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

By Paul Smythe 

One thing the New England Patriots are good at is putting up points, and if the Miami Dolphins want to beat them then they will need to put up points of their own. 

In order to do that the Dolphins will need Chad Henne to be on target and play well Monday night. Miami has not been very successful running the ball, and they do not want to have to use it as a crutch because of a failed passing offense.

The Patriots passing defense has been prone to give up a lot to opposing quarterbacks, and I don’t believe Henne is going to be any exception. New England is the 27th worst passing defense with 260.3 yards allowed per game, and they are 28th worst in points allowed with 27.3 allowed per game.

It is a favorable match-up for sure, but the game is yet to be played, and anything can happen. Henne has a great chance to come out and play well, but it is still not going to be easy. He will still be playing NFL-caliber players, and each game is going to be a challenge.

What I want to see from Henne is an ability to not just focus on one receiver during a play. I want him to see that his first option is covered and move on to his next option. We need him to stop staring at who he is going to throw the ball to for the entire play and start being a little more unpredictable. He may not be able to stop completely staring for a while, though. He still has to develop, and that will take time.

But, every game he plays is that much more experience gained.

The interesting thing to me is that even though Henne stares down his targets he is still able to be successful. It will work most of the time, but the problem gets to be when safeties realize from film how Henne stares down his target. When they realize what Henne does they can really start to tell what Henne is going to do.

So, let’s hope Henne develops out of his staring quickly because we don’t want defenses to be able to anticipate where he is going to throw it and jump in for the interception.

Be sure to look at the direction Chad Henne’s head points towards and where his eyes are looking. Hopefully he won’t just be staring at one person for the whole play every play. We can’t afford for him to be predictable Monday night.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/

By Paul Smythe 

When the Miami Dolphins play in their home opener this weekend their main concern should be on stopping one person: 

Mark Sanchez.

I know that the New York Jets running game is supposed to be really great, but I am here to tell you that the running game should not be our main concern. The most important thing the Dolphins can do Sunday night is to get in Mark Sanchez’s head by pressuring him all night.

You Might As Well Replace The 6 With A Target

Look at last week’s game against the Vikings, for example. Adrian Peterson ran everywhere on the Dolphins, but they still couldn’t win because Miami shut down Brett Favre and forced him to make mistakes.

They should do the same with Sanchez.

Sanchez is a young player, and when he is pressured he is definitely more likely to make a mistake than a more experienced player.

Mark Sanchez is the Miami Dolphins primary concern for two reasons. I have already mentioned the first reason, which is that he is young and inexperienced and Miami should be able to capitalize on his mistakes with turnovers. The other reason is that a potent passing offense is much more dangerous than a potent rushing offense.

We don’t want Mark Sanchez airing it out all night because that would mean the Jets will put up a lot of points on the board. I am not yet sure if the Dolphins are capable of winning a high-scoring shootout just yet. I would rather a ground battle between the two that could be decided by turnovers.

Running the ball is less efficient than passing and does not give the offense a better chance to score. When you run the ball you have to depend on consistent yardage practically every play so you can earn a first down. All it takes is one loss of yards and you are at risk of having to punt the ball.

New York needs to lose confidence in Sanchez throwing against the Dolphins defense. That way they will have to run the ball, which is better because when a team is passing the ball they will usually get a first down after a single completion. That means they have room for a few incompletions and can still be successful. We don’t want the Jets to have that option. We want them to be forced to run through the fear that Sanchez will throw a pick.

The NFL has already transformed into a passing league. You’ve heard it a million times before, and it is true. Teams have started to realize that the best way to win is to throw the ball, which is why we need to shut down Mark Sanchez.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/

By Paul Smythe

Last night’s offensive performance by the Miami Dolphins was very fun to watch. I don’t care if it does not really mean too much because it is preseason. It was just fun to see our passing game work out so well.

Imagine if our passing offense can be just like that this season.

Brandon Marshall had a few great catches and two great blocks, but we already expect that from him. He was not too much of a surprise.

No, the biggest surprise was Tight End Anthony Fasano. Fasano had two receiving touchdowns. One was a relatively short reception with a long run following. The other was a great grab in the air inside the endzone.

It was also good to see Chad Henne do so well. He was 11 for 14 with 151 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and a 151.2 passer rating. It seemed like everything he threw was right on target and he was comfortable with the offense.

The best part about it was that Miami didn’t really even have to rely on the running game. It is good to see that we will not have to worry as much about the passing game this year. The running game will no longer be the crutch that we lean on. Just another weapon we can use at any time.

Another fun thing to watch was how well Pennington did. If, knock on wood, Henne is injured and unable to play we will have Pennington ready to step in.

I know I have said before that we do not really need Pennington, and I honestly still do not think he is an absolute necessity. But, he sure can run the offense. The Dolphins offense won’t lose much if he does have to step in.

