(David Grotefend) The Bloodfest is over, the initial surge as the most coveted free agents are courted by their prospective new employers. Now teams glean over the remaining talent pool, adding an element here or there, but sort of in a holding ‘wait and see’ mode. Of course, as a Dolphin fan I wanted to grade them all ‘F’s, but that wouldn’t be true or fair.

Buffalo has not been a big player so far, with only the signing away from Oakland of OT Cornell Green (an 11th year veteran who has only started 46 games in ten seasons). They did resign Bryan Scott for 3-yr, 9M and kept TE Klopfenstein (their RFA). They lost Jonathon Scott, a 4th yr OT to Pittsburgh, to a 1-yr deal no less.

A couple semi-notable names dot their FA board, but there’s not a whole lot to pick through. Josh Reed, Ryan Denney…

Analysis: Ho-hum, really. Scott is a solid depth player when he’s in there, but he’s only been able to start 18 games…in the last three seasons combined. There’s more interest in if T.O. is going to Cincy than the rest of the Bills FA follies combined. Gailey is a decent enough coach, but he’s going to need more than FA backups and journeymen…The Jill’s offense was 30th in yards, 30th in passing, 16th in rushing and 28th in scoring. Their defense was better, but still 30th against the run. Their pass defense was an over-inflated 2nd because in part other teams simply pummelled them on the ground. Without a franchise QB who can get the job done, they are going to struggle; without the addition of better overall talent they are going to struggle mightily. D, because they got little, and lost some of what little they had.

New England, on the other hand, has been busy. They moved quickly with a number of their players, resigning Banta-Cain, Bodden, Faulk, Neal and slapped the franchise tag on Wilfork. They did lose Chris Baker to Seattle (TE), Jarvis Green to Denver (DE), and Ben Watson to Cleveland (TE). The team has obviously taken a stand against others raiding their depth, but the state of the Patriots is easily determined by looking at one thing…Junior Seau is still on their FA board, apparently available for hire. They have not, conversely, gone after other teams’ players, with only the backup DE Marques Murrell being garnered from the Jets, which probably has more ego chest-beating value in the Boston-NYC feud than it ever will on the field.

Analysis: Wilfork is a beast, and his Hurricane lineage had me salivating at the prospect of bringing him home to be our monster in the middle. However, the Dark Lord has apparently closed the doors of Citadel Pestilence, allowing no raiding of the cupboard. Derrick Burgess appears to be the best of the remaining pickings, unless you count Gostkowski and Hanson, their Placekicker and Punter. B, though I am loathe to admit it. They kept a lot of their depth, which will be critical for an aging team.

New York is a rare case: they will continue to do things over and over again as a franchise though it has failed in every attempt. They passed on Pennington last season, shipping him out in favor of an aging veteran who turned into Mr. Interception and kept them away from the playoffs. Pennington had his best season and beat them in their house to rub salt in the wound. They passed on Jonathan Vilma, sending him to New Orleans and bringing in Calvin Pace. Vilma in ‘08-’09, 242 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 14 PDs, 4 Ints, 2 FFs and 3 FRs. Yeah, he was washed up.

This time, the Jets cut Thomas Jones, who is coming off a career year and FIVE consecutive 1000 yd seasons. They bring in the aging veteran LT to replace him, coming off his worst year. They stand to lose Leon Washington, because there will be someone take a shot at him: he won’t be looking for premium top-dollar coming off an injury. They will be counting on a promising Rookie (Shon Greene), an erratic Rookie (Mark Sanchez) and an aging star near the end of the line (LT).

Their splash has been defensively, as they bring in disgruntled problem child AC, and Cromartie paired with Revis has the already-bandwagon Jet faithful frothing at the mouth.

