Is Stephen Ross Lost In The NFL?

Some of the discussion yesterday was about Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and how he isn't exactly the best owner for the Dolphins and doesn't know what he is doing

So, today I will post this question: is Stephen Ross lost in the NFL?

My answer? Absolutely, most of what he does isn't helpful to the team. It is only helpful to the "stadium experience." I find it really funny that Ross spent all that time and effort making Sun Life Stadium an experience to go to, but his team lost seven out of the eight games it played there this season.

This was mentioned yesterday, and I do not remember who said it, but Stephen Ross a great businessman and not a great football owner. He knows how to make money. That is obvious. He just doesn't know how to make a good football team.

Want more evidence for why he isn't a good owner? Just look at the Jim Harbaugh situation. That really couldn't have been handled worse, in my opinion. Ross obviously doesn't realize that you can't just go and look for a new coach while you still have one.

I am going to leave you guys with that. There are surely many more reasons that Stephen Ross doesn't realize the stage that he is on, so feel free to leave them below in the comments.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think below.

Are The Miami Dolphins One Or Two Players Away From Being A Top-Tier Team?

First, I want to take a moment to thank all of our veterans who are currently serving or have ever served in any branch of the military. Thank you for all you have sacrificed for this country.

I also want to take a moment to remember all of our fallen veterans who bravely gave their lives in service of the United States. You will never be forgotten for what you did.


As you all know, the Miami Dolphins have a great defense and a good number of playmakers on offense. They are a very talented team, and I believe that the overall talent of all of the Dolphins players is much greater than that of a 7-9 team, which is why it is so frustrating to see them losing.

The above statement brings me to my question. Are the Miami Dolphins just a player or two away from being a top team in the NFL?

I do believe they are. Miami's defense is obviously one of the best in the league, so I won't even bother spending time discussing that group. The problem is on offense.

Now that the Dolphins added a great interior offensive lineman in Mike Pouncey and a potentially great running back in Daniel Thomas, they don't have too many holes to fill. I can really only think of three positions that I would like Miami to add a capable player to. Those three positions are quarterback, running back, and offensive guard.

I don't believe that any of those three positions are a huge concern, but it would still be a good idea to address them.

I don't see running back being a big concern because if Daniel Thomas was worth trading up to draft like the Dolphins did, then why not let him be the starter and the other more than capable backs on Miami's roster compete behind him. Kory Sheets and Lex Hilliard are very underestimated running backs, and I am excited at the thought of those two competing for a spot as a contributing running back.

Guard also isn't a big concern because Miami drafted C/G Pouncey with the 15th overall pick. I would still like to see another guard added to the roster to create some more competition, which is why I am including this position here.

The last is quarterback, and I am not going to describe that any more because I feel like Chad Henne and the QB dilemma has been 90% of the discussion this season. I will just say that I don't think that Henne will ever be able to carry the team, but I do think he has the potential to at least be a game manager. I would rather Miami not take the risk of relying on him, which is why I would like them to get a good free agent to compete for the job.

I want to know what you guys think. Do the Dolphins need one, two, three, or more players before they are a top team? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading, and I apologize for not posting yesterday. I had my third migraine in as many weeks and couldn't do anything yet again.

Keep Your Miami Dolphins Questions Coming

Since there is nothing new that is Miami Dolphins related to write about, I will be taking more fan questions.

All I need you to do is email or mention me on twitter with your name, city/state, and your question. You guys know the drill by now.

I'm sorry to have to keep asking you guys questions, but I have drawn a blank and just can't think of anything else.

Thanks for stopping by. My email is paul@dolphinshout.com and my twitter is twitter.com/PaulDSmythe or @PaulDSmythe. Be sure to shoot me a question. I try to answer every question I get.

Who's Side Of The Lockout Are You On?

Today, I wanted to try something a little different involving not just the Miami Dolphins but also the entire NFL, its owners, and its players.

Today I want to ask you a simple question that will require a much more than simple answer: Whose side are you on? The Players or the Owners?

I am very interested to see where you guys will go with this, because it is a very touchy subject, especially when what we will be discussing is a topic that could leave us without the NFL next year.

So, let me know what you guys think. I think this will end up being a very good discussion.

Thanks for reading.

Miami Dolphins Brandon Marshall Has Already Resumed Workouts

Apparently Miami Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall has already been working out for the past two weeks. According to Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel, Marshall resumed his workouts with Fit Speed Inc. two weeks ago.

This is good news, because we want him to be able to return to as good, if not better shape, than he was before he was stabbed. Fit Speed has been good for him in the past, and I am glad that he has been able to get back to them again.

Marshall has mentioned on his twitter that they have him doing exercises that speed up his reaction time, which will be helpful for catching the ball. He never said what the exercise actually was, but I am confident that it will help him.

Thank you guys for reading, and hopefully this means he will get to working out with the other group of Dolphins players that have already been working together.

Let me know what you think about all of this below with a comment.

Brandon Marshall Not Cooperating With Attorney's Office About Stabbing

According to Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel, Miami Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall has not been cooperating with the Broward State Attorney's office regarding his stabbing just over a month ago.

