News and Notes, Friday August 22nd

Preseason Game Against the Jaguars

(Marc Serota/Getty Images, via NFL.com)

This game has come and gone and you have probably already read much about it. It was a good showing for the first team players and there were more positives to come out of this game than the first. It was Chad Pennington's first action and while he wasn't asked to do much, he ran the offense well and scored ten points on his three possessions. The other Chad (Henne) got the rest of the game at QB and once again looked comfortable and poised. He led Miami to three more field goals and completed 17 of 26 passes. Ricky Williams again showed why he is the Phins' best player and most valuable asset. He had several impressive runs, capped off by his four-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The defense looked better too. The defensive line was once again very active and causing disruptions and this week the linebackers did a better job of making and finishing the plays. The secondary started out okay but let down in the 4th quarter, allowing some long passes and two touchdowns.

Travis Daniels Traded

Earlier this week, news broke that Travis Daniels was traded to the Browns for an undisclosed draft pick. This was very surprising to me, not because Daniels wasn't on the team anymore, but because a team actually wanted him enough to trade for him. I know it's a low round pick but still, he probably would have been cut, at which point the Browns could have signed him. As for the Dolphins perspective, any pick acquired is a good one. Most people will say that a 6th or 7th round pick is useless as a lot of those guys don't even make the team, and if they do, they either never develop or just max out as a small time contributor. But, each pick is an asset, that can be used to improve the team. The pick can later be packaged to move up in a round in the draft or take a chance on a player that has high potential but low value.

Depth Chart Madness

The team released a new depth chart for the upcoming preseason game and there are a few things to note. Matt Roth is listed as a starting OLB. I'm not completely sold on this. This transition for him is not complete and if he is really our starter then we could have problems. Rookie Kendall Langford is listed as the starting LDE. I have no problem with this. he has been impressive and is well prepared for this role having played it in college. Ricky Williams has replaced Ronnie Brown atop the depth chart for injury (see below) and performance issues.

Injury Updates

• Ronnie Brown: He came out of the game on Saturday with a thumb injury. He has since returned to practice wearing a small cast but he can still catch and run. The team has decided to hold him out of the game this weekend for precautionary reasons.
  
• Joey Porter: He missed some practice this week with a knee injury. He returned and is expected to be healthy by week one but these nagging injuries are starting to stack up. That is never a good thing.
• Charlie Anderson: He returned to practice yesterday after missing some time with a quad injury. With our lack of depth at OLB, he is needed and hopefully he picks up where he left off.
• Michael Lehan: He is finally back. This is his first action of training camp. He won't be 100% for a while but hopefully he gets there. The team is counting on him to be a starting corner.

Preseason Game Number Three

The starters should see a lot of time and the team is still looking for improvement. I'd like to see more points, specifically more touchdowns. This preaseason we have had seven scoring drives, but only one of them ended in six points. We will probably play a lot of close, low scoring games this year. Sometimes there are critical moments in a game where three points is simply not good enough, six is needed. We must be able to punch it in the end zone when we have the opportunity. On defense I'd still like to see better play on third downs, and more big plays. So far we have only forced one turnover. Good defenses not only make the stops needed, but also set up their offense in good field position due to turnovers and sacks. We need more of that.

New Depth Chart, Jay Feely Cut

Yesterday the Dolphins released an updated depth chart, per league rules, in time for the next preseason game. Here it is, in a rather convenient list form.

OFFENSE
QB: C. Pennington, J. McCown, J. Beck, C. Henne
RB: R. Brown, R. Williams, P. Cobbs, J. Parmele, L. Hilliard
FB: R. Mauia, B. Grigsby
WR1: T. Ginn, E. Wilford, D. Kircus, J Foster, A. Armstrong
WR2: D. Hagan, G. Camarillo, D Bess, J. Dunlap, S. Lymon
TE: A. Fasano, D. Martin, S. Ryan, J. Peelle, M. Mulligan
LT: J. Long, I. Ndukwe
LG: J. Smiley, S. Murphy
C: S. Satele, S. McKinney, M. Spanos
RG: D Thomas, T. Darilek, M Byrne
RT: V. Carey, D. Heerspink

DEFENSE
LDE: M. Roth, R. Starks, K Langford, R. Wright
NT: J. Ferguson, P. Soliai, A. Toribio
RDE: V. Holliday, P Merling, L. Dotson
SLB: J. Porter, R. Ninkovich, J. Glymph
ILB1: C. Crowder, K. Smith, K. Poppinga
ILB2: A. Ayodele, R. Torbor, Edmond Miles
WLB: C. Anderson, Q. Moses, K Saunders
LCB: W. Allen, J. Thomas, C. Roberson
RCB: A. Goodman, T. Daniels, N. Jones, W. Billingsley
SS: Y. Bell, K. Davis, C. Bryan
FS: J. Allen, C. Crocker, R. Hill

