Has the Chad Henne era begun?

I'll be the first to say that Chad Henne's performance last Monday Night was quite impressive, but its hard to completely jump on the bandwagon (although I want to). Since the days of Dan Marino, the starting quarterback job has been a revolving door for the Dolphins. The likes of Ray Lucas, Sage Rosenfels, Brian Griese, Jay Fielder, Damon Huard, Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington and Cleo Lemon have been under center. Previous drafts have not helped either, i.e. John Beck. Dolphins fans desperately need Henne to continue to shine.

In his second year, he has stepped in for injured Chad Pennington and is so far 2-0. What is more impressive is that Henne has beat two division rivals in the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. The Bills game was a blowout and therefore not much was asked from the passing game. Against the Jets however, when Henne needed to step up and make the throws, he did. He threw a beautiful deep touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr., and orchestrated a game winning drive that lead to a Ronnie Brown touchdown with six seconds left. He outshined fellow rookie Mark Sanchez and more importantly brought the Dolphins to within one game of the division lead. Sure Henne may not be asked to throw the ball a whole lot, with the dynamic tandem of Ronnie and Ricky, but knowing he can produce could really open this offense up. Not to mention he showed the poise of a crafty veteran. There is a tough road ahead, vs. Saints, at Jets and at New England, but I can't help but be excited about what this rookie has to offer.

Dolphins Topple Saints, Improve to 4-0 on the Preseason

A few quick notes from the Dolphins vs. Saints game, the last of the preseason.

The play of the game had to be the interception by rookie cornerback Sean Smith, which came midway through the first quarter. Saints quarterback Mark Brunell dropped back and threw what seemingly looked like a touchdown pass, when Smith outstretched his arm and grabbed the ball with one hand while staying inbounds.

Chad Pennington was not very exciting, but was effective going 8-11 for 56 yards. Chad Henne continues to gain experience going 11-16 for 89 yards.

It was nice to see some signs of life from WR Ted Ginn Jr., who had a 23 yard reception. Davone Bess continues to be the go to guy, catching 5 passes for 39 yards.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that right now Patrick Cobbs looks like the best running back on the roster. He had the only touchdown of the game, to go along with his 9 carries for 54 yards and 3 receptions for 23 yards.

Ok, I know its only preseason but I have to say I am excited about this Dolphins Team. Sean Smith has really stepped up to the plate this preseason and should help give an immediate improvement to the passing defense. Pat White role in the wildcat was not shown during the preseason, and for good reason. That element of surprise is what helped the Dolphins win 11 games last year. Up next, the Atlanta Falcons, and the start of the NFL regular season.

Ricky's Final Tour

Ricky Williams time in Miami could be compared to a real-life relationship. There have been big ups and big downs, but overall the experience was memorable. Lets take a look at his journey.

After being traded from New Orleans in 2002, Williams had a monster year with the Dolphins leading the NFL in rushing yards finishing with 1853. He followed that year with another solid performance rushing for over a thousand yards and 9 touchdowns. Looking like the second coming of Barry Sanders, the Dolphins thought they had found a franchise back.

Everyone knows what happened next, Ricky couldn't stay away from the blunt and violated the league's substance abuse policy in December of 2003. Then he went Dave Chappelle on the Dolphins, deciding to retire from the NFL and go on a spiritual trip to India. To this day he does not regret retiring, because it helped him find out who he really is. The Dolphins finished the year with a record of 4-12

Williams returned to the Dolphins in 2005, but then failed another drug test and was suspended for the entire 2006 season. Played for the CFL that year, then upon return to the NFL in 2007 was injured for the whole year. Finally last year he was able to play and was a nice change of pace back to Ronnie Brown, also taking some snaps in the "Wildcat" formation.

As a Dolphins fan, I have seen Ricky at his highest(no pun intended) and absolute rock bottom. It has been a wild ride, and I am actually very sad that he has announced that he will retire after the 2010 season. Williams has always been odd, but he has never claimed to be perfect. He has suffered from depression and anxiety at times, but has been able to pull through it and be a part of this team. I commend him for that. So Ricky you will be missed, but then again we are always left to wonder what could have been?