On April 22 Marshall's, Michi Nagomi-Marshall, wife was charged with stabbing the Dolphins receiver. Apparently Michi had a no-contact order placed on her at her bond hearing, which prohibits her from having any contact with Marshall.

Brandon Marshall's attorney said that Brandon didn't want the no-contact order placed on his wife, and when it was removed he would be more cooperative.

I don't really like the idea of Marshall not cooperating with the Attorney's office, but I don't really think it is that big of a deal. I don't like the idea of his wife being a distraction during the season, but I don't think this is very significant.

My real hope is that he gets back to work soon. The Dolphins are going to need him this year if they want to get anywhere far. Whatever quarterback Miami finally ends up with will need some time to work with Marshall.

What would be great is if he comes back really soon and is able to work out with Chad Henne and whatever other Dolphins have been working out on their own. I'm still not in favor of Chad Henne starting for Miami next season, but he is showing that he's willing to work hard for the starting spot, and I have to respect that.

Thank you guys for reading, and I am sorry to post boring news like this, but it is the offseason and I am struggling to find content to put up.

The Miami Dolphins And Hard Knocks: Never Going To Work

I thought it would be fun to talk about the hilarious possibility of the Miami Dolphins on Hard Knocks, which is a television show that follows NFL teams in training camp.

Last year the Jets were on Hard Knocks, and it was very interesting television because Rex Ryan is a very unique personality. When people think of Hard Knocks, they think of the New York Jets because of how enormously popular the show was when Rex Ryan was on.

Now, I want you guys to imagine what it would be like if the Miami Dolphins were on Hard Knocks. Wouldn't it be the most boring show in the world? Tony Sparano and Jeff Ireland are very dull interviewers. I would hate to see an entire series on television where they are the main "stars".

Just imagine how Tony Sparano would be when describing a simple concept like the weight room.

Interviewer: "So this is the Miami Dolphins weight room? Can you tell me some of the workouts that you have your guys do that most people wouldn't normally know about?"

Sparano: "Well, you see... each morning, before practice of course, my guys come in here and they start lifting weights, and they start lifting weights real early in the morning so we can get to work on other things later. Things like drills on the practice field, which are really important and other things like going over the playbook and sitting down and teaching the guys like we were in a classroom, because it is really important to make sure that you teach them everything they need to know so that when they get out there on the field they will know exactly what to do without even thinking about it, because that's what I like to do. I like to make sure that guys do the exact right thing every time, which is really important. I make sure we put a lot of time into everything, because if you keep doing something over and over in practice, then you can keep doing that same thing over and over in the game."

Interviewer: "Um, ok, why don't you show us a workout that one of your players is doing at the moment?"

Sparano: "Here, why don't we go over here and we can look at what Davone Bess is doing."

Interviewer: "But he's only doing squats."

Sparano: "That doesn't really matter when you look at the big picture of things like this. You see, what you're looking to see there when you're looking at him and you're watching him is that he is squatting really low to the ground every time he squats down, because if he doesn't squat real low like that he won't get the full effect of the workout, which makes the workout pointless and we don't do pointless workouts like that."

Interviewer: "Yeah, I think most of our viewers know how to do a squat. Why don't we go over there and talk to your quarterback Chad Henne?"
(walks over to Chad Henne)

Henne: "Hi guys."

Sparano: "Hey Chad, this guy right here who is from the TV show we're going to be on was wondering if he could ask you some questions to put on the TV show that he is with."

Henne: "Sure thing, Tony."

Interviewer: "Well Chad, tell me some of the things you do to prepare for games. I see you're curling some pretty heavy weight there."

Henne: "Well, you know, I like to keep my arms strong. Nothing is more important than, you know, having a strong arm. I mean, I can do these arm curls all day, and I have before. I figure, a strong arm is the most valuable asset, you know? I can bullet that ball, you know, anywhere. I mean, you've seen me right?"

Interviewer: "Sure, Chad, I've seen you."

Sparano: "Yep, we tell Chad to do what he thinks is the best because he sure does have a strong arm, and I really mean that. His arm is probably the strongest arm in the NFL, stronger than any other quarterback in the NFL. He can really throw that thing."

Interviewer: "What about throwing the ball with touch?"

Sparano: "Well, that won't matter you see. Pretty soon he will be able to throw the football so hard that he will throw it right through the defender, and the defender can't do anything if the football goes through him. He could put his hands up to try and stop it, but putting his hands up won't help because the ball would go right through his hands. Then, I can do my fist pumps after we score, like I always did last year because my fist pumps really pump my players up."

Interviewer: "Do you know for sure that you pump your players up?"

Sparano: "Well, why wouldn't it? My fist pumps are always done with a lot of effort. How do you think I lost so much weight last offseason? I was practicing my fist pumps. They take a lot of effort to do, so I just did a lot them."

Interviewer: "Well, Tony, thanks for letting me see your weight room, now if you would.........."



That's all I've got for now. Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to make up your own little Hard Knocks interviews below.

I hope you guys enjoyed today's post.

