The Miami Dolphins’ 2009 Preseason: Analysis

With new minority interests in Miami Dolphins’ organization being spotlighted this offseason, the team added much needed depth and gets tougher with the coaching staff taking a hard line approach to the actual football played on the field.

Owner Stephen Ross understands his role and Coach Sparano understands his role as head coach.

Get the Miami Dolphins back to Number 1!

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Miami Dolphins Update: Is There Progress With Ernest Wilford At H-Back?

Ernest Wilford is a former Miami Dolphin wide receiver.

For some reason, Mr. Wilford is still a Dolphin after being considered a letdown for the position of wide receiver last year.

Credit coach Sparano for sticking with his guy and adjusting to what the Dolphins are now doing on offense.

Adding to the confusion of the “wildcat” by drafting West Virginia quarterback Pat White, it seems the Dolphins are content with switching players around who can fit different offensive schemes instead of just cutting them and messing up their salary cap position for next year.

On top of that, the Dolphins held their frustrations about Wilford inside because he showed up for every practice, every meeting and every game. That speaks volumes about his character and the type of players that make up this team.

Wilford would have played more if Davone Bess didn’t make the amazing strides he did in his first season. Bess was undrafted and made the team as a free agent.

Being a better teammate, which is just as important for Wilford, has allowed the offense to flourish with the same players for the last half of the season.

This season starts out optimistically for Wilford as he positions himself to be possibly the sixth wide receiver, third tight end, or both. He could even be seen in the backfield during some formations as the h-back (a roving blocking back in the backfield used as a decoy mostly for short yardage situations made popular most recently by Frank Wycheck of the 2001-2002 Tennessee Titans).

With these possibilities, Parcells must have a lot of faith in Wilford.

By not shifting him to another team in the offseason, Ernest Wilford will have every conceivable chance of making the team  by not causing a stir last year, despite having a huge contract or having a huge ego to go with that contract.

Of course, Wilford was not happy with his playing time.

But more importantly, he understood the meaning of being a Miami Dolphin and helping the team do whatever it took to get to the playoffs.

This year, Wilford’s attitude and play on the field might get them deeper into the playoffs.

Yet Another sign that the cohesiveness built during the offseason last year is paying off bigger dividends in year two of the “plan.”

 

OTA Summer Talk: AFC East Gearing Up For Exciting 2009

The AFC East can just look at this picture to know the jawing has already started.

Channing Crowder labeled New York Jets coach Rex Ryan the “Super Bowl winner of the OTAs”.

The newly hired New York Jets’ coach fired back with a quick retort about how he has been around football all his life. 

Blah Blah.

That’s all you got coach Ryan?

At least the New England Patriots go out on a limb and say they are best team in the NFL.

Kerry Rhodes adds “[the Jets] have the best defense in the AFC East.”

Wow, these guys sure do a lot of talking considering they haven’t won anything in awhile.

Ok, I admit Jets’ players do carry a “swag” or confidence into New York City but the reality is the AFC East is Tom Brady’s to lose and if he gets injured again, then the Miami Dolphins know how to swoop in and take the title also. Buffalo has more “Star” power now and are ready to pump up the Bills’ fans.

So all this talk about intimidation in the summer wreaks more havoc when the teams hit the field in September.

Let the rivalries begin!

The Miami Dolphinshave added Gibril Wilson in addition to drafting two athletic defensive backs to cover the many wide receivers of the division. The Dolphins had problems with depth last year and seem to have solved that this year by also adding Tony McDaniel and welcoming back Jason Taylor to the defensive front seven.

Dolphin middle linebacker Channing Crowder doesn’t need Ryan’s words to inspire him to play better football. He is a defensive leader and probably the best tackler for the Dolphins, since he took over on the inside for Zach Thomas last year.

Dol-fans surprisingly did not miss Thomas as much as we thought we would on the field. 

But we sorely wished he could have gone on the ride from 1-15 to the playoffs.

Ryan will find out real soon what the AFC East is all about. 

Sure he knows some solid football coming from the AFC North Baltimore Ravens. 

