RealDriscoll
Still Perfect.. and You're Not.
A sense of disappointment looms over Miami after the Dolphins lose to the Houston Texans in Week 16. The Dolphins had things around the league going there way as the Ravens fell to the Steelers and the Patriots destroyed the Jaguars but the Dolphins couldn’t take care of business of their own. In fact they came out very flat and fell to a 27-3 deficit at the half. The way the Dolphins came back in this game and the way they game back last week against Tennessee says a lot about this teams’ character. In fact you could argue that games against the Texans, Titans, Saints, and Colts were all games where the Dolphins probably should have won. The truth is this team is a few players away from being in the upper-echelon of teams in this league. I’m crazy…right? Maybe but I think that this Dolphins team is better all around than the team that won the AFC East Divisional Championship last season.
There is plenty of work for the trifecta to accomplish this off-season and I think it starts will upgrading our biggest area of need, linebacker. We need to improve the Inside Linebacker position in a major way as Akin Ayodele is nothing more than serviceable and Reggie Torbor played a vital role in our Week 16 loss to the Texans. Sure we need a #1 receiver and a tight end who can consistently catch the ball and provide a vertical threat but improving our linebacker core should be priority one. Keep an eye on free agents Dqwell Jackson and Tim Dobbins as landing one of these could be a very good move in free agency. Ayodele and Torbor are candidates to be released to their high cap figure and mediocre play at best. Nose Tackle, Wide Receiver, Tight End, and Outside Linebacker are other needs that need to be addressed and I would keep a close on eye on Shawn Merriman in San Diego because if this guy hits the market I think we make a major play for him because Parcells was very high on him in 2005.
I think it’s important to look at our Running-Back position. Ronnie Brown is so important to us and I think we need to lock him up or slap the franchise tag on him. Ricky Williams had a marvelous season but he has proven to me down the stretch that he cannot be the main guy. Ricky has had a case of the fumbles and also had some passes bounce right off his hands into defenders for interceptions. Lex Hilliard is looking to be a player. He had a nice game in a losing effort to the Titans. Our blocking on kick and punt returns is the worst in the league and special teams is an area that needs to be looked at. Gibril Wilson is not a cover free safety and either he or Yeremiah Bell need to be our strong safety next season and we need someone much better in coverage at free safety. Chris Clemons? Maybe. If not we need to find someone to fill this void because Wilson is terrible in coverage and his ball skills are equally as bad as seen with this dropped INT against the Texans Sunday.
Instead of worrying about what we need let’s look at what we have. We have a solid offensive line with good depth which is vital in a teams’ success. We have a good cast of supporting receivers in Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, and Brian Hartline. I don’t know what we have in Ted Ginn Jr. He drops a lot of balls but he has speed that is special and he has big play ability. I think Ginn will still be a Dolphin come next season. We have a special Corner in Vontae Davis. I remember last year around this time I wasn’t posting at FinHeaven as I was posting on that other Dolphins fan board and their cast of draft “experts” were calling me a fool for having a love affair with Vontae Davis. Well Davis has been so impressive in my eyes that I feel give this kid 2 years and he is a top 5 corner in the league. He has 4 interceptions, one he returned for a touchdown, and this does not include that interception he made on a crucial two-point conversion against Braylon Edwards. He had a near INT today (I felt it was an INT and I will touch on the referee’s later) and he did cause a fumble which the referees missed again. Maybe the referees were not big Vontae Davis fans because they stole two turnovers from him. Getting Will Allen back will certainly help our secondary next season and even though I am a tad disappointed with Sean Smith this season I think he still will turn out to be a good corner.
Another thing we have is a big-time NFL Quarterback. I know he hasn’t had enough NFL starts for us to tell whether Henne will be Dan Marino or Ryan Leaf but if you want my opinion we have something special. Henne is currently the best player on our Offense not named Jake Long and he is now coming off three straight 300 yard games. Sure he lets a few passes slip and he makes an occasional bad decision but the truth is I have watched all of the young Quarterbacks in this league such as Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Brady Quinn, Matthew Stafford, Marc Sanchez, Trent Edwards, and Josh Freeman and Henne is better than all of them for my money. He has less to worth with than any of these guys and still we are never out of a game because this guy has that “it” factor which can bring you back. Chad Henne isn’t afraid of Monday Night Football which he proved against the Jets and Chad Henne isn’t afraid of 27-3 which he proved yesterday. He stands in the pocket with a poise that isn’t teachable and he can make throws with a velocity that very few can. If you are questioning Henne as our Quarterback you better get some glasses and watch this kid.
Does missing the playoffs suck? Of course it does but I don’t think we miss them next season or the season after because this team is being built for the long-haul rather than for a quick fix. Our schedule is much easier next season with the likes of the Browns, Lions, and Bears on the radar. Who knows what free agency or the draft will bring.. Shawn Merriman? Brandon Spikes? Miles Austin? Brandon Marshall? Rolando McClain? The possibilities are endless but after two Bill Parcells drafts I am confident he will makes us even better and that this team is heading where it needs to.
