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2008 Team Report: Miami Dolphins

Quarterbacks

Starter: Chad Pennington
Backup(s): John Beck, Chad Henne [R]

Starting QB: Chad Pennington was vying for the starting role of a division rival just days before he signed with Miami as their new starter. When the Jets acquired Brett Favre, they wasted little time in cutting Pennington, who was owed $6mm. The Dolphins signed Pennington to a 2-year, $11.5mm deal which immediately puts to rest any question about his status on the depth chart. As long as Pennington is healthy, he's going to start for the rebuilding Dolphins. The most accurate QB in NFL history, Pennington should help move the chains and take advantage of what the Fins DO have on offense, versus lamenting what the team is short on.

Backup QB: In the second round of this year's draft, the Dolphins selected Chad Henne from Michigan, who will push for playing time in 2009 most likely. Before the team signed Chad Pennington, Henne was getting the majority of first team snaps in practice, over veteran Josh McCown and 2nd year John Beck. Henne has the pedigree of quarterbacking a big time collegiate program, and has enough arm strength and football savvy to execute an NFL playbook. He also has leadership skills and a strong arm, but mediocre accuracy could hold him back. Second-year player John Beck struggled as a rookie, but was in a difficult situation. An increase in confidence would help his performance.

Running Backs

Starter: Ricky Williams
Backup(s): Ronnie Brown, Jalen Parmale, Patrick Cobbs
Fullback(s): Boomer Grigsby

Starting RB: Ricky Williams is back, at least for now. Williams was the best offensive player in Dolphins camp, and looks recommitted to the game. When healthy and focused, Williams was once an elite power back and looks to have the size and strength again to resume that role. At 31 years old, Williams is old to be making a comeback, but he has fresh legs (no major work since 2005). Whether it's a ploy by the coaching staff or not to motivate Ronnie Brown, Williams broke camp 1st on the depth chart and appears in line to start in what should be a true committee approach.

Backup RBs: Ronnie Brown got off to a fantastic start in 2007. He looked quick, powerful, and difficult to knock off his feet. He was averaging almost 142 total yards per game with five touchdowns through the first seven games before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. The Dolphins season collapsed when Brown was lost for the season, as he was the only significant weapon the offense had. When he returns to form, Brown has the ability to be one of the league's best all around backs. For now, he's running behind Ricky Williams on the depth chart. Whether that's a ploy to motivate him or an indication of the new coaching staff's lack of faith remains to be seen. Cobbs and Parmele are non-descript backups who must work hard to earn roles in the offense with two strong power backs in front of them.

Fullback: Boomer Grigsby converted from linebacker to fullback in order to maintain a roster spot with the Kansas City Chiefs, but his luck eventually ran out. The Dolphins brought him in and gave him the same opportunity, and he managed to not only make the roster, but enters the season as the starting fullback.

Wide Receivers

Starters: Derek Hagan, Ted Ginn, Jr.
Backups: Ernest Wilford, Greg Camarillo, Davone Bess

Starting WRs: Ted Ginn will be given every opportunity to emerge as the team's top offensive weapon in 2008. He struggled on offense in 2007, but it's hard to blame him given the woeful state of the entire team. With a renewed focus and more comfort with the playbook, expect Ginn to start to show the promise as a pass catcher that made him a top-10 pick last year. Ginn is one of the fastest players in the league and should be good for a few downfield bombs over the course of the year. Derek Hagan overtook Ernest Wilford in camp and earned a starting spot. Hagan had two non-descript seasons in Miami but has impressed the new coaching staff. He's running great routes and using leverage to make catches in tight coverage.

Backup WRs: The Dolphins added former Jaguar Ernest Wilford this offseason, who was expected to start opposite Ginn. Wilford has great size at 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds and is a capable route runner who put together a seven-touchdown campaign in 2005. He doesn't have the speed to burn many teams deep, and has struggled to get open in Dolphins training camp. Greg Camarillo had only eight receptions in 2007, but came up huge with the winning touchdown against the Ravens to prevent the Dolphins from being the first 0-16 team in NFL history. Rumors persist that Miami will sign Terry Glenn once he's able to pass the team physical.

