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2007 Team Report: Miami Dolphins

Quarterbacks

Starter: Trent Green
Backup(s): Cleo Lemon, John Beck [R]

Starting QB: The Dolphins traded for Trent Green this offseason and he'll open the season as the Fins starter following a surprisingly competitive training camp battle against Cleo Lemon. Green, who spent the last six seasons as the Chiefs' starting quarterback, has multiple 4,000-yard seasons on his resum�. He is better known for his accuracy and touch than for his arm strength or mobility. He is coming off a serious concussion that kept him out of action for about half of the 2006 season.

Backup QB: Cleo Lemon is athletic and youthful, but may not have the accuracy to be a starter in the NFL. He played well enough in limited duty last season and would put up similar numbers in 2007 if given the opportunity. The club drafted 26-year-old QB John Beck from BYU as the team's future starter. Given his sharp accuracy and terrific poise, many believe he has the potential to be quite good.

Running Backs

Starter: Ronnie Brown
Backup(s): Jesse Chatman, Lorenzo Booker [R], Patrick Cobbs Jesse Chatman, Lorenzo Booker
Fullback(s): Reagan Mauia

Starting RB: Ronnie Brown has great natural talent. That is why he was a high first-round draft choice and when focused, has the ability to dominate football games. His conditioning, however, has been called into question. He hasn't had the impact expected of him in his first two seasons and needs to improve in all areas of his play. He shared carries in college and has averaged only 16 carries per game as a pro. To be fair to Brown, the offensive line play has been terrible at times, which really reduced his ability to put up big numbers. An encouraging sign last year was his four 100-yard rushing games in his final eight starts. This will be an important season for Brown, who must prove he can elevate his play. Brown is actually facing moderate competition from Jesse Chatman for the starting job, but we believe Brown will hold onto his position, although Chatman will get a fair amount of carries as well.

Backup RBs: Jesse Chatman, formerly LaDainian Tomlinson's backup in San Diego, is built low to the ground and has excellent balance and run vision. He has played well enough during the preseason to get attention from the Dolphins' coaching staff, and will split carries to at least some extent with Ronnie Brown. Chatman lacks Brown's speed and quickness, however. The Dolphins drafted an intriguing player in Lorenzo Booker this year. He is on the smallish side and similar to Warrick Dunn in stature. He was all-world coming out of high school, but Florida State's offensive scheme was a disaster over the past two seasons and he faded into the background.

Fullback: Reagan Mauia displaced long-time Dolphin Corey Schlesinger as the team's primary fullback.

Wide Receivers

Starters: Chris Chambers, Marty Booker
Backups: Ted Ginn Jr. [R], Derek Hagan, Kerry Reed

Starting WRs: Last season was a disaster for Chris Chambers. There is no nice way to put it: He stunk. Chambers dropped passes, was unable to separate from defensive backs, and lost his knack for finding the end zone. After Chambers put up career highs in 2005, it was hard to foresee his season-long slump in 2006. He remains a talented player and has the confidence of the Dolphins coaches, but he must improve his consistency. Marty Booker is the likely starter opposite Chambers. Booker isn't flashy but has good hands and an ability to find the open spot in the secondary.

Backup WRs: The Dolphins surprised the world on draft day when they selected Ted Ginn Jr. with the ninth overall pick. His route-running and consistency haven't been stellar, but his blinding speed and ability to score from anywhere on the field will help stretch defenses for the Dolphins in 2007. His upside is high and his speed will be an asset. Second-year player Derek Hagan is a guy the team really likes. He isn't blessed with great speed but he runs good routes, has solid hands and could see increased looks this season.

Tight Ends

Starters: David Martin
Backups: Justin Peelle

For the first time in years, the Dolphins will have a new starter at tight end. Randy McMichael left via free agency for St. Louis. The job appears to be David Martin's to lose, but with only nine career touchdowns in his seven seasons it's difficult to be excited about his fantasy value. Justin Peele caught 16 passes for the club last year and may get an opportunity to start. It is likely the Dolphins tight end will be left in to block often in 2007.