SPECIAL TEAMS
K: J. Feely, D. Carpenter
P: B. Fields
LS: J. Denney
KR/PR: T. Ginn, J. Foster, D. Bess

Quick thoughts on the new depth chart:

1. I know the quarterbacks are still technically listed by seniority but I think that's how it will stay. Pennington will start, McCown and beck are battling it out for the number two, whoever loses will be waived, and Henne is number three, no matter how well he does in practice. I know they could keep four but I just don't see that happening.
2. There is a real log-jam at that LDE spot. That spot I feel is really up for grabs. Roth is being experimented with at OLB, Langford is good but a rookie, Starks is solid but will move around the whole line, and even Wright has shown potential. Those four guys could end up in any order and I wouldn't be surprised.
3. Michael Lehan is nowhere to be found. His injury is probably more serious than being day-to-day. If he is active for week one against the Jets I'd be surprised.
4. Charlie Anderson is also hurt but he is on the list and hopefully will resume practicing soon.
   

News

Kelvin Smith suffered a serious knee injury during the preseason game and has been placed on the waived/injured list. I'm not quite sure what that means except that he should get money he was due and will probably sit out the season. He was a seventh round pick last year and showed a little promise, but I don't imagine him having much future with the team. Replacing him on the roster is Maurice Fountain, who played for Clemson and most recently the Utah Blaze of the AFL2. Wow. No Ricky Williams jokes, please.

Also, breaking this morning is news that kicker Jay Feely has been cut. I've had a feeling he may end up losing the kicking battle, but I thought it would take several weeks of practice and preseason games for Dan Carpenter to prove he should win it. Although I like Carpenter, this move makes me a little nervous. Feely was great on field goals last year and the kickoffs figured to be better this year with the improvement of the coverage teams. I also hate to see an injury play any part in determing a position battle (Feely has been nursing one and hasn't practiced in a while). We shouldn't feel too bad for jay though, he is good and once he is 100% healthy there is no doubt that he will be kicking somewhere in the NFL.

Preseason Game One: Recap

(sun-sentinel.com)

Before I get to the game there are a couple things I want to mention. Obviously, the Dolphins signed Chad Pennington. I gave my thoughts about the potential move a couple days ago, so there is no reason to elaborate again. I was not in favor of this acquisition but it has been made and now we need to embrace it. There are some good things that can come out of it, namely getting insider information about our division rival the New York Jets.

With this move, one of two quarterbacks will eventually have to be removed from the roster. I thought it'd be a fairly simple decision. Pennington is an upgrade for Josh McCown's role and he is the one who should be cut. But, there are rumors that if John Beck, who has had a slow start to training camp, doesn't start to turn things around, that he would be the one dangled in a trade or released. I am not in favor of that. McCown is a known quantity in this league (below average player) while Beck is young and still developing. It would be a bad move to give up on Beck this soon.

On to the game, I'll start with the good. The one player that stood out most was Ricky Williams. He just looks better than everyone else on a football field and made a couple nice runs. Our strength should be running the ball and giving it to Ricky is clearly a good option. All he needs is a small hole or crease and he can burst through for a big gain. Even one rush he was stuffed in the backfield, but he bounced off, took it the other direction, eluded another tackle and made a six yard gain. If he plays all sixteen games he could put up great numbers and really give us a good chance to win.

Chad Henne looked solid in his debut. You hear this cliche a lot and I don't like to use it, but he really did not look like a rookie out there. He was poised and had a couple of impressive third and long conversions where he stepped up in the pocket and delivered a bullet. He also didn't have any "wtf?" moments that you see some rookies make.

Both rookies on the defensive line (Philip Merling and Kendall Langford) also impressed. The both got a good rush and were pretty good stopping the run. I don't think these guys will put up big stats but there job is to occupy space and disrupt things. Along with nose tackle Jason Ferguson they gave the linebackers a lot of opportunities to make plays.

Dan Carpenter is making this kicking battle interesting. He made both of his field goal attempts which were of above average difficulty. The first was a 41-yarder off the infield dirt and he followed it up with a 49-yard conversion from the grass. He didn't have any touchbacks but it appeared as if Miami was using the directional kicking strategy. Carpenter and the coverage team did well with that.

Let's move to the bad side. The receivers were as advertised. They failed to impress. David Kircus made a few nice catches but other than that they had a quiet outing. The three players figured to get the most time this year (Ginn, Wilford, Hagan) were rather invisible, each just catching one ball. Tampa did a good job in coverage but it's still their job to get open and make plays.