Tales Of The Tape: What Game Clips Would You Like To See From The Miami Dolphins Last Season?

So, as a lot of you know, but some of you may not, I recently acquired DVD's of all 16 Miami Dolphins games from last season from Ron's World Of Miami Dolphins.

This is good news for you guys because I am going to be putting together highlight and lowlight films of the Miami Dolphins this season using these DVD's.

What I want you guys to tell me is: what videos do you want me to make?

For example, I already know the first clip I am going to put together is a video of all 19 of Chad Henne's interceptions from last year. That way we can diagnose each interception and see whether it was his fault or not. I'm don't think that it will end all of the Chad Henne debate, but I think it will be a very helpful tool that will shed some more light on what exactly he did.

Now, I want you guys to tell me what films you want me to make. They can be good or bad highlights. I don't care. I just want to make videos that you guys would want to watch.

Some videos will obviously take longer to make than others, but it's the offseason so I won't really have anything better to do.

To send me your requests you can either email me at paul@dolphinshout.com or mention me on twitter at twitter.com/PaulDSmythe.

I look forward to putting together these videos, and I hope that you guys are looking forward to watching them.

Thanks for reading, and please send as many video requests as you would like.

I want to apologize for not posting yesterday. I had yet another migraine and was unable to put anything up.

A Very Interesting Revisit Of Bill Parcells And The Miami Dolphins

For today's post on the oh so wonderful Miami Dolphins, I will be using something Gary sent to me that I think you guys will really like, so I encourage you guys to read it.

I will comment my reaction below, so you can look down there for that. Here is what he sent me:

"Not much going on this time of year, so I figured I would revisit an old subject and take a look back on the impact of Bill Parcells with the Miami Dolphins.

When Bill first arrived I thought he was exactly what this team needed. We were such a mess before that time. No free agents wanted to come here, and some of the players had given up on winning and only playing for themselves and their numbers. I can remember Parcells in the sky box watching his new team in the last game of the 07 season along with Ron Wolff. I thought, "Oh boy, most of these guys on the field are going to playing elsewhere next year."

Bill really did come in and clean house so to speak, didn't he? He brought in a football mentality that the Dolphins had been missing for a long time. What I mean by a football mentality is a no nonsense logical thought process, or so I thought.

Things went along pretty well for a while, everything they were doing made sense. They drafted the best player in the draft in Long. Nothing wrong with that! They retooled a broken offensive line, when they saw they needed a QB and Pennington became available they jumped on him. In that first year he turned this franchise into a place where FAs could see that things had changed down in Miami. I thought that is exactly what this team needed, but there were things none of us knew about.

We didn't know he selected Tony Sparano as his figure head and installed his guys (Parcells' not Sparano's) as his assistants. It appeared to us that these were Tony's selections, but they were not. Didn't we all think that Ireland and Sparano were being groomed by Parcells? The truth is, Parcells was doing everything, and a few of those things were huge mistakes.

He surrounded himself with familiar faces in place of the best people. He choose Sparano over Rex Ryan because he knew Tony would take a back seat and allow Bill to coach silently. The same was true with Ireland. He left a broken in house scouting team intact, except for 2 out of the 8 scouts. Every point I have made have came back to bite this team. Parcells put people in charge and then handcuffed them from making any decisions.

You can't do that in the business world, and you can't do that in the football world, it doesn't work. We saw a total breakdown of that philosophy last year. When the dust cleared we found that, once again, the Dolphins made a mistake at the top of their ladder. Bill Parcells should have been brought in here as the head coach and GM. I'm sure he would have succeeded in that role. Now, after of all the good things that had began here it went back to this. "No free agents want to come here, and some of the players had given up on winning." In all honesty I can't say that no free agents want to come here, it's just a feeling that I have. But there was no doubt this team had fallen apart at the end of the year."

Thank you everyone for reading, and be sure to check out the comments below.

Adding Mike Sims-Walker Isn't Exactly A Necessary Move For The Miami Dolphins

Talk of Mike Sims-Walker joining Brandon Marshall in Miami to play for the Dolphins has come up again.

While it would sound like an exciting combination to have Brandon Marshall, Mike Sims-Walker, Davone Bess, Brian Hartline, and Edmond Gates, I don't think that signing Sims-Walker is necessary, and especially for the price tag he will come with.

Would I mind having Sims-Walker with the Miami Dolphins? Absolutely not, but I don't think it is worth using up cap space for a position that doesn't need any more help. Why not add another offensive guard or a quarterback?

I want to leave the rest of the discussion up to you guys for today. I'm sorry for the short post, but I am in a hurry and need to finish now.

Relive Some Of The Miami Dolphins Greatest Moments With Ron's World

I wanted to use today's post to talk to you guys about something that I am sure a lot of you would be very interested in as Miami Dolphins fans, because I was when I first saw it.

About a year ago I came across a site created by Ron Weiss called Ron's World of Miami Dolphins. What is so special about Ron's site is that he has a HUGE archive of games dating back to 1960 available for sale or trade.

