Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pennington and Porter get awards; Cobbs extended




For his play against the Buffalo Bills, Chad Pennington was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Pennington becomes the second Dolphins player to win the award this season, after Ronnie Brown won it following the Week 3 game against the Patriots.

Of the award, he said:
When your team is winning and doing good things, those awards and accolades normally come, so I think it's a credit to us as a team and how we played well as a team and how everyone has bought into what we're trying to do.
On the defensive side of the ball, Joey Porter was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month.

Porter finished October with 14 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He had at least a half sack in all four games this month.

*****

I'll admit that RB Patrick Cobbs has pleasantly surprised me this year. I thought it would have been a better idea to keep Jalen Parmele on the roster and cut Cobbs, but it turns out that Parmele got through waivers and made it to our practice squad, so I can't fault the front office for making that decision.

And Cobbs has turned out to be a pretty active and productive third-string RB. He's playing a part in the Wildcat formations, as a blocker, and as a pass catcher, and he is still one of the team's better special teams players. He's certainly proven his worth to the team this year.

And he was rewarded for that performance with a two-year contract extension. Cobbs is now under contract through 2010. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Wildcat By The Numbers Week 8

Here's my latest tables for tracking the success of the Wildcat formation.

This week saw the formation get shut out of big plays once again, but it did manage to convert three first downs which was a pleasant development, as the formation previously had little success in that area.

A new wrinkle was also added this week, with Ricky Williams and not Ronnie Brown taking the direct snap from center on one play.

One note with this week's tables - I have adjusted the numbers to discount all kneeldowns. This gives a more accurate calculation.


Plays
Run
Pass
Yards
Yds/Play
FDs
TDs
Week 3, @NE
6
5
1
119
19.8
1
4
Week 5, SD
10
9
1
48
4.8
3
1
Week 6, @HOU
7
6
1
77
11.0
0
1
Week 7, BAL
5
5
0
4
0.8
0
0
Week 8, BUF
7
7
0
34
4.9
3
0
Total
35
32
3
282
8.1
7
6
Avg./Game
7
6.4
0.6
56.4
-
1.4
1.2



Plays
FDs (non-penalty)
FD%
TDs
TD%
Run Avg
Non-WC Plays
375
128
34%
11
2.9%
3.4 yds
WC Plays
35
7
20%
6
17%
6.6 yds



Runs
Yards
Avg
FDs
TDs
Ronnie Brown
20
141
7.1
5
4
Ricky Williams
11
66
6.0
2
0
Patrick Cobbs
1
3
3.0
0
0

Monday, October 27, 2008

Buffalo Game Notes; Reader Mailbag

That was a really satisfying win. We had great performances on each side of the ball, some expected (Porter), some not so much (Ginn). This team really seems to step up its level of play against tougher competition. Of course, that's both a blessing and a curse. It's why they've been able to pull out amazing victories over teams like New England and Buffalo, while falling to teams like Baltimore and Houston.

Before I get into some individual notes about this game, let me open up the reader mailbag to answer a question. (If you have any questions you'd like to see me answer here, just send me an email.)
Finally, the Dolphins beat the Bills. The Phins really stepped things up in the second half especially on defense. Joey Porter once again did a great job and looks like he did with the Steelers. The secondary had some big plays in the second half. The passing game was improved from the last couple of games. At this point in the season, how do you rate the Dolphins passing game? Do you think the WR position is still a huge need for the Phins in the 2009 draft? It seems that the coaching staff is still making adjustments and finding out what player works best at a given position. What are your thoughts?
Thanks for the question, as always.

You're right, the defense certainly came to play in the second half - particularly the fourth quarter, the same spot in which they collapsed against Houston. So that was a good sign. And, given some of the positions they were put in in the first half, the defense wasn't horrible then either. I'm thinking specifically of the goal line stand they made on Buffalo's first drive, holding the Bills to only a field goal. That's the second goal line stand this defense has made so far this season, and that's a huge testament to improved defensive line play. It sure was good to have Jason Ferguson back.

As far as Joey Porter, well I don't think even the most optimistic observer could have predicted this kind of play. He's simply a man on a mission - and that mission is to restore this Dolphins defense and team to respectability. He's certainly doing more than his fair share. Now it's time to see some other guys helping out. The pass rush simply cannot continue to be a one man show. Phillip Merling was the only other player besides Porter to register a quarterback hit on Trent Edwards. Pressure needs to come from somewhere else, whether its Vonnie Holliday, Matt Roth, or Channing Crowder. Teams will start to give Porter the Jason Taylor triple-team treatment soon if no one else materializes as a significant threat opposite him.

