For the Eagles: Congratulations. You just handed a wild card berth to a team in your division. I don’t think I’ve seen a stupider trade in a while. The Eagles just made their division the toughest division in football. Why would you do that? Yes, they got good value for the trade when you look at it on a pure value basis, but the fact that they pretty much just made their division rival a playoff contender is pretty stupid. Now they have to try to make the playoffs in a stacked division with the Redskins, the Giants, and the Cowboys and they have to try to do that with a brand new quarterback. Good luck.

Grade: D 

For the Redskins: Obviously a good trade. You get a franchise quarterback who fits the scheme for at least one year, possibly more if they can resign him and given how spend friendly the Redskins have been in recent years, they’ll probably do that, even if they overpay a bit. You still have the 4^th pick to use on either Russell Okung or Bryan Bulaga to protect your franchise quarterback. And, now there’s one less team in the division between them and the top based solely on the fact that the Eagles no longer have McNabb. 

Grade: A 

Trade for Washington: The Redskins botched this whole McNabb situation. They got him for a 2^nd and a 4^th last year, started him with moderate success for a few weeks, benched him randomly for Rex Grossman, gave him a ridiculous contract extension, then benched him again for Rex Grossman, this time permanently, angering him to the point where they had to trade him or release him. Credit them for getting something for him, rather than having to outright release him, but blame them for botching this whole situation. McNabb isn’t great, but he’s better than anyone else they had at quarterback. I’m going to average those two things out and give them a C.

Grade: C

Trade for Minnesota: Washington messing up the McNabb situation gave Minnesota a legitimate stopgap starting quarterback for at least a year. Andy Reid made McNabb look better than he was in Philadelphia, but I think he can still be a competent starter in the NFL. The Vikings have loads of other problems so I think they’re still the worst team in their division (behind Green Bay, Chicago, and Detroit), but Christian Ponder is going to benefit from a year on the bench behind a veteran. Rookie quarterbacks normally do. McNabb is coming cheap for them, costing them up to 2 late round picks, and probably about 6 million over a year after his restructured contract (no official word on what he’ll be paid next year, but the Vikings said they weren’t going to accept this unless he took 6 million or less for next year).

Grade: A

By Paul Smythe 

The Miami Dolphins are in Minnesota and are preparing for their game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings are predicted by a lot of “experts” and analysts to beat the Dolphins, and that is a shame for those analysts. I hate seeing analysts messing up picks because they are paid to be experts and when they mess up it looks bad, but that is what will have to happen Sunday.

I am sorry to say it, but anyone who picked the Vikings to beat the Dolphins will be wrong.

Miami has not won two straight games since 2002, so this would be a pretty big win for Miami if they can pull it out. Especially since the Dolphins have really struggled to win at all in the beginning of previous seasons.

A lot will have to go right if the Dolphins want to beat the Vikings, but it is completely possible. People are overrating the Vikings, and especially Brett Favre, and they are underrating Miami this year. Brett Favre is nowhere near where he was last year.

Everyone knows it. They just do not want to admit it. But, they won’t have a choice other than to accept it when the Miami Dolphins come in and stomp on Favre and his team. In order to do that, though, here are three things the Dolphins will have to do:

1. Capitalize On Brett Favre’s Risks

Brett Favre is the king of risks.

There might as well be a variation of the board game Risk named after Favre called Risk: Brett Favre Edition. It would have a “waffling meter” that helps each player make decisions on attacking. Whenever a player wants to attack a country they would have to push a button and the “waffling meter” would decide whether the general wants to attack or not. The meter would go back in forth for an unnecessarily long period of time before finally deciding.

Just an idea.

Sorry about that, but I just couldn’t resist. I will try to stay on topic for the rest of this article, though.

Favre does like to take a lot of risks, and that can be a great thing for his Vikings or a horrible thing. It always seems like he is going to try and fit the ball in there. It doesn’t even matter to him if he has to throw it through a defenders chest, he will still try.

Sometimes it works, and he ends up a hero like he was for the majority of last season. Other times things don’t work out so well, and he just ends up looking like an idiot like he did after his interception in the NFC championship game last year.

