AFATT is... All Dolphins All The Time
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The Dolphins’ Needs
Patrick Tarell, January 4, 2010
I’m going to take a little time to breakdown the Dolphins’ needs beginning overall and then by position…
Stats - NFL Ranking:
Offense: Points (15), Yards (17), Passing (20), Rushing (4)
Defense: Points (25), Yards (22), Passing (24), Rushing (18)
Clearly we can see by the stats the larger issue with the Dolphins lies in the defense. The defense has been a
study in inconsistency, from the early season fourth quarter let downs to the late season first half deficits.
There are certainly talent deficiencies that will be addressed later but here let’s look at the big picture. What
the two scenarios above allude to is a slow to react coaching staff that was out schemed for at least half of
nearly every game. Early in the season teams were able to make second half adjustments while the Dolphins
reacted to those adjustments far too slowly leading to the opening losses that got the Dolphins off to a slow
start. Later in the season the Dolphins did a better job of self evaluation at half time simply because the holes
they dug themselves into were so huge the opposing offenses were in kill the clock mode. It would be easy to
point to coaching as a problem but much of the problem stems from inadequacies in the talent needed to run
the 3-4 defense. We saw adjustments made after some injuries to a four man front and some other alignments
but changing a fundamental philosophy in mid season is generally considered a mistake. Without
beleaguering the point let’s get to the defensive personnel and focus on where the lack of talent played into
the systemic issues with the Dolphins 3-4 defense.
Starting with the main cog in the wheel gives a clear indication of what went wrong with the Dolphin defense.
The nose tackle position is the key to the 3-4 defense. Jason Ferguson is a good nose tackle but he is not a
young man and he has trouble maintaining the position over the course of an entire game. In the beginning of
the season the defense was able to play at a high level early in games but as Ferguson wore down the
defense followed suit and opponents were able to move the ball and score once he began to tire. While Paul
Soliai made a gallant effort teams were able to exploit him with one on one blocking and sure up the gaps they
were unable to early in games because Ferguson required two blockers. When Ferguson went down teams
were then able to dominate the Dolphin defense early in games as Soliai did not command double teams and
at times disappeared during games. This leads to the primary off season need, a dominant young nose tackle.
This is the single toughest position to fill in a 3-4 defense and what the Dolphin do in the off season will hinge
on whether they can fill this need. No other acquisition will matter as much if this need is not filled. Paul Soliai
should be given an opportunity because unfortunately great nose tackles rarely come from the draft. Big fat
guys in college turn into huge fat slugs in the pros when the sudden influx of money offers unlimited cheese
burger and fries, because of this it is a tricky position to draft. The number of teams employing the 3-4
defense and the scarcity of players able to play this position, make it the most difficult to fill in the NFL.
The second obvious need on the Dolphin defense is quality at middle linebacker. Though Channing Crowder
is not considered elite, a simple look at the games he has played in and the games he has not gives a clear
indication of the lack of talent Miami has at this position. Crowder may not be great but when he was out of the
line-up the middle of the Dolphin defense became a gaping hole. Crowder can stay, but without an upgrade
here the Dolphin defense will never get to level needed to consistently compete in the NFL. An instinctual hard
hitting MLB with the ability to drop into coverage would do wonders for the Miami defense.
Third, the Dolphins need a free safety. A lot of disparaging remarks have been volleyed at Gibril Wilson but
the simple truth is he has been playing out of position this entire season. Wilson is a strong safety though not
as good as Yeremiah Bell at that position, given Bell’s injury history it would be wise to keep Wilson around
and find a true free safety. Rookie Chris Clemons was given the opportunity to start the last game of the
season but he was clearly not ready to take over and watching him trail the Steelers receivers particularly on
the long touchdown shed a bright light on why he was not on the field sooner. Whether the brain trust feels he
can grow into the position will be critical to how the Dolphins approach an upgrade this off-season.