On to the secondary. Is it any coincidence this unit played better with the insertion of Jason Allen? It very well may be. After all, this was only one game, so let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Still, Jason played above average in his first significant action this season, and that's all you could have hoped for. He wasn't perfect, but he was solid. If he can keep up that kind of play and continue to improve, this secondary may be in for a bit of an improvement over the second half.

And Will Allen held on to an interception! Nice play, sir.

The passing game was, as always, brutally efficient. Chad Pennington is completing a ridiculous percentage of his passes, and that is keeping this offense in rhythm and on the field.

Today, however, Pennington also opened up the passing game downfield (well, as far downfield as he can reliably get the ball). Before this game, the offense had been almost entirely relegated to a confined 20-yard box. This game saw Pennington take several shots downfield, primarily to Ted Ginn - who just so happened to have the best game of his young career. That should be no surprise, Ginn's biggest strength is on deep throws, and that was on full display against Buffalo.

But again, this is only one game. Will this type of play-calling and success become a trend or a one-game blip on the radar? The more the receivers can get involved downfield, the more the opposing secondary will have to back up out of the box, in turn opening up some running lanes for Ronnie and Ricky. That's important, because the running game has been getting stifled lately.

At this point in the season, I rate the passing game as highly efficient and effective, but still not threatening. Ginn has had one great game. Greg Camarillo is the most consistently effective WR. Beyond those two, there are still huge questions. The tight ends have been fantastic, and I want to give a special mention to David Martin. I can't believe this is the same guy who played here last year. I was hard on him a lot last year, because he was pretty awful and being outplayed by Justin Peelle. But this year, he's looked totally different, and he deserves credit for turning things around.

That said, yes, the WR position is still a huge area of need in next year's draft and free agency. I don't know if Miami needs to spend a first round pick on one (it depends where they are picking and who is available), but they will want to consider using one of their two second round picks on one. At this point, the only WRs currently on the roster that I would consider locks for next season are Ginn and Camarillo. Anthony Armstrong, Davone Bess and Brandon London will certainly be in the equation if they keep improving and I like what I've seen from Bess and London so far. Derek Hagan and Ernest Wilford might as well start looking for employment elsewhere.

Hope that answers your questions.

Now here are a couple other thoughts I had about the game:
  • Brandon London - congrats on your first NFL catch! Hopefully, he'll get more involved in the offense in the second half.
  • Ted Ginn not only had a great day receiving, he also had a great downfield block on Ricky's long screen pass, as did Samson Satele.
  • What is with Dan Carpenter's short kickoffs? He said after the game that he was not intentionally pooching. Well that's good to hear, but that makes it even more of a head-scratcher that he had kickoffs land at the 14 and 20-yard lines. That is simply unacceptable. They set the defense up in terrible field positions and sap away much of the momentum gained from scoring drives. If Carpenter has a big leg as we were told, I want to see it.
  • It was good to see the Wildcat gain some first downs today.
  • Brandon Fields showed off some directional punt ability that we didn't know was there. He was huge in the field position game today.
Enjoy this win, everyone, but just keep this in mind: Miami is still just 3-4 and in last place in the AFC East. No sub-.500 team is playoff bound. So let's temper those kind of expectations for now. Just take this season one game at a time, and victories like these will be all the sweeter. Just be thankful that Miami is a good enough team this year that they'll still be playing meaningful football in November. That in itself is a meteoric rise from last year.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Lehan to IR; Joey Thomas re-signed

The secondary took another hit today, as CB Michael Lehan was placed on Injured Reserve with ankle and hamstring problems. He suffered the ankle injury during training camp and never fully recovered, while the hamstring injury happened this week.

Lehan played extensively in the nickel and dime packages, so his loss leaves a big hole to be filled. If there is a silver lining to this injury, my hopes are that it will lead to significantly more playing time for Jason Allen. If Jason Allen can lock down the nickelback job in the immediate future, there is plenty of time left in the season for him to prove he belongs on this team next year.