Dolphins Outlast Bucs

It was a sloppy night for football at Raymond James Stadium, on Thursday night. Rain storms followed by lightning moved in on the stadium, typical Florida weather. As I sat at the stadium with my throwback Dan Marino jersey on, rain dripping down my face, here is what I saw:

First Quarter-

Chad Pennington and the offense came out very sloppy in the first quarter, the conditions not helping very much. The offense seemed very much out of rhythm, going three and out the first few series. Pennington throws were a little off target, but drops by some wide receivers did not help. Also a long pass to rookie Brian Hartline was called back due to a questionable offensive pass interference call. The defense didn't play great , but well enough to limiting Tampa Bay to a Mike Nugent field goal.

Second Quarter-

Another field goal for the Bucs, as the weather was getting much worse. Lightining scattered through the sky, causing the officials to delay the game. After about a fifteen minute delay, the teams took back to the field. The Dolphin offense still sputtered, not able to get a rushing game going at all. The defense was able to put pressure on Bucs QB Luke McCown, sacking him a few times. Pennington stayed in the game, and with about two minutes left orchestrated a drive that ended up in a Dan Carpenter field goal. The Bucs lead 6-3 at half.

Third Quarter-

The Dolphins wasted no time as Pennington hit Hartline for a 54 yard reception. A couple plays later he hit a wide open Anthony Fasano on a play-action pass, for a 2 yard touchdown. Chad Henne relieved Pennington, but was inaccurate and unimpressive. There was no other scoring and the Dolphins were up 10-6.

Fourth Quarter-

The rain completely let up and it actually turned into quite a nice night. Again another very defensive quarter, although the Dolphins had a chance to score early. Henne hit Greg Camarillo for a 52 yard play, although it looked like Camarillo would have scored if he did not make a cut back to the middle of the field. A couple plays later in the red zone, Henne threw a bad pass and was picked off. Bad mistake by a young QB, but I am not worried this is just part of the learning process. Defense holds and the Dolphins win 10-6, an ugly win but a win none the less.

Other Notes-

First round pick Vontae Davis was active and had 6 tackles on the night.

Free agent pickup Gibril Wilson led the team with 8 tackles.

It was nice to see Jason Taylor making plays in a Dolphins uniform again.

Hartline final stats 3 rec for 79 yards, really making a case to be thrown into the receiver discussion for the season.

Dolphins Make Roster Moves

It's about that time in the preseason when coaches start making cuts, trimming the "fat" from their roster. The Dolphins were very active this week, so lets take a look at some of the moves they made.

The Dolphins traded offensive lineman Ikechucku Ndukwe and Andy Alleman to the Kansas City Chiefs for an undisclosed 2010 draft pick.

Rookie Chris Williams was waived because of a broken hand, and after there was talk about an injury settlement between the two parties. He has likely seen his last days in a Dolphins uniform.

WR/TE Ernest Wilford had his contract terminated.

I like to see that the Dolphins are getting a draft pick for two lineman that would not likely have cracked the starting lineup anyways. The more draft picks the better, especially when you have Bill Parcells in the front office. Its too bad that Williams career as a Dolphin is likely over, I thought he showed tremendous burst and agility in the first game. Hate to see an injury ruin that. The Ernest Wilford experiment is finally over! After not making in impact at receiver, he worked out as a tight end over the summer. The former Jacksonville Jaguar is a big target, but has not showed enough improvement at both WR and TE. No reason to keep him with the depth they have at those positions. I am very glad the Dolphins cut ties with Wilford and his contract.

Dolphins Tame Panthers

A couple quick notes from Saturday's game, the Dolphins second of the preseason. Miami won the game 27-17, to improve to 2-0 to date.