If the Dolphins want to win this game, their secondary must capitalize whenever Favre has one of those urges to throw even when he shouldn’t, because when he gets an urge to pass the ball into an extremely tight spot he rarely doesn’t act on it.

No one on the Dolphins defense got an interception last week against Buffalo, but that will have to change this week.

2. Pressure Brett Favre

This goes with #1, but it is also important on its own. The Dolphins D did a great job putting pressure on Trent Green last week. They were able to sack him three times, but the best part of their performance was their ability to bat down the ball whenever Green threw it.

We need them to continue the sacks and bat-downs on Favre Sunday. Both are great ways to kill offensive drives pretty quickly, and they keep Favre from having any chance to throw the ball long.

Also, the more pressure that we can apply on Favre, the more likely he is to take risks and throw the ball where he shouldn’t. Pressure will turn in to turnovers, and that statement is always amplified when Brett Favre is the player being pressured.

Winning this game will start with pressuring the quarterback. It is a proven way to bring down prolific passing offense like the 2007 New England Patriots, so why would pressuring the quarterback not be a good way to bring down an offense without it’s number one receiver and an old, beaten-up quarterback?

3. Passing The Ball Effectively

At first I wanted to title this reason “Passing The Ball Downfield”, but I decided not to because we don’t need Chad Henne throwing the ball deep every passing play. Not that I think the Dolphins will take advice from me. I just don’t want people to think that I am some crazy fan who wants 80-yard bombs every play.

The Dolphins do need to keep their short-ranged passes in the offense for sure. Without them our offense would lose an important dimension. But, they do need to start throwing the ball longer than they did against Buffalo last week. 15 points is not good enough to win a lot in the NFL, and it was against the Bills, which makes it even worse.

We have the tools in place for Henne, now. We added Brandon Marshall for goodness sakes! What more could you want? Now all he has to do is get the ball to him.

Success on the long ball means more points, and more points means a better chance of winning. It is pretty simple.

If the Dolphins are able to do at least two of those three then they should come out with a win. I just can’t wait to hand Brett Favre another loss since we beat him two years ago. It will be nice to go 2-0 and really start the season off well.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/

By Paul Smythe 

All I can say is if we don’t win this game I will be severely disappointed.

The Miami Dolphins head to Green Bay this weekend to play the Packers, and the odds are definitely in their favor.

Not only are the Dolphins possibly getting back LB Channing Crowder, DE Jared Odrick, and G John Jerry, but it is also possible that the Packers will lose QB Aaron Rodgers along with TE Jermichael Finley who is already out.

So assuming that Aaron Rodgers is out, not only will the Dolphins be better than they have so far this season, but the Packers will be a whole lot worse.

Getting Odrick back is probably the best of all the players possibly returning this week because his absence forced the defensive line to shift a bit. Randy Starks, who was supposed to be moved to Nose Tackle, had to be moved to defensive end because Odrick was out.

Now, Odrick can come back in at the end and let Starks work his magic at tackle.

On top of that the Dolphins will gain extra experience with Channing Crowder back at LB. Crowder is an important player on this team, and with him and Karlos Dansby leading the way this defense should do much better.

And, everything mentioned above is just the best returning players for the Miami Dolphins without even talking about who the Packers are losing.

Green Bay’s biggest loss is obviously Aaron Rodgers due to a concussion. I understand that he has not been officially ruled out of Sunday’s game yet, but it is highly unlikely that he will play because of the rules and regulations set by the NFL on how to handle concussions.

With Rodgers gone the Packers will turn to 3rd year QB Matt Flynn, who has never started an NFL game before and has only thrown 17 total passes in NFL games. Call me crazy, but I’m excited to see how our defense will do against such an inexperienced QB.

And while having Rodgers gone is a huge blow to the Packers, that blow is doubled because Jermichael Finley is also gone. Yes, Flynn will have Greg Jennings and Donald Driver to throw to, but Finley is the most important target.