Analysis: Tannenbaum will continue to convince Woody that he knows what he’s doing. With the circus clown act their new coach has already made that position, it seems somehow inevitable that this Keystone Kops aspect gets exposed. The switch from Jones to Tomlinson is an upgrade? The Jets, though they played well in the Postseason, were an afterthought that got gifted into the Playoffs by their final opponents resting their players. Now they send away their best offensive weapon. Braylon Edwards wasn’t immediately resigned, either…they’re letting him test the waters, apparently. C-; as erratic as Sanchez was, why on earth wouldn’t you keep the part of the machine that WAS functioning properly (#1 rushing game) alone???

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(David Grotefend) Here are some of the views and news around the NFL Combine happening in Indianapolis…

Mitch Petrus OG, Arkansas set a new bench-press mark with 45 reps of 225 lbs.

“I talked to a lot of different quarterbacks coaches and a lot of people who said ‘Wait till after the draft (to change the motion), but I’m not afraid of what anybody thinks. If I need to change it, then I’m going to do it now.” Tim Tebow QB, Florida

“This is the best first round going into the draft that I’ve seen since 1983.” Charley Casserly CBS/NFL Network Analyst

“I’ll play whatever. If I’m on the field it doesn’t really matter. I want to win. I want to contribute. I like football regardless, I’m a safety but I can play linebacker, especially on nickel and sometimes the safety is a linebacker playing in the box, but I trust that a team will hopefully draft me based on what they think I can do best.” Taylor Mays S, USC

“I’m 6-1 and a quarter, 217 [pounds]. I’d like to say I’m 6-4, but this is what God gave me. I did my absolute best in college. I played for four years. I started 53 games in a row … We won more games in college than anyone else. So I don’t know what more anybody can ask of me.” Colt McCoy QB, Texas

“For the wide receivers, these 40s are very important. They’re indications of top-end speed and how quickly you can get to top-end speed.” Michael Irvin NFL Network Analyst

“Coach Sparano was phenomenal. He’s someone who likes to be succinct and to the point and wants to get his message across. The coaches were very laid back and wanted us to succeed. The one thing that Coach Nolan, Coach Bowles, Coach Bonamego, they all said they wanted to put us in positions to excel and to shine because all of these teams were going to be looking at us and evaluating us, they didn’t want to put us out of position so we wouldn’t look that good. So I thought that was tremendous to hear that from NFL coaches and it was great to be coached by that staff.” Myron Rolle S, FSU (and Rhodes Scholar, hoping to one day become a Neurosurgeon)

“When I first got here Thursday, a scout from a team showed us where our hotel rooms were, told us what to wear and where we had to meet before we went to the hospital. When we got to the hospital, the first thing they said was we had to get some blood work done. I have a needle-phobia. I told the nurse to stick me quick so I don’t see the needle but I don’t think she heard me. I saw the needle, my knees got weak and I almost passed out. They took like six tubes of blood and I was like, ‘How much do you need?’ I thought they were going to drain me. That was about the only thing I haven’t liked.” Jonathon Dwyer RB, Georgia Tech

“Coach Weis is a professional-caliber coach. I knew I was going to have a headstep when I decided to pursue my dream and play professional football. That’s one of the things going into college I understood.” Golden Tate WR, Notre Dame

“It would be pretty special, almost like playing in my father’s footsteps or finishing where he left off, so it would be very big to play with either the Saints or Dolphins. But it would be very cool to play with the Dolphins because I’d be right at home and my mom could come to the games anytime and see me. She wouldn’t have to get on an airplane and I have a lot of people that I know down in Florida so that would be very big playing for my home team.” Geno Atkins DE/OLB[3-4] DT[4-3], Georgia (and son of former Dolphin Gene Atkins)

Jacoby Ford WR, Clemson turned in the fastest 40-time so far with a 4.28. Jahvid Best RB, California was the fastest RB with a 4.35.

Early Mock Draft … And the pick is …
( JP Correia) 1) St. Louis - Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska - Bar none the best player in the draft. Suh is the next Richard Seymour and will wreck havoc for the next decade in St Louis. Suh is the absolute complete package with unbelievable size, strength, athleticism, relentlessness, character…everything. There’s nothing to not like about Suh. He’s going to be a big time player.