The team signed CB Joey Thomas to take Lehan's place on the roster. Thomas was with the Dolphins throughout the offseason, but he was released before the season began. He played in three games for Miami in the preseason, tallying 5 tackles, 1 PD, and 1 INT.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Wildcat By The Numbers Part II

Like I said last week, I'll be keeping track of Miami's Wildcat package stats for as long as they continue to use it. Here are the updated tables after the Baltimore game:


Plays
Run
Pass
Yards
Yds/Play
FDs
TDs
Week 3, @NE
6
5
1
119
19.8
1
4
Week 5, SD
10
9
1
48
4.8
3
1
Week 6, @HOU
7
6
1
77
11.0
0
1
Week 7, BAL
5
5
0
4
0.8
0
0
Total
28
25
3
248
8.9
4
6
Avg./Game
7
6.3
0.7
62
-
1
1.5



Plays
FDs (non-penalty)
FD%
TDs
TD%
Run Avg
Non-WC Plays
330
106
32%
9
2.7%
3.5 yds
WC Plays
28
4
14%
6
21%
7.0 yds



Runs
Yards
Avg
FDs
TDs
Ronnie Brown
15
113
7.5
2
4
Ricky Williams
9
60
6.7
2
0
Patrick Cobbs
1
3
3.0
0
0

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Crocker released, Culver re-signed

The Dolphins released S Chris Crocker on Tuesday and re-signed S Tyrone Culver who had been released last week.

The coaching staff is clearly looking to improve the porous secondary in any way they can, and they surely realized that signing Crocker to a free agent deal and handing him so much responsibility immediately was a mistake. Crocker, who was known as a good deep center field type coverage safety, was a big disappointment for the Dolphins. He was routinely beat deep, and the secondary markedly improved when Renaldo Hill replaced him in the starting lineup.

Crocker was still seeing playing time in the dime formations, so that position will now need to be filled. It had better go to Jason Allen, who needs to see time on the field on defense, and not just special teams. It's ludicrous for coaching staff after coaching staff to be so cautious with Jason, while letting defensive back after defensive back fail on the field (think Cameron Worrell and Chris Crocker) with Jason on the bench. I guarantee Jason is no worse than those players, and his upside is tremendously higher.

This is like the Ted Ginn-as-returner situation. It is just so obvious that it blows my mind. Jason Allen needs to be seeing snaps on defense. He is simply too talented to waste away on the bench. He's also still young, and could potentially be a key part of this defense down the line, but only if the coaches give him the opportunity to succeed or fail on the field on game days.

If the staff can justify giving six weeks of extensive playing time (and below average performance) to Chris Crocker, they can afford to try out Jason Allen. With Crocker's release, there is no better time than now to start.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Quick Thoughts on Ravens game; Practice squad move

Here's a few of the main points that I took out of Sunday's game against the Ravens:
  • Jason Ferguson is the most important player on defense, bar none. While Will Allen is the second most important player, but even if he completely shuts down his guy, the opposing QB still has the whole other half of the field to throw to. Ferguson is the only true nose tackle this team has, and he is a very good one. The 3-4 defense simply does not work without a strong nose tackle. After he went down with injury, we all saw how easy it was for the Ravens to simply run right up the gut against the Dolphins. Even though he'll never rack up huge conventional statistics, Ferguson does more to help this defense work on any given play than any other defender. Missing him for any time at all could be disastrous. Hopefully, Paul Soliai gets his act together quick and shows he can step up in Ferguson's absence.
  • Yes, Chad Pennington made a stupid throw that got returned for a TD. Are we really going to crucify him for what is really his first big mistake of the season? When is the last time Miami has gone so far into a season without its QBs making multiple bone-headed plays every game. Plays like that are going to happen. Luckily, with Pennington, we know they won't become commonplace.
  • Having Ted Ginn return kicks was clearly the right decision, and there's absolutely no reason why it should have taken this long to see it happen. After just one big return the Ravens started to kick it short and away from him. That is good news for this team's starting field position.
  • The secondary has been downright pitiful when it comes to tackling. It's one thing to give up big pass plays, but to then simply let the receivers burn downfield for another huge chunk of yardage because of poor angles and poor tackling is unacceptable.
  • Like I said when I wrote about the Wildcat last week, it's a hit-or-miss proposition. It's either going to get the team a huge play or its going to get stuffed. More and more, it's been getting stuffed. I don't think the team needs to put it on the backburners yet, but they need to figure out how to get it working more consistently.
In other news, the team has once again switched out CB Will Billingsley on the practice squad for DT Anthony Toribio. That may be a sign that the team is bracing for the loss of Ferguson for at least a game.

