Written by: Matthew Blunk
After spending the previous offseason
pursuing Stanford head coach (and eventual San Francisco 49ers head
coach) Jim Harbaugh and leaving their own coach Tony Sparano out to dry,
the Miami Dolphins opened up the 2011 season with seven consecutive
losses. But they were a team with some fight in them. Sure, they weren't
the most talented squad in football (or their division), but they put
forth tremendous effort and looked like they cared down the stretch.
They finished the season strong, winning six of their last nine. Sparano
was dumped after Week 14.
Now, with a new coaching staff and new
schemes all around, the Dolphins have to start over. Joe Philbin is the
head man, hired from the Green Bay Packers staff. Jeff Ireland is still
the GM, somehow outlasting Sparano and the rest of the Bill Parcells
regime. There is a stigma around the league that players don't like
Ireland and therefore don't want to play for the Dolphins. We all
remember the Dez Bryant Combine situation. But the question is, can
Ireland put together a team that can compete in the AFC East? The NFL
Draft begins Thursday, and Miami has plenty of needs to address. For
example:
Quarterback
You're not getting anywhere in this
league without a quarterback. The Dolphins don't have a quarterback. OK,
they've got Matt Moore and David Garrard. But Garrard didn't even play
football last season, and despite what these box scores say, I'm not
totally convinced Moore did either. Fine, Moore wasn't all that bad. But
he isn't a guy that will take a team deep into the postseason. He's a
no. 2, a caretaker, a clipboard-wielder. The question is (yeah, I'm
using this phrase again. Stop yelling at me!), can Texas Tech's Ryan Tannehill be
that guy? New offensive coordinator Mile Sherman should know better than
anybody - he was Tannehill's head coach for four years in college. And for two of those seasons, Sherman utilized Tannehill as a
receiver, not a quarterback. Just sayin'!
Wide Receiver
Miami
shipped Brandon Marshall and all his McDonalds wrapper mishaps,
training camp hissy fits, wife/stabbing "misunderstandings," dropped
passes, and quarterback disses, to the Chicago Bears for two third-round
draft picks. Positive move or not, the trade leaves a massive void on
the Dolphins roster. Without Marshall, they are left with two no. 2 guys
and a handful of young guys with varying potential. Miami has to bring
in a receiver that can fit in with Philbin's West Coast offense.
Safety
There
are several areas the 'Phins should look to fortify, but safety is a
major concern. Ireland opted to move on from veteran Yeremiah Bell (who
could sign with division rival New York Jets), leaving Miami pretty
bare in the last line of defense. Youngster Chris Clemons figures to
man one spot, but who will replace Bell? The Dolphins can find his heir
in the draft if they're lucky.
2013 NFL Draft – Top Impact Players
This year’s National Football League draft gets underway on Thursday night (4/25) in New York’s iconic Radio City Music Hall. The ceremony will begin at 8ET and be televised on ESPN. One can only wonder what the wild and crazy Jets fans will have to cheer (or jeer) about now that the N.Y. …
2013 NFL Draft Primer
The 78th edition of the National Football League draft will begin on Thursday night, April 25th at 8pm ET. The official description of this event is The NFL Player Selection Meeting. This gathering will take place at the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. …
Concussions, lawsuits and the NFL – How did we get here?
By Melissa Harder
Next week will mark a big moment in the ongoing concussion class action lawsuit brought by over 4,000 former players against the National Football League (NFL). Lawyers for the former players will argue the matter belongs in federal court while the NFL will push for the claim to be heard in arbitration. …
