RealDriscoll
Still Perfect.. and You're Not.
Undefeated, perfection yet again.. Not quite and to be honest it was an ugly 4-0 in the pre-season but lets be honest last years' 11-5 wasn't pretty either. Chad Pennington said it best, " You will take them anyway you can get them." One thing is for sure that the Dolphins are a much better team than they were this time last season, Here are my thoughts...
*Chad Pennington has full control of this offense and seems to be in mid-season form. Is it just me or does Penny have a lot more zip on his balls this season? No interceptions all pre-season and I stand by my thought that he is the QB of the present as well as the QB of the near future.
*Henne had a road with many turns this pre-season but at least he played well against New Orleans. Henne made his first wow throw of the pre-season when he rolled out and nailed Teddy Ginn Jr. right between the numbers. I feel this kid has a very bright future and learning behind Pennington is doing this kid justice.
*Pat White didn't get a chance to show much this pre-season but I feel that is because they don't want the league to see what they have in store for them with Pat White. White did show great mobility and the ability to run which we all know. Now I know Tony Sparano is telling the media that there are no plans for White in the Wild-Cat but TRUST me there sure as hell are. That is the sole reason we drafted the ultimate x-factor; White is a major curve ball to the NFL and I know he had some accuracy issues in the pre-season at camp but he is lethal at the helm of the wild-cat. White is just pressing a little to impress but when it counts Pat White comes through.
*Ronnie Brown looks better than ever and totally recovered from his ACL injury two seasons ago. Brown has been running hard and looked better in the passing game. Big year coming for this guy.
*Ricky Williams looks very good again and I am kind of relieved that we locked him up for another season. Ricky has shown great burst and is run with that physicalness that makes him special.
*I can see why Patrick Cobbs is a favorite of Tony Sparano. The guy constantly puts in the work and when he is called on he makes plays.
*Lex Hilliard was a good story while it lasted but it takes more than one run to make a team. Hilliard did not show me enough to make the team.
* Anthony Fasano and David Martin are locks and I feel that John Nalbone did enough to edge Joey Haynos off the roster. Haynos played with me at Maryland and is very strong but his lack of atheltic ability will give Nalbone the nod.
* The world is not ending and Jake Long will be fine. He misses two blocks and the whole world wants to say he is struggling. I have watched every pre-season game over and over, I was at training camp, and mark my words when I say Jake Long is the most dominant player on our team. This guy is among the best Left Tackle's in this league and should be Pro-Bowl bound again.
*Our offensive line unit is much improved. Long is in year two and will get better and better. Justin Smiley defines consistency and he seems to be fully healed. Donald Thomas is a mean SOB who just bears defenders into the ground. VernonCarey is a top 3 right tackle in the league, and Jake Grove moves defensive tackles. Grove and Thomas bring that attitude needed to be a dominant smash mouth line. I like our depth in Shawn Murphy, Joe Berger, and Andrew Garnder.
*They put the heat on Danny Carpenter and he started going back to his old self and Brandon Fields is killing the ball. Against the Saints Fields booted a 58 yard punt!
*The receiver core has 5 guys who will be locks for the team in Ted Ginn Jr, Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline, and Patrick Turner. Coach Sparano defined Ginn as dominant at times during camp and I can see great improvement in his route running and focus on making the catch. Ginn looks to be playing with confidence and it makes him look faster on the field. Hartline really impressed me when giving the chance to start. I think he could dveelop into a very dependable receiver down the road. He looked quick against Tampa and was very productive. All the Miami beat-writes were raving about Patrick Turner and the rave reviews have cooled but let's face it this guy is the most physically gifter receiver on the team. he is literally a giant and when given the chance he will be a red-zone threat. Davone Bess catches everything and that catch he made against Tampa out of bounds was nasty. Camarillo looked really good against New Orleans.. really good. Brandon london is on the roster bubble and I don't seem catching on. The emergence of Hartline and Turner could have London packing his bags.
*Jason Ferguson is the unsung hero of this team, enough said.
*Randy Starks fought through camp and is now starting which doesn't surprise me at all/ Merling will be in the rotation but he needs to turn the corner. Merling will be a good player but might need another year in the rotation. I really like what I have seen from Lionel Dotson and Paul Soliai has impressed me; Soliai playing lighter has made a big difference. Kendall Langford really impressed me and this guy is going to be a big-time player in this league.
*Jason Taylors return to Miami has been much more of a farewell tour. With Matt Roth's mysterious injury Jason Taylor has really stepped up and became a pass rushing force opposite of Joey Porter. In this classic 3-4 defense the combination of Porter and JT is scarey and it's going to work. Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele are locks and so is Reggie Torbor. Erik Walden is on the bubble in my eye b/c Charlie Anderson and Quentin Moses have player their way to remain on the team. Moses impressed me a great deal.