So, be thankful that things are going well in the preseason so far. Now let’s hope it translates into the regular season.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/ 

OT Levy Adcock (Oklahoma State)

DT Armond Armstead (USC)

CB Conroy Black (Utah)

WR Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)

QB Matt Blanchard (Wisconsin-Whitewater)

DT Michael Brockers (LSU)

G Brandon Brooks (Miami-OH)

RB Zach Brown (Pittsburgh)

RB Travaris Cadet (Appalachian State)

CB Morris Claiborne (LSU)

DE Quinton Coples (North Carolina)

OLB Lavonte David (Nebraska)

OT David Gonzales (Washington State)

TE Ladarius Green (LA-Lafayette)

CB Antonio Fenelus (Wisconsin)

WR Michael Floyd (Notre Dame)

CB Chris Greenwood (Albion)

S Brandon Hardin (Oregon State)

C Tyler Horn (Miami)

CB Jayron Hosley (Virginia Tech)

DE Melvin Ingram (South Carolina)

OLB Bruce Irvin (West Virginia)

S Trumaine Johnson (Montana)

DE Chandler Jones (Miami)

OT Bobby Massie (Mississippi)

G Kelechi Osemele (Iowa State)

QB Brock Osweiler (Arizona State)

WR Darius Reynolds (Iowa State)

TE Adrien Robinson (Cincinnati)

S Brandon Taylor (LSU)

OLB Korey Toomer (Idaho)

OLB Bobby Wagner (Utah State)

G Desmond Wynn (Rutgers)

By Paul Smythe

The Miami Dolphins first preseason games is this Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It is also the debut of the new defense against another team that Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan has installed in Miami.

Miami will change their philosophy from a conservative mentality to a more aggressive one, and that will hopefully produce big plays defensively. Nolan has apparently preached during practices for the Dolphins to be more aggressive on defense, and we will see how it works out.

The Miami Dolphins defense is also dealing with a lot of new starting personnel on the defensive line and with the linebackers.

The Dolphins drafted DE Jared Odrick and LB Koa Misi in the draft this year, and they will probably make a big impact on defense. Odrickseems to be the one making the biggest impact, and you should expect to see him do very well this year.

Miami also added veteran LB Karlos Dansby, who should help lead the team and get them going in the right direction.

My favorite change so far, though, has been the Miami Dolphins attempting to use and develop LB Cameron Wake. Wake is an extremely athletic player who has an incredible ability to get to the quarterback and pile up sacks. His only problem before is he lacked in other skills like pass coverage, which is why the Dolphins didn’t use him too much last year.

Well, hopefully he has developed his pass coverage so we can see him in more often, because he is an explosive player.

He will be the most interesting person to watch this offseason.So, sit back and enjoy the game. Hopefully our new defense will make it even more enjoyable.

http://www.dolphinshout.com

By Paul Smythe 

I am not sure how happy I should be about this win.

On one hand, the Miami Dolphins were able to move the ball pretty well(except for the third quarter), and they were also able to shut down the Buffalo Bills offense for practically the whole game.

Most importantly, though, was that they were able to get a season opening win for the first time in forever. It is good to see a “0” in the losses column after the first game.

One the other hand, the Miami Dolphins special teams did not perform well at all. Yes, Kicker Dan Carpenter hit two field goals and Brandon Fields had an incredible punt to pin the Bills late in the fourth quarter, but that hardly makes up for the other problems with our special teams.

If you compare the points Carpenter earned, missed, and gave up, he ended up with 0 points. That probably does not make any sense, so let me explain:

Carpenter made two field goals, which is six points in his favor, but he also missed a field goal, which I count as a loss of 3 points. That puts his total at 3 points. Carpenter also kicked the ball out of bounds on the kickoff, which gave the Bills great field position on the 40 yard line. They used that position to get in field goal range and kick a field goal.

So, if Carpenter had not messed up on those two kicks then you would be looking at an 18-7 win (+3 to Miami for the missed field goal and -3 to Buffalo for the bad kickoff) for the Dolphins.

Another big problem was Punter Brandon Fields’ punting on fourth downs. He had multiple punts that didn’t go nearly as far as they should have and gave the Bills better field position. Thankfully, none of the punts hurt the Dolphins too much because of their strong defense.

Chad Henne, who is going to be the most scrutinized player until he starts doing extremely well, was pretty good in Buffalo. He was 21 for 34 with 182 yards and no touchdowns. He did good, but there were still a lot of incompletions because he was out of sync with the receivers. That will develop with time, though, and I am not worried about it. The running game will always be there to help in times of need.

Marshall was, as always, a reception machine with 8 receptions for 53 yards. He would have had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown if Henne had not underthrown him on a deep pass.

Overall, it was a good game and I am glad that we could get the win under our belts.

http://www.dolphinshout.com/