Ron has the largest Miami Dolphins DVD archive in the world. Any Miami Dolphins game you can think of, Ron has it. Ron is looking to trade the disks or to sell them.

You can see a complete list of the games that he has here:
http://ronsworldofmiamidolphins.weebly.com/games.html

Once you get to this page click on the years that you are looking for on the left.

I seriously think that you guys would like this. I know I will. Ron is sending me every Dolphins game from last season, which I will be using to study and make highlight (and lowlight) films with.

Ron also has a DVD with every single touchdown that Dan Marino threw in his career. I know that would be a great watch for all of us who miss the good ole days of Marino.

If you are interested in buying or trading games from Ron, please email him at finfanron1@aol.com. If you guys would like to check out the rest of his site just go to ronsworldofmiamidolphins.com

I hope you guys enjoy what I have found, and thank for reading.

You Tell Me: Do The Miami Dolphins Need Another RB?

In the 2011 NFL Draft the Miami Dolphins drafted RB Daniel Thomas in the second round. Unless the Dolphins re-sign another big name free agent, Thomas will be the starting back this year.

What I want to know for today's "You Tell Me" is, do you guys think that Miami should try and sign another free agent running back or should they just stick with Daniel Thomas starting and allow Kory Sheets and Lex Hilliard to compete for the backup spot?

I will be commenting later today, so you guys will know my opinion then, but I am not going to post it here.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you are thinking.

How Would Brandon Marshall And Kyle Orton Be Together For The Miami Dolphins?

If the Miami Dolphins were to go after Kyle Orton and get him, how do you guys think he and Brandon Marshall would be together?

Brandon Marshall would definitely like a new quarterback for the Dolphins. Chad Henne didn't exactly help him much, and it is pretty obvious that he doesn't want Henne throwing the ball in Miami anymore. One potential replacement for Henne is Kyle Orton, who Marshall played with during the 2009-2010 season with the Denver Broncos.

In that season they played together Marshall had 101 receptions for 1120 yards and 10 touchdowns, and I am willing to bet anything that Marshall wants those types of numbers again.

Orton also had 336 completions for 3802 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, which would be a dream for Dolphins fans compared to Henne's numbers last season.

Orton might take a 2nd or 3rd round pick to get, but he would be absolutely worth that. Just last year he completed 293 passes for 3653 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions after only 13 games. I believe the reason he was benched was that the Broncos were already out of the playoffs so they wanted to give Tim Tebow a chance at starting because they had already given up so much for him. I am not positive so I will confirm that with John, but I believe that was the case.

Either way, the Broncos loss can be our gain. I believe it would be absolutely worth getting a player that can put up the numbers that Orton can for only a second or third round pick. If they did trade a second rounder for him it will be pretty ironic because the Broncos have had Miami's second round pick for the past two drafts.

I believe that Orton is the best available quarterback. He still has at least five good years left in him, and he will be able to be very productive in that time. Pair that with his past success with Marshall, and he seems like the best option for Miami. Orton would be the piece that finally puts the Dolphins over the edge. I am confident that he would be the difference between a .500 team and a 10+ win team.

So, as of right now, my first choice as the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins is Kyle Orton. My second choice is Vince Young, and I would guess my third is Carson Palmer.

That's all I've got for now. Who is your first, second, and third choice for the Miami Dolphins? Let me know with a comment.

FYI, I saw an article on the Sun Sentinel that gave me the idea for this post, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. Like always if you have a question or suggestion please email me at paul@dolphinshout.com or mention me on twitter @PaulDSmythe.

Who Would Be A Good Replacement For Tony Sparano? (Fan Question)

Happy Sunday my fellow Miami Dolphins fans.

Today's question is from Shawn in Connecticut. You guys probably know him from his various comments (he goes by Shawn). Thank you Shawn for the question. It is an interesting one and I am going to try my best to answer it fully.

Here it is:

"My question is if and when Sparano is fired do you think Mike Nolan should be promoted or who do you think would want to come and coach the Dolphins?"

This is an interesting question.

I am going to tell you right now that I do not want Nolan as the Head Coach of the Miami Dolphins, and I have one statistic to show you why:

He is 18-37 as an NFL Head Coach.

While Nolan is a great Defensive Coordinator, he isn't really a great Head Coach. When you first asked me that question Shawn, I thought to myself that he would be a great Head Coach, but then after looking up how he has done before as one I wasn't so confident anymore.

The problem is that if Nolan has another great season like this past one, he will probably get an offer to be a Head Coach for another team. That team may not end up doing so well, but that wouldn't matter to us Dolphins fans. What would matter is that we lost a great defensive coordinator that would be hard to replace.

We could end up in a situation where either we hire Nolan as our own Head Coach or he leaves us to go be a Head Coach somewhere else. That would be a problem, and I would lean toward saying let him go coach somewhere else because his history doesn't make me confident that he would be any good as the main coach.

As for possible replacements, I am sure there will be a bunch of candidates that would like to take the job, but the two I think should be the most strongly are Super Bowl winning coaches Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden. I haven't done any research on coaches other than them, but I am confident that one of those two could help Miami tremendously.