The problem on defense was stopping the intermediary passing game. The Bucs did a great job of methodically moving the ball down the field with short passes and efficient runs. I'm not sure if it was the linebackers fault for not covering well or if it was the cornerbacks who should be jamming receivers at the line. The west coast style posed a problem for our defense and they will have to take a look at the film.

One more person I thought had a bad night was Jayson Foster. He won't get many opportunities in the preseason games to impress and in this one he didn't have any dynamic returns and he even muffed one punt. He looked like he didn't belong on the field quite honestly. Let's hope he turns it around this week.

Overall this was much like any other preseason game. The things that went well you say to yourself, "Now that's an encouraging sign." When things don't go so well, you just chalk it up as the preseason mistakes that will get corrected eventually.

Coming up this week are only five practices over the Monday through Thursday span. I figure Pennington will get lots of time and reps while he relearns this Dan Henning offense. The next preseason game is on Saturday in Jacksonville facing the Jaguars.

Update: Also of note, starting outside linebacker Charlie Anderson left the game with a hamstring injury, no word yet on his status.

Training Camp Update & Preseason Game Preview

Training Camp

To know what exactly is going on in training camp I recommend checking out the Palm Beach Posts' Inside The Dolphins blog. They have two reporters at every practice who run back and forth writing updates about what is going on.

News

Believe what you want to believe about Chad Pennington. One place I read says the Dolphins are the only team pursuing him. Another place says that six teams have contacted his agent. I gave my thoughts on the situation yesterday and haven't changed. He is not a huge upgrade over McCown (who we'd likely cut) and not worth the money to sign him and eat McCown's contract.

Ronnie Brown will be a game-time decision for the game tomorrow night. If it were me, I wouldn't play him. I know running backs need to see some live action to get back in the flow of a game, but he is coming of an ACL injury and there is no reason to risk one of our biggest strengths. Play him for a bit in the third or fourth preseason game and then ease him into the regular season.

We have a kicking competition. Sparano said the battle is "very even." Jay Feely's injury has allowed rookie Dan Carpenter to shine while Jay rides the bike. If Carpenter can prove he is accurate (4-4 yesterday, all from 40+ yards), then his ability to make longer kicks and have better kickoffs may win him the job. That's still unlikely, but we'll see.

Preseason Game One: Here are the things I'll be watching.

1. Quarterbacks: Obviously, that's what everyone will focus on. Coach Sparano has informed them what the playing time will be but it's still a secret to everyone else. Whoever faces the Bucs first team defense can make a real big impression if he can move the ball and score points. The players that get the 2nd and 3rd teams will have some at stake but not as much.
   
2. Receivers: They have been criticized by the coach for dropping too many balls in practice. Dropping passes in a preseason game is the easiest way to ensure you'll be cut or moved down the depth chart. Ernest Wilford has been struggling but can he turn it around in a game? The opposite goes for Derek Hagan. We always hear about his great practices but never see those come to life in a game. Finally, is Ted Ginn taking the next step to be a legit #1 wide receiver or is he still just a speedster out of his element?
3. Kendall Langford: He may start at LDE, having unseated Matt Roth at that spot. Langford was an intriguing small schoool (Hampton) prospect who played in a 3-4 and seems to be a good fit. Word is he has done well in practice and now we can see if it translates against a different offense.
4. Special Teams: This area was atrocious last year. There are lots of new guys on the coverage teams and lets hope they are better. As I mentioned above Jay Feely is hurt so we should see plenty of Dan Carpenter handling all of the kicking duties. Also, Brandon Fields has been booming punts in camp, but he can he launch some 60-yarders in a game with a rush coming at him?

One Final Thought

To all those people who believe it'll be nice to win and that it is important, because we were 1-15 and just want to get some confidence by winning a game, even if it's preseason, that's a load of shit. Yes, winning would be nice, but it wouldn't mean anything. We just want to learn about all of our players and get a clearer picture of who will contribute and who should be packing their bags. Scoring and winning is great and will be fun if it happens but it is still just an exhibition game.

Leave Him A Hanging Chad!

I'm sure everyone is aware of the situation. Brett Favre was traded to the Jets and the Jets will no counter by releasing Chad Pennington. Many people say Chad should come straight to Miami and start week one against his former team. It seems to make sense. Bill Parcells drafted him. Pennington can give us an inside look at the Jets playbook and defenses and other insider information. However, I am NOT in favor of acquiring Pennington.

Reason #1: He can't throw deep routes.