And, I don’t mean that because of Finley’s statistics so far, either. A lot of times when a young quarterback drops back to throw and his receivers are covered he will have his tight end to throw to as a safety blanket. Without a talented safety blanket like Jermichael Finley Flynn might try and force the ball somewhere else and throw an interception.

Things look great for the Dolphins this week. Let’s just hope they can actually win and not lose off of ridiculous special teams play.

Thanks everyone for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment. I apologize for leaving this weekend and only getting one post up. I am back now, though, and I will go back to my normal pattern of writing every day.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/ 

The Miami Dolphins were supposed to make the leap this season, from 7-9 to at least 9 or 10 wins. Chad Henne was entering his 3^rd year as a pro and his first full year as a starter, after looking promising down the stretch in 2009. They added Brandon Marshall to give Henne someone to throw to. One problem, turns out Henne sucks.

Chad Henne completed 61% of his passes for an average of 6.7, but threw 19 picks to 15 touchdowns. He threw a pick in 12 of his 15 starts and had 3 starts where he threw 3 or more picks. In a 13-10 week 13 loss to the Browns, he out Delhommed Jake Delhomme, throwing 3 picks, including one to set up the winning field goal for Cleveland in an ugly game all around. The next week he somehow beat the Jets despite completing only 5 passes, one of which was a touchdown when the Jets only had 9 men on the field.

The Dolphins finished the season on a 3 game losing streak and dropping 4 of 5, losing to Cleveland, Detroit, and Buffalo. Not exactly Super Bowl caliber teams. Henne only completed 6 passes in their week 17 38-7 loss to the Patriots (who weren’t even really trying with home field locked up, resting Brady midway through the 3^rd). They averaged 17.1 points per game, 3^rd worst in the league behind Cleveland and Carolina.

The defensive side of the ball was a little brighter. In terms of yards, they had the 6^th best defense, and in terms of points they ranked 14^th, a number that could be a bit skewed by how often Henne gave the opposing offense the ball back in good position. Cameron Wake had 14 sacks, 12 stuffs, 3 forced fumbles, and 4 pass deflections, making him my defensive player of the year pick. Vontae Davis took the next step to becoming an elite corner in only his 2^nd year. And their run defense ranked 4^th in the league.

The offense is clearly the bigger issue. They couldn’t throw or run the ball. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown used to be a dynamic duo, but this year they averaged 3.7 yards per carry. Both are free agents so they might not be back. In order to fix their offense, they tried to add Jim Harbaugh to coach. Unfortunately, they came up short; even worse, they didn’t fire their previous coach before pursuing a new one. In an awkward situation, Tony Sparano sat for at least 24 hours while his team tried to woo Harbaugh. After that didn’t work out, the Dolphins reluctantly gave Sparano an extension.

The Dolphins had an opportunity to contend for a playoff spot. All they had to do was send a 3^rd rounder to Denver for Kyle Orton. Orton isn’t a great quarterback or anything, but this team has a good defense and they fixed the running game and offensive line in the offseason so all he’d have to do is not turn the ball over, something Chad Henne can’t manage, and this team could win 9-10 games. Instead, they settled for Henne.

That would have made some sense if they were convinced the 2008 2^nd round pick still had potential, but they don’t seem to be convinced of that. They brought in Matt Moore to compete for the starting job and even have been linked to Brett Favre. Moore, a former undrafted free agent, has never proven to be anything other than a solid backup in his career. Favre, meanwhile, is done and would do nothing except sell tickets for them.

Henne has a nice supporting cast around him. Brandon Marshall is a legitimate #1 receiver. Brian Hartline is an okay #2 and Davone Bess is one of the league’s most underrated players in the slot. Rookie 4^th rounder Edmond Gates has some upside, but he’ll be hurt by the lockout. He could become a factor later in the season, however. Tight end Anthony Fasano is a marginal player.

They fixed the running game. Gone are Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown and in are Reggie Bush and rookie 2^nd rounder Daniel Thomas, who complement each other well. Thomas, a bigger, more powerful back, is a rookie, but won’t be hurt by the lockout as much as other rookies because of his position. He’ll struggle with route running and pass protection, but Bush will be the 3^rd down back so he won’t be counted on to do a lot of that right away. Meanwhile, Bush was a disappointment in New Orleans, but might have just needed a change of scenery. He also needs to stay healthy. Overall, I like their running back situation better than I did last year, especially with the addition of Mike Pouncey at center.