Here is what the team's practice squad looks like now:
  1. RB Lex Hilliard
  2. TE Matthew Mulligan
  3. WR Anthony Armstrong
  4. LB Rob Ninkovich
  5. G Matt McChesney
  6. RB Jalen Parmele
  7. LB Will Kershaw
  8. DT Anthony Toribio

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Roster/Practice squad moves; Soliai suspended

The Dolphins made several roster moves this week.

Most notably, the team signed FB Lousaka Polite, who will start at fullback on Sunday against the Ravens, as Casey Cramer has been declared out with an ankle injury. To make room for Polite, the team waived T Kirk Barton.

Polite (6'0", 245 lbs.) played for Tony Sparano, Bill Parcells, and Jeff Ireland in Dallas from 2004-2006. Last season he played in 5 games for the Bears, posting 8 special teams tackles.

The team also made some adjustments to its practice squad. CB Will Billingsley was brought back, and LB Will Kershaw was added. LB Marc Magro and DT Anthony Toribio were released to make room.
[Kershaw is]...a Maryland product who has had practice squad and training camp stints with Houston, Denver, Kansas City and the Saints in his three NFL seasons.
Here is what the team's practice squad looks like now:
  1. RB Lex Hilliard
  2. TE Matthew Mulligan
  3. WR Anthony Armstrong
  4. LB Rob Ninkovich
  5. G Matt McChesney
  6. RB Jalen Parmele
  7. CB Will Billingsley
  8. LB Will Kershaw
Finally, the team has suspended DT Paul Soliai for one game for violating unspecified team rules. This is disappointing because Soliai has significant potential, but ever since entering the league he's only been known for having a poor work ethic. It seemed he was making some progress this year, as he's played in every game, and served as a serviceable rotation man behind Jason Ferguson. This suspension is a step back in his progress. Hopefully, it won't completely derail him.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Wildcat By The Numbers

Now that we have three weeks worth of Wildcat numbers, I thought it would be a good time to start keeping track of this formation's success, both in absolute terms and in comparison with the base offensive formations.

Using NFL.com's play-by-plays from the past three games (the Wildcat era, so to speak) I compiled the stats for all the plays the team has run out of the formation.

First up is a table, showing a game-by-game breakdown of the formation's usage, along with cumulative totals and per game averages (based on the three games since the team started using the Wildcat).


Plays
Run
Pass
Yards
Yds/Play
FDs
TDs
Week 3, @NE
6
5
1
119
19.8
1
4
Week 5, SD
10
9
1
48
4.8
3
1
Week 6, @HOU
7
6
1
77
11.0
0
1
Total
23
20
3
244
10.6
4
6
Avg./Game
7.7
6.7
1
81.3
-
1.3
2

The pass play that is listed for the Chargers game was a play where Ricky Williams looked to pass but pulled the ball down and was sacked for 0 yards.

Obviously, the New England game is extraordinary for the amount of touchdowns this formation produced, particularly in only six attempts, the lowest amount of uses in the three games. Clearly, teams will be better prepared for the formation from here on out, but even against the Chargers and Texans who did a fairly good job of containing it, Miami was still able to engineer big scoring plays from the Wildcat.

This next table compares the stats of the base offense to those of the Wildcat offense.



Plays
FDs (non-penalty)
FD%
TDs
TD%
Run Avg
Non-WC Plays
277
87
31%
8
3%
3.6 yds
WC Plays
23
4
17%
6
26%
8.6 yds

First off, with only 23 total plays run from the Wildcat, there are obvious sample size warnings about this data. Also, the Wildcat has been used heavily around the goal line, erasing the opportunities for first downs and increasing scoring opportunities, and so those numbers will obviously be skewed to some degree.

Still, it is hard not to notice the immense disparity between the touchdown efficiency of the base offense and that of the Wildcat. The Wildcat has scored a TD 26% of the time compared to only 3% of regular offensive plays. Then again, the Wildcat is less effective at achieving first downs, and has generally been a boom-or-bust proposition up to this point (particularly against the Texans).