2) Detroit - Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma - McCoy isn’t Suh, but he is one hell of a player. McCoy will be an 8+ sack guy in the middle of Detroit’s D-line for years, and should be a beast in the run game as well. McCoy will open things up for everybody else and will instantly make the Lions D better. Detroit is in complete disarray right now defensively, and Jim Schwartz took a QB last year. I look for him to go D with the first pick, and McCoy is the best player available. Schwartz knows what a big time D-tackle can do for a defense, and while McCoy isn’t Albert Haynesworth, he’s one hell of a football player.

3) Tampa Bay - Eric Berry, S, Tennessee - Tampa will be real lucky and elated if one of the top 2 D-tackles falls to them here, but I don’t see it happening. Berry is one heck of a player and will help a young Defense tremendously. Put this guy anywhere on the football field and he will make plays for you. Berry is the next Troy Polamalu, and it won’t be long until he proves it at the NFL level.

4) Washington - Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma - I definitely see the Skins taking a QB to build around with this pick. Whether it is Bradford or Clausen remains to be seen, but to me, the best QB in this year’s draft bar none is Sam Bradford. Bradford is the prototypical NFL pocket passer and reminds me of a young Tom Brady. Mike Shanahan will be looking for the next John Elway with this pick, and I think he’ll see a winner in Bradford.

5) Kansas City - Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma - That’s 3 Oklahoma Sooners taken in the top 5. A lot of people consider Trent Williams to be right below the other top OT’s in this year’s draft, but I would consider Williams to be the best pass protector in this year’s class. Williams has the same type of build and style of play as Matt Light, who Scott Pioli obviously is very familiar with. While I would personally take McClain with this pick, I think KC needs to find a way to protect Matt Cassel, and drafting Williams and moving Albert to RT would go a long ways in doing just that.

6) Seattle - Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame - Pete Carrol will need a young QB to build around, and he’ll need to get one before Matt Hasselbeck retires. I think Clausen could be a very good QB to run a west coast type offense in Seattle, and Hasselbeck should be a very good mentor. Walter Jones needs a replacement, and while there is a lot to chose from at this spot, I think that the Seahawks delay it another few picks.

7) Cleveland - Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma St. - While the Browns did take 2 WR’s in the 2nd round last season, their offense is absolutely atrocious and they need a big time play-maker on the outside. While Dez is not the best player on the board, the Browns need to go offense here, even if it means reaching for somebody. They’re defense is terrible as well, but not as noticeably incapable as the offense. Take Bryant, and build around him.

Oakland - Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida - While CJ Spiller and Taylor Mays are the most attractive skill position players on the board here for Al Davis, JPP is a ridiculous athlete at DE, and the Raiders could use some help pass rush wise. While I think Paul is a bust at the next level, Al Davis will fall in love with him, and will take him at number 8.

9) Buffalo - Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers - Buffalo’s offensive line is second to none in the NFL in terms of terribleness. The Bills’ offensive line is pathetic, and with good value here and some good OT’s still available, they would be nuts not to take one here. Davis is the best available OT at this spot, in my opinion.

10) Denver - Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama - Miami fans are now devastated and looking for the nearest bridge to jump off of. I think that McClain and Haden are the two best players on the board here. CB is not a need in Denver, so I think they go get the big time ILB. Denver needs some bulk in the middle as their run D was terrible last season. McClain is a real good pick-up with Dez Bryant off the board here.

11) Jacksonville - Joe Haden, CB, Florida - This is crazy good value here for the Jags as Haden is a steal, and the Jags have needed a CB to opposite Mathis for years. Haden is a great pick at 11.

12) Miami - Brandon Graham, DE/OLB, Michigan - The Dolphins need help at LB more than anywhere else on the field, and with McClain off the board, there is no ILB really worth this pick. Bill Parcells goes with the big time pass rusher in Graham and gives himself a hell of a duo for the future with Graham and Cam Wake. The question then becomes who plays the strong side? Graham is built to be more of a SOLB because of his size, strength, and unique ability against the run. Wake is more of the pure pass rusher, which you would automatically think weak side, however Miami clearly likes him on the left side. In any case, I guess it’s a good problem to have. Graham is a heck of a player though, and would be a solid pick.

