Week 17 Friday Injury Report

OUT

• NT Keith Traylor (ankle)

QUESTIONABLE

• CB Travis Daniels (ankle)
• DE Jason Taylor (foot)

PROBABLE

• DT Vonnie Holliday (ankle)
• S Jereme Perry (ankle)
• LB Joey Porter (shoulder)
• T L.J. Shelton (ankle)
  

Week 17 Wednesday Injury Report

Did not participate in practice

• CB Travis Daniels (ankle)
• DE Jason Taylor (foot)
• NT Keith Traylor (ankle)

Also, the team placed CB Andre' Goodman on Injured Reserve with a knee injury that he suffered against the Patriots.

To take his spot on the roster, the Dolphins signed G Ikechuku Ndukwe (6'4", 338 lbs.) off the Ravens' practice squad. Ndukwe is 25 years old. He was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2005, when he went to camp with the Saints. Ndukwe went to Northwestern. In 2006, he played in 5 games for the Ravens in a reserve role.

Patriots-Dolphins: Week 16 Matchup

Here's a rundown of Miami's week sixteen matchup against the New England Patriots:

Where: Gillette Stadium
When: Sunday, 4:15 PM ET

Injuries:

• Patriots: Questionable - TE Kyle Brady, G Steve Neal, TE Benjamin Watson, G Billy Yates; Probable - QB Tom Brady, S Rodney Harrison
• Dolphins: Out - LB Channing Crowder; Questionable - RB Jesse Chatman, DT Vonnie Holliday, LB Joey Porter, DE Matt Roth, T L.J. Shelton, DE Jason Taylor, NT Keith Traylor

Positional Breakdown:

Patriots	Unit	Dolphins
+	Quarterbacks
+	Running backs
+	Receivers
+	Offensive line
+	Defensive line
+	Linebackers
+	Secondary
+	Special teams
+	Coaches
+	Overall Advantage

Keys to the Game:

1. Mount an effective short passing game in the face of expected heavy winds. The wind will likely be gusting at game time, so deep passes are probably out of the picture. Cleo Lemon will need to rely on intermediate and short passes that are high percentage in nature. Lorenzo Booker should see plenty of use here.
2. Don't play scared. I'm sick of seeing teams roll over in front of this Patriots team. There's no chance of beating them unless opposing teams bring everything they have and don't give up just because they fall behind by one score. The defense needs to pressure Brady and bang him around the defensive front seven needs to play stout and stop the run. Most importantly, the defense needs to get to Brady in a hurry. If they stay back and try to cover everyone without any sort of pass rush, Brady will simply hang back in the pocket and pick apart the secondary - he's too good for that. Dom Capers needs to call blitzes all day long.
3. Don't give up on the run too quickly. This Pats defense can be run on. It is essential to maintain long drives and keep Tom Brady off the field. If Lemon is forced to throw and Miami winds up with multiple three-and-out possessions, then the Pats will blow the game open in a hurry.

Key Players:

• Patriots: WR Randy Moss - Moss absolutely roasted and toasted Miami the last time they met. This team, the Dolphins secondary has a new look, but it will be hard pressed to come up with better results. Moss is the key to the big play, and stopping him is a top priority.
• Dolphins: Offensive line - Cleo Lemon is going to have to make several plays in the passing game in order to give Miami a chance. To do so, he needs to have time to go through his progressions. The offensive line play has been slipping a bit over the last month, and they must correct their issues. They will have an opportunity to open some holes in the running game and must take advantage.

Prediction:
It would be a true Christmas miracle for the Dolphins to win this game and achieve the greatest upset in NFL history (in my opinion). If Santa could bring me just one thing this year, it would be a win this Sunday.

Of course, I can't realistically make the Dolphins my pick, so I'm going with the Patriots, 33-11.