I'll keep track of the Wildcat numbers throughout the season, providing the team keeps using it - and they should. It's clearly the team's big-play threat. At this point, I liken the Wildcat formation to a hitter in baseball who hits a ton of home runs while also striking out a lot (think Ryan Howard). The coming weeks will tell a lot about how viable this formation will be further down the road.

With Ted Ginn, Davone Bess, and Ernest Wilford (he has a real strong arm) all available to be used as wrinkles in this scheme, I see it remaining useful for some time.

Finally, here is a comparison of Ronnie's and Ricky's rushing stats from the Wildcat:


Runs
Yards
Avg
FDs
TDs
Ronnie Brown
12
117
9.8
2
4
Ricky Williams
8
55
6.9
2
0

The huge gains skew the numbers in such a small sample size, but those are still impressive numbers. Let's see how well they hold up a few weeks from now.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Culver released, Condren signed

The Dolphins continue to churn the bottom of their roster, as they have released S Tyrone Culver and signed S Brannon Condren.

Condren (6'1", 205 lbs.) was a fourth-round pick of the Colts in 2007. He played in 8 games his rookie year, mostly on special teams, recording 5 tackles.

He was cut by the Colts before this season began, and picked up by the Rams. He was inactive for the first four games, and was released last week.

Condren will likely step in immediately on all of Miami's special teams coverage units.

Also, I never noticed an official report, but it appears that the Dolphins have once again released CB Will Billingsley from the practice squad and replaced him with DT Anthony Toribio.

Here is what the team's practice squad looks like now:
  1. RB Lex Hilliard
  2. TE Matthew Mulligan
  3. WR Anthony Armstrong
  4. LB Rob Ninkovich
  5. G Matt McChesney
  6. RB Jalen Parmele
  7. LB Marc Magro
  8. DT Anthony Toribio

Monday, October 13, 2008

Trade Deadline: Could Romo's injury affect Phins?

This is just speculation, but with the trade deadline approaching in 24 hours, could Tony Romo's broken pinkie finger lead to a trade with Miami?

It's certainly possible, although probably not likely.

According to ESPN, Romo will miss at least 4 weeks with the injury, and could miss 5 weeks. The next QB on the Cowboys' depth chart is Brad Johnson, followed by Brooks Bollinger.

There was word before the season even began that Dallas was interested in John Beck, and it was little secret that Miami was shopping Beck around after he clearly fell out favor during the preseason.

Might Dallas still be interested in Beck? He's certainly a better long-term prospect than Bollinger, and Romo's extended absence may lead the team to believe they need to bring in some added depth at the QB position.

We already know how cozy the Dallas and Miami front offices are with one another, which could grease the skids for a potential trade. But what would Beck be worth to the Cowboys? A fourth or fifth round draft pick?

If Dallas called offering a fourth-round pick or conditional fifth-round pick in 2009 for Beck and I'm Jeff Ireland, I'm making that deal. I like Beck as a prospect, but he clearly doesn't have much of a future on this team.

Reader Question: Reactions to Texans game

Here's a reader question concerning some specific aspects of the Texans game:
With the way the Dolphins played the previous two games and dominated them especially the Patriots game, what happened today? The dolphins offense didn't look in rhythm and if the Texans could have had a bit better pass protection for their QB they really would have put the game out of reach for the Dolphins. The secondary for the Phins didn't look good today. Since Ted Ginn wasn't really used as a WR why didn't they use him on punt returns? He would be more effective doing that than Davone Bess and Ginn just might have had a couple of huge returns which likely would have given the Dolphins another win. However, maybe the coaching staff for the Phins are really looking to the future with Ginn and waiting for Henne to take the helm at QB since he can really throw the ball deep.
I encourage anyone who would like an answer from me, to send in any questions and I'll post my thoughts on the blog.

Now on to the questions.

First off, let me talk a little about this game in general.

The feeling after this loss was like getting slugged in the stomach and having your wind knocked out. I won't begrudge anyone for feeling let down by this loss - I certainly was. But that feeling shouldn't last too long. Realistically, the Texans are a better team than the Dolphins and Miami's lack of experience and talent showed through in some big ways today. Certainly, the manner in which they lost was disheartening. But the fact that they lost shouldn't come as such a surprise.