13) San Francisco - Taylor Mays, S, USC - I think Mike Singletary will fall in love with this guy. He’s a Singletary type of a player. The 49ers really do not have a safety worth noting, and while I don’t like Mays, I think San Fran will fall in love with his athleticism and envision a lethal combo between him and their stud in the middle Patrick Willis.

14) Seattle - Russel Okung, OT, Oklahoma St. - Okung would be a steal at 14. If recent history suggests anything, it is that OT’s will not fall; in fact, teams will reach for them. This year though I see things going differently. Seattle though gets a great pass protecting OT in Okung to protect their new young QB.

15) New York Giants - Earl Thomas, FS, Texas - Anybody who saw the G-Men play last season knows that their secondary was just pathetic. They got burned by opposing QB’s week in and week out with ease. They need to address the safety position, and Earl Thomas is going to be a very good FS in the NFL.

16) Tennessee - Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech - Tennessee gets maybe the best pass rusher in the draft with Morgan at 16. Morgan should be able to provide a presence opposite of Kyle Vanden Bosch, and an eventual replacement as he is 31 years old. Morgan has the perfect size to play LDE.

17) San Francisco - Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa - Another first round pick for Mike Singletary. This one goes to fortifying the offensive line. Bulaga could be a steal here at 17. He fits the mold of a Mike Singletary type of a player; mean, tough, physical. He could provide SF with one of the best OT combo’s in the NFL.

18) Pittsburgh - Dan Williams, DT/NT, Tennessee - Casey Hampton is a potential FA, and the Steelers need an eventual replacement even if he does come back next season. Hampton is getting older, and the Steelers always draft for the future. There aren’t any interior O-lineman really worth this pick, so Pitt goes with Williams, who will be a force at 34 NT.

19) Atlanta - Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida - The Falcons need to start generating more pressure on the QB, and former number 8 overall pick Jamaal Anderson has been a complete bust. John Abraham is getting older as well. Dunlap has the right size to play LDE, and is a top 10 talent. The DUI will drop him down to 19 where Atlanta gets a steal.

20) Houston - CJ Spiller, RB, Clemson - It’s hard to imagine Spiller falling this far. Somebody will likely take a risk and take him in the 12-15 range. I don’t like Spiller as much as most but he fits the Houston offense extremely well. He would be a perfect fit and the Texans front office would go bazurk if he fell to 20.

21) Cincinnati - Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma - Gresham is going to be an absolute stud at the TE position for years to come. The Bengals need to get back to throwing the football a little more, and a big target at TE like Gresham could work wonders for Carson Palmer. A young WR is also a possibility here, but there really is nobody worth taking. That said Gresham would be a steal.

22) New England - Sergio Kindle, DE/OLB, Texas - The Patriots need a pass rusher as badly as anyone in the NFL. Kindle is a good player and Bill Bellichick will have a lot of fun moving him around the front 7.

23) Green Bay - Everson Griffin, DE/OLB, USC - Aaron Kampman will probably not be back next year in GB, and that leaves a hole at OLB. Griffin wouldn’t be a bad pick-up here and has ideal size to play SOLB. Other options would include ANY O-lineman available.

24) Philadelphia - Sean Witherspoon, OLB, Mizzou - Philly will probably trade out of this pick and grab a future 1st rounder, as they really do not have any holes at all…they have very good young players across the board on both sides of the football. If they do stay they take the BPA, and so Witherspoon is the pick. Witherspoon had a huge Senior Bowl and will have a monster combine. He’s going to be a very good player at the next level.

25) Baltimore - Arrelious Benn, WR, Illinois - The Ravens need a WR badly, and while it might be a bit of a reach, Benn is the best potential number 1 WR available, with good size, speed, agility, and hands. Baltimore will probably make a run at a veteran, but if they are forced to draft one it could very well be Benn.