*Will Allen continues to play lights out. Jason Allen is playing pretty solid and is good on special teams so he stays.The safety combination of Bell and Wilson is really fun to watch. Vonate Davis is so good in run support and if he can eliminate the mental mistakes he is going to be a GREAT player. Speaking of great players what do you all think about Sean Smith? We finally have a play-maker in our secondary we have missed since the departure of Madison and Surtain. It's way too early to tell but the combination of Smith and Davis bring more to the table. Your have Davis who will knock your block off and you have Sean Smith who plays the pass like Ed Reed.
*The jury is still out on Cameron Wake. The kid got a lot of pressure but needs to finish better
Onto my final roster predictions..
*Chad Pennington (1)
*Chad Henne (2)
*Pat White (3)
*Ronnie Brown (4)
*Ricky Williams (5)
*Patrick Cobbs (6)
*Loushaka Polite (7)
*Anthony Fasano (8)
*David Martin (9)
*John Nalbone (10)
*Ted Ginn Jr. (11)
*Davone Bess (12)
*Greg Camarillo (13)
*Patrick Turner (14)
*Brian Hartline (15)
*Jake Long (16)
*Vernon Carey (17)
*Donald Thomas (18)
*Justin Smiley (19)
*Jake Grove (20)
*Andrew Gardner (21)
*Brandon Frye (22)
*Shawn Murphy (23)
*Joe Berger (24)
*Brandon Fields (25)
*Dan Carpenter (26)
*Kendall Langford (27)
*Tony McDaniel (28)
*Phillip Merling (29)
*Randy Staks (30)
*Jason Ferguson (31)
*Paul Soliai (32)
*Lionel Dotson (33)
*Channing Crowder (34)
*Akin Ayodele (35)
*Reggie Torbor (36)
*Joey Porter (37)
*Jason Taylor (38)
*Charlie Anderson (39)
*Quentin Moses (40)
*Cameron Wake (41)
*Will Allen (42)
*Sean Smith (43)
* Vontae Davis (44)
*Nate Jones (45)
*Jason Allen (46)
*Gibril Wilson (47)
*Yeremiah Bell (48)
*Tyrone Cilver (49)
*Chris Clemons (50)
*John Denney (51)
*Erik Walden (52)
*Brandon London (53)
Whats your roster look like?
*Chad Pennington has full control of this offense and seems to be in mid-season form. Is it just me or does Penny have a lot more zip on his balls this season? No interceptions all pre-season and I stand by my thought that he is the QB of the present as well as the QB of the near future.
*Henne had a road with many turns this pre-season but at least he played well against New Orleans. Henne made his first wow throw of the pre-season when he rolled out and nailed Teddy Ginn Jr. right between the numbers. I feel this kid has a very bright future and learning behind Pennington is doing this kid justice.
*Pat White didn't get a chance to show much this pre-season but I feel that is because they don't want the league to see what they have in store for them with Pat White. White did show great mobility and the ability to run which we all know. Now I know Tony Sparano is telling the media that there are no plans for White in the Wild-Cat but TRUST me there sure as hell are. That is the sole reason we drafted the ultimate x-factor; White is a major curve ball to the NFL and I know he had some accuracy issues in the pre-season at camp but he is lethal at the helm of the wild-cat. White is just pressing a little to impress but when it counts Pat White comes through.
*Ronnie Brown looks better than ever and totally recovered from his ACL injury two seasons ago. Brown has been running hard and looked better in the passing game. Big year coming for this guy.
*Ricky Williams looks very good again and I am kind of relieved that we locked him up for another season. Ricky has shown great burst and is run with that physicalness that makes him special.
*I can see why Patrick Cobbs is a favorite of Tony Sparano. The guy constantly puts in the work and when he is called on he makes plays.
*Lex Hilliard was a good story while it lasted but it takes more than one run to make a team. Hilliard did not show me enough to make the team.
* Anthony Fasano and David Martin are locks and I feel that John Nalbone did enough to edge Joey Haynos off the roster. Haynos played with me at Maryland and is very strong but his lack of atheltic ability will give Nalbone the nod.
* The world is not ending and Jake Long will be fine. He misses two blocks and the whole world wants to say he is struggling. I have watched every pre-season game over and over, I was at training camp, and mark my words when I say Jake Long is the most dominant player on our team. This guy is among the best Left Tackle's in this league and should be Pro-Bowl bound again.