As far as the offense looking out of rhythm, I would certainly agree. The Wildcat, while continuing to produce the big play, is also starting to falter as a reliable tool for picking up yards on the ground. The running plays out of the Wildcat, as well as the normal formation running plays, were simply not very effective in this game.

Also, as much as I respect what Chad Pennington is providing for this offense, it can't be glossed over or swept under the rug that his vertical limitations as far as stretching the field, are hampering the offense. His effective range falls within a 25-yard stretch, and he's not the best at throwing outside routes toward the sideline. That leaves a very small box in the middle of the field and between the hash marks that defenses can just clog up. This is preventing Miami's WRs from making any significant contributions to the passing game because they can't reliably get the ball outside or deep, and the middle is heavily defended much of the time.

By no means am I advocating for a QB change. I would be staunchly against that at this point. However, like I mentioned in a previous post, the WRs on this team will continue to wallow in their non-productivity as long as the effective range of this offense lies in so constricted a space.

As far as Houston's pass protection, well Joey Porter was really the only Dolphin getting any consistent pressure on Matt Schaub. The secondary was atrocious this game, there's no doubting that, but Miami's lack of a better pass rush certainly didn't help matters. Miami's secondary was able to come up with several big stops in or around the redzone, but every other play they did give up was seemingly for big yardage, and they couldn't come through when it mattered most. This unit needs some major retooling, and I sincerely hope that Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha reaches free agency after this season and that Miami spends aggressively to get him. He will be worth every penny.

Your questions about Ted Ginn and the return game have been on every Dolphins fan's mind this year, and there really is no good answer for why he's not back returning kicks. The coaching staff hasn't given a good answer, and at this point, it doesn't look as if they'll be making the change anytime soon.

I am fine with having Davone Bess return punts. His quickness and shiftiness is probably better suited for returning punts than Ginn. And in his limited opportunities, Bess has shown a decent ability as punt-returner. Thus far, he's averaging 13.5 yards on 8 returns, with two returns longer than 20 yards. For his career, Ted Ginn is averaging 9.1 yards on 28 returns, also with two 20+ returns. Ginn's amazing speed requires several long straight-ahead steps before he is in full gear. You generally don't have that room on punt returns. That's why Bess' superior acceleration and quickness make him better suited for the punt return job.

The kick return job is another story. Kick returns are perfect for Ginn's skill set since he has plenty of room and time to build up full speed and hit the holes. Bess' average (22.2 yards) is almost the same as Ginn's (22.7), but Ginn has a much greater potential for the home run. Bess did show some improvement today in the return game, but I think everyone would still rather see Ginn back returning kickoffs. The coaching staff really should not be trying to save him for the passing game. His poor production in that area thus far does not warrant that kind of caution. This team needs as any weapons as it can get, and Ginn is a more dangerous kick return weapon than Bess.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Special Teams Coverage Review (2008 First Quarter)

At the end of last season, I compiled the stats for Miami's coverage units to see who had been the most active.

I wanted to do this because special teams stats are generally under-discussed and not kept track of all that thoroughly. And yet, several players carve out their spots on this team precisely because of what they bring to these units.

This year, I thought I'd update you all on how the coverage units are playing out after each quarter of the season. Obviously, stats like these don't always tell you who exactly has been the most effective stoppers on special teams, but they do show who has been the most active and who is in position to make the most stops.

I've also included the forced fumbles category because that is an identifiable skill that can be the turning point in any given game. I don't include fumble recoveries because those are random and statistically insignificant.

So without further ado, here's the first quarter special teams coverage stats:


Tkl

Ast

Comb

FF

Jason Allen

5


5


Charlie Anderson

3


3


Davone Bess

1


1


Dan Carpenter

1


1


Patrick Cobbs

4

1

5


Casey Cramer

2

2

4


Tyrone Culver

2

2

4


John Denney

1


1


Boomer Grigsby

1


1


Nathan Jones

1

1

2


Michael Lehan

1


1


Brandon London

1


1


David Martin

3

1

4

1

Reggie Torbor

1

1

2



Patrick Cobbs and Jason Allen lead the team with 5 total tackles each.

Hey, at least Jason Allen is finding some area on this team to regularly contribute!

Matt Roth = Jack Nicholson?




Magro added to practice squad

After being brought in for two workouts, LB Marc Magro was signed to the practice squad on Tuesday.

To make room for him, LB Tyson Smith was released.

About Magro:

The 6-foot-2, 246-pound Magro is an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia.

