, which they would almost surely have to so if they didn’t take one in the first round. Don’t rule Dan Williams out at 12, if not, expect them to take a guy like Cam Thomas or Linval Joseph in the 2^nd or 3^rd rounds.

Safety:

They vastly overpaid Gibril Wilson last offseason. He really struggled this season. They will likely cut him and even if they don’t he could be upgraded. They did take a safety in the 3^rd round last year, Chris Clemons, and Sean Smith, their starting cornerback, can also play some safety, but nonetheless, depth is needed at, if not the safety position, than the defensive back position in general. A nice tweener like Brian Williams or Myron Lewis could be targeted in the 4^th or 5^th round.

Drafted Rashad Jones (#163)

Running Back:

Ronnie Brown gets hurt every year. Its one of the only sure things in the world. Ricky Williams did a decent job in relief of him after he got hurt, but he wasn’t great and you have to wonder how many more years Ricky can do this. He’s on the wrong side of 30 and, considering the rate at which older running backs tend to break down, he’s probably living on borrowed time. Both Ricky and Ronnie are free agents next offseason anyway so running back depth at the very least will be targeted late.

 

Free agents:

QB Chad Pennington- resigned 1 year 2.5 million

RB Ronnie Brown (restricted)- tendered (1st) 

WR Davone Bess (exclusive rights)- resigned

TE Anthony Fasano (restricted)- tendered (2nd)

TE Joey Haynos (exclusive rights)- resigned

NT Jason Ferguson- retired

RLB Jason Taylor- signed with Jets 2 years 13 million 

RLB Joey Porter- signed with Cardinals 3 years 17.5 million

RLB Quentin Moses (restricted)- tendered (3rd)

MLB Akin Ayodele- signed with Broncos

MLB Reggie Torbor 

CB Nate Jones- signed with Broncos 4 years 13.6 million

S Gibril Wilson- signed with Bengals 1 year

K Dan Carpenter (exclusive rights)- resigned

Offseason moves:

Dolphins sign 3-4 DE Charles Grant

Dolphins sign 3-4 DE Montavious Stanley 

Dolphins sign 3-4 DE Marques Douglas

Dolphins announce retirement of NT Jason Ferguson

Dolphins cut MLB Reggie Torbor

Dolphins trade G Justin Smiley to Jaguars for 7th-round pick

Dolphins sign G Cory Procter 

Dolphins announce retirement of MLB Zach Thomas

Dolphins acquire MLB Tim Dobbins from Chargers in 1st-round swap

Dolphins re-sign RLB Quentin Moses

Dolphins trade WR Ted Ginn Jr. to 49ers for 2010 5th-round pick 

Dolphins acquire WR Brandon Marshall from Broncos for 2010 2nd-rounder and 2011 2nd-rounder 

Dolphins re-sign WR Davone Bess

Dolphins re-sign K Dan Carpenter

Dolphins re-sign TE Joey Haynos

Dolphins sign G Richie Incognito

Dolphins re-sign NT Jason Ferguson

Dolphins re-sign QB Chad Pennington

Dolphins sign ILB Karlos Dansby

Dolphins cut RLB Joey Porter

Dolphins cut MLB Akin Ayodele

Dolphins cut S Gibril Wilson

Dolphins tender RB Ronnie Brown

Dolphins tender RLB Quentin Moses

Dolphins tender TE Anthony Fasano 

 

There isn’t a lot of regulation about teams listing players at certain heights or weights in college, so the senior bowl weigh ins are huge for scouts to see what they are looking at physically, so whose stock is changing with Senior Bowl weigh ins

QB/RB Jarrett Brown- West Virginia UP 

6’2 6/8″ 

219 lbs

Arm 33 1/2″

Hand 9 7/8″ 

Notes: Very athletic frame, measurables suggest a move to running back is possible. That’s good because he wasn’t going to make it as a quarterback in the NFL.

FB Rashawn Jackson- Virginia DOWN 

6’0 6/8″ 

239 lbs

Arm 31 5/8″

Hand 10″ 

Notes: 239 is small for a fullback.

WR Marshawn Gilyard– Cincinnati Down 

5’11 5/8″ 

179 lbs

Arm 30 5/8″

Hand 9″ 

Notes: Measuring 2 inches shorter than what you were listed at is never a good thing. 

