Miami Dolphins 2005 Preview

By John Onan  |   Sunday, July 31, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Miami Dolphins
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The Dave Wannstedt era is over (mercifully) for the Miami Dolphins. The man who may have hammered the final nail in Wannstedt's coffin, Ricky Williams, has returned after a year away to clear the smoke out of his eyes, literally. Somewhere in between these two soap operas the Dolphins hired former LSU Coach Nick Saban to restore the team back to their glory days.

Coach Nick Saban refers to his current quarterback situation as a "competition", not a controversy. Jay Fiedler is gone, but A.J. Feeley returns to claim the job he ended 2004 with. However, he has new competition in veteran journeyman Gus Frerotte, who was last seen as Daunte Culpepper's back-up in Minnesota. The job is up for grabs during the pre-season. Feeley faltered in his first year with the team mainly because of an inexperienced offensive line and a lack of running game, but he did show glimpses of greatness like when he engineered a rare 4th quarter comeback victory against the juggernaut New England Patriots.

The Miami Dolphins have addressed their problems on the ground by drafting Auburn RB Ronnie Brown with the 2nd pick in the NFL Draft. As mentioned earlier, Ricky Williams returns, but he'll miss at least the first four games due to failing drug tests. It remains to be seen if his heart is in the game, or if he's there so he doesn't have to re-pay the $8.6 million dollars he owes the team . How well the O-line performs will have a lot to do with the success of both Brown and whoever wins the QB competition.

RT Stockar McDougle was added as a free agent from Detroit to help bolster an inexperienced offensive line, but perhaps the biggest addition was the hiring of Hudson Houck. He is considered to be the best offensive line coach in the NFL. Hopefully, he can help second year tackle Vernon Carey become a legitimate starting left tackle, and he can help established veterans like Jeno James and Damion McIntire play to their potential. He turned around a pitiful San Diego Chargers O-line, so maybe he can do the same for the Miami Dolphins.

The strength of the offense is obviously the receiving corps led by Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, and TE Randy McMicheal. Now that new Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan has been assured by Saban "full reign' of the play calling, you could be seeing more of an aggressive "throw the ball downfield" game plan ala Linehan's former squad, the Minnesota Vikings. David Boston is also back from injury and could be yet another threat if his blown out patellar tendon has fully healed.

On the other side of the football, Miami still has All-Pros Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas to lead the defense. However, there remains questions marks all around those two. The secondary lost three starters including Patrick Surtain who is considered to be one of the top cover men in the league. The biggest loss though may have been former defensive coordinator/interim head coach, Jim Bates, now the defensive coordinator at Green Bay.

Kevin Carter and Vonnie Holiday have come over to add some depth to the defensive line. Rookie DE Matt Roth should see some time behind Taylor and David Bowens. LBs Donnie Spragan (FA from Denver) and veteran Junior Seau line up on each side of Thomas. This may be Seau's final season, so I expect that he'll go hard at it every week as long as he's healthy. There are also several young LB like Derrick Pope and Eddie Moore that could see significant playing time.

Sam Madison is now the #1 man in the secondary now that Surtain is gone. He'll most likely be paired 4th round pick Travis Daniels. Daniels knows Saban's system as well as anyone because Nick Saban recruited and coached him at LSU. But as a rookie, he will be tested early and often this season.

With the departure of Knight and Arturo Freeman, the safety position will feature two new starters. Tebucky Jones comes over from the Saints to add a boost to the depleted safety corps. He posted a career high in tackles in 2004 with 101. With Carolina FA signing Travares Tillman' status up in the air, the Dolphins brought in former Pro Bowler Lance Schulters this past week. What looked like a weakness a week ago, could become a strength with this signing.

The special teams remain the same. Veterans Olindo Mare is place kicking and Matt Turk punting. Former Texas Tech receiving leader Wes Welker will handle return duties.

Overview: As with most teams at this point, there are more questions than answers. Barring any major injuries, this defense will keep games close. The top defenders must stay healthy because their depth is questionable. We'll see how badly they miss Bates.

Offensively, with Linehan running things, this team should be a lot easier on the eyes, but the results may not be there right away. Once they settle on a QB, this team could improve as the season progresses. The offensive line worries me.

This team can be decent this season, but the playoffs aren't in the cards. However, they won't be at the bottom of the league either. 8-8 would be respectable and is very possible.
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