Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins sign linebacker Karlos Dansby

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:45:43 +0000

The Dolphins have signed 28-year old linebacker Karlos Dansby to a 5-year, $43 million dollar deal of which $22 million bucks are guaranteed. Dansby played in all 16 games for the Cardinals last season and he made 109 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, forced a fumble, had 1 sack, defensed 1 pass and he had 1 interception. Dansby has played in 90 games in his NFL career and he has made 555 tackles, defensed 29 passes, forced 12 fumbles, has 25.5 sacks and he has 10 interceptions (two of which he returned for TDs). This was a outstanding signing for the Dolphins as Dansby is a hard nosed player who makes plays.

The Miami Dolphins re-sign Chad Pennington

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:39:15 +0000

The Dolphins have re-signed 33-year old QB Chad Pennington to a 1-year, $2.5 million dollar deal. Pennington played in 3 games for the Dolphins last season and he completed 51 of 74 passes (68.9%) for 413 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (76.0 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc) last season. Pennington has now played two years for the Dolphins appearing in 19 games in which he has completed 372 of 550 passes (67.6%) for 4,066 yards with 20 TD passes and 9 INTs (94.6 QB Rating). He has also carried the ball 33 times for 69 yards (2.1 ypc) with 1 TD run in his time with the Fins. The Dolphins have said that Chad Henne is the starting QB but don’t think for a minute that Pennington will be content to be a backup if he is healthy.

The Miami Dolphins release Akin Ayodele

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:54:28 +0000

The Dolphins have released linebacker Akin Ayodele. Ayodele played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season in which he made 71 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble. He played in 32 games in his two years with the Dolphins and he made 146 tackles, defensed 4 passes, forced 1 fumble and he intercepted 2 passes. The Dolphins will look to improve on Ayodele in 2010.

The Miami Dolphins release Joey Porter

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:51:34 +0000

The Dolphins have released 32-year old OLB Joey Porter. Porter played in 14 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 41 tackles, 9 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed. Porter played in 46 games in his three years with the Dolphins in which he made 153 tackles, defensed 7 passes, had 32 sacks, forced 6 fumbles and he picked off 2 passes. It’s the off field headaches that Porter caused last season which will have him looking for a new job. He still has some game left and he won’t be easy for the Dolphins to replace in 2010.

The Miami Dolphins release Gibril Wilson

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:48:30 +0000

The Dolphins have released 28-year old safety Gibril Wilson. Wilson played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he made 93 tackles, defensed 8 passes and he had 1 sack. I’m thinking that maybe Wilson didn’t make enough big plays for the Dolphins despite being solid against the run. It will be interesting to see who the Dolphins use to replace Wilson in the starting lineup in 2010.

Ricky Williams was outstanding for the Miami Dolphins last season

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:49:17 +0000

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.

The Miami Dolphins were hit and miss last April

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:19:16 +0000

The Dolphins seemed to be drafting for need last season instead of taking the best player available and it appeared to have hurt them last April. CB Vontae Davis (1st round, #25 overall) out of Illinois had a good rookie season for the Dolphins. He played in all 16 games for the Fins last season and he finished up with 53 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 11 passes defensed and 4 interceptions (one that he returned for a TD). He should be a fixture at one CB spot for the Fins for a while. QB Pat White (2nd round, #44 overall) out of West Virginia was selected to run the Wildcat Formation for the Dolphins but he didn’t play as good as Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams in that role. He played in 13 games for the Dolphins last season and he completed 0 of 5 passes for 0 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs (39.6 QB Rating). White also carried the ball 21 times for 81 yards (3.9 ypc) last season. This was a huge reach in the second round as White didn’t show much last season. CB Sean Smith (2nd round, #61 overall) out of Utah had a bigger role than the Fins wanted him to as a rookie last season. He played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he made 38 tackles and defensed 12 passes. WR Patrick Turner (3rd round, #87 overall) out of USC was a huge bust as a rookie last season as he played in 2 games without catching any passes. WR Brian Hartline (4th round, #108 overall) out of Ohio State was seen as a huge reach for the Dolphins but he proved the critics wrong. He played in all 16 games 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 a TD run and he returned 3 kickoffs for 36 yards (12.0 avg). TE Jonathan Nalbone (5th round, #161 overall) out of Monmouth didn’t get on the field for the Dolphins in 2009. Free safety Chris Clemons (5th round, #165 overall) out of Clemson helped out a tad on special teams as he finished with 13 tackles in 11 games. OT Andrew Gardner (6th round, #181 overall) out of Georgia Tech played in only 1 game (0 starts) as a rookie for the Fins last season. LB J.D. Folsom (7th round, #214 overall) out of Weber State played in 2 games for the Dolphins last season while making 1 tackle.