Of course, this all depends on how well the Dolphins do and if Sparano is fired as a result. I am not sure if I have said this before, but I think Sparano and Daboll will be the first ones to go if Stephen Ross starts firing people after a bad season. I can see Jeff Ireland staying even if they do bad because Ross seems to like Ireland a lot.

I do want to say that I don't think Sparano will be fired if they go 8-8 or better. About a month ago Ross said, basically, that he would allow the Dolphins to build a team and that he didn't expect huge success immediately. Whether he really meant that is still to be determined, but I think there is a chance that Sparano keeps his job after a mediocre season if Ross saw some promise in what he did and if Ireland still approves of him.

We will just have to wait and see. I'm just ready for this darn lockout to be over with. The offseason is hard enough as it is. Throw in a lockout with no free agency or contract talks, and it is incredibly difficult to write about new things.

That is why I am doing these Miami Dolphins Fan Questions, though. If anyone has any other questions please do not hesitate to email me at paul@dolphinshout.com or tweet me @PaulDSmythe on twitter.

Thank you everyone for reading and thank you for the question Shawn.

What Will Be The Miami Dolphins Offensive Style? (Fan Question)

Today I will be continuing the Miami Dolphins fan questions with a question from Tom (TXDOLFAN) in Texas. I believe that Tom is a service member in the United States Army, so I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your service Tom. I really appreciate everything you do for this country, and I am sure that everyone else who reads this feels the same way.

Now, for his question:

"Given the character of the draft, what type of offense do you foresee Miami running this year? I am optimistic there will be a new CBA in time to save the season."

Well Tom, I want to first say that I am also optimistic about the new CBA. A lot of what I have heard on the radio and from Adam Schefter of ESPN has made me believe that there will be football, so I am going to assume that we will have a season.

As for the offense, I bet Miami will rely much more on the run this season than they did last year, especially if they have Chad Henne. Think two years ago when Henne had just come in to replace the injured Chad Pennington. The Dolphins ran the ball a lot, and Henne played pretty well as a result. They will try and recreate that offense to an extent if they still have Henne starting this year.

I wish I could tell you that Miami will be trying to air it out a lot now that they picked up the speedy Edmond Gates, but I don’t think that will be the case. Henne isn’t good at throwing the deep ball. I am expecting them to throw a lot of screen passes and short slant routes to Gates with the hope that he will be able to break free of the defense. That is what he did A LOT in college, and I expect the Dolphins to try and build off of that past success.

I expect that Miami’s other receivers like Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess would also be running a lot of short routes. If Henne can’t throw it to Gates deep, then he definitely won’t be able to throw it to Marshall and Bess deep. I don’t know how much Marshall will like that, but unless we find another quarterback that won’t change.

This could end up being a pretty good strategy for the Dolphins, but I still wish they could be able to throw Gates the deep ball to keep defenses honest. I’m not saying that they won’t try to throw it long, I’m saying that it won’t work because of Henne’s poor accuracy and touch on deep throws.

So, as much as I’m sure we would all like to see a high-powered offense, it is not going to happen with Chad Henne. If we have Henne starting, then expect a lot of running the ball with some short passes. We could see the occasional deep ball, but that probably won’t be successful.

This will all change if we have another quarterback, though. If we got someone like Kyle Orton, then I could see the Dolphins throwing it a lot more. They would still rely pretty heavily on the run, but not as much as they would with Henne.

I want to thank you for your question Tom. That was a really fun one to answer and it really got me thinking.

Thanks everyone for reading, and if you have a question be sure to email me at paul@dolphinshout.com or tweet me on twitter at twitter.com/PaulDSmythe.

State Of The Miami Dolphins (Fan Question)

Today’s Miami Dolphins question is from Adam. He has a few questions, and I will answer all of them because I am in an answering mood. I enjoyed how he started out the question and I think you guys will.

First, though, I want to thank Adam for the questions. These were some good questions that made me think. I enjoy it when you guys let me know what you want to talk about. Please never hesitate to send me requests, because I would rather talk about what you guys want than what I want.

Anyways, here were his questions:

"What do you think of Chad Henne?

All that aside I would seriously ask you, what do you honestly expect from the team this year if there is football? You seem to have, at times, wanted new coaching or management, new field general, new owner. So it’s safe to say you aren't really happy with the Dolphins. So what do you expect to feel from September to February? You expect to feel the same at the end of the season as you do at the beginning?

Do you expect any rookies to make an impact? If so which ones?

Do you expect our new Coordinator to impress you? If not do you think he will do a good enough job with the pieces on offense to make us a top 15 offense (scoring that is. I think we actually moved the ball decent at times last year more than we could score)?

Do you expect to be happy with the team’s progress at the end of the year?"

I’ll just start from the beginning Adam (after the Chad Henne part of course). I am not quite sure what to expect. The annoying thing is that the Dolphins have such a good football team, they are just held back by a few problems. If I had to guess, I would think Miami is an above .500 team. They have too much talent to be just another 7-9 team.