26) Arizona - Muarkice Puncey, C, Florida - The Cardinals need to start running the football a little more with Kurt Warner gone and Matt Leinart now at the helm. The Cardinals have a significant hole at C, and could use a guard as well. Puncey should help shore up the inside and create some run lanes for Wells and Hightower.

27) Dallas - Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame - Dallas is one of the more talented teams in the NFL, if not the most talented. Austin is a heck of a receiver on the outside, but do they really have anybody to opposite him? Roy Williams seems to get worse each Sunday, and they don’t have anybody for the future at the position besides Austin. Tate could add another play maker to an already explosive offense.

28) San Diego - Jahvid Best, RB, California - While the Chargers need an every down RB, I think that they can get that a little bit later. They could lose Sproles in FA, and LT is all but gone. Best is an explosive, dynamic play maker that would add yet another weapon to the Charger offense. team him up with a power RB like a Toby Gerhart and you could be looking at a 6 ypc guy in Best.

29) New York Jets - Jared Odrick, DE/DT, Penn St. - The Jets need to find some pass rushing LBs, and while Odrick is not a LB he is an extremely talented player that would fit real well in Rex Ryan’s 34 D.

30) Minnesota - Brian Price, DT, UCLA - The Vikings’ Williams Wall has been an impenetrable force for the last few years, but one of the pieces is approaching 40. Kyle Wilson could also be an option at CB, but the Vikings need to get a replacement for Pat Williams, and Price could be just that.

31) Indianapolis - Geno Atkins, DT, Georgia - I think the Colts finally get smart here and go get a D-tackle. Unfortunately it’s not to get a run stuffer, it’s to get a fast, play making interior lineman to wreck havoc on 3rd down’s with Freeney and Mathis. Atkins was unstoppable at the Sr. Bowl, and fits the Colts D real well.

32) New Orleans - Daryl Washington, LB, TCU - Washington would move to OLB in the Saints D. While New Orleans does not really have any holes anywhere, they do have some impending FA’s, including Scott Fujita. Washington is a fast play making LB that could help out the Saints D from day 1, and would make an excellent 3rd down LB.

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(J.P. Correia) Watching the Saints win the Super Bowl in Dolph….err….Land Sh….err….Sun Life Stadium, was actually enjoyable. I think I speak for everyone when I say I was happy to see the city of New Orleans get that victory. And yes, while it was somewhat painful to see Drew Brees hoist that Super Bowl trophy in our house…coulda, shoulda, woulda… that was not what I was thinking about today. What will it take for us to get to that pinacle? Is year 3 the year we make the big leap?

Obviously personnel wise, Miami is not there quite yet. Can they get there with one more off season? Who knows. Never under-estimate Bill Parcells, however, it would take one heck of a draft and a couple of very good FA pick-ups, (not necessarily Shawne Merrimen or Vince Wilfork, but a couple of solid football players who can contribute). But there is more than just how talented your group of 53 is. To me, there are 4 things that your organization needs in order to win it all.

1) Leadership. Your team needs leadership in the locker room, and also upstairs. I think we have one-half of this. There is no greater presence in the NFL than Bill Parcells’ watchful eye keeping tabs on the team. I think that we have a very solid front office, and very solid leadership within our front office. Do we have the leadership in the locker room though? Sure, you’ve got guys like Jason Ferguson, Jason Taylor, Chad Pennington, etc. And while a lot of those types of players could be gone next season, I do think we have guys who can step in and fill that role. But do we have the leadership from the coaches and the Head Coach himself? This whole Joey Porter situation illustrates my point pretty well. Not only did we allow for one of the faces of the franchise to ignore coaches during games, and create a rift in the locker room, but we also allowed him to take it public, and get teammates to defend him … publicly. I’m worried.

