NFL Camp Preview: Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins shocked the football world last year by following up an abysmal 1-15 season with an 11-5 campaign and an AFC East crown in their first season under Bill Parcells’ watch. The Dolphins were able to do it by playing solid defense and protecting the football turning the ball over 13 times while forcing 30 turnovers on defense. Chad Pennington and Ronnie Brown also stayed healthy enough to appear in all 16 games and Ted Ginn, Jr. had a solid if unspectacular breakout season at wide receiver.
The Dolphins were also to do it by catching teams off guard with set of gimmick plays on offense it called its “Wildcat” package which is essentially a version of the spread offense with a running back or athlete taking snaps from center and running around trying to make something happen. It was not long before the package caught on around the league and now just about every team has a set of plays of their own to run out of that formation.
The Dolphins are not going to sneak up on anyone this season they way they did last year and teams are surely going to be more prepared for the Wildcat packages than they were last year. Pennington also needs to show that he can stay healthy for consecutive seasons which is something he has never been able to do. The Dolphins are going to be very hard pressed to duplicate another AFC East title with the Patriots adding more weapons on offense and Tom Brady expected to be back and ready to go for week one.
Key Veteran Additions – Jake Grove (C), Gibril Wilson (S)
Jake Grove will step in and take over at center for Samson Satele whom the ‘Phins traded to the Raiders for a draft pick. Grove is a solid contributer at the center position and is considered an upgrade over Satele.
Gibril Wilson, another import from the Raiders, led all defensive backs with 129 tackles last season and is an ace in stuffing the run. He is also a solid cover guy and will fill in at free safety for Renaldo Hill who signed with Denver in the off season.
Key Rookie Additions – Vontae Davis (DB), Pat White (ATH), Sean Smith (CB)
The Dolphins ranked 25th in the league in passing yards allowed so with that in mind they spent two of their top three picks on defensive backs. Vontae Davis was considered by some to be the top all around defensive back available in the draft. There is some question as to whether he will play corner or be moved to safety to take better advantage of his athleticism and hitting ability. He will, at the very least, see a lot of action at nickel back if he does not challenge for a starting job this summer.
Sean Smith is seen as a guy who could be a year or two away from challenging for a starting spot as he was converted to corner back from receiver in college so he is still learning to play the position. He has tremendous size for a corner and the speed to keep up with most receivers however his lack of experience at the position catches up with him at times.
Pat White is the ultimate addition to a team looking to feature the Wildcat offense next season. He ran the spread offense in college, has sub 4.5 speed in the 40 and can throw the ball down field. He threw the ball a lot better during his workouts than teams had aniticpated which is probably why he ended up going as high as he did in the draft. White should see the majority of snaps in the Wildcat set for the ‘Phins and could also see time at receiver when the Dolphins go to three and four-receiver sets.
Key Position Battles
The Dolphins did not make a ton of offseason moves in an effort to improve themselves most of the veterans they brought in were to fill a void left by a departing player. One place where a battle could potentially emerge is at WR where Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo, and Devone Bess caught 56, 55, and 54 passes respectively. Ginn is likely to hang on to his starting spot as he is the only one of the three with elite speed and elusiveness to get down field and make guys miss in the open field. Neither Camarillo or Bess are blessed with blazing speed but they both now how to get open and don’t drop many balls. Bess may have the edge over Camarillo given the latter is coming off of ACL surgery that cost him the last five games of the season. White could sneak in here if he is able to grasp the nuances of playing receiver quick enough but it seems unlikely that he will.
With Vonnie Holliday no longer on the team the right defensive end job is up for grabs. Randy Starks and Philip Merling are the top two contenders for the job heading into camp. Starks played well in spot duty last season but is really more of a defensive tackle than he is defensive end. Merling is the likely favorite as end is his natural position and provides more of a pass rush threat than Starks does.