-Chad Pennington looked very good, going 8-11 for 105 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback of the future Chad Henne did a good job, even throwing a late fourth quarter touchdown. The Dolphins continue to only showcase second round draft pick Pat White as a normal quarterback and probably won't unveil him in the wildcat till the season starts. The speedster ran for 11 yards on 2 carries, while completing 2 out of his 3 passing attempts.

-Ronnie Brown had a nice touchdown catch in the first quarter, but former sixth round pick out of Montana Lex Hillard stole the show. The 240 pound back broke free for a 39 yard touchdown run in third quarter. Patrick Cobbs continues to do a little bit of everything rushing for 24 yards, while racking up 56 yards receiving.

-Vontae Davis looked a lot better in his second game, tallying up 4 tackles. Bill Parcells might have grabbed a sleeper with sixth round pick Chris Clemons, a safety from Clemson, who had 7 total tackles.

Next up on Thursday is cross state foe Tampa Bay, and I will be attending the game to check out the team.

Williams sisters to buy part of Dolphins

Venus and Serena are looking to bring their winning ways to something other than the tennis court, an NFL franchise. The tennis superstars are close to a deal with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, that would give them a minority stake in the franchise. Ross wants to improve the fan experience at games, and the Williams sisters join a group of celebrities that now have a share in the team. That list includes Miami residents Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio Estefan. Ross also has partnered with singer Jimmy Buffet, and renamed the stadium Landshark Stadium after Buffet's Landshark Lager.

How does this affect the team? It doesn't. The celebrities do not have enough of a share to make decisions for the franchise. What this does do is engage the community and reach out to the fans. I like to see that Ross has been active in trying to draw people to the game, something the baseball team who shares the stadium struggles with. Who knows maybe the Williams' sisters winning attitude will rub off on the Dolphins players, if not then at least the team will have wicked backhands.

Miami Dolphins 2009 Season Outlook

The question going into this upcoming NFL season for the Dolphins is how can they improve on a Cinderella 11-5 record, capped with a AFC East title and first playoff appearance since 2001? The AFC East is always competitive and the Dolphins face a much tougher schedule, including 7 teams that made the postseason last year. This season will be a true litmus test of where the Dolphins stand in the NFL. So now lets take an in depth look at the team.

Offense- In 2008 Miami introduced the Wildcat that shocked not only the New England Patriots, but the entire NFL. The Dolphins used Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and Chad Pennington in a variety of ways, leaving defenses in complete disarray. The formation spread through all 32 teams, and soon each team had their own version of the wildcat. Miami drafted Pat White in the second round to add another dimension to the wildcat. The biggest question mark about this unit is, what receivers are going to step up? Former Ohio State standout and first round pick Ted Ginn Jr. has yet to impress, but as the number one receiver has a chance to show why he was taken so early. Greg Camarillo is coming back from a knee injury, and when healthy is a tough possession much like former Dolphin wideout Wes Welker. Davone Bess proved to be a consistent threat down the stretch last year and will only get better as he matures. The Dolphins went out and drafted Brian Hartline, a talented receiver who runs routes very well, and the 6-5 220 pound Patrick Turner provides a big target. Hartline has impressed so far this preseason, including during the 12-9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Monday. The WR position now seems to have a lot of depth.

Defense and Special Teams- The Dolphins defense proved to be a strength and a large part of the reason the Dolphins had so much success last year. Linebacker Joey Porter was a force, looking a lot like what the Dolphins were expecting from him when they signed him from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The biggest hole in the defense was the secondary which struggled at many points during last season. Free Agent safety Gibril Wilson was acquired from Oakland, and Vontae Davis and Sean Smith were drafted to help shore up the secondary which will have to face the likes of Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. As for special teams kicker Dan Carpenter has a solid rookie year, while Bess and Ginn handled the returning duties. Rookie Chris Williams was a little shaky returning kickoffs in the first preseason game, but settled down and showed a lot of speed and burst.

Overall the Dolphins have addressed many of their needs this off-season and should be in the hunt this year despite a very tough schedule ahead.