*Our offensive line unit is much improved. Long is in year two and will get better and better. Justin Smiley defines consistency and he seems to be fully healed. Donald Thomas is a mean SOB who just bears defenders into the ground. VernonCarey is a top 3 right tackle in the league, and Jake Grove moves defensive tackles. Grove and Thomas bring that attitude needed to be a dominant smash mouth line. I like our depth in Shawn Murphy, Joe Berger, and Andrew Garnder.
*They put the heat on Danny Carpenter and he started going back to his old self and Brandon Fields is killing the ball. Against the Saints Fields booted a 58 yard punt!
*The receiver core has 5 guys who will be locks for the team in Ted Ginn Jr, Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline, and Patrick Turner. Coach Sparano defined Ginn as dominant at times during camp and I can see great improvement in his route running and focus on making the catch. Ginn looks to be playing with confidence and it makes him look faster on the field. Hartline really impressed me when giving the chance to start. I think he could dveelop into a very dependable receiver down the road. He looked quick against Tampa and was very productive. All the Miami beat-writes were raving about Patrick Turner and the rave reviews have cooled but let's face it this guy is the most physically gifter receiver on the team. he is literally a giant and when given the chance he will be a red-zone threat. Davone Bess catches everything and that catch he made against Tampa out of bounds was nasty. Camarillo looked really good against New Orleans.. really good. Brandon london is on the roster bubble and I don't seem catching on. The emergence of Hartline and Turner could have London packing his bags.
*Jason Ferguson is the unsung hero of this team, enough said.
*Randy Starks fought through camp and is now starting which doesn't surprise me at all/ Merling will be in the rotation but he needs to turn the corner. Merling will be a good player but might need another year in the rotation. I really like what I have seen from Lionel Dotson and Paul Soliai has impressed me; Soliai playing lighter has made a big difference. Kendall Langford really impressed me and this guy is going to be a big-time player in this league.
*Jason Taylors return to Miami has been much more of a farewell tour. With Matt Roth's mysterious injury Jason Taylor has really stepped up and became a pass rushing force opposite of Joey Porter. In this classic 3-4 defense the combination of Porter and JT is scarey and it's going to work. Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele are locks and so is Reggie Torbor. Erik Walden is on the bubble in my eye b/c Charlie Anderson and Quentin Moses have player their way to remain on the team. Moses impressed me a great deal.
*Will Allen continues to play lights out. Jason Allen is playing pretty solid and is good on special teams so he stays.The safety combination of Bell and Wilson is really fun to watch. Vonate Davis is so good in run support and if he can eliminate the mental mistakes he is going to be a GREAT player. Speaking of great players what do you all think about Sean Smith? We finally have a play-maker in our secondary we have missed since the departure of Madison and Surtain. It's way too early to tell but the combination of Smith and Davis bring more to the table. Your have Davis who will knock your block off and you have Sean Smith who plays the pass like Ed Reed.
*The jury is still out on Cameron Wake. The kid got a lot of pressure but needs to finish better
Onto my final roster predictions..
*Chad Pennington (1)
*Chad Henne (2)
*Pat White (3)
*Ronnie Brown (4)
*Ricky Williams (5)
*Patrick Cobbs (6)
*Loushaka Polite (7)
*Anthony Fasano (8)
*David Martin (9)
*John Nalbone (10)
*Ted Ginn Jr. (11)
*Davone Bess (12)
*Greg Camarillo (13)
*Patrick Turner (14)
*Brian Hartline (15)
*Jake Long (16)
*Vernon Carey (17)
*Donald Thomas (18)
*Justin Smiley (19)
*Jake Grove (20)
*Andrew Gardner (21)
*Brandon Frye (22)
*Shawn Murphy (23)
*Joe Berger (24)
*Brandon Fields (25)
*Dan Carpenter (26)
*Kendall Langford (27)
*Tony McDaniel (28)
*Phillip Merling (29)
*Randy Staks (30)
*Jason Ferguson (31)
*Paul Soliai (32)
*Lionel Dotson (33)
*Channing Crowder (34)
*Akin Ayodele (35)
*Reggie Torbor (36)
*Joey Porter (37)
*Jason Taylor (38)
*Charlie Anderson (39)
*Quentin Moses (40)
*Cameron Wake (41)
*Will Allen (42)
*Sean Smith (43)
* Vontae Davis (44)
*Nate Jones (45)
*Jason Allen (46)
*Gibril Wilson (47)
*Yeremiah Bell (48)
*Tyrone Cilver (49)
*Chris Clemons (50)
*John Denney (51)
*Erik Walden (52)
*Brandon London (53)
Whats your roster look like?