Place Kicker

Jay Feely : Things had become strained between Olindo Mare and the Dolphins. When the Giants didn't bother to re-sign Feely, Miami quickly signed him during free agency, and subsequently traded Mare to the Saints. After hitting 77.2% on field goals during his first four years in the league in Atlanta, Feely improved to 84.1% during the last two years with New York. Although not up to par with Mare, Feely is very solid on kickoffs. Assistant coaches don't normally factor into fantasy kicker discussions, however this year Feely will be working under Steve Hoffman, the long-time kicking guru whom the Dolphins hired during the off-season. CAMP UPDATE: Jay Feely has been practicing kicking from the infield dirt at Dolphins Stadium, "You have to count for elements. You can't ignore them because they are going to impact your kick, but you can't allow those elements to take your focus off of your fundamentals." He expects to be prepared "a lot better than the kicker who is coming in."

Kick and Punt Returners

Kick Returners: Ronnie Brown; Ted Ginn Jr.; Lorenzo Booker

The Dolphins were full of surprises this off-season. First they let popular and productive WR and return specialist Wes Welker go to division rival New England. Then nine picks into this year's draft, they selected his potential replacement, WR Ted Ginn Jr. from Ohio State. Ginn averaged 26.6 yards on kickoff returns during his college career and scored twice. But in a very surprising mood, starting tailback Ronnie Brown enters the season listed as the team's lead kick returner.

Punt Returners: Ted Ginn Jr.; Marty Booker

Ted Ginn Jr. averaged 14.1 yards on punt returns during his college career and scored six times (a Big Ten record). He is very fast, and expectations of him will be very high, especially on returns. Almost every preseason WR Marty Booker practices on punt returns, but he is unlikely to see any action in the regular season. He has a grand total of zero returns during his eight years in the NFL.

Offensive Line

Projected Starters: LT Vernon Carey, LG Chris Liwienski, C Samson Satele [R], RG Drew Mormini [R], RT Anthony Alabi
Key Backups: Johnathan Ingram, Rex Hadnot, L.J. Shelton

O-line coach Hudson Houck has his work cut out for him. The Dolphins have completely rebuilt their offensive line this offseason, including the demotiong of L.J. Shelton. At left tackle, Vernon Carey slots in and has looked more comfortable than he did at right tackle. Chris Liwienski is healthy and will play left guard. Rookie Samson Satele came in and took complete command of the center job, and already may be the Dolphins most technically sound lineman. Rookie Drew Mormino took over the starting right guard spot for Rex Hadnot. At right tackle, 3rd year pro Anthony Alabi has looked dominant at times, making the decision to bench Shelton an easy one. All in all, the unit is unproven but appears better off than the Fins were a season ago.

Team Defense

The Dolphins finished 2006 with a 6-10 record but the defense was certainly not to blame. Led by defensive player of the year Jason Taylor, the Dolphins finished with a top-10 defense against the run and the pass. Head coach Nick Saban left for the University of Alabama, but defensive coordinator Dom Capers remains so the system should stay the same. The Dolphins use a hybrid defense that is part 3-4 and part 4-3 and relies heavily on getting pressure on opposing QBs (they ranked 3rd in the league with 47 sacks last year). Jason Taylor has been one of the most dominant pass rushers in the league for awhile, but he has elevated his all-around game to a new level in recent years. Joey Porter signed with the Dolphins after being released by the Steelers but has been hobbled throughout the preseason. Zach Thomas had yet another outstanding season and was able to play in all 16 games for the first time since 2002. The secondary remains a work in progress, but the team has high hopes for last year's 1st round Jason Allen provided he can stay healthy. The Dolphins defense continues to rely heavily on older players, but they haven't shown any signs of slowing down yet and should be a solid fantasy option again this year.

Defensive Line

Starters: DE Jason Taylor, DE Matt Roth, DT Vonnie Holliday, NT Keith Traylor
Backups: DE Chase Page, DT Rodrique Wright, DT Steve Fifita, DT Paul Soliai [R], DE Akbar Gbaja-Biamila

Starting DL: The Dolphins defensive line has been anchored by Jason Taylor for 10 years, and he has proved to be a perfect fit in the Dolphins hybrid defense. He had arguably the best season of his career in 2006 with 13.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 9 forced fumbles, 11 passes defensed, and 2 touchdowns, which was good enough for him to win the defensive player of the year award. The Dolphins lost some valuable depth when Kevin Carter and David Bowens left in free agency, but that could be offset by the insertion of Matt Roth into the starting lineup. Roth was drafted in the second round of the 2005 draft and will bring some much needed youth to the Dolphins front four. Vonnie Holliday suffered from inconsistent play earlier in his career, but he's proven to be a great signing for the Dolphins. His combination of size and quickness allows the Dolphins to line him up as a 4-3 DT or as a 3-4 DE and he managed an impressive 46 solos and 7 sacks last season. Keith Traylor is going to be 38 years old when this season begins, but he's been playing great and managed a career-high 4 sacks last season while providing excellent run defense.

