The Dolphins are three deep in potentially solid QBs for the 2009 season.  Veteran Chad Pennington led the Dolphins to the playoffs last season and he will start again in 2009.  Pennington’s arm is pretty weak but he’s a team leader and he’s excellent on throwing the short stuff.  Chad Henne will be the #2 QB for the Dolphins and he’s the prototype NFL QB with nice size and a good throwing arm.  The Dolphins think Henne would be ready to step in this season if anything were to happen to Pennington.  Rookie Pat White will be the author of the “Wildcat” formation for the Dolphins in 2009.  He’s deadly with his feet and he has a good throwing arm.  He could battle Henne for the starting job down the road if he does well until Pennington is out of the picture.

GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  B

The Miami Dolphins have signed 34-year old OLB/DE Jason Taylor to a 1-year, $1.1 million dollar contract.  Taylor played in 13 games for the Redskins last season and he made 29 tackles, defensed 9 passes, had 3.5 sacks and he forced 1 fumble.  Taylor has come back home to the Dolphins to finish up his certain Hall of Fame NFL career.  Taylor has now played in 185 games in his NFL career and he has made 678 tackles, has defensed 81 passes, has 120.5 sacks, he has forced 41 fumbles and he has intercepted 7 passes (3 of which he returned for TDs).  This was a great move for the Dolphins.

The Dolphins selected linebacker J.D. Folsom out of tiny Weber State because his motor never stops.  He is 6′3″, 230 pounds so he’s a tweener being too small for linebacker and likely too big for safety.  It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins want him to lose some weight to play safety or gain some to play outside linebacker.  Folsom made 149 tackles in his last two seasons at Weber State making the 1st and 2nd all league teams in the process.  He will likely get his initiation in the NFL on special teams before ever getting a chance to play defense.

The Dolphins took a chance here that Gardner will develop with good coaching at the pro level.  He has the body to add more bulk as he stands 6′7″ and weighs 304 pounds.  He was selected to the 1st team of the All-ACC two consecutive seasons.  The Dolphins will likely bring Gardner along slowly but he could develop into a decent player in due time.

Chris Clemons has the speed to be a impact player but he will need to improve in other areas to get onto the field for the Dolphins.  Clemons has nice size at 6′0″, 208 pounds and he was a three year starter at Clemson.  He made 323 tackles, broke up 20 passes and had 5 interceptions at Clemson.  Look for him to earn his shot on special teams before he gets a chance on defense for the Dolphins.  This was another reach pick by the Fins.