Fourth is outside linebacker. On paper the Dolphins look strong at this position but the reality is not so good.
Jason Taylor and Joey Porter are both aging veterans who probably have their best seasons behind them.
While both have been great players as right side sack specialists neither plays well from the left side. Taylor
has done an admirable job setting the edge and defending the run but the place he would rather be is rushing
the passer. Porter had some flashes this season but far too often he was trampled in the run game or caught
out of position pursuing the QB leaving the edge uncovered. Having these two on the team is nice as long as
the team realizes they have two right side pass rushers with resumes that indicate they would be unhappy if
they were not in a starting role. For this reason the team would be better served to allow one of them to walk
this off-season and bring in a true left side run stuffing edge setting LB to play opposite one of them.
Personally I would prefer to keep Jason Taylor because he is a cheaper option and his unselfishness in
playing out of position shows he is a team oriented player and I’m not so sure the same can be said about
Porter. Behind these guys are a bunch of unknowns starting with Cameron Wake. Wake has shown some
flashes of pass rushing ability with exceptional speed and first step quickness but he generates his speed
using a four point stance and the last time I checked, a linebacker plays on two feet meaning we have another
guy with great potential playing out of position. Wake would be an ideal defensive end in a 4-3 but he has a lot
to learn if he is to become a true OLB in a 3-4. Moses, Anderson and Walden have done little to suggest they
are more than special teams players so getting rid of Porter would leave a void here that would have to be
filled if he is indeed given his walking papers.
The rest of the defensive line looks solid and should not be a priority for the Dolphins. The two rookie corners
played well considering they are rookies and should man this position for years to come. With the return of Will
Allen the corner position also looks very solid going forward.
On the offensive side of the ball the needs are not as apparent with the exception of a playmaking wide
receiver. Personally I don’t see the need to make any extraordinary moves to fill this void. WRs touch the ball
at most ten times a game and though they can gain those chunk yards so coveted by offenses the value to a
team with clear needs in other places dictates that this position should be the last to fill and therefore should
be considered at the low end of the priority list. I know a lot of fans will disagree with this assessment but none-
the-less this is the way I would approach filling the needs of the team. If the best player on the board were a
WR at number 12 in the draft then I might consider it, but stretching or making a trade to fill this position would
be a mistake given the needs elsewhere.
QB is a concern, Chad Henne has shown some real potential but potential and a dollar will get you a cup of
coffee. Henne has shown the propensity to make bone head mistakes in critical situations that could be
attributed to his inexperience at the position in the NFL. One would have thought a four year starter in college
would have overcome this by the time he hit the big leagues. This is a tough one because the QB is the man,
he is the single most important player on the field and if he is not the right guy then the time it took to groom
him is completely lost and can set the team back another three years. I sincerely hope he is the right guy but
hope is not a plan and I would continue to look at this as a work in progress. The Miami Dolphins have to face
the reality that Pat White is not an NFL caliber QB. Every organization wants to believe they have made the
right assessment of the players they have drafted but sometimes they miss and this is clearly a miss.
Continuing to pursue the time it takes to get a QB ready to play in the NFL is wasting valuable assets that
could be used on players who are more deserving. Tyler Thigpen showed in one quarter of play that he has
much more NFL potential and should be given the opportunity. Chad Pennington would make an ideal back up
QB but there is no telling whether he will be willing to step back into that role. If he is true to himself he will
realize that his shoulder can only be rebuilt so many times. If he tries to play as a starter in this league he will
cause irreparable damage to his shoulder and would likely never play in any capacity again. Having Henne,
Pennington and Thigpen at the QB position would be better than most Dolphins fans could have dreamed of a
few short years ago. Assuming this course of action there is no need to do anything at the QB position but
drafting or bringing in at least one every year is a good policy because as we have seen, great QBs can come
from some unlikely places.