Pouncey will be hurt by the lockout as a rookie, but should still be a fine starting center for this team and a punishing run blocker. The offensive line was a major problem last year, aside from Jake Long. However, Vernon Carey has moved inside to guard with Marc Colombo coming over from Dallas to play right tackle. If he can stay healthy, he still can contribute to this team. If not, I suspect Carey moves outside and 2010 3^rd round pick John Jerry takes over at right guard. Richie Incognito is the other starter on the offensive front. He is a decent offensive lineman. After Long, it’s arguable he was their best offensive lineman last year.

However, their offense will still be stagnant until Chad Henne can figure out how to lead a drive and not turn the ball over. He’s going into his 3^rd year as a starter so he probably has a short leash, and rightfully so. The Dolphins ranked 30^th in the league in scoring last year with Henne at the helm. Unfortunately, if he gets benched, Matt Moore would start. Moore has never proved himself to be anything more than a former undrafted free agent turned backup so I don’t have high expectations for him, and thus, I don’t have high expectations for this offensive unit as a whole.

Their defensive unit is a different story. They have one of the deepest defensive lines in the league with 2010 1^st round pick Jared Odrick coming back from injury. In Odrick’s absence, Randy Starks, who was training to be the starting nose tackle, moved back outside. Paul Solial flourished as the starting nose tackle, helping the Dolphins rank 4^th against the run.

This year, Odrick is expected to start at end, with Solial in the middle. However, that displaces Randy Starks, a solid starter in his own right who hasn’t done anything to merit losing his starting job. Odrick would start opposite Kendall Langford, an extremely talented young player. They also have talented reserves Tony McDaniel and Phillip Merling in the mix. It’s no wonder they tried to trade Randy Starks in any potential Kyle Orton deal.

As for their pass rush, it starts and ends with Cameron Wake. Wake had 14 sacks last year, his first full year as a starter. Koa Misi was 2^nd on the team with 4.5, but the 2010 2^nd round pick faded down the stretch. The Dolphins even considering finding a new rush linebacker this offseason and moving Misi inside next to Karlos Dansby. If even they aren’t high on Misi’s upside as a pass rusher, I don’t have high hopes for him.

They didn’t move Misi inside, instead deciding to sign Kevin Burnett, one of the league’s most underrated players. It’s crazy that Burnett got less money in his contract than Clint Session and Quincy Black. Burnett lines up next to, of course, Karlos Dansby. Dansby was paid like one of the best middle linebackers in the league before last season and rightfully so. He is one of the best middle linebackers in the league.

At cornerback, the duo of Sean Smith and Vontae Davis has been together since they were rookies and they’ve gotten better each year. Now in their 3^rd seasons, they should be a very solid duo. However, their depth behind them is pitiful. Benny Sapp, formerly a solid nickel in Minnesota, sucked last year in that same role in Miami. They had to sign Al Harris midseason. That’s how bad it was. Sapp is listed as the nickel back as of right now so they better hope he becomes what they expected him to be after they traded for him from Minnesota.

Meanwhile, at safety Yeremiah Bell is solid, but Chris Clemons at free safety was responsible for several blown coverages last year. 2010 5^th round pick Reshad Jones has yet to take Clemons’ spot in the lineup which isn’t a good sign for Jones’ development. I’m really surprised the Dolphins didn’t address either the nickel back position or the free safety position through the draft.

The Dolphins won 7 games in 2010 despite scoring the 3^rd fewest points in the league. Having a good defense helps, but if they rank 30^th in points, or thereabouts, again their record will probably be worse. You just can’t contend in this league unless your quarterback can lead drives and theirs can’t. They went 3-6 down the stretch last season, including 1-4 in their last 5. They had a point differential of -60, which suggests they got lucky with a few wins and really played like a 5-6 win team.