Backup DL: The Dolphins starters are talented and productive, but the team lacks the depth they've had in recent years. Chase Page was a 7th round pick in the 2006 draft who the Dolphins signed off the Chargers practice squad. Rodrique Wright was also taken in the 7th round of last year's draft, but he was very productive in college and only fell in the draft because of a degenerative shoulder problem. Paul Soliai is a huge body who the Dolphins drafted in the 4th round and he should push for a starting job at NT right away. Akbar Gbaja-Biamila has been a little-used reserve OLB/DE throughout his career, first with the Raiders and then last year with the Chargers.

Linebackers

Starters: MLB Zach Thomas, WLB Channing Crowder, SLB Joey Porter
Backups: ILB Derrick Pope, OLB Donnie Spragan, MLB Kelvin Smith [R], OLB Abraham Wright [R], OLB Edmond Miles

Starting LBs: In what surely came as no surprise, Zach Thomas once again led the Dolphins in tackles just as he had done in 9 of the previous 10 seasons. Thomas had another excellent season in 2006, breaking the 100 solo tackle mark for the 4th time in his career while playing in all 16 games and also adding 3 sacks. Channing Crowder entered the league in 2005 with questions about his knees, but so far he's managed to play in all 32 games and could eventually take over for Thomas at MLB in a couple more years. Crowder doesn't make too many big plays, but he's generally a reliable tackler. Joey Porter was released by the Steelers, who felt that his level of play had dropped. At 30 years old, he should still have another couple productive years in him though, and he'll also benefit from playing opposite Jason Taylor in an aggressive scheme that lets him attack the line of scrimmage freely. Porter had his knee surgically repaired during the preseason but is expected to be ready by the start of the regular season.

Backup LBs: Derrick Pope is an undersized player who provides solid depth behind Zach Thomas and Channing Crowder. Donnie Spragan has started 9 games in each of the past two seasons for Miami and will back up Joey Porter on the strong side. Kelvin Smith was a 7th round draft pick out of Syracuse who is a good run defender with limited range and athletic ability. Abraham Wright has played his entire career at defensive end, even leading the Big 12 in sacks last year with 12, but the Dolphins will convert him to linebacker and let him learn under Joey Porter.

Defensive Backs

Starters: SS Yeremiah Bell, FS Renaldo Hill, CB Will Allen, CB Travis Daniels
Backups: CB Jason Allen, S Cameron Worrell, S Travares Tillman, CB Michael Lehan, S Courtney Bryan

Starting DBs: This group remains a work in progress but showed improvement last season with the addition of a couple players to the starting lineup. During his first couple years with the Dolphins, Yeremiah Bell played mostly on special teams and in the dime package. He took over the starting strong safety job mid-season, however, and his physical play helped spark the Dolphins to a 5-4 finish. Renaldo Hill is a former cornerback and a reliable tackler who has helped limit the big plays given up by the Dolphins. Will Allen was signed from the Giants last year, who felt that he didn't make enough big plays. That is still an issue with just 5 interceptions in his last 5 seasons, but Allen is pretty solid in coverage and a reliable tackler. Travis Daniels was a Nick Saban guy from their time together at LSU, but he was a disappointment last year after starting 14 games as a rookie.

Backup DBs: The Dolphins used their 1st round pick last year to draft Jason Allen, a safety with cornerback skills who had some injury issues in college. Allen played in all 16 games last year as a backup safety, but the team reportedly plans to play him at CB this year. Cameron Worrell was signed from Chicago to provide added depth at safety and contribute on special teams. Travares Tillman started the first seven games of the season at strong safety before losing his job to Yeremiah Bell. Michael Lehan is primarily a special teams player.

Last modified: 2007-09-04 12:39:19