Tight End is probably the position on offense that needs an upgrade. Anthony Fasano is a good TE, but he is
not great. His body type is more suited for blocking than receiving. He is basically stiff in his route running and
his body positioning while going for the ball. By no means should Fasano be let go but a great pass catching
TE would be a significant upgrade to the offense.
The offensive line made great strides this year and is very solid with only one issue, health. The middle of the
line just has not been able to stay healthy. Jake Grove played great until a high ankle sprain derailed his
season, but a look at his career indicates a series of nagging injuries throughout. It is beginning to look like a
trend with him but fortunately Joe Berger played well in his place. Justin Smiley has had the same issue and so
has Donald Thomas so the concern on the OL is whether these guys can remain healthy. Grove and Thomas
are young guys and hopefully they will learn how to take care of their bodies during the long NFL season but
Smiley is not a spring chicken and there needs to be a player in the pipeline to fill his spot because I don’t see
him lasting much after next season. Overall the OL is in good shape with Garner, Berger and Gardner waiting
in the wings.
Running back is not a huge area of concern because of the presence of Ricky, Ronnie, Cobbs and Hillard. I
don’t see the Dolphins looking too deeply at the RB position this off-season unless the injuries to Ronnie and
Patrick Cobbs do not mend as expected.
In review the dolphins should be looking for players in the following priority…
Nose Tackle
Middle Linebacker
Free Safety
Outside Linebacker
Tight End
Wide Receiver
Given some of the injuries and the first year starter at QB I believe the Dolphins are in a good position to get
much better in the coming season. The young defenders will only continue to progress and Chad Henne
should grow into the job. The main concern with this team is leadership in the locker room. As we have seen
with the elite teams in the league that leadership comes from the QB position and therefore it will be up to
Chad Henne to take that role and win the respect of his teammates. If Henne can make this critical transition
we will see a completely different Dolphin team next year. A team with the same never-say-die mentality but
also a team with the talent and the leadership to go the next level with the notable changes outlined in this
review.
Pat.Dolphin and AFATT says so...
Email me at pat.dolphin@afatt.com
Patrick Tarell, January 4, 2010
I’m going to take a little time to breakdown the Dolphins’ needs beginning overall and then by position…
Stats - NFL Ranking:
Offense: Points (15), Yards (17), Passing (20), Rushing (4)
Defense: Points (25), Yards (22), Passing (24), Rushing (18)
Clearly we can see by the stats the larger issue with the Dolphins lies in the defense. The defense has been a
study in inconsistency, from the early season fourth quarter let downs to the late season first half deficits.
There are certainly talent deficiencies that will be addressed later but here let’s look at the big picture. What
the two scenarios above allude to is a slow to react coaching staff that was out schemed for at least half of
nearly every game. Early in the season teams were able to make second half adjustments while the Dolphins
reacted to those adjustments far too slowly leading to the opening losses that got the Dolphins off to a slow
start. Later in the season the Dolphins did a better job of self evaluation at half time simply because the holes
they dug themselves into were so huge the opposing offenses were in kill the clock mode. It would be easy to
point to coaching as a problem but much of the problem stems from inadequacies in the talent needed to run
the 3-4 defense. We saw adjustments made after some injuries to a four man front and some other alignments
but changing a fundamental philosophy in mid season is generally considered a mistake. Without
beleaguering the point let’s get to the defensive personnel and focus on where the lack of talent played into
the systemic issues with the Dolphins 3-4 defense.
Starting with the main cog in the wheel gives a clear indication of what went wrong with the Dolphin defense.
The nose tackle position is the key to the 3-4 defense. Jason Ferguson is a good nose tackle but he is not a
young man and he has trouble maintaining the position over the course of an entire game. In the beginning of
the season the defense was able to play at a high level early in games but as Ferguson wore down the
defense followed suit and opponents were able to move the ball and score once he began to tire. While Paul
Soliai made a gallant effort teams were able to exploit him with one on one blocking and sure up the gaps they
were unable to early in games because Ferguson required two blockers. When Ferguson went down teams
were then able to dominate the Dolphin defense early in games as Soliai did not command double teams and
at times disappeared during games. This leads to the primary off season need, a dominant young nose tackle.
