phillyphinphan4
Scout Team
Miami
The Marine Mammals seemed strong by the end of 2005, and if they play strong in 2006 they will prove to be an exception to the rule that football-factory college coaches don't transition well into the NFL. Nick Saban seemed to know what he was doing with the team, though he struggled with the personal-comportment part of the college-to-pro adjustment. Coaches at football-factory colleges are little gods worshipped everywhere they walk, while the knives are always out for NFL coaches. Early in his first Dolphins season Saban had several "how dare they criticize me" moments, but by December he seemed to understand that criticism comes with the territory. The question mark is whether Miami's strong finish last year is deceptive. The Dolphins won their final six games, but only one victory (against San Diego) came against a quality team. The other wins were against Oakland, Buffalo, Jersey/B (i.e., the Jets), Tennessee and a New England team resting starters after locking its playoff seeding.
Saban has added Dom Capers and Mike Mularkey as assistants; both were head coaches last year, so Miami now boasts one of the league's most qualified staffs. Capers is likely to replace Miami's conservative, position-oriented defensive philosophy with the zone-blitz scheme perfected by Pittsburgh. How will Mularkey, the league's most conservative play caller, mesh with Daunte Culpepper? KC Joyner's nearly omniscient stats show that in Buffalo last year Mularkey called the fewest deep passes of any NFL coach, with Bills' quarterbacks throwing more than 10 yards downfield only 6.4 times per game and more than 20 yards downfield only 2.9 times per game. (Small wonder Buffalo had the worst offensive performance in its history in 2005.) Culpepper's forte is the deep heave-ho. If Mularkey endlessly calls 5-yard outs, the Dolphins' offensive may sputter and Culpepper could become unhappy.
As Culpepper was heading from Minnesota to Miami, front office dude Rick Spielman crossed him going in the opposite direction. Bottom line on the cycle of trades Spielman initiated in 2004 for the Marine Mammals? Miami gave a second-round draft choice and Adewale Ogunleye, a young Pro Bowl-caliber player, for journeyman Marty Booker and Cleo Lemon, who has never played a down. (The third-round choice Miami obtained in the Ogunleye deal is cancelled out by the third-rounder the Dolphins traded for Lamar Gordon, already waived.) This raises the question of how Miami looks good going into this season when its recent trading and drafting has been suspect. In the last dozen years, the Dolphins have blown first-round picks on Billy Milner, Yatil Green, John Avery and Jamar Fletcher, while surrendering two first-round choices for the exiled-to-Canada Ricky Williams. You must go back to 1992 and Troy Vincent for a Miami first-round pick who was an unqualified success.
The Marine Mammals seemed strong by the end of 2005, and if they play strong in 2006 they will prove to be an exception to the rule that football-factory college coaches don't transition well into the NFL. Nick Saban seemed to know what he was doing with the team, though he struggled with the personal-comportment part of the college-to-pro adjustment. Coaches at football-factory colleges are little gods worshipped everywhere they walk, while the knives are always out for NFL coaches. Early in his first Dolphins season Saban had several "how dare they criticize me" moments, but by December he seemed to understand that criticism comes with the territory. The question mark is whether Miami's strong finish last year is deceptive. The Dolphins won their final six games, but only one victory (against San Diego) came against a quality team. The other wins were against Oakland, Buffalo, Jersey/B (i.e., the Jets), Tennessee and a New England team resting starters after locking its playoff seeding.
Saban has added Dom Capers and Mike Mularkey as assistants; both were head coaches last year, so Miami now boasts one of the league's most qualified staffs. Capers is likely to replace Miami's conservative, position-oriented defensive philosophy with the zone-blitz scheme perfected by Pittsburgh. How will Mularkey, the league's most conservative play caller, mesh with Daunte Culpepper? KC Joyner's nearly omniscient stats show that in Buffalo last year Mularkey called the fewest deep passes of any NFL coach, with Bills' quarterbacks throwing more than 10 yards downfield only 6.4 times per game and more than 20 yards downfield only 2.9 times per game. (Small wonder Buffalo had the worst offensive performance in its history in 2005.) Culpepper's forte is the deep heave-ho. If Mularkey endlessly calls 5-yard outs, the Dolphins' offensive may sputter and Culpepper could become unhappy.
As Culpepper was heading from Minnesota to Miami, front office dude Rick Spielman crossed him going in the opposite direction. Bottom line on the cycle of trades Spielman initiated in 2004 for the Marine Mammals? Miami gave a second-round draft choice and Adewale Ogunleye, a young Pro Bowl-caliber player, for journeyman Marty Booker and Cleo Lemon, who has never played a down. (The third-round choice Miami obtained in the Ogunleye deal is cancelled out by the third-rounder the Dolphins traded for Lamar Gordon, already waived.) This raises the question of how Miami looks good going into this season when its recent trading and drafting has been suspect. In the last dozen years, the Dolphins have blown first-round picks on Billy Milner, Yatil Green, John Avery and Jamar Fletcher, while surrendering two first-round choices for the exiled-to-Canada Ricky Williams. You must go back to 1992 and Troy Vincent for a Miami first-round pick who was an unqualified success.