TE Dorin Dickerson- Pittsburgh DOWN

6’1 2/8″

222 lbs

Arm 33″

Hand 10″

Notes: Does he have a position? He played both tight end and fullback in college, but he doesn’t appear to be anywhere near big enough to play either of those at the NFL level which is a shame because of his production. His 40 time will have to be wide receiver esque for him to get drafted.

TE Garrett Graham- Wisconsin DOWN

6-3 1/8″

234 lbs

Arm 30 3/4″

Hand 9 3/8″

Notes: Very skinny for his position.

TE Mike Homanawanui- Illinois UP

6’3 6/8″

267 lbs

Arm 32 1/8″

Hand 10 1/4″ 

Notes: He’s being looked at as a big blocker so weighing in at 267 pounds helps his case to get drafted. So do his long arms and hands.

OT Selvish Capers- West Virginia UP 

6’4 5/8″

304 lbs

Arm 34″

Hand 10″ 

Notes: Listed at 290 so weighing in at 304 helps. Long arms also suggest there is room to bulk.

OT Sam Young– Notre Dame DOWN

6’7 6/8″

305 lbs

Arm 34 1/8″

Hand 10″ 

Notes: Weighing in at 305 when you’re best chance of getting drafted early is as a big mauling right tackle is bad. He’s not a great pass blocker either so scouts may see him as a man without a position.

NT Terrence Cody– Alabama DOWN

6’4″

370 lbs

Arm 34″

Hand 11 1/4″ 

Notes: He is a large man. One can only hope he keeps his shirt on when he runs the 40 at the combine.

S Myron Rolle– Florida State UP

6’1 4/8″

217 lbs

Arm 33″

Hand 9 1/4″ 

Notes: Good to see he stayed in shape in his year away from football. 

By Anthony Brown

Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys had to be Donovan McNabb’s second worst nightmare in this nightmare season for he and the Washington Redskins. Shown up…by Rex Grossman.

Psychologists say that one only remembers dreams if you awake before they end. Nightmares awaken you with an emotional start. Donovan’s nightmare started well enough when the former nemesis was acclaimed a Redskins hero last Easter when he was traded here. He felt vindicated enough when the ‘Skins beat the Philadelphia Eagles to proclaim, “Those guys made a mistake.”

That must have been a curse. The Eagles avenged that loss big time six weeks later, two weeks after the embarrassment of being benched by Coach Mike Shanahan in the closing moments of the Detroit Lions game.

Then there was the $78 million contract extension that really wasn’t. All of the advantages are leveraged towards the Redskins. It’s clear that Shanahan and GM Bruce Allen saw the development as a real possibly. Poor McNabb looks naive, or desperate, to have signed such a deal.

Wednesday before the Dallas game, McNabb expected to start. Friday before the game, Shanahan announced that McNabb was benched and the quarterback of last resort –now and in the future.

On Sunday, McNabb was the forlorn, lonely figure standing on the sideline being out-played by Rex Grossman. REX GROSSMAN. AAARGH! That’s the point of the nightmare that awakened McNabb from his career slumber.

I feel sorry for the guy. But that wouldn’t be the worst conclusion to his Washington disaster. The worst nightmare would be to see Michael Vick lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots and be named Super Bowl and NFL MVP.

Then the mantle of “future Hall of Famer” and “greatest quarterback in Eagles history” would pass from McNabb to Vick, if it hasn’t already. AAARGH!

http://redskinshogheaven.com/

Go back to Redskins Fan Spot

By Anthony Brown 

Donovan McNabb cannot possibly have success with the Washington Redskins. Not after head coach Mike Shanahan showed his utter contempt for McNabb by benching him with the game on the line in Detroit.

We haven’t seen a quarterback benched like this before in Washington. Never. Not ever. Not since:

• Joe Gibbs benched Patrick Ramsey for Mark Brunell in the first game of the 2005 season, or
• Joe Gibbs benched Mark Brunell for Jason Campbell in the 2006 season, or
• Marty Schottenheimer benched Jeff George for Tony Banks in the first game of the 2001 season, or
• Joe Gibbs benched Jay Schroeder for Doug Williams in the last game of the 1987 season in the run up to Super Bowl 22.

That’s not to mention Steve Spurrier‘s numerous quarterback switches between Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Patrick Ramsey in 2002-2003.