This is a known fact. If Chad is the quarterback, don't expect any passes longer than twelve yards to be completed, unless of course, he completes it to the wrong team, which is likely. He has had shoulder issues and simply can't burn a defense with the long ball if given the opportunity. Considering our number one receiver's (Ted Ginn) best skill is speed and deep routes, this quarterback pairing would not be a good fit. This allows defenses to stack the box and dare us to hook up on a long pass. Won't happen.

Reason #2: Which quarterback will be the odd man out?

Simple mathematics, we will only have three quarterbacks this year. If Pennington comes in and sticks to the 53-man roster, who is the odd one out. Josh McCown could be cut, but we just invested $6.25 million to him in the offseason. That wouldn't be the biggest of losses but still a chunk of money wasted this year and the next. John Beck could be dangled in a trade but I doubt anybody (even Cam Cameron) would offer anything serious. If he was cut or put on the practice squad though he'd probably be picked up. We should not be so eager to give up on Beck, he still has a lot of potential and it's only his second year. We just drafted Henne and he has been arguably the best quarterback in camp. He's not going anywhere.

Just say no to Chad. He is not a quarterback of the future and isn't a worthy stop-gap solution.

(thanks to my cousin Dewey for the image at the top)

2008 Season Preview: NFC South

This has been the division of least dominance over the last five years. Each season, the team that finished in last place the previous year has ended up winning the division. Each team has won it at least once and been to a conference championship game. Will this season follow the trend? (Here's a hint, no.)

Atlanta Falcons



Last Season: 4-12

Why they will be good: Uh, I don't know. I think, much like the Dolphins, they can't be much worse. They had a nice draft and are trying to build from the bottom up. Just because they don't have a lot of proven NFL talent on the roster doesn't mean there is no NFL talent. Their success will likely depend on the immediate impact of rookies, especially quarterback Matt Ryan.

Why they will struggle: Did I mention they don't have much proven NFL talent? As we saw with the Dolphins last year trying your best doesn't get you much in this league unless you have some talent and ability on the roster. The schedule isn't mighty tough but they should be an underdog in most every game.

Vegas Over/Under Win Total: 4.5 - This is a tough call. My blind prediction was 4-12 so therefore I'd take the under, but I wouldn't feel too confident about it.

Carolina Panthers



Last Season: 7-9

Why they will be good: The Panthers to me have either been perennial under-achievers or perennially overrated. They always seem to be a trendy pick to surprise people. Do they have the talent and just never come through, or are they honestly about where they should be? I say the former. This team has talent and in this division should be good. It's a big year for head coach John Fox. The addition of Jonathan Stewart will improve the running game and help them control the clock and the scoreboard.

Why they will struggle: They played four different quarterbacks last year (more than the Dolphins!) one of which being 44-year old Vinny Testaverde. They must have one guy, likely Jake Delhomme, step up and solidify the position. That means playing well and staying healthy. If not the may have to resort to Matt Moore or Brett Basanez.

Vegas Over/Under Win Total: 7.5 - Another close one. I'll say over, barely. The schedule isn't too difficult and they should be one game better than last year.

New Orleans Saints



Last Season: 7-9

Why they will be good: I'm high on the Saints this year. They got off to a poor start last year and didn't finish well but for the bulk of the season played well. I love the addition of Jonathan Vilma and Jeremy Shockey. They have good players at the skill positions and now head coach Sean Payton has a little more experience. In this division and the soft schedule, they should thrive.

Why they will struggle: They must not get off to a bad start and have a snowball effect to derail the season. Consistency will be the name of the game for them. Also, with the game in London, they only have seven home games, along with nine road games, one of which obviously being a long way away. They better not get fatigued.

Vegas Over/Under Win Total: 8.5 This is the easiest decision so far. Over. They have four games against teams that were 4-12 last year. They should win those and at least five out of the other twelve.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers



Last Season: 9-7, Division Winner, Lost Wild Card Game

Why they will be good: They were good for fourteen games last year before shutting it down and then getting soundly defeated by the Giants in the playoffs. They maintain much of the roster that has a lot of veteran players that know what it takes to win. The addition of Warrick Dunn on offense and Aqib Talib in the secondary should help.

Why they will struggle: I think they overachieved last year. They took advantage of a weak division clinched it early. They will have a rougher time with the division foes this year along with games against the Cowboys and Seahawks. The veteran players are good to have but the risk of injury and fatigue at the end of the season is higher.

Vegas Over/Under Win Total: 8 - I'm tempted to say push but I'll man up and pick a side. Under. Like I said, the division and schedule is tougher.

Overall Outlook

Division Winner: New Orleans Saints
Wild Card Possibilities: Carolina Panthers

Be sure to stay tuned to all of the season previews along with the recap and season predictions.