Bill Parcells is the reason that 49-year old Tony Sparano was hired as the head coach three years ago, but he’s gone now.  The new Dolphins’ regime tried really hard to convince Jim Harbaugh to come to Miami to be the head coach.  The Fins then turned back to Sparano when Harbaugh said thanks but no thanks.  The Fins then signed Sparano to a contract extension to cool some of the tension in the air.  Make no mistake, the front office doesn’t like Sparano or starting QB Chad Henne.  They will likely only get this year to turn things around or the Fins might make them both walk the plank.  The Dolphins are 25-23 (52.1%) during the regular season under Sparano and they are 0-1 in the playoffs.

The Dolphins are likely going to find out that new is not always better in 2011.  Gone are Ronnie Brown (Eagles) and Ricky Williams (Ravens) who provided the Fins with a nice running game for years.  Enter Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas.  23-year old rookie Daniel Thomas was selected by the Dolphins out of Kansas State in the 2nd round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Thomas is a power runner at 6’1″, 228 pounds and he will handle the rough stuff between the tackles and on short yardage situations.  I’m pretty confident that Thomas will be the Dolphins’ leading rusher in 2011 as long as he stays healthy.

26-year old Reggie Bush will likely run a lot of sweeps while catching a lot of passes out of the backfield in 2011.  Bush played in 8 games (6 starts) for the Saints last year in which he carried the ball 36 times for 150 yards (4.2 ypc).  He also caught 34 passes for 208 yards (6.1 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Bush has now played in 60 games (41 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 524 times for 2,090 yards (4.0 ypc) with 17 TD carries.  He has also caught 294 times for 2,142 yards (7.3 avg) with 12 TD grabs in his NFL career to date.  Bush isn’t a workhorse type of back, but he’s plenty effective  if used correctly.

27-year old Lex Hilliard will be #3 in line at RB for the Fins in 2011.  Hilliard played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Dolphins last year but he didn’t get any carries.  He did catch 1 pass for 3 yards last year.  He did catch 1 pass for 3 yards last year.  Hilliard has now played in 32 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Dolphins and he has carried the ball 23 times for 89 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD carry.  He has also caught 21 passes for 161 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far in his NFL career. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DOLPHINS RBS IN 2011:  C-

The Dolphins tried to make a deal for a new starting QB since the lockout ended but they just couldn’t find a match.  That means 26-year old Chad Henne will head into the season as the Fins’ starting QB in 2011.  Henne played in 15 games (14 starts) for the Dolphins last year and he completed 301 of 490 passes (61.4%) for 3,301 yards with 15 TD passes and 19 interceptions (75.4 QB Rating).  Henne also carried the ball 35 times for 52 yards (1.5 ypc) for the Dolphins last season.  Henne’s problem is that he is very inconsistent.  On some days he looks like a franchise QB, while on other days he’s simply awful.  The Fins need him to grow up on the field because they are counting on him in 2011 by default.  Henne has now played in 32 games (27 starts) in his first three years with the Dolphins and he has completed 582 of 953 passes (61.1%) for 6,246 yards with 27 TD passes and 33 INTs (75.3 QB Rating).  Henne has also carried the ball 51 times for 84 yards (1.6 ypc) with 1 TD run for the Fins.  Henne is 13-14 (48.1%) as the Dolphins’ QB and he will need to improve on that record if he wants to keep the starting QB job past the 2011 season.

The Dolphins settled on 26-year old Matt Moore as the backup QB after losing out on other attempts to improve at the position.  Moore played in 6 games (5 starts) for the Panthers last year and he completed 79 of 143 passes (55.2%) for 857 yards with 5 TD passes and 10 INTs (55.6 QB Rating).  Moore also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) last year.  Moore was given the starting job for the Panthers last season and he wasn’t good enough to keep it.  In his defense, he was getting punished behind an O-Line that just didn’t give him time to throw the ball.  He suffered multiple injuries to his shoulders last year.  If finally healthy, Moore could push Henne for the starting QB job at some point in 2011.   Moore has played in 22 games (13 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has completed 227 of 392 passes (57.9%) for 2,640 yards with 16 TD passes and 17 INTs (73.9 QB Rating).  Moore has also carried the ball 20 times for 27 yards (1.4 ypc) in his NFL career.  Moore is 7-6 (53.8%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

26-year old Kevin O’Connell will be the Fins’ #3 QB in 2011.  He didn’t get into any games last season.  He has now played in 2 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has completed 4 of 6 passes (66.7%) for 23 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (73.6 QB  Rating).  He also has carried the ball 3 times for -6 yards (-2.0 ypc) in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DOLPHINS QBS IN 2011:  C-

27-year old RB Patrick Cobbs will likely get his old job back returning kickoffs with Ted Ginn out of town.  Cobbs played in 5 games for the Dolphins last season and he returned 16 kickoffs for 361 yards (22.6 avg).  He has now played in 38 games in his three years with the Fins and he has returned 29 kickoffs for 594 yards (20.5 avg).  Cobbs gets the ball and runs straight up the field like a true RB would.  Don’t expect a lot of big returns out of Cobbs but he will be moving forward whenever he is hit.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR DOLPHINS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  C-