Quarterbacks are players. Players are benched. Thus, quarterbacks are benched sometimes.

The con arguments that Mcnabb cannot succeed in DC don’t stand up unless one resorts to exaggeration and hyperbole.

Like saying, we’ve never seen this kind of thing before. Only we have. Mike Shanahan once benched John Elway and he ended Jake Plummer‘s career by benching him for Jay Cutler.

My ex-wife says I’m not very bright. Maybe that’s why I recognize brain farts when I…hear one. Shanahan had a brain fart in Detroit. Let it go at that.

The Shanahan-McNabb relationship may not be damaged beyond repair, if at all. There are issues, however. Most of them have more to do with working together than any breakdown on the field.

Communication – Shanahan thinks he cautioned McNabb that he might be pulled under certain conditions. McNabb thinks he did not hear him. Lets not attribute this to malice (or racism). Taking different meaning from the same words is a common communication problem. It’s fixable, so fix it.

Trust – is something that comes with time. When persons know each other–what they value, how they think, how they act under different circumstances–they have a basis for unison of purpose. Working together becomes easier. We know now that Shanahan has trust issues. This may be something Shanahan, not McNabb, has to work though.

Here’s a football secret. Pay attention. In a quarterback-driven era, teams do not need great quarterbacks to win championships.

The Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer. The New York Giants won with Eli Manning, when Eli wasn’t very good. They beat the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots to do it. The Carolina Panthers did it with Jake Delhomme. The Oakland Raiders reached a Super Bowl with Rich Gannon and may reach the playoffs with Jason Campbell. With the exception of Brady, McNabb is better than that bunch.

Greatness is not the key. The great teams have quarterbacks in tune with the coach at the right moment in time.

After Detroit, Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb know each other a little better. Weak partnerships fracture over an incident. Strong ones just get stronger. I’m betting that two high achieving Chicago home-boys can get stronger. Thus, there is no reason why this can’t work, if McNabb and Shanahan work on it.

Unless you are superstitious. If you are, there is reason to worry.

Donovan McNabb wears the same jersey number (5) as Heath Shuler.

We are doomed!

Go back to Redskins Fan Spot 

http://redskinshogheaven.com/

 

Roth isn’t a glamorous signing or anything, but they really needed a pass rusher. With Aaron Kampman always a huge injury risk, they have no proven, reliable pass rushers at defensive end. Roth could be decent for them, though he hasn’t played in a 4-3 as a pro. 3 million dollars is a decent value for him, but not great considering how dry the market has become.

Grade: B

 

 

Look, I don’t have anything against Matt Moore. He can be a solid backup and that’s what this deal pays him like, 5 million over 2 years. The reason they get an F is because after resigning Moore, they announced they would not be going after Kyle Orton. I don’t understand this at all. This team was 30^th in the league in scoring offense last year and 14^th in the league in scoring defense. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why this team went 7-9 last year. They’ve done a great job of fixing the running game and the offensive line this offseason.

They just needed to fix their quarterback situation. Kyle Orton, by no means, is a franchise quarterback. However, he’s not going to kill you with turnovers like Chad Henne, he has had a ton of success with Brandon Marshall in the past, and with a good supporting cast like the Dolphins have, he can get you 9-10 wins next season. You’re not going to win a Super Bowl with him, but he’s well worth the 3^rd rounder they refused to give up for him.

Grade: F

 

 

The Patriots didn’t want to have rookie Nate Solder protecting Tom Brady’s blindside this year, after a lockout shortened offseason, as they chase another Super Bowl, and with Matt Light interested in returning they didn’t have to. However, this is a two year deal worth 7 million in guarantees, up to 12 million total. Considering they probably only plan to use him for one more year, they really overpaid.

Grade: C

 

 

This is a 3 year, 21 million dollar deal. I think 7 million per year is a little rich for Matt Hasselbeck, considering he’s so injury prone, and I don’t like that this is a three year deal. Hasselbeck is 36 in September and he’s had so many injury problems, not to mention that he was never an elite quarterback, so I don’t think he can do the Brett Favre thing and play well late into his 30s. Plus, they have Jake Locker. They just spent the 8^th overall pick on him. How much development does he need? However, they needed to sign a veteran quarterback. Locker will benefit from some time on the bench as most quarterbacks normally do. They overpaid, but they might not have had a choice.

Grade: C