Quarterback: D

Running backs: C+

Receiving corps: B-

Offensive line: C+

Run defense: A

Pass rush: C+

Pass coverage: B-

Coaching: C

Projection: 5-11 4^th in AFC East

By Paul Smythe 

If you are at all concerned with how the Miami Dolphins played in last night’s mud bowl, then please, don’t worry one more minute.

I know it looked like the Dolphins didn’t do too well, and the offense wasn’t really able to produce. While it may look that way, don’t give their performance last night another thought.  

The reason I say not to worry is that this is the preseason. It is never an indication of what the season is going to be like. The New England Patriots went 2-2 in the preseason before they had their almost perfect season.

The preseason means nothing.

Not even Brandon Marshall’s dropped passes matter. Both of them were simply because the ball and/or his hands were wet. They weren’t an indication of things to come in Miami. Brandon Marshall will be a beast for the Dolphins, two dropped passes won’t change that.

If there was anything we learned, it was this: we have a pretty good secondary this year. Apart from them giving up a touchdown, our secondary played really well. Sean Smith got an interception, which was really exciting to me.

But, one player that sticks out to me that you don’t normally hear about is CB Nate Ness.

The guy did great against Tampa Bay, and showed great skills. I think he has a great chance at making the team. Not only was his coverage really good, but he also forced two fumbles. Watch for him during these next three preseason games (that don’t matter at all).

In the end, don’t sweat this game. It means nothing and doesn’t affect anything. Coaches are putting in new players all of the time to see how they do. They are not at all concerned about winning.

Miami will still be great, and this is what Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross said when asked during the game about his guarantee for this year:

“I already told you, we’re going all the way”

I’m just glad the season has already started.

http://www.dolphinshout.com

Offensive Tackle

Marc Colombo was awful in 2010 at right tackle for the Cowboys so they cut him and drafted Tyron Smith 9^th overall. The Dolphins decided to sign him to play right tackle and, naturally, he was awful, allowing 9 sacks and 35 pressures, while struggling as a run blocker. Having the 9^th overall pick this year, the Dolphins could follow in the Cowboys footsteps and use the 9^th overall pick on a right tackle like Jonathan Martin or Riley Reiff.

Defensive End

Other than Cameron Wake and Jason Taylor, no one could get any sort of pressure on the quarterback for the Dolphins last year. Taylor has retired, so they now especially need pass rush help. Opposite Cameron Wake at rush linebacker last year was Koa Misi. Misi is a terrible pass rusher and way too small to play with his hand in the dirt as the Dolphins move to a 4-3. Misi probably is a better fit for the 4-3 than the 3-4, but as an outside linebacker and not a defensive end. They don’t have anyone to play end opposite Cameron Wake. Players like Quinton Coples, Whitney Mercilus, Melvin Ingram, and Courtney Upshaw will be considered at 9.

Quarterback

Matt Moore stabilized the quarterback position down the stretch, but is he really the long term solution, or just a major upgrade over Chad Henne (not saying much). The Dolphins have a good supporting cast and I think Moore could probably get them to the playoffs, but I don’t think they can make it deep into the playoffs with him. Besides, new regimes mean new quarterbacks. Joe Philbin is their new Head Coach coming over from Green Bay. He could easily bring Matt Flynn with him.

Tight End

Anthony Fasano is not very good, but he’s been starting at tight end for a few years because Tony Sparano had a man crush on him, bringing him over from Dallas. Joe Philbin had a pass catching tight end in Jermichael Finley in Green Bay and may be looking for his own version of Finley threw the draft. Or he could just sign Finley, a free agent, if Green Bay doesn’t resign him.

Safety

Reshad Jones was solid against the run, but really struggled in coverage. They could use some competition for them. If the value is right, I could definitely see them drafting a safety.

Cornerback

Vontae Davis and Sean Smith are solid young starting cornerbacks, but their depth behind them isn’t great. This is something that can be addressed through the draft.

Guard

Vernon Carey was solid in his first year moving from right tackle to right guard, but he’s a free agent. He needs to be resigned. If he isn’t resigned, John Jerry, who has struggled to this point in his career after being a 2010 3^rd round pick, would be next in line. I don’t think he deserves to go into 2012 as the undisputed starter.