I am very iffy on our coaching and management. Tony Sparano seems like a good coach at times, but he doesn’t seem too bright at other times. I think he knows what he is doing, but he just has too much responsibility as head coach. That doesn’t mean I don’t think he can be successful, though. I think he could end up being a really good coach, he just needs to cut out some of his mistakes and learn how to properly run a team. Things like not handing out a playbook just can’t happen anymore. That was not a fatal mistake by him, but if he does make another big mistake like that he should be on his way out.

I wish I could make a prediction for you about what I think will happen next season, but I am going to avoid doing that until I know what quarterback they go with and what running backs they end up with. I will say that I doubt Henne will be anything more than a game manager. Riverdog has said it before. Henne just can’t make all of the throws he needs to. He is an average-at-best quarterback and I saw nothing in his throws last year that tells me otherwise. If he does end up starting I do still think there is a chance that the Dolphins make the playoffs, they would just have to rely very heavily on the run.

The rookies that I think will make the most impact are Mike Pouncey, Daniel Thomas, and Edmond Gates. Those three you probably already figured, though. One that I could see making a pretty big impact that you don’t hear much is FB/TE Charles Clay. He isn’t an exceptional athlete, but he could add an additional passing threat out of the backfield. Don’t be surprised if he does well this year.

Now, for Brian Daboll. I have no clue whatsoever if he will be able to put together a successful offense. He doesn’t exactly have a winning track record as an OC, and bringing him in didn’t really seem like the best move to me. He did have a good running game, though, so we could see that again this year. Daniel Thomas could end up putting up some really good numbers under Daboll even though most people might not expect him to (fantasy alert).

I don’t even want to make a prediction for the end of the year. I am hoping that they will be able to progress, but I’m not sure yet. I need to see what happens this offseason. Ask me once free agency has passed and we are close to the season starting.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for the question Adam, and everyone else please be sure to keep the questions coming. You can email me at paul@dolphinshout.com or on twitter at twitter.com/pauldsmythe.

Now Taking Miami Dolphins Fan Questions By Email Or Twitter

Hey everyone. Because there is no free agency, this time of the year is especially slow. So, I will be taking your questions about the Miami Dolphins to answer in later posts.

If you have a question for me there are two ways you can ask.

The first is you can email me at paul@dolphinshout.com

The other way is you can tweet me @PaulDSmythe or twitter.com/PaulDSmythe

When you ask the question please at least include your name so I can tell people who is asking. You can also put where you are from if you would like.

You guys always seem to have a lot of good questions, so I am looking forward to hearing what you ask.

Also, if you don't want to ask a question but have a request about something I should write about please send it. I would be just as happy to get a request as I would for a question.

Thanks for stopping by, now hit me with something.

More Numbers Against Chad Henne For The Miami Dolphins

It has been a little while since we specifically discussed just Chad Henne and whether he is good enough for the Miami Dolphins, but I found an article by Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post that provides some more statistics that give me even less faith in Henne.

I encourage you guys to read the article and then come back here and let me hear your reactions. The article can be found here:
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thedailydolphin/2011/05/10/stats-miami-dolphins-qb-chad-henne-among-the-worst-in-nfl-in-completing-deep-passes/

Also, that article links you to a complete list of the deep ball percentages done by Pro Football Focus. That article can be found here:
http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/05/10/going-deep/

As you can see Henne was really bad at throwing the ball deep. That may have been partially Dan Henning's fault, but you can't completely take the blame off Henne's shoulders.

Drafting Edmond Gates will obviously help improve the deep passing game, but the quarterback needs to be able to hit him on the run and I don't know how well Henne will do that. I can remember last year when Henne underthrew Brandon Marshall, so how would he be throwing to someone a good bit faster in Gates?

If you took a look at the deep ball percentages on Pro Football Focus, you were probably just as surprised as me to see that Vince Young had the highest deep ball completion percentage in the NFL. I am not saying that this is the reason Miami should bring Young in, but it does add to the argument of bringing him in. He is a cheap player, and he wouldn't be too much of a risk because he wouldn't even be guaranteed to start if he didn't impress the Dolphins management.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you guys think about all of this.

What Free Agents Should The Miami Dolphins Pursue?

We talked a good bit about free agent quarterbacks for the Miami Dolphins these last two days, so why not talk some free agents in other positions?

I will be honest in that I don't think the Dolphins need many positions to be fixed. Other than quarterback it doesn't seem like Miami has any big hole, and some would argue that they don't even have a hole at quarterback.

Still though, Miami could use some help. I have a feeling the Dolphins will be looking for another guard and linebacker.

They drafted one G/C center in Pouncey and they have Richie Incognito, who can also play guard or center. My concern is with the other guard spot. Miami has John Jerry and Nate Garner that could play the spot, but they weren't anything special last year so I think it would be a good idea for the Dolphins to look into free agency to find one.

LB isn't as much of a concern for the Dolphins, but it would still be a good idea to add at least one that will give Koa Misi and Channing Crowder a push for their jobs. Neither one is especially terrible, but they could at least use a little push for the starting spot.