2) Coaching. This past Sunday was one of the best displays of coaching I have ever seen. If it didn’t work, I’d probably be writing about how foolish some of Sean Payton’s decisions were, but I’m not. One of the biggest things I have with this coaching staff is not what they do Monday-Friday, because clearly these players are prepared and they do get taught well by their coaches on the game they play, but what they, or he, do/does on Sunday. Coach Sparano is unfortunately one of the most conservative coaches in the NFL, yet he also makes very odd and bone head on-the-spot decisions sometimes. Whether it is when to bring in the Pat White package, or when to use his timeouts, he seems to have lost it at times. I think a lot of these things will come with experience; after all, this is his first Head Coaching gig in the NFL. But he needs to become less conservative, and that comes with learning how to trust his players and how to send them a message while on the field saying, “I trust you to win this game for us.” Sean Payton sent this message to his team Sunday with such confidence, that I think it was the deciding factor in them winning. Coach, I love you, but you need to put some bigger pants on, on Sunday’s.

3) Experience. While I do think that ‘experience’ is a little overrated when it comes to the Post Season, I do think it does play a minor factor. But this is not the experience I am talking about. This kind of goes along with leadership, however, you need guys on that team, on that field, in that locker room who have been there - done that. You need veterans who know how to get out of a slump, how to slow their team down after a big win, how to pick their team out of a tough divisional loss, and a player out of a bad play or game. You look at the Saints; yes they have youth, but they’ve got great leadership and experience on the field, and it just makes it easier on the young guys. From Sharper, to Vilma, to Brees, or Shockey, they have guys who can take young guys under their wings, and guide them through a very strenuous NFL season. I think we have this, but we cannot afford to let guys like JT, Ferguson, or Pennington go if possible to bring them back.

4) Passion/Heart. Bill Parcells is all about passion, and that is what his football teams have always been about. This team played with a lot of passion in 2008. Enough to carry them to a division title. I did not see that same passion last season. Was it because of injuries to so many key players? Was it because of the locker room “rift”? I don’t know what it was, but there was no passion. Passionate teams do not give up the most 4th quarter points of any team in the NFL. Passionate teams do not lose their last 3 games with the playoffs on the line. Passionate teams do not start the season 0-3. I am not sure where it stemmed from, but the passion needs to be placed back into Miami Dolphin football in 2010.

Right now, Miami is a young team still trying to find the right mix in the locker room, and with a Coach still trying to get comfortable calling the shots on Sunday. It’s a team that needs to add a little more passion, a little more leadership, and a little more experience to the roster. I’m not saying it needs to get older, just more experienced; there is a difference.

Can this all be done this off season? Like I said, never under estimate the Tuna.

Well….here we go. The season is officially over, and the 10 year long off season has arrived. The Draft countdown has officially begun. Just 2 and a half more months!!

Ugh…

GO PHINS!!!

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(Gary Ramey) It is almost expected after a season of disappointment that you’d hear rumors of discontent and discord between players and coaches but the drama going on with Joey Porter goes beyond the normal. It is starting to blossom into the Terrell Owens - Randy Moss type of soap opera.

The problem here is obvious, Porter isn’t producing on the field. You might put up with his prima-donna attitude if his production on the field were at the same level as his mouth. Unfortunately for Joey, it is not. I’ve been a supporter right up until his latest demand for a trade. Trade? Did he mention trade?

Joey, I hate to be the first to break it to you but Miami might get a used decoder ring and a Mark McGuire baseball card for you. Your trade value is zilch…nada…zero. Sparano has to put an end to this charade quickly. There’s a lot of young guys on the team and right now Porter is a cancer.

Apparently the rift began about mid-season when Porter was benched. The rumor says he refused to come off the field when told to. So Sparano benched Porter.

It is funny that after the benching Porter actually started to produce on the field.Most of his sacks came after that point. Maybe Joey saw the writing on the wall and was trying to buy his bus ticket out of Miami.

Well, as sad as it is to say, it is time for Miami to part ways with J-Peezy. Time to move on with Wake, resign Taylor and draft an OLB this spring.

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I believe there are a few big areas and questions about the 2009 Miami Dolphins that will need to be answered to know for sure if this team can take the next step and continue there upward surge that started in 2008. We all know this team came from 1-15 to 11-5, which gave the Dolphins the AFC East Championship. We also know that last year was the beginning of a major rebuilding project, a project in which youth, size and talent was infused into the orginization via the draft and smart moves in free agency. While much was remarkably accomplished in one year, there were certain areas of concerns that crystalized during the season, areas that have to be addressed if this team is to go further than just the 1st round of the playoffs or even makes the playoffs again.

Fellow Phinfever blogger NFLJunkie bought this area of concern up a few weeks ago, and in my mind this is by far the biggest area of concern, the offensive line. The main reason for Miami going to the Wildcat Formation last year was the inability of the offensive line to generate push in the run game, especially up the middle. When you have backs the caliber of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, there is no excuse for your running game not to be one of the very best in the NFL, and while Miami did finish in the top 15 for rushing yardage, when Miami needed to be able to run for the tough yardage in key situations, they struggled mightly. In Jake Long and Vernon Carey, you have young, huge and very talented bookend tackles in place and when healthy, Justin Smiley is a very solid OLG. The problems for the Phins last year were at C position and ORG, positions manned by Samson Satele and Donald Thomas for a game. Thomas got hurt and did not return after the 1st game, starting the myraid of players that attempted to man the ORG position. The lack of continuity at the ORG position really hurt the OL and probably effected the play of Satele and Carey last year as well. To be fair to Satele also, the kid played with a torn labrum for a good part of the 2008 season and grinded it out, but this could not help his play as well.

In the end the regime decided that a change needed to be made at the C position as they viewed Satele as more of a finesse player, a zone blocking type of a center than a power type player they wanted. Jason Brown was Miami 1st choice, no question. At 6′4, 325 lbs, Brown fit the criteria of a power player with size at the position, but in the end the St. Louis Rams were willing to over pay for him and pay him like an OG. Miami instead signed Jake Grove from the Oakland Raiders, a player that fits the criteria of what they were looking for as well. Also during free agency the Dolphins added Joe Berger, an OG/OC from Dallas to add more size and versatility to the OL.

Point blank, Jake Grove and the stablization of the ORG position along with Justin Smiley coming back healthy are big, big keys to the OL. IF they can step up and play well and stay healthy, this offense can take a step up to the next level. IF not, then there will be more of the same from 2008 in regards to the run game.

Next in line of areas that needed to be addressed is the nose tackle position. Jason Ferguson was a rock for Miami in the middle at NT, but the one game were he got hurt against the Baltimore Ravens in there earlier meeting during the regular season, the Ravens were able to exploit the injury and gash the Dolphins for 149 yards rushing. With Ferguson, Miami gave up 101 yards a game rushing, which was 10th in the NFL, so you get an idea of how key Ferguson is to this defense. That being said, Jason will be 35 years old once we get into the season and it is paramount that the Dolphins have someone groomed to take his place when Jason finally steps down. Paul Solari has the size at 6′4, 355 lbs to be a dominant NT and has shown flashes of ability. He also has shown his immaturity as well and was suspended multiple times last year. The only reason he is still on the roster is because he has SO much potential. But to say he is on his last leg with this staff and regime is an understatement. Miami did not draft a NT in the draft, so Solari, Joe Cohen and undrafted free agent Louis Ellis, a talented NT from Shaw will have to be part of the solution at the nose tackle position.

The final area in my view is the secondary. Some will say the WR position and continue to harp on the fact that Miami does not really have a so called #1 WR. But when you lose the CB that led your team in interceptions and the FS that help stablize your secondary, and even with these players your pass defense was 25th in the league, this is an area that needed to be addressed. Andre Goodman played very well during a large portion of the season and led the team in interceptions, but he certainly had his issues staying healthy and Denver signed him to a contract that Miami did not want to pay for a soon to be 31 year old CB. Renaldo Hill came in and replaced Chris Croker early in the season and help stabalize the Dolphin secondary, but his lack of physical play and not being a solid tackler hurt this team. To help address the secondary, the Dolphins bought in Gibril Wilson from Oakland to address the need at FS. Gibril is younger than Hill at 27 years old, more physical and a much more solid tackler and has 2 fewer career intereceptions playing 3 less years than Hill, and he was the starting safety on the Giants team that beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2007. Miami also added Eric Green from the Arizona Cardinals, adding another young, physical DB to the mix. Then Miami went into the draft and bought in a group of big, physical defensive backs in Vontae Davis, CB out of Illinois, Sean Smith, CB out of Utah and Chris Clemons, S out of Clemson.