Free Agency Priorities

Quarterback

Are they really going to try Chad Henne again after he led one of the league’s worst offenses last year? They didn’t draft a quarterback, but they might try to add a veteran through free agency or trade. 

Center

Make this left guard if Mike Pouncey ends up playing center, but they need one more addition inside to fix their offensive line problems. 

Free Safety 

Chris Clemons was one of the worst safeties in coverage last year and he has trouble tackling as well. 2010 5th round pick Reshad Jones could take over for him next year, but if they’re not comfortable with him starting, they could add a safety through free agency.

Draft Needs 

Quarterback

Chad Henne didn’t work out. As good as Jake Long has been, in hindsight, taking Matt Ryan #1 would have been the right move, rather than taking a chance on a flawed 2^nd rounder developing (let this be a lesson to any teams to try to do the same in the future). Extension after they tried to court Jim Harbaugh before even firing him, Tony Sparano recently an extension (even if it was the equivalent of a husband giving his wife a big shiny piece of jewelry after she catches him cheating on her). Sparano’s job appears safe so he can feel confident taking a rookie and waiting for him to develop. If he doesn’t feel comfortable doing that, Kyle Orton, Kevin Kolb, or Donovan McNabb could be in Dolphin uniforms next season.

Cornerback

They ranked 22nd against the pass this year, despite Cameron Wake (my defensive player of the year pick) routinely making life a living hell for opposing quarterbacks. Vontae Davis and Steve Smith both looked promising after solid rookie years as the two starters in 2009. This year, Davis made the leap to one of the best young corners in the league, while Smith struggled. Smith should be moved to nickel corner or safety this offseason.

Drafted Jimmy Wilson (#235) 

Running Back

Both Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are free agents this offseason. Ronnie Brown has never been able to carry the load by himself without getting hurt (on any level), while Ricky Williams is living on borrowed time. He’ll be 33 in May. In addition to that, neither ran well this year. Their 3.7 yards per attempt on the ground this season was tied for 2^nd worst in the league. Even Indianapolis and Green Bay ran better than them. Their 8 rushing touchdowns were tied for 3^rd worst, behind only Carolina and Buffalo.

Drafted Daniel Thomas (#62) 

Safety

If they don’t convert Sean Smith back into a safety, they could draft or sign one. 2009 3^rd round pick Chris Clemons struggles in coverage while 2010 5^th round pick Rashad Jones wasn’t able to take Clemons’ job away from him.

Guard

In 2009, they played a game in which it looked like they would run out of available offensive lineman. They drafted John Jerry in the 3^rd round in April. This year, the same type of thing happened again against Chicago.

Drafted Mike Pouncey (#15) 

Center

In that Chicago game, this team had to go to their 3^rd string center. Depth is needed.

Tight End

Anthony Fasano was brought over by Bill Parcells a few years back, but Parcells is gone. As they showed with their slutty actions (yes, I did say slutty, still sticking with the man cheating on his wife metaphor) in the Sparano/Harbaugh situation, they don’t have much respect for the guys the Tuna liked. Sparano was handpicked by the Tuna to coach his team. Farano’s inability to go over 528 yards in any of his 3 seasons in South Beach doesn’t help his case.

Drafted Charles Clay (#174) 

() FA Rank 

QB Chad Pennington

QB Tyler Thigpen

RB Ronnie Brown

RB Ricky Williams

RB Patrick Cobb

RB Lex Hilliard 

FB Deon Anderson

OT Lydon Murtha

G Richie Incognito- resigned 3 years

G Pat McQuistan

G Nate Garner

NT Paul Solial (#23)- franchised

With Jason Ferguson out of the picture, Solial proved to be one of the best young nose tackles in the game. He was the rock in the middle of their defense and that’s why their run defense was one of the best in the league. He’ll get his money.

3-4 DE Tony McDaniel

RLB Quentin Moses 

Offseason moves:

Resigned Richie Incognito

Cut Deon Anderson

Franchised Paul Solial

Draft