This is the single toughest position to fill in a 3-4 defense and what the Dolphin do in the off season will hinge
on whether they can fill this need. No other acquisition will matter as much if this need is not filled. Paul Soliai
should be given an opportunity because unfortunately great nose tackles rarely come from the draft. Big fat
guys in college turn into huge fat slugs in the pros when the sudden influx of money offers unlimited cheese
burger and fries, because of this it is a tricky position to draft. The number of teams employing the 3-4
defense and the scarcity of players able to play this position, make it the most difficult to fill in the NFL.
The second obvious need on the Dolphin defense is quality at middle linebacker. Though Channing Crowder
is not considered elite, a simple look at the games he has played in and the games he has not gives a clear
indication of the lack of talent Miami has at this position. Crowder may not be great but when he was out of the
line-up the middle of the Dolphin defense became a gaping hole. Crowder can stay, but without an upgrade
here the Dolphin defense will never get to level needed to consistently compete in the NFL. An instinctual hard
hitting MLB with the ability to drop into coverage would do wonders for the Miami defense.
Third, the Dolphins need a free safety. A lot of disparaging remarks have been volleyed at Gibril Wilson but
the simple truth is he has been playing out of position this entire season. Wilson is a strong safety though not
as good as Yeremiah Bell at that position, given Bell’s injury history it would be wise to keep Wilson around
and find a true free safety. Rookie Chris Clemons was given the opportunity to start the last game of the
season but he was clearly not ready to take over and watching him trail the Steelers receivers particularly on
the long touchdown shed a bright light on why he was not on the field sooner. Whether the brain trust feels he
can grow into the position will be critical to how the Dolphins approach an upgrade this off-season.
Fourth is outside linebacker. On paper the Dolphins look strong at this position but the reality is not so good.
Jason Taylor and Joey Porter are both aging veterans who probably have their best seasons behind them.
While both have been great players as right side sack specialists neither plays well from the left side. Taylor
has done an admirable job setting the edge and defending the run but the place he would rather be is rushing
the passer. Porter had some flashes this season but far too often he was trampled in the run game or caught
out of position pursuing the QB leaving the edge uncovered. Having these two on the team is nice as long as
the team realizes they have two right side pass rushers with resumes that indicate they would be unhappy if
they were not in a starting role. For this reason the team would be better served to allow one of them to walk
this off-season and bring in a true left side run stuffing edge setting LB to play opposite one of them.
Personally I would prefer to keep Jason Taylor because he is a cheaper option and his unselfishness in
playing out of position shows he is a team oriented player and I’m not so sure the same can be said about
Porter. Behind these guys are a bunch of unknowns starting with Cameron Wake. Wake has shown some
flashes of pass rushing ability with exceptional speed and first step quickness but he generates his speed
using a four point stance and the last time I checked, a linebacker plays on two feet meaning we have another
guy with great potential playing out of position. Wake would be an ideal defensive end in a 4-3 but he has a lot
to learn if he is to become a true OLB in a 3-4. Moses, Anderson and Walden have done little to suggest they
are more than special teams players so getting rid of Porter would leave a void here that would have to be
filled if he is indeed given his walking papers.
The rest of the defensive line looks solid and should not be a priority for the Dolphins. The two rookie corners
played well considering they are rookies and should man this position for years to come. With the return of Will
Allen the corner position also looks very solid going forward.
On the offensive side of the ball the needs are not as apparent with the exception of a playmaking wide
receiver. Personally I don’t see the need to make any extraordinary moves to fill this void. WRs touch the ball
at most ten times a game and though they can gain those chunk yards so coveted by offenses the value to a
team with clear needs in other places dictates that this position should be the last to fill and therefore should
be considered at the low end of the priority list. I know a lot of fans will disagree with this assessment but none-
the-less this is the way I would approach filling the needs of the team. If the best player on the board were a
WR at number 12 in the draft then I might consider it, but stretching or making a trade to fill this position would
be a mistake given the needs elsewhere.