Tight Ends

Starters: Anthony Fasano
Backups: David Martin

Bill Parcells is nothing if not loyal. He traded for Anthony Fasano, who he drafted while in Dallas. Fasano, a strong, well balanced tight end out of Notre Dame, learned his craft by backing up Jason Witten the last two seasons. He only caught 28 receptions in two seasons, but should best that tally in just 16 games as a Dolphin. Fasano isn't the fluid receiver that some of the elite fantasy prospects are, but he has soft hands and can move the chains. David Martin and Justin Peelle combined for 63 receptions and four touchdowns in 2007, but with the acquisition of Fasano, the Dolphins parted ways with Peelle.

Place Kicker

Dan Carpenter : Carpenter, an undrafted free agent rookie out of Montana, has a strong leg. He does very well on kickoffs. During his senior season he made 19 of 23 (82.6%) fields goals, including 3 of 3 from 50+ yards. When the Dolphins signed him after the draft, Jay Feely and Dave Rayner were already on the roster. In the end, neither one of them was a Bill Parcells or Steve Hoffman guy. Both were eventually released. After ranking 23rd in kicker scoring in 2006, Miami dropped even further to 29th (89 points) last year.

Kick and Punt Returners

Kick Returners: Ted Ginn Jr.; Derek Hagan; Patrick Cobbs; Jalen Parmele; Davone Bess

WR Ted Ginn Jr. averaged 26.6 yards on kickoff returns during his college career at Ohio State and scored twice. During his rookie year with Dolphins last year he averaged 22.7 yards, although he did amass the 4th most kickoff return yards in the NFL since he had plenty of opportunities (63 returns). Backups and upmen again include WR Derek Hagan (2 returns, 12.5 avg.) and RB Patrick Cobbs (5 returns, 8.8 avg.). Sixth round draft pick RB Jalen Parmele could potentially be the most capable backup on the team. He averaged 28.0 yards on 20 returns and scored once for Toledo last year. Undrafted free agent WR Davone Bess has also been practicing on kickoff returns.

Punt Returners: Ted Ginn Jr.

Ted Ginn Jr. averaged 14.1 yards on punt returns during his college career and scored six times (a Big Ten record). Last year he was the only Dolphin to return a punt and he once again proved that punt returns are his strength. He averaged 9.6 yards on 24 returns and scored once. His combined numbers made him the sixth ranked fantasy returner for 2007. The Dolphins have limited experience on punt returns behind Ginn. Miami ranked 15th in fantasy returns last year, which was a step up from their 27th place finish the previous year.

Offensive Line

Projected Starters: LT Jake Long [R], LG Justin Smiley, C Samson Satele, RG Donald Thomas, RT Vernon Carey
Key Backups: Shawn Murphy, Ikechuku Ndukwe, Trey Darilek

Commentary coming soon.

Team Defense

After an outstanding '06 campaign the Dolphins defense entered last season with grand expectations. One win and fifteen losses later, aging veterans and poor personnel decisions having caught up with them at last, they now find themselves under new management and having embarked on a complete rebuilding process. After more than a decade as the faces of the defense Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor were sent packing. With five remaining starters over the age of 30 we can expect the house cleaning to continue as the Dolphins get younger and Parcells brings together players who fit his mold. This group is not completely devoid of talent or hope but they have barely started laying the foundation and at this point are very short on young playmakers. There are many holes to fill and this unit will likely struggle to be mediocre in the short term. They should be avoided on draft day.

Defensive Line

Starters: Vonnie Holliday, Jason Ferguson, Kendall Langford [R]
Backups: Randy Starks, Matt Roth, Phillip Merling [R], Paul Soliai, Lionel Dotson [R], Keith Saunders

Starting DL: The Dolphins added NT Jason Ferguson (via trade with Dallas) to aid the transition from a 4-3 to a Parcells/Sparano 3-4 system. Ferguson has not been a fantasy force since he left the Jets for the Cowboys. That is not likely to change by his transition to a similar defense in Miami. On the other hand, the starting DEs, rookie Kendall Langford and veteran, 6'5", 290-pound, Vonnie Holliday, might accumulate quite a few tackles. Teams run against the Dolphins -- a lot. The Dolphins had the worst run defense in the league in 2007. In fact, it was the worst run defense in the franchise's history. The DL unit is expected to be in the vanguard of turning that around this year. Holliday was the #24 fantasy DT in 12 games in 2007, and he was #1 and #4 the previous two seasons. Merling is a highly touted, athletic, "Parcells type" of player. He was, at one time, rated as a top-15 prospect and fell to the Dolphins at the top of the second round. He has elite level burst and first step, and uses the swim move well, but he is not a bull rusher. He is best on the move or in backside pursuit. He may lodge a few sacks from the RDE spot, but don't expect a boatload of tackles. He will step right into a starting role and is expected to be a fixture on the Dolphins' front line for many years. Langford stays low on the line, defends the run well, and can command a double team as an edge rusher. He won't be asked to do much pass rushing but he will need to occupy the middle of the defense.