Of course there is the potential need at running back. In all honesty I would be confident if the Dolphins didn't sign another running back and just kept Daniel Thomas, Kory Sheets, and Lex Hilliard. Thomas would be a really good back with Sheets and Hilliard competing for the second RB spot. Both Sheets and Hilliard are incredibly underrated backs, and I think either one would be a great backup runner.

Now that I have prefaced you guys, I want to know what free agents you want that would be available to the Dolphins.

Let me know below in the comments, and thanks to hookemfins for the idea for this post.

Why Not Vince Young For The Miami Dolphins?

I am continuing the discussion from yesterday about the QBs available to the Miami Dolphins.

One name that I saw you guys liked and I agree with was Vince Young.

Sure, he has concerns about how well he can work with a coach, but if he came to Miami he wouldn't even be guaranteed a starting spot. That would be a good thing because he would have to compete with Chad Henne and work his way into starting. If he ends up not listening well enough, then he just won't start without much harm done.

Young would also come with a pretty cheap price tag because he isn't exactly the hottest QB on the market right now. He is a free agent, so Miami doesn't even need to give up draft picks to trade for him. Other quarterbacks like Kevin Kolb and Kyle Orton would require trading a very high draft pick, and then they would want more money than Young.

Young allows the Dolphins to not put all of their eggs in one basket, and there aren't any available quarterbacks with the potential to be as dynamic as him that are as low risk.

Bringing in Young would also satisfy those of us who think Henne deserves another chance. This way he would get some competition and not be completely eliminated from the running for the starting spot.

Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel brought up a good question a few days ago, which was this: which available quarterback would put the most fear into the hearts of the Jets and Patriots, and which quarterback would be the hardest to gameplan for?

I believe Vince Young is the best answer to that question. He is a dynamic player similar to Michael Vick in that he can take off and run for a big gain at any time.

Young actually has a winning record as a starter. He hasn't even been that bad in the NFL. He hasn't been incredible, but he has still done pretty well.

I want to know what you guys think. Young could be a dynamic player that could still end up being a really good NFL quarterback.

Thanks for reading.

You Tell Me: Which Available QB Do You Want Most For The Miami Dolphins?

Contrary to what I am sure is popular belief, I am not boycotting writing about the Miami Dolphins due to some of their recent boneheaded moves.

I am sorry for not posting in the past two days. I have been experiencing technical issues that have not allowed me to post using my laptop. Those issues have been fixed, though, so I am back and ready for some good discussion on this beautiful Mothers Day.

I am not sure how many mothers we have that come to Dolphin Shout, but if you are a mother please be sure to leave a comment below so we can shower you with praise for all of your hard work, because you deserve it.

Now, for the first "You Tell Me" in a good while: what QB do you want the Miami Dolphins to sign or trade for the most out of the available prospects, or do you want Miami to stick with Chad Henne?

I will list out some of the main prospects for your consideration, and then I am excited to hear your reactions.

1. Vince Young - Very dynamic player, but has some leadership and/or character issues that could pose a problem.

2. Donovan McNabb - 34 years old and coming off of a poor year. In his prime he was a great QB in the NFL.

3. Kevin Kolb - Pretty young QB with a good bit of upside. He would probably take a first round draft pick to get, though.

4. Carson Palmer - 31 years old, but appears to have a good number of years left in the tank. Could fill in nicely until Miami finds a younger guy.

5. Kyle Orton - 28 and can put up some very big numbers. Might be a bit of a challenge to get him from Denver.


Those are just the prospects that I can think of that the Dolphins would actually consider getting. Let me know if you would like Miami to go after any of them or if you would just rather they stick with Chad Henne.

Thanks for reading, and let me hear it.

Miami Dolphins Fail To Hand Out Playbooks To Players

Of course the Miami Dolphins would be the only team in the NFL that doesn't give their players their playbooks when they had the opportunity.

I mean, really? Are you joking me? REALLY?

I know I am a day or two late with this news, and I apologize for not posting yesterday but I had a migraine and wasn't able to do anything all day.

Unfortunately, it seems like those geniuses in the Dolphins organization are intent on giving me another migraine. If you haven't heard, the Miami Dolphins did not give any of the players on the team a playbook when they had the opportunity to. I am not 100% positive, but I believe that the Dolphins are the only team not to give any of their players a playbook when they had the chance to.

You would think that it would be a good idea to give your players a playbook when you are trying to put in a new offense, right? I mean, every other team in the NFL did it. You want to give your players time to study it, right?

Well apparently not for the Dolphins.

The stupidity of this is unbelievable. There is no excuse at all.

Jim Harbaugh wouldn't have missed on the opportunity to give out the playbook, and neither would Bill Cowher or any other coach that Stephen Ross would have considered bringing in.

There is absolutely no benefit in not giving the players a playbook ASAP. Not doing so is simply a mistake and there is no other way to describe it.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you guys think. Am I wrong for being pissed of at them for missing this opportunity?

Do You Support The Miami Dolphins Drafting A Man Acquitted Of Murder?

UPDATE: I made the mistake of saying he was convicted of murder. He was actually acquitted. Sorry about that.