Opposing teams knew the Dolphins were going to run the ball but they couldn’t stop them because of their O-Line.  LT Jake Long is the anchor of the O-Line.  He is good at protecting the back of the QB and he’s also a very solid run blocker.  Donald Thomas and Nate Garner will likely duke it out for the starting job at RG and they are both solid players.  Center Jake Grove is a tone setter in the middle of the field for the Dolphins as he is a outstanding run blocker.  Rookie 3rd round pick John Jerry out of Mississippi will battle veteran Richie Incognito for the starting job at RG.  Incognito is a nasty ballplayer and he’s one of my personal favorites.  RT will belong to Vernon Carey who is a great athlete for a man his size.  He’s good at both run and pass blocking.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DOLPHINS O-LINE in 2010:  B+

The Dolphins have re-signed 31-year old TE David Martin.  He missed all of last season due to injury.  Martin has played in 31 games (22 starts) in his two years with the Dolphins and he has caught 65 passes for 753 yards (11.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has now played in 101 games (43 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 152 passes for 1,519 yards (10.0 avg) with 14 TD grabs.  The Dolphins must have wanted Martin to help out in the passing game and it will be interesting to see if he’s healthy.

48-year old Tony Sparano was very disappointed in the Dolphins’ 7-9 record in 2009.  But the Dolphins had reasons for the record as they suffered a lot of injuries to key players like Ronnie Brown and Chad Pennington.  That forced Sparano to depend on Chad Henne and Ricky Williams who both played pretty well.  Sparano thinks that Henne will improve due to being thrown in the fire last year.  Sparano has a 18-14 (56.3%) record in his two years as the head coach of the Dolphins and he’s 0-1 in the playoffs.  Don’t be surprised if the Dolphins are a lot better in 2010 than people think.

24-year old kicker Dan Carpenter made it to the Pro Bowl in only his second year in the league in 2009.  Carpenter played in 16 games for the Fins last season and he connected on 25 of 28 field goal attempts (89.3%).  He also hit 37 of 38 extra points to finish with 112 points.  Carpenter has now played in 32 games in his NFL career and he has made 46 of 53 field goals (86.8%).  He has also connected on 77 of 78 extra points in his career giving him 215 points for the Dolphins.  The Dolphins don’t have to get to close to put points on the board due to Dan Carpenter’s strong leg.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DOLPHINS KICKERS in 2010:  A

The trade that brought in 26 year old WR Brandon Marshall was huge for the Dolphins giving them a legit #1 WR which is something that have not had in a long time.  Marshall played in 15 games (13 starts) for the Broncos last season and he caught 101 passes for 1,120 yards (11.1 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  He has now played in 61 games (45 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 327 passes for 4,019 yards (12.3 avg) with 25 TD grabs.  Marshall has been to the Pro Bowl two times in his career and the Fins hope he makes it to many more with them.  Chad Henne will be looking Marshall’s way quite a bit in 2010 and beyond.

24-year old Davone Bess really stepped up in his second season with the Dolphins last year.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he caught 76 passes for 758 yards (10.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc) last season.  Bess has now played in 32 games (8 starts) in his two years with the Fins in which he has caught 130 passes for 1,312 yards (10.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 3 times for 24 yards (8.0 ypc) in his career to date.  Bess is the guy Chad Henne looks to when it’s time to move the chains.

23-year old Brian Hartline burst onto the scene last season for the Dolphins as a rookie.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he caught 31 passes for 506 yards (16.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Hartline also carried the ball 4 times for 29 yards (7.3 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Hopefully Hartline is o.k. physically and with the law as they found his car abandoned on the side of the expressway in Miami recently.

28-year old Greg Camarillo is the classic #3 or #4 WR as he has good hands and he’s quick.  Camarillo played in 16 games (all starts) for the Dolphins last season and he caught 50 passes for 552 yards (11.0 avg).  He has now played in 46 games (27 starts) in his four years in the NFL and he has caught 113 passes for 1,325 yards (11.7 avg) with 4 TD grabs. 

23-year old Patrick Turner played in 2 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Fins last season but he didn’t catch any passes.  The Dolphins really like his upside.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DOLPHINS WRs in 2010:  B+

26-year old Anthony Fasano will be the starter at TE for the Dolphins this season.  He played in 14 games (all starts) for the Fins last season in which he caught 31 passes for 339 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Fasano has now played in 62 games (40 starts) in his four years in the NFL and he has caught 93 passes for 1,062 yards (11.4 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  Look for Chad Henne to look for Fasano a lot when other options break down.

25-year old Joey Haynos will likely be the #2 TE for the Dolphins in 2010.  He played in 16 games (8 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he caught 19 passes for 162 yards (8.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Haynos has now played in 23 games (8 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 21 passes for 184 yards (8.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has good hands but don’t expect any long runs after the catch out of Haynos.

25-year old Kory Sperry is #3 on the depth chart at TE.  Sperry played in 8 games (1 start) last season for the Fins and he caught 3 passes for 31 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  That was his first taste of the NFL.  2nd year TE John Nalbone out of Monmouth will likely have a hard time making the team as he hasn’t done anything in the NFL yet.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DOLPHINS TEs in 2010:  C