2009 Dolphins Preview: Ground Control To Major Tom

AFC EAST
3. Miami Dolphins
Projected Record: 7-9

Offense: B-
Defense: C
Coaching: C

What’s new: Not a whole lot. The Dolphins bring back Jason Taylor, and add Vontae Davis through the draft. That’s a couple of nice pickups. Drafting Pat White is also an interesting move, but something tells me he won’t see the field a whole lot this season.

What’s good: The offensive line, which managed to keep Chad Pennington off his back and the wildcat offense up and running. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams managed to be a decent 1-2 combination in the backfield. Plus the defensive front seven is solid, and the coaches use them correctly.

What’s bad: Ted Ginn Jr. is the team’s number one receiver. Not good. The Dolphins still employ both Jason Allen and Will Allen to man the corner positions. Was Tim Allen not available? He’d probably be better. Furthermore, an injury to the brittle Pennington means that either White or Chad Henne will be taking snaps in an NFL game. Yikes!


An injury to Ronnie Brown and/or Chad Pennington means a Williams-Henne combo could be in store for Miami.

What to expect: Let’s be honest, Tony Sparano and the Dolphins had a remarkable 10-game turnaround last year. It was a great story, but they were also very lucky. First and foremost, they didn’t have to worry about Tom Brady, who is the execution axe hovering over the entire division this season. Secondly, they relied on the wildcat offense way too much last year. Yes, Miami caught lightning in a bottle and caught the rest of the league with their pants down. But if you give a NFL defensive coordinator an entire off-season to figure out a gimmick, they usually come through. I guarantee you that was priority number one this spring for every defensive coordinator on the Dolphins schedule. Speaking of schedule, Miami has a brutal one. Last year they had one of the NFL’s easiest. They start this season at Atlanta, home against Indy then at San Diego. The likelihood of 0-3 is high. Also, from Novermber 1st to December 20th, six of their eight games are on the road. That includes contests in New England, Carolina, Buffalo and Tennessee. The Dolphins are going to come back down to Earth this year. If anything, 7-9 may be too generous.