Will adding these pieces to the secondary along with the existing pieces of Will Allen, Jason Allen, Yeremiah Bell, Tyrone Culver & Nathan Jones take this secondary to the next level, time will tell, but there improvement is part of the bigger puzzle for the Miami Dolphins to take the next step.

“Crucial questions that have to be answered by the Dolphins to take the next step”
Written by Tony Simmons
Sunday, 14 June 2009

Jason Taylor’s agent, Gary Wichard, said that JT just signed a 1 year, $1.5 million contract to play for the Dolphins this year. That is a huge drop-off from the $8.5 million he was to make with the Redskins. I imagine that for a man who has millions in the bank, being happy was more important for him at this stage of his career.

I am ecstatic at the thought of him lining up opposite of Joey Porter, and I am excited that he will finish off his career with the Dolphins. He told the Redskins that he was not happy playing for them and wanted to play for the Dolphins. So, he told the Dolphins to do whatever it took to get him signed.

I am surprised that he did not go up north to play for the Patsies as they would be the favorite to make it to the Super Bowl. But, it was a long way away from his family in South Florida. Had he done that I would have taken his fat head poster off of my wall in disgust … seriously. While football is also a business, it is also the last place where we have heroes. There is a devotional element to this game, too.

JT will line up as an outside linebacker, but which side will he be on? Will he be back at his old position? Chances are that that will not happen as Joey Porter dominated at that position last year. My guess is that JT will line up at weakside linebacker. We could even move him inside in passing situations if we wanted to. As Henry joked on the forum, we can use him in the Wild Cat on defense;)

Having Jason Taylor back gives the Dolphins a pass-rushing specialist and the look of a team that wants the Super Bowl this year … and I am all right with that!

by David Blake
May 13, 2009.

I’ll breathe a sigh of relief once the out clause period has expired. Yes, Parcells is saying all the right things. He is at the Senior Bowl doing his job. He’s scouting players, signing potential “diamonds in the rough” like Cameron Wake, and wearing Dolphins gear while doing it.

But it doesn’t mean diddly until he is still working for the Dolphins 24 days from now.

So while many in Dolphinsland might feel relieved at the signals Parcells is sending, I’m not yet fully convinced.
Within those words of reassurance, there are also words that, for me at least, raise eyebrows.

“I think we will have ample time to figure each other out”, said Parcells. “I’m very optimistic. I’ve had two or three meetings with Steve Ross and he seems to be a guy who wants to do things the right way. There will be a period of adjustment. He’s got to find out about the business. We are going to try and make things work.”

There will be a period of adjustment? We are going to try and make things work?

Obviously Parcells is not yet 100% sure about incoming owner Stephen Ross. Mr. Ross would be smart to show Parcells early and often that he does not intend to interfere with Parcells and his football operation. Mr. Ross should make it clear that he is giving Parcells carte blanche to run the football side of the Dolphins as he sees fit.

My worry is that owners, who are rich guys, sometimes tend to have egos. I’ve read some things about Mr. Ross which indicate he has an ego. Hopefully it is not a Jerry Jones type of ego.

There have been mumblings that Parcells is not a “Ross guy”. There was the Carl Peterson story a few weeks ago. You hear the stories about how Ross wants to immediately leave his mark on the franchise. Granted those seem to be geared more towards the business side. Let’s hope it stays that way, for the good of the Dolphins and for the good of Mr. Ross as a new owner. Otherwise he might face a bigger backlash than even Huizenga did when he “fired” Don Shula.

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“Parcells To Stay…. Right?”

By Rich Rodriguez