But he never had to face Tom Brady twice a year or had to deal with the media of Gotham City.

Things will change when Ryan realizes his new team is not the Ravens when it faces Chad Pennington without Ed Reed (Pennington’s nemesis).

Pennington will love to continuously show the Jets they made a mistake last year for cutting him and getting nothing back in return but a loss in the biggest Jet game in years.

Quietly in Orchard Park, Buffalo Bills QB Trent Edwards is organizing a movement to shut Ryan’s mouth by working overtime with an offense that will be without RB Marshawn Lynch for the first four games but will feature new hometown hero and ticket salesman Terrell Owens.

The “Buffalo Triplets” include Edwards, Owens, and Lee Evans. Evans is the forgotten man of the offense but you can be sure AFC East defenses will be scrambling to cover the long distance threat of the Bills’ offense.

Trent Edwards will be trying to lead the Bill offense to more consistency as they made changes on the line in order to protect him from concussion causing sacks. Fred Jackson, the tough running back find of a year ago, will bring his tenacious running attack to balance the passing game.

Word from the New England Patriots camp is that Tom Brady is relaxed.

That doesn’t bode well for the rest of the NFL let alone the AFC East.

Add Joey Galloway, Greg Lewis plus Fred Taylor to Randy Moss, Laurence Maroney, Wes Welker and Brady has his best offensive weapons ever.

The AFC East should be very exciting with some of the best games of the NFL on the schedule in addition to the traditional AFC East rivalry games.

New England Vs Miami: 2009 AFC East Championship Won in Offseason?

No disrespect to 2009 Buffalo Bills or the 2009 New York Jets.

I think the Miami Dolphins (2008 AFC East Champs) and the New England Patriots (2007 AFC East Champs) built their teams in the offseason for the upcoming quest to be AFC East Champ for the 2009 NFL season.

The battle lines have been drawn and both teams have added players on both sides.

Key additions to the New England Patriots include recently signed LB Paris Lenon, WR Greg Lewis, WR Joey Galloway, CB Shawn Springs, CB Leigh Bodden, RB Fred Taylor (who is not done and is a perfect complement to Lawrence Maroney), WR Brandon Tate (rookie), DB Darius Butler (rookie), S Brandon McGowan, and TE Chris Baker (formerly of the NY Jets).

Hmmmm.

Sounds to me like the the Patriots are on the attack for an offensive and defensive beatdown of the AFC East. They have trimmed the fat (getting rid of older players) and adding younger, speedier and coachable players. Coach Belichick is not taking any chances on being surprised or underestimating the Dolphins once again.

QB Tom Brady is back and is thirsty after missing the entire 2008 season and watching Matt Cassel lead the team and then be traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.  Expanding the offense with veterans receivers and running backs will make the Patriots very hard to stop.

The depth chart is stacking up in New England’s favor, which means they have learned from the injury issues that have slowed them down in the past. The new defensive backfield should gel in enough time to cover every aspect of the Dolphins by Nov. 8’s first showdown in Foxboro, Mass.

In a contrast of style and tone, but keeping up with the Patriots’ changes, the Miami Dolphins have welcomed back Jason Taylor (who was actually courted by Pats’ owner Bob Kraft) and added young pieces to a defensive secondary that will be severely tested by the offenses of the AFC East.

Coach Sparano has focused his Dolphin team on toughness in offseason OTA’s (Organized Team Activities).

Ushering in rookies like Vontae Davis, Chris Clemons, Sean Smith and veteran Eric Green into the schemes that will try to slow down the Patriot receivers, the Dolphins are confident the season’s schedule will force the defense to be excellent quickly.

Having little known but effective Yeremiah Bell back again at safety should stabilize any fears of Dolphin doubters.

Pat White was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round out of West Virginia.

White is certainly an “X factor”, so the Dolphins will add some new wrinkles to “The Wildcat,” which worked well against most defenses last year.

QB Chad Pennington is the general who will lead the team again in 2009 and read the Patriot defense with their new changes.

