2008 NFL Season Previews:# 31 Miami Dolphins

Team: Miami Dolphins
Division: AFC East
Last Years Record: 1-15
Head Coach: Tony Sparano
Offensive Coordinator: Dan Henning
Defensive Coordinator: Paul Pasqualoni

Schedule(home games in BOLD):

Week 1 : SEPT. 7 NEW YORK JETS 1:00 P.M. CBS
Week 2 : Sept. 14 @ Arizona Cardinals 4:15 p.m. CBS
Week 3 : Sept. 21 @ NE Patriots 1:00 p.m. CBS
Week 4 : SEPT. 28 BYE WEEKEND
Week 5 : OCT. 5 SD CHARGERS 1:00 P.M. CBS
Week 6 : Oct. 12 @ Houston Texans 1:00 p.m. CBS
Week 7 : OCT. 19 BALTIMORE RAVENS 1:00 P.M. CBS
Week 8 : OCT. 26 BUFFALO BILLS 1:00 P.M. CBS
Week 9 : Nov. 2 @ Denver Broncos 4:05 p.m. CBS
Week 10: NOV. 9 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 1:00 P.M. FOX
Week 11: NOV. 16 OAKLAND RAIDERS 1:00 P.M. CBS
Week 12 : NOV. 23 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 1:00 P.M. CBS
Week 13 : Nov. 30 @ St. Louis Rams 1:00 p.m. CBS
Week 14 : Dec. 7 @ Buffalo Bills (Toronto) 4:05 p.m.#CBS
Week 15 : DEC. 14 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 1:00 P.M. FOX
Week 16 : Dec. 21 @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 p.m. CBS
Week 17 : Dec. 28 @ New York Jets 1:00 p.m. CBS

Key Losses:
Zach Thomas
Marty Booker
Lance Schulters
Travares Tillman
LJ Shelton
Rex Hadnot
Cleo Lemon


Key Additions:Jake Long
Akin Ayodele
Chris Crocker
Anthony Fasano
Ernest Wilford
Josh McCown
Jason Ferguson


Breakdown of the offense: When you visit the Miami Dolphins website they show you their theme for the year, Break The Code. The code is all of the principals of football; discipline, hard work, etc etc. Last years the Dolphins were historically bad on offense and they could not break the code let alone the line of scrimmage, and with this years biggest aquisition being Jake Long it may take bringing in Nicholas Cage to break the code. With Parcells making all the moves and his disciple Tony Sparano (so thats why it went black, they moved to Miami and didn't want to piss of Jet fans) calling the shots, this team will bring itself back, eventually. Jake Long is a nice building block, but the QBs are young or Josh McCown. The wide recieving core is lackluster, after the lightning fast Ted Ginn Jr. the talent level drops immensly. The strong point of this offense will be the running game if they can stay healthy. That is a big if, Ronnie Brown is coming back from a torn ACL and Ricky Williams played in one game before getting his shoulder stepped on. Ricky has plenty of reason to play good,;he is in the last year of his contract, he has a smattering of kids, and is only making the league minimum. If he wants to stay in the NFL, he will have to bounce back. The duo, when healthy can be dangerous, in 2005 they combined for 1600 yards. The Dolphins second best move was bringing in Dan Henning who helped the Panthers take their offense off the ground and reach the Super Bowl within two years of his arrival. This offense will be based on power-running and play-action passing, so for the Dolphins sake they need to stay healthy or this offense can't take off.

Breakdown of the defense: For a team that is coming back from 1-15 record, their defense is not at bad as you would expect. Nose tackle Jason Ferguson comes over from Dallas to plug the gap in the 3-4 scheme. Vonnie Holiday and Jason Taylor aren't getting any younger while Matt Roth and Quentin Moses (Teach's former basketball teammate from 7th grade) were hardly noticeable as rookies. Taylor notched 11 sacks last season, but six of those came after the Dolphins were already 0-10. All signs point to the Dolphins not wanting to get rid of Taylor right now, but it will be interesting to see how he performs after such a tumultuous offseason. Zach Thomas' shoes will be tough to fill at middle linebacker, but Channing Crowder and Akin Adoyele will team up to try. A healthy and motivated Joey Porter could be poised for his best season in several years, but most likely he will just yap alot and get his goons to take care of it. The Dolphins really struggled at the safety spot in 2007, sifting through eight starters, but it looks like they've finally found their guy with Chris Crocker. Jason Allen is constantly improving at the other safety spot, since they have stopped shuttling him back and forth between corner and safety. Will Allen and Andre' Goodman will take most of the snaps at the cornerback spots, so have fun with that Todd Bowles.

Breakdown of the Special Teams:
Jay Feely is getting better with age, coming off a stellar season, setting a franchise record by hitting 91.3% of his attempts (21 of 23). Punter Brandon Fields is steadily improving with an 43.2 yard average and placing 10 punts within the 10 yard line. Tedd Ginn Jr. has the potential to be one of the best return men in the NFL.

Position Grades:
QB's: D+ ; This group is full of inexperience and has a lack of arm power. This lack of arm power effects Ted Ginns ability to stretch the field, and turns him into a possession reciever. John Beck(reminds me of Chad Pennington without the smarts), is going to be the starter. But he and his backups Chad Henne(coming off of shoulder injury) and Josh McCown(12-19 as a starter) are nothing to write home about.

RB's : B-, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are a good duo, they just need to stay healthy.

Wr/TE: D-, The only reason they didn't get an F is because of Ted Ginn Jr. and Ernest Wilford, the WR core is thin and full of no-names. The TE's can block; but with Peelle, David Martin, Sean Ryan, and Anthony Fasano who is going to catch the ball.

O-Line: C, Jake Long instantly upgrades the unit, especially in the running game. Before injuries last season this group was jelling, helping the rb's to a 4.5 yards a carry last season for the first 7 games. The passing game is where this group needs to improve, they allowed 42 sacks last season 25 of those in the last 6 games.

D-line: C+, Jason Taylor and Vonnie Holiday are older, but Taylor is in the best shape of his life after DWTS. This groups success rate will weigh heavily on Jason Ferguson at nose tackle and the young guys (Phillip Merling, Quentin Moses, and Matt Roth) need to improve.

LBs: B-, Channing Crowder, Akin Ayodele, Reggie Torbor, and Joey Porter will start. This group needs to stay focused and remember that Zach Thomas won't be there to bail them out. If they can do that, this will be the strengh of the defense.

DBs: D, After the wide receiving core, this is probably the worst unit on the team. Will Allen brings leadership but he brings age as well. Jason Allen will be the best of this bunch as he gets more comfortable playing safety.

Season Outlook: 4-6 wins, Bill Parcells brings instant credibility, and when he comes into these situations it doesn't take long for him to win. He usually takes two years to get teams back in the playoffs, this year won't be any different. The team is going to be more watchable this season, and is going to playing on Hope, hope they can find a suitable replacement for Dan Marino.

LCB Staff Opinions:

Berndons4 Thoughts: Atleast Jason Taylor can dance. There are not too many positives with this team, and I think there is a 50-50 chance Bill Parcells kills someone by midseason. They might have a fighting chance on offense if Ronnie Brown comes back from injury.

Teachs Thoughts: Atleast global warming won't flood Miami for another decade or so.

Note to Channing Crowder, stay away from Coach Sparano's daughter(NSFW)

Sorry I had to do it.

Miami Dolphins.com