Backup DL: Parcells has accumulated a lot of youth, and dumped most of the veteran backup DLs from the 2007 squad, to back up his aging starting DLs. Only Randy Starks and Matt Roth have NFL experience, as the rest of the backup DLs are rookies. Starks is solid, but has yet to really prove himself after a troubled early career (both on and off the field) when he was with Tennessee. 320-pound rookie Paul Soliai was drafted in the 4th round to backup, and eventually replace, Ferguson. Phillip Merling has tons of potential and is a high priced rookie, but he was outplayed by fellow rookie Langford in camp.

Linebackers

Starters: WLB Joey Porter, SLB Matt Roth, ILB Channing Crowder, ILB Akin Ayodele
Backups: Reggie Torbor, Charlie Anderson, Quentin Moses, Rob Ninkovich

Starting LBs: A thin position in 2007, the linebacking corps will again be tested now that Jason Taylor has been traded to the Washington Redskins. Last year was another down year for Joey Porter as a pass rusher and his fantasy stature suffered. That might change this year as Porter should be free to pursue the backside and make a ton of plays -- either behind the LOS or as a coverage LB. Akin Ayodele was thrown in as part of the trade that brought TE Anthony Fasano to the Dolphins from Dallas, yet he will probably start for the team due to his familiarity with the new system. Heading into his fourth season, Channing Crowder will have to adjust from playing outside Zach Taylor in a 4-3 to playing ILB in the 3-4. Matt Roth was converted from defensive end to strongside linebacker and flourished, winning the camp battle against free agent acquisition Reggie Torbor.

Backup LBs: Bill Parcells and HC Tony Sparano are confident they can find linebackers that fit their system. Chief among them is free agent Reggie Torbor, a valuable contributor to the SB Champion New York Giants a year ago. Quentin Moses has tons of athletic ability, but the 2nd year player has to harness his natural pass rushing ability into a more well rounded skill set.

Defensive Backs

Starters: CB Will Allen, FS Chris Crocker, SS Yeremiah Bell, CB Andre Goodman
Backups: S Renaldo Hill, CB Travis Daniels, CB Mike Lehan, S Jason Allen

Starting DBs: The problem for the Dolphins' secondary in 2007 was health -- especially at the safety position. There is youth and talent here. Heading into his fourth year in 2007, Yeremiah Bell seemed to really be "getting" the NFL game. He was on the cusp of anchoring the secondary after a top-30 fantasy DB year in 2006. However, Bell suffered a season ending injury in the first game of 2007. He will now have to learn his third system and impress his third head coach in five years to continue starting at SS. Still, keep an eye on Bell. He may be the best player in this backfield -- both as an NFL player and for your fantasy squad. Will Allen is the only Dolphins backfield player with any fantasy consistency. Teams will continue to challenge Allen and he will continue to make tackles to add to his fantasy worth, but do not expect many INTs from him. Mike Lehan is a veteran who rarely distinguishes himself. It is a good thing for an NFL cornerback to rarely see his name in the stat column, but it is a bad thing for your fantasy squad. Parcells opted not to spend any draft picks on the backfield and Lehan will probably win the Dolphins RCB spot by default.

Backup DBs: Mike Lehan will start at corner once his ankle is healthy, but for now he's given way to Andre Goodman. Lehan has shown glimpses of being the aggressive playmaker the Dolphins system needs, but has been dealing with a bum ankle all preseason. Season ending injury to starting SS Renaldo Hill in the seventh game of 2007 opened the door for Jason Allen to move from FS to SS. Hill has been an overall disappointment, but he will be in the mix to compete with Jason Allen for playing time.

Last modified: 2008-08-31 09:17:09