NFL referees have too much say in the fate of games. Today the Texans were better than us but still we fought back and two calls they made ensured this game as a win for the Texans. Not calling the ball that Vontae Davis stripped for a fumble was really bad but the tripping call on Loushaka Polite negated a 62 yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne to Ted Ginn which was a thing of beauty. It was a ticky-tacky call, in fact it wasn’t a trip and the ball was already leaving Henne’s hand. I usually try to ignore the referees but they better start training these guys because this guys are missing calls and costing teams games and it is not right. Stay strong Dolphin Nation… The future is bright
There is plenty of work for the trifecta to accomplish this off-season and I think it starts will upgrading our biggest area of need, linebacker. We need to improve the Inside Linebacker position in a major way as Akin Ayodele is nothing more than serviceable and Reggie Torbor played a vital role in our Week 16 loss to the Texans. Sure we need a #1 receiver and a tight end who can consistently catch the ball and provide a vertical threat but improving our linebacker core should be priority one. Keep an eye on free agents Dqwell Jackson and Tim Dobbins as landing one of these could be a very good move in free agency. Ayodele and Torbor are candidates to be released to their high cap figure and mediocre play at best. Nose Tackle, Wide Receiver, Tight End, and Outside Linebacker are other needs that need to be addressed and I would keep a close on eye on Shawn Merriman in San Diego because if this guy hits the market I think we make a major play for him because Parcells was very high on him in 2005.
I think it’s important to look at our Running-Back position. Ronnie Brown is so important to us and I think we need to lock him up or slap the franchise tag on him. Ricky Williams had a marvelous season but he has proven to me down the stretch that he cannot be the main guy. Ricky has had a case of the fumbles and also had some passes bounce right off his hands into defenders for interceptions. Lex Hilliard is looking to be a player. He had a nice game in a losing effort to the Titans. Our blocking on kick and punt returns is the worst in the league and special teams is an area that needs to be looked at. Gibril Wilson is not a cover free safety and either he or Yeremiah Bell need to be our strong safety next season and we need someone much better in coverage at free safety. Chris Clemons? Maybe. If not we need to find someone to fill this void because Wilson is terrible in coverage and his ball skills are equally as bad as seen with this dropped INT against the Texans Sunday.
Instead of worrying about what we need let’s look at what we have. We have a solid offensive line with good depth which is vital in a teams’ success. We have a good cast of supporting receivers in Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, and Brian Hartline. I don’t know what we have in Ted Ginn Jr. He drops a lot of balls but he has speed that is special and he has big play ability. I think Ginn will still be a Dolphin come next season. We have a special Corner in Vontae Davis. I remember last year around this time I wasn’t posting at FinHeaven as I was posting on that other Dolphins fan board and their cast of draft “experts” were calling me a fool for having a love affair with Vontae Davis. Well Davis has been so impressive in my eyes that I feel give this kid 2 years and he is a top 5 corner in the league. He has 4 interceptions, one he returned for a touchdown, and this does not include that interception he made on a crucial two-point conversion against Braylon Edwards. He had a near INT today (I felt it was an INT and I will touch on the referee’s later) and he did cause a fumble which the referees missed again. Maybe the referees were not big Vontae Davis fans because they stole two turnovers from him. Getting Will Allen back will certainly help our secondary next season and even though I am a tad disappointed with Sean Smith this season I think he still will turn out to be a good corner.
Another thing we have is a big-time NFL Quarterback. I know he hasn’t had enough NFL starts for us to tell whether Henne will be Dan Marino or Ryan Leaf but if you want my opinion we have something special. Henne is currently the best player on our Offense not named Jake Long and he is now coming off three straight 300 yard games. Sure he lets a few passes slip and he makes an occasional bad decision but the truth is I have watched all of the young Quarterbacks in this league such as Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Brady Quinn, Matthew Stafford, Marc Sanchez, Trent Edwards, and Josh Freeman and Henne is better than all of them for my money. He has less to worth with than any of these guys and still we are never out of a game because this guy has that “it” factor which can bring you back. Chad Henne isn’t afraid of Monday Night Football which he proved against the Jets and Chad Henne isn’t afraid of 27-3 which he proved yesterday. He stands in the pocket with a poise that isn’t teachable and he can make throws with a velocity that very few can. If you are questioning Henne as our Quarterback you better get some glasses and watch this kid.
Does missing the playoffs suck? Of course it does but I don’t think we miss them next season or the season after because this team is being built for the long-haul rather than for a quick fix. Our schedule is much easier next season with the likes of the Browns, Lions, and Bears on the radar. Who knows what free agency or the draft will bring.. Shawn Merriman? Brandon Spikes? Miles Austin? Brandon Marshall? Rolando McClain? The possibilities are endless but after two Bill Parcells drafts I am confident he will makes us even better and that this team is heading where it needs to.
NFL referees have too much say in the fate of games. Today the Texans were better than us but still we fought back and two calls they made ensured this game as a win for the Texans. Not calling the ball that Vontae Davis stripped for a fumble was really bad but the tripping call on Loushaka Polite negated a 62 yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne to Ted Ginn which was a thing of beauty. It was a ticky-tacky call, in fact it wasn’t a trip and the ball was already leaving Henne’s hand. I usually try to ignore the referees but they better start training these guys because this guys are missing calls and costing teams games and it is not right. Stay strong Dolphin Nation… The future is bright