He was released from the Rams' practice squad on Sept. 24 and worked out for the Dolphins last Thursday. Magro was a middle linebacker for the Mountaineers. He finished his senior season with 64 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
Here is what the team's practice squad looks like now:
  1. RB Lex Hilliard
  2. TE Matthew Mulligan
  3. WR Anthony Armstrong
  4. LB Rob Ninkovich
  5. G Matt McChesney
  6. RB Jalen Parmele
  7. CB Will Billingsley
  8. LB Marc Magro

Monday, October 6, 2008

Billingsley back on practice squad

The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that CB Will Billingsley, released from the practice squad 10 days ago, has been resigned to that unit.

While there has been no official confirmation, it is likely that he is replacing DT Anthony Toribio.

The team also brought in former Rams LB Marc Magro for his second tryout in the last week. They may be considering replacing one of the LBs (Rob Ninkovich, Tyson Smith) currently on the practice squad with Magro.

Here is what the team's practice squad looks like now:
  1. RB Lex Hilliard
  2. TE Matthew Mulligan
  3. LB Tyson Smith
  4. WR Anthony Armstrong
  5. LB Rob Ninkovich
  6. G Matt McChesney
  7. RB Jalen Parmele
  8. CB Will Billingsley

Quick Thoughts on Chargers game

It sure is a good time to be a Dolphins fan ain't it?

2-2 has never looked so good.

This win over the Chargers serves as hard evidence that the thrashing of the Patriots was no fluke. This Dolphins team can no longer be easily written off.

Granted, I still don't believe the Dolphins are a playoff-caliber team (too young, too few play-makers), but this win sure makes the team a whole lot more fun to watch follow now. They finally believe in themselves, and a team cannot succeed until that intangible milestone has been achieved.

As fans, we should savor this victory, but I implore everyone not to get too overly excited and start dreaming up playoff scenarios. Seventy-five percent of the season remains, and Miami has already had its bye week. There will be many more highs and lows as this team continues to grow into a contender. Thinking that this team is a contender right now will only lead to disappointment when the inexperience shows through down the road or the team suffers another Cardinals-style blowout.

Keep expectations moderate and reasoned, and huge wins like these will be all the sweeter.

And who knows - if Miami can build a modest win streak, and with the way the AFC is playing out, Miami very well could be in the playoff hunt as the calendar turns to November and December. Simply not being knocked out of contention early would be more than I would have ever imagined for this season.

As far as the Chargers game goes, here's a few quick points:
  • The Dolphins were pretty dominant for 3 quarters. Unfortunately, they almost let the game slip away from them in the other one. The script seemed to be a repeat of recent Dolphins outcomes, with the team completely imploding and almost literally handing the game away to the opposing team. But something different happened this time, and it's indicative of this new team's attitude. They bucked up and took control of their own destiny. Carpenter's missed field goal, followed by a too-easy scoring drive for the Chargers, followed by Davone Bess' fumbled kickoff return, followed by the Chargers driving to the one yard line led me to assume that these new Dolphins were still stuck in their losing ways, grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory. But then this defense simply refused to surrender and stuffed LT at the goal line and forced a turnover on downs. That will be a defining play for this unit. Not only did they completely stop LT all day, they shut down one of the league's elite offenses, to the tune of only 10 points. Kudos to you all, especially Yeremiah Bell.
  • Davone Bess really should not be returning kicks anymore. Punts, I'm fine with. But it should be obvious to everyone by now that Bess is not a serious weapon as a kickoff returner. Get Ginn back there and add another big play threat to this team.
  • Speaking of Ginn, don't concentrate on his receiving yardage when gauging his play. He's rarely going to see any 9-routes thrown his way with Pennington throwing the ball, and those deep routes are what he's best at. Instead, just look at how often he's being targeted in the passing game. These past two games have been encouraging in that regard. Despite being hampered by Pennington's limited range, Ginn is managing to stay heavily involved in the passing game. At this point, that's encouraging to me.
  • The Wildcat is here to stay. It certainly wasn't as effective this week, but it still worked, and that's all you can ask for. That is now a legitimate aspect of this team's offense, and as long as Ronnie and Ricky are on the field together, that formation will present problems for defenses. Add in the possibilities of using Ginn in that formation in the future and the notion of opening up this offense even more is a reality.