GRADE FOR 2009: C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: C

The Miami Dolphins need more out of the QB position in 2010

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:07:16 +0000

The Dolphins need more production out of the QBs in 2010 as they really missed Chad Pennington after he was injured. The 33-year old Pennington played in 3 games for the Dolphins this season and he completed 51 of 74 passes (68.9%) for 413 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (76.0 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc) this year. Pennington has now played in 88 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,631 of 2,469 passes (66.1%) for 17,804 yards with 102 TD passes and 64 INTs (90.1 QB Rating). Pennington has carried the ball 180 times for 465 yards (2.6 ypc) with 7 TD runs in his career. I think Pennington’s time is done in Miami because he already had a really weak arm before the surgery he underwent this year.

24-year old Chad Henne stepped in for Pennington and he was very up and down. He played in 13 games for the Dolphins this season and he completed 274 of 451 passes (60.8%) for 2,878 yards with 12 TD passes and 14 INTs (75.2 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 16 times for 32 yards (2.0 ypc) with 1 TD run. Henne has now played in 16 games in his NFL career and he has completed 281 of 463 passes (60.7%) for 2,945 yards with 12 TD passes and 14 INTs (75.2 QB Rating). He has also carried the ball 16 times for 32 yards (2.0 ypc) with a TD run. Henne definitely has the potential to be a good starting QB in the NFL so it will be interesting to see if he lives up to his ability as he will likely enter 2010 as the Fins’ starting QB.

25-year old Tyler Thigpen will likely slide into the #2 QB role for the Dolphins in 2010. He played in 1 game for the Dolphins this season and he completed 4 of 8 passes (50%) for 83 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (87.0 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 1 time for 1 yard this season. Thigpen has now played in 17 games in his NFL career and he has completed 236 of 434 passes (54.4%) for 2,732 yards with 19 TD passes and 15 INTs (73.8 QB Rating). He has also carried the ball 64 times for 389 yards (6.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career. Thigpen should do a decent job as the back-up in the future but he would be too stretched out as a starter.

23-year old Pat White is not really anything more than a Wildcat Formation QB and that is it. He played in 13 games for the Dolphins this season and he threw 5 incomplete passes. He also carried the ball 21 times for 81 yards (3.9 ypc) this year. I expect to see White playing a different position in the NFL as he is not really QB material.

Pittsburgh Steelers 30, Miami Dolphins 24

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:08:02 +0000

The Dolphins played hard yesterday but they just fell short against the Steelers. Chad Henne was solid in the first half of the game yesterday completing 16 of 20 passes for 140 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT. But, he didn’t play the rest of the game due to a eye injury. Pat White replaced Henne at QB and he carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards (5.4 ypc) and he threw two incomplete passing before leaving the field on a stretcher. That left things up to Tyler Thigpen who came off the bench firing the football as he completed 4 of 8 passes for 83 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 costly interceptions. Rickey Williams didn’t have his best game as he carried the ball 12 times for 31 yards (2.6 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 4 yards (1.3 avg). Lex Hilliard pitched in with 1 carry for 9 yards and 1 catch for 11 yards that went for a TD. WR Davone Bess led the way in the passing game for the Dolphins with 5 catches for 85 yards (17.0 avg) with a TD grab. Brian Hartline pitched in with 2 catches for 34 yards and he also carried the ball 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 (ypc) with a TD. The Dolphins finished up with 303 total yards on offense (99 rushing, 204 passing) in this game.

Safety Yeremiah Bell led a pretty poor overall effort by the D with 6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT. OLB Joey Porter pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and a fumble recovery. The Steelers finished up with 403 total yards on offense (202 rushing, 201 passing) in this game. The Dolphins finish the season with a 7-9 record.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:03:19 +0000

Both of these teams need a win and a lot of help to make the playoffs. With that in mind look for this game to be a slugfest. The Dolphins will likely come out running the ball against a Steelers’ D that has gotten soft against the run lately. Rickey Williams is a little gimpy but he will give it a go tomorrow. The Steelers love to blitz but if Chad Henne has time to throw the ball he should be able to torch the Steelers who have not gotten a interception from their CBs all year long. Henne spreads the ball around so there is no one the Steelers should really double.

The Dolphins will likely turn OLBs Jason Taylor and Joey Porter loose against the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger tomorrow. With what is at stake you know that Joey Porter will try to stick it to his old team who thought he was washed up a couple of years ago. The Fins must blitz early and often to protect their rookie corners. The Steelers will also be giving the rock to Rashard Mendenhall a lot tomorrow so the Fins will have a lot to worry about on defense.

PREDICTION: STEELERS 21, DOLPHINS 20