Crowder to IR, Bramlet activated

LB Channing Crowder had arthroscopic knee surgery this Tuesday and has been placed on Injured Reserve, ending his season. This could potentially be problematic in the future, as Crowder had several knee surgeries in college, and was an injury risk coming out of the draft. Hopefully, this injury does not linger into training camp, as Crowder looks to be an important part of this team's future defense.

To take Crowder's spot on the roster, the team signed QB Casey Bramlet from the practice squad.

Week 16 Wednesday Injury Report

Did not participate in practice

• LB Channing Crowder (knee)
• LB Joey Porter (shoulder)
• DE Jason Taylor (foot)
• NT Keith Traylor (knee)

Limited participation in practice

• RB Jesse Chatman (ankle)
• DE Matt Roth (groin)
• T L.J. Shelton (ankle)
  

A Look at Parcells' Drafts

Here's a look at the most recent drafts that Parcells has overseen in a general manager-type role. Even though he was the head coach of the Cowboys for four seasons, he had great control over the drafts during that time.

2000 - New York Jets
Rd	Sel #	Player	Position	School
1	12	Shaun Ellis	DE	Tennessee
1	13	John Abraham	LB	South Carolina
1	18	Chad Pennington	QB	Marshall
1	27	Anthony Becht	TE	West Virginia
3	78	Laveranues Coles	WR	Florida State
5	143	Windrell Hayes	WR	USC
6	179	Tony Scott	CB	North Carolina State
7	218	Richard Seals	--	Utah

2003 - Dallas Cowboys
Rd	Sel #	Player	Position	School
1	5	Terence Newman	CB	Kansas State
2	38	Al Johnson	C	Wisconsin
3	69	Jason Witten	TE	Tennessee
4	103	Bradie James	LB	Louisiana State
6	178	B.J. Tucker	CB	Wisconsin
6	186	Zuriel Smith	WR	Hampton
7	219	Justin Bates	--	Colorado

2004 - Dallas Cowboys
Rd	Sel #	Player	Position	School
2	43	Julius Jones	RB	Notre Dame
2	52	Jacob Rogers	T	USC
3	83	Stephen Peterman	G	Louisiana State
4	121	Bruce Thornton	CB	Georgia
5	144	Sean Ryan	TE	Boston College
7	205	Nate Jones	CB	Rutgers
7	216	Patrick Crayton	WR	Northwestern Oklahoma State
7	223	Jacques Reeves	CB	Purdue

2005 - Dallas Cowboys
Rd	Sel #	Player	Position	School
1	11	DeMarcus Ware	OLB	Troy State
1	20	Marcus Spears	DE	Louisiana State
2	42	Kevin Burnett	LB	Tennessee
4	109	Marion Barber	RB	Minnesota
4	132	Chris Canty	DE	Virginia
6	208	Justin Beriault	DB	Ball State
6	209	Rob Petitti	T	Pittsburgh
7	224	Jay Ratliff	DE	Auburn

2006 - Dallas Cowboys
Rd	Sel #	Player	Position	School
1	18	Bobby Carpenter	LB	Ohio State
2	53	Anthony Fasano	TE	Notre Dame
3	92	Jason Hatcher	DE	Grambling State
4	125	Skyler Green	WR	Louisiana State
5	138	Pat Watkins	FS	Florida State
6	182	Montavious Stanley	DT	Louisville
7	211	Pat McQuistan	T	Weber State
7	224	E.J. Whitley	C	Texas Tech

Tuna Fish

After rejecting an offer to join the Atlanta Falcons as their head of Football Operations, Bill Parcells will sign a four-year deal with the Dolphins to become the team's Vice President of Football Operations. Contingent on this deal is the fact that Wayne Huizenga will refrain from selling the team.

Parcells is expected to sign a contract within 48 hours.

Parcells is a guy who demands full say over the team's personnel decisions, so the jobs of Cam Cameron and Randy Mueller are now very much in jeopardy.

My initial reactions to this news are mixed. There's some things that concern me about the move, but there are a lot of positives to be had as well. I'll be back with more on this situation as it develops.