His knowledge and veteran leadership in the AFC East cannot be questioned after last year’s crafty display in the last game of the season, a 24-17 victory in New York.

The most important glaring weakness in the Dolphin offense is the wide receiver position.

Greg Camarillo will be back after injury along with Ted Ginn, Jr and Davone Bess. Dolphin rookies Patrick Turner, Brian Hartline, Brennan Marion and veterans Anthony Armstrong, Todd Lowber and Brandon London will compete for time on the field, spots in the lineup and a plunge into the hearts of Dol-fans everywhere.

Pennington must work very hard to get the passing game up to speed quickly to balance the powerful running attack and give the Dolphins a chance to win every game.

Ball control was highly effective for the Miami Dolphins’ offense last year as well as coming up with the Big Play at the right time.

The Dolphins will need to do it again to capture the 2009 AFC East title.

Line play of both teams is strong and it just depends on turnovers and field position how the score will turn out.

For sure, the two games these teams play against each other in November and December will be battles with hopes of going to the Super Bowl.

 

 

 

“Touchdown Miami”: The Dynanic Dolphin Plays of 2008

Who is Patrick Cobbs, you ask?

Mr. Cobbs is the recipient of the “I can’t believe how wide open I am for a touchdown” award in 2008, and my favorite Dolphin play of the year.

This play occurred against the Houston Texans on Oct. 12, 2008 in the first quarter.

Ricky Williams takes a direct snap from center and sprints right. Pitches the ball to the QB Chad Pennington who had lined up as a wide receiver. The misdirection has the Texans’ defense confused and they refused to believe Pennington would ever throw the ball to Cobbs who had been seldom used up to that point.

Well, Pennington did.

And Cobbs was so wide open that he sprinted into the end zone 10 yards away from the closest Texans’ defender.

“Touchdown Miami.”

That’s what I call a five-star Fin Slap.

 

2. The second Dolphin gem happened Nov. 9, 2008 during a home game against the Seattle Seahawks.

In the box score it says, “Chad Pennington 39 yard pass to Ted Ginn Jr.” That leaves out the location of the pass  (back of the end zone) and pinpoint accuracy by Pennington (Ginn caught the ball about a foot distance away from out of bounds).

Add the fact that Ginn had nanoseconds to gather the ball in and get two feet down, and all of sudden, Ginn is the high first round draft pick that everyone thought he could be.

“Touchdown Miami.”

3. The Wildcat formation brought excitement to the Miami Dolphins and around the NFL.

On the afternoon of September 21, 2008, the New England Patriots felt the wrath of the now-infamous formation through the defensive eyes of it players watching Ronnie Brown left, Ronnie Brown right, Ronnie Brown through the middle.

Then, with 5:46 left in the third quarter and the Patriots needing a stop, Ronnie Brown took the snap from center, drifted left making the move like he was going to run—slowly lifting his left hand up and showing the motion of a forward pass.

A wide-open little known tight end Anthony Fasano would be the recipient of the most unlikely scenario ending of the play.

A pass from Ronnie Brown resulting in six points further extended the lead in a game where no thought that the Dolphins remotely had a chance to win in Foxboro, Mass.

“Touchdown Miami.”

 

4. If nobody remembers former Dolphin linebacker AJ Duhe harassing New York Jet QB Richard Todd in the AFC Championship game at the Orange Bowl in the early 1980s, then all you have to do is look at current Dolphin and 2008 rookie Philip Merling’s exceptional interception return of Brett Favre in what ended up being the last game of the Jet’s season.

This play was the result of pressure from the Dolphins’ defense for most of the first half in the afternoon/early evening game on December 28, 2008.

The Jets started well early but then the blitzes got to Favre. He faltered and threw a bad pass that fell directly in the arms of Merling.

Catching the ball in disbelief, Merling then rumbled in what seemed to be slow motion for 25 tards into the end zone, giving the Dolphins a lead that seemed to catapult them to the AFC East Division championship.

It was now when the team started to believe they could win, and they did.

 

“Touchdown Miami.”