QB is a concern, Chad Henne has shown some real potential but potential and a dollar will get you a cup of
coffee. Henne has shown the propensity to make bone head mistakes in critical situations that could be
attributed to his inexperience at the position in the NFL. One would have thought a four year starter in college
would have overcome this by the time he hit the big leagues. This is a tough one because the QB is the man,
he is the single most important player on the field and if he is not the right guy then the time it took to groom
him is completely lost and can set the team back another three years. I sincerely hope he is the right guy but
hope is not a plan and I would continue to look at this as a work in progress. The Miami Dolphins have to face
the reality that Pat White is not an NFL caliber QB. Every organization wants to believe they have made the
right assessment of the players they have drafted but sometimes they miss and this is clearly a miss.
Continuing to pursue the time it takes to get a QB ready to play in the NFL is wasting valuable assets that
could be used on players who are more deserving. Tyler Thigpen showed in one quarter of play that he has
much more NFL potential and should be given the opportunity. Chad Pennington would make an ideal back up
QB but there is no telling whether he will be willing to step back into that role. If he is true to himself he will
realize that his shoulder can only be rebuilt so many times. If he tries to play as a starter in this league he will
cause irreparable damage to his shoulder and would likely never play in any capacity again. Having Henne,
Pennington and Thigpen at the QB position would be better than most Dolphins fans could have dreamed of a
few short years ago. Assuming this course of action there is no need to do anything at the QB position but
drafting or bringing in at least one every year is a good policy because as we have seen, great QBs can come
from some unlikely places.
Tight End is probably the position on offense that needs an upgrade. Anthony Fasano is a good TE, but he is
not great. His body type is more suited for blocking than receiving. He is basically stiff in his route running and
his body positioning while going for the ball. By no means should Fasano be let go but a great pass catching
TE would be a significant upgrade to the offense.
The offensive line made great strides this year and is very solid with only one issue, health. The middle of the
line just has not been able to stay healthy. Jake Grove played great until a high ankle sprain derailed his
season, but a look at his career indicates a series of nagging injuries throughout. It is beginning to look like a
trend with him but fortunately Joe Berger played well in his place. Justin Smiley has had the same issue and so
has Donald Thomas so the concern on the OL is whether these guys can remain healthy. Grove and Thomas
are young guys and hopefully they will learn how to take care of their bodies during the long NFL season but
Smiley is not a spring chicken and there needs to be a player in the pipeline to fill his spot because I don’t see
him lasting much after next season. Overall the OL is in good shape with Garner, Berger and Gardner waiting
in the wings.
Running back is not a huge area of concern because of the presence of Ricky, Ronnie, Cobbs and Hillard. I
don’t see the Dolphins looking too deeply at the RB position this off-season unless the injuries to Ronnie and
Patrick Cobbs do not mend as expected.
In review the dolphins should be looking for players in the following priority…
Nose Tackle
Middle Linebacker
Free Safety
Outside Linebacker
Tight End
Wide Receiver
Given some of the injuries and the first year starter at QB I believe the Dolphins are in a good position to get
much better in the coming season. The young defenders will only continue to progress and Chad Henne
should grow into the job. The main concern with this team is leadership in the locker room. As we have seen
with the elite teams in the league that leadership comes from the QB position and therefore it will be up to
Chad Henne to take that role and win the respect of his teammates. If Henne can make this critical transition
we will see a completely different Dolphin team next year. A team with the same never-say-die mentality but
also a team with the talent and the leadership to go the next level with the notable changes outlined in this
review.
Pat.Dolphin and AFATT says so...
Email me at pat.dolphin@afatt.com