In the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft the Miami Dolphins drafted defensive back Jimmy Wilson out of Montana.

I believe Wilson's talent level is much higher than other defensive backs in the 7th, and I think most people would agree with me. The reason Wilson fell so far is that he was accused of murdering his abusive Uncle in 2007.

What I would like you guys to do is read the following article explaining the story and then come back and tell me if you support the Dolphins decision to bring him in.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=mortensen_chris&id=6382356


Now that you have read it, let me know what you think about his murder and if you want him in Miami playing for the Dolphins.

Thanks for reading, and I am really interested to see what you guys say.

View Highlights Of Every Miami Dolphins Draftee [Video]

I figured it would be good to show you guys some highlight videos of the players that the Miami Dolphins drafted in this year's draft, so I have included them below.


The first highlight is a pretty short video about G/C Mike Pouncey, who the Miami Dolphins drafted in the first round. I like Pouncey, and I think he will help the Dolphins offensive line significantly.




The next highlight is of RB Daniel Thomas. I don't especially like this pick for reasons that most of you know, but he does have the potential to be a really good back in the NFL so I am alright with it.




Now I have two videos to show you guys about speedy WR Edmond Gates. Gates is my favorite pick of the draft. He fills a huge need. I know the two videos are pretty long, but I encourage you to watch them because Gates' speed is pretty incredible and it looks like he can actually catch (unlike Ted Ginn).






The next highlight is of HB/TE Charles Clay. I like this pick almost as much as Gates because he is a physical player who can also catch the ball. He is kind of the Dolphins version of Danny Woodhead without the speed and he is taller than Woodhead.




The last is an interview with CB Jimmy Wilson. I couldn't find any highlights of his, but hopefully you guys won't mind this.




Thanks for stopping by, and let me know what you think about any of these prospects.

Upon Further Review, I Owe Jeff Ireland An Apology

So, I am guessing that almost all of you read my post on Friday night where I called Jeff Ireland, Tony Sparano, Brian Daboll, Stephen Ross, and the entire Miami Dolphins organization a dumbass.

I would like to take this post to explain myself and to apologize to everyone in the organization that I complained about.

At the time of the post I was very angry because the Dolphins had just passed up on Ryan Mallett and the Patriots selected him just a few picks later. You have to understand that I have been a big Mallett supporter for three months now, and to see Miami pass him up and the Patriots to get him to (I believe) step in for Tom Brady when he retires was very frustrating. I still believe that Mallett will be able to be replace Brady effectively, but it isn't as damning as I had made it seem.

I had a lot of time to think about it yesterday, and the truth is that the Dolphins actually had a really good draft. They strengthened their interior offensive line with Mike Pouncey, they added a lightning fast receiver to stretch the field in Edmond Gates, they took a running back in Daniel Thomas that will fit their offense well and has the potential to be really good in the NFL, and they added a pass-catching fullback who can also play tight end in Charles Clay.

Miami added a player at every position that they needed help in. They fixed a lot of problems with this draft, and I can't help but be pleased with it after giving it more thought.

The only big remaining concern of mine is Chad Henne. We are probably going to have to live with seeing him under center another year.

That isn't ideal, but I think that he has a strong enough football team surrounding him that all he has to do is manage games and he will be able to win. This will hopefully be a similar case to Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets. Sanchez doesn't have to be great, he just has to be able to manage the game and his defense and the running game will take care of the rest. That's what I'm hoping the case is with Miami.

I believe that Chad Henne is better than a lot of us give him credit for (myself included). He practically had no help at all last year. His OC sucked, his running game sucked, and he had to deal with the enormous pressure of the expectations of us fans. I can't believe I am saying this, but I think we should give him one more chance. Now that he has a great offensive group surrounding him, we will really see what he is actually capable of.

Do I think Miami should have gotten Ryan Mallett instead of Daniel Thomas? Sure, I still think Mallett is a better QB than Henne, but it won't doom the Dolphins for the next 15 years like I said it would before. The Jets have shown us that you don't have to have an incredible QB as long as you have a great team surrounding him. I was just pissed off when I wrote that post on Friday and I went a little too far.

The truth is that Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano are actually pretty good at what they do. Do they make some boneheaded mistakes every once in a while? Absolutely, but they also make some pretty brilliant moves that counter their mistakes.

So, this is my official apology to Jeff Ireland, Tony Sparano, Brian Daboll, and everyone in the Miami Dolphins organization. I doubt that anyone of them will read this or read my post from Friday, but I feel like I had to say that.

I also want to apologize to you guys who read my post on Friday night. I shouldn't have made it seem like we were screwed for the next two decades. I still think Mallett is the real deal and the Patriots getting him is a problem for the future, but he alone won't be able to beat the Dolphins without help. Hopefully the Dolphins will be able to put together a better overall team than the Pats and Mallett won't be able to take them to victory.

We'll see I guess. I have officially renounced my fandom of Ryan Mallett, though. I no longer follow him on twitter. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.

Thanks for reading, and let me hear your reactions because I know you have them.