 

5. If the Kansas City Chiefs thought these 2008 Miami Dolphins wouldn’t bring their bag of Wildcat tricks to the coldest played game (10 degrees F, wind chill temp of -10 degrees F) in Dolphins’ history, then they were looking at film on the wrong Miami team.

Another problem for the Chiefs might be waiting for the formation to develop.

In a sharp contrast of offensive strategy, the Dolphins wasted no time in this late December contest.

Instead of the Wildcat, Ginn raced towards Pennington on an end around before turning upfield resulting in the Dolphins’ score, 18 seconds into the game.

Further proving the Dolphins could play ball anywhere, anytime.

 

“Touchdown Miami.”

 

In a season of many great plays by the Dolphins, it was hard to come up with just five.

In my eyes, these particular plays were critical in their timing and added to the momentum of the season.

The best part is just hearing or saying the words “Touchdown Miami” and feeling the joy of the 2008 Miami Dolphin season.

 

 

Can Ted Ginn Jr. Become the No. 1 Miami Dolphins Receiver?

The race for the No. 1 wide receiver spot for the Miami Dolphins is on.

In my mind, Ted Ginn Jr. clinched the spot with his dramatic, game-clinching catch against the Seattle Seahawks last year when he was double-covered and had only inches to spare at the back of the end zone on a perfect throw from Chad Pennington.

Despite not getting the respect with Dolphin fans and the rest of the NFL alike, Ginn has made a major imprint on the return game alone since he was drafted by former coach Cam Cameron. That year alone, Ginn had four touchdowns called back because of penalties.

No one seems to mention that when they talk about Ginn taking over for a team that traded the popular and gifted Chris Chambers in the middle of the season. With Chambers having a lot of injuries since then, the trade looks good now but during a 1-15 campaign, it looked dreadful and forced Ginn into the lineup without a coach on the field.

Well now after a playoff run and a whole season at WR under his belt, it seems Ginn is poised to lead a young receiver corps that seems to thrive in anonymity. Let’s go through the names and see if the average fan will know any without saying “nope.”

Camarillo, London, Bess, Patrick Turner (rookie), Brian Hartline (rookie), Wilford, Armstrong, Lowber, Brennan Marion (rookie) and Chris Williams (rookie).

Are you stumped yet?

Believe it or not, they’re a very talented and extremely gritty group that remind me of the 1970s Dolphins. The rookies will be tested very soon but the others do nothing but catch the ball and get “another Miami Dolphin first down.”

Adding a QB like Pennington, who believes any one in his huddle can get it done, you have the makings of a solid offense with everything depending on a healthy offensive line to set up the run game, with above average running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams.

It seems WR Earnest Wilford is being set up to be an all-purpose receiver, blocker, and h-back even though he was frustrated by not seeing the ball a lot in his first year with the team. The Dolphins’ front office’s strong point is loyalty, consistency, and the belief that every player can make a difference.

Keep your eye on this situation since the Dolphins have two good tight ends in Fasano and Martin. Don’t be surprised if Nalbonne isn’t given a shot to catch the ball because of his size and strength at 6’5″ and 260 lbs. Ireland and Parcells haven’t really missed on a TE in years.

Dolphin fans should be very excited, because the offense will be even more creative since the team has been together for a while and aren’t looking to pay big money for costly stars like Anquan Boldin to come in and lack results. Now I’m not saying Boldin wouldn’t be a good fit, he would. But at what cost?

Receiver coach Karl Dorrell is a former receiver in the NFL and was a head coach for the UCLA Bruins, so he has the pedigree to develop this unit into the top half of the AFC. With the “Wildcat” and a successful run game though, how good do they really have to be?

Against teams like their AFC rivals the Patriots, Jets and Bills, the Dolphins won with ball control and not high scoring shootouts.  Therefore, the receivers just need Ginn to be the superstar, Bess as the replacement if he goes down, Camarillo as the latest edition of Welker, and the rest to work hard and learn their roles in the clutch.

This particular aspect of the offense will be improved and the rest of the league will find it hard to defensively match the offensive playbook of the 2009 Miami Dolphins.

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