The Dolphins expected 29-year old inside linebacker Karlos Dansby to bring toughness and playmaking to the defense, and that he has.  In 14 games so far this year, Dansby has 95 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 4 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles.  This was money well spent for the Dolphins as Dansby has rubbed off on his teammates as the Dolphins have only given up 94.7 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year.

28-year old OLB Cameron Wake is coming on like a hurricane.  He has exploded onto the scene in his second NFL season!  Wake has played in 14 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has 51 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 14 sacks, 4 passes defensed and 3 forced fumbles.  It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins do the right thing and give Wake a new contract to reward him for his production as he is a Pro Bowler now.

49-year old head coach Tony Sparano has the Dolphins at 5-4 right now after the Fins finished 7-9 last season.  Things just got tougher for him with Chad Pennington and Chad Henne going down to injury.  He now will be going with Tyler Thigpen who is one of the best #3 QBs in the NFL.  He’s not a dropback passer like the Chad’s so it will be interesting to see how the offense changes.  Sparano will likely find a way to make it work.  He is now in his third year with the Fins and he has led them to a 23-18 (56.1%) record during the regular season.

27-year old CB Jason Allen has been very solid for the Dolphins so far this year.  He has played in 6 games for the Dolphins this year and he has 30 tackles, 7 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  Allen has now played in 69 games in his first five years with the Fins and he has 170 tackles, 18 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and he has 8 interceptions.  It took Allen a little while to really get it but he’s playing very solid football for the Fins this year.

25-year old WR Davone Bess is a very solid receiver for the Dolphins.  Bess has played in 5 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has caught 26 passes for 282 yards (10.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has also returned 5 punts for 64 yards (12.8 avg) so far this year.  Bess has now played in 37 games in his 3 years with the Fins and he has caught 156 passes for 1,594 yards (10.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Bess has also returned 54 punts for 504 yards (9.3 avg) so far in his career.  Bess has the best set of hands on the Fins as he is the go to WR on third downs and he’s a very dependable punt returner.

28-year old OLB Cameron Wake couldn’t make an NFL team in 2005 after getting signed and released by the New York Giants.  He then moved on to the Canadian Football League in 2007 and 2008 playing for the British Columbia Lions.  Wake had 39 sacks in his two years in the Canadian Football League.  The Dolphins then signed him before the 2009 season.  He played in 14 games for the Dolphins last year and he had 23 tackles, 1 pass defensed, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble.  Last year was just a glimpse of what he could do.  He is starting at OLB for the Dolphins this year and he’s making his mark.  He has 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Wake is looking like he is going to be a high impact player for the Dolphins’ D this year.

32-year old RB Ricky Williams is leaning towards retiring after the 2010 season but he should reconsider based on how he played last year.  He shared time with Ronnie Brown until he went down to injury and then Williams showed that he can still be a featured back in a offense.  Williams played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he carried the ball 241 times for 1,121 yards (4.7 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also caught 35 passes for 264 yards (7.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs last season.  It’s too bad that Williams missed some time in his career due to drug problems because it will likely cost him a chance at the Hall of Fame.  He has played in 115 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2,164 times for 8,892 yards (4.1 ypc) with 62 TD carries.  Williams has also caught 310 passes for 2,382 yards (7.7 avg) with 7 TD grabs in his career.

32-year old RB Ricky Williams has really stepped up after Ronnie Brown was injured.  Williams has carried the ball 115 times for 519 yards (4.5 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his last five games.  He has also caught 8 passes for 37 yards (4.6 avg) with a TD grab in his last five games.  Williams’ running has kept the offense afloat after the injury to Ronnie Brown that many thought would dismantle the offense.  Williams has now played in 13 games this season for the Dolphins and he has carried the ball 200 times for 975 yards (4.9 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He has also caught 24 passes for 225 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Dolphins need Williams to keep playing well if they are going to make the playoffs this season.

31-year old safety Yeremiah Bell is having a career year.  He has played in all 13 games for the Dolphins this season and he has made 97 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 7 passes defensed, 1.5 sacks and 1 interception.  Bell is the leading tackler on the Dolphins and he is doing a solid job of helping out the rookie corners by backing them up.

Chad Henne has been pretty solid since becoming the starting QB of the Dolphins.  He has completed 93 of 158 passes (58.9%) for 990 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (77.8 QB Rating).  The running game of the Dolphins has helped take a lot of pressure off Henne this season so far as he only has to manage the game most of the time.  When you consider the receiving corps that Henne is using you have to take up his grade on his play so far this year because it’s not very talented.