Dolphins CBs getting picked on but not making picks

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, September 26, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Miami Dolphins
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"Sam Madison is a ‘has been', Reggie Howard is a ‘never was', and Travis Daniels is a bust in the making." Expect to start hearing this in your local watering hole, the local airwaves, and the local fish wrappers.

The Miami Dolphins cornerbacks will begin to face the wrath of the fans and media, and deservedly so. Not only are they not making enough big plays (Travis Daniels has the lone interception of the trio through three games), but they are also getting beat repeatedly and committing a ridiculous amount of penalties.

Reggie Howard has been by far the biggest disappointment. He was slated to be the starter in week one, but by week three he has been relegated to the nickel spot. Howard has almost single handedly made Laveranues Coles and Steve Smith solidify Pro Bowl berths. If he cannot improve his play, Howard will likely take an A.J. Feeley-like plummet in the depth chart.

Sam Madison is well...Sam Madison. He had Nick Saban so flabbergasted in yesterday's postgame press conference that the coach resorted to some vague references like "is he a lover or a fighter" (what the heck did that mean?). I guess it would be too much to ask Madison to stop committing bone-headed penalties that are absolutely uncalled for (he's been doing it his whole career). At the very least, he could try to return the form he possessed last year when he was able to make a handful of picks and return somewhat to the upper echelon of shutdown NFL cornerbacks.

Travis Daniels definitely has the most upside of the trio. He has made his fair share of impressive pass breakups and pulled down an interception against the Broncos. However, he is also prone to committing interference penalties and seems to have trouble turning around to face the ball when defending passes. I feel that Daniels will become a solid NFL starter in time, but right now he's just a rookie who's taking his licks and learning how to make picks. The speed of his development will go a long way towards determining if this cornerback unit can become a strength instead of a weakness.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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