With the NFL season right around the corner, and fantasy football drafts already in full-swing, it’s time to take a look at what to expect from the Miami Dolphins’ skill players in 2010.  Today, we’ll cover the quarterbacks and wide receivers, with running backs, tight ends, and the defense to be posted in the coming weeks.

Sorry, Penny!

Chad Henne, QB - All things considered, Henne had a solid 2009 after being thrown into the fire following Chad Pennington’s shoulder injury in Week 3.  (As a sidenote, I still feel responsible for causing that to happen, because I spontaneously decided to pick up Henne in my fantasy league minutes before that game started).  Henne completed 60.8% of his passes and had 12 TD passes in 14 games despite having one of the weaker WR corps in the league.  He threw for over 300 yards in three of his last five games, and should have no problem continuing that trend with the Dolphins’ acquisition of two-time Pro-Bowler Brandon Marshall.  Considering that Kyle Orton threw for over 3,800 yards and 21 TDs last season with Marshall as his top receiver, Henne could be in line for a spectacular year if he can improve his decision-making (10 INTs in the final six games).  He’s a borderline number-one QB, and has more potential than the likes of Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, and Matt Ryan, all of whom are all  being drafted ahead of him in ESPN leagues.

2009 Statistics:  2,878 passing yards, 12 TDs, 14 INT
2010 Prediction:  4,161 passing yards, 25 TDs, 13 INT

Chad Pennington / Tyler Thigpen / Pat White, QB - Unless you’re in a 14-team, two-QB league (like me), none of the Dolphins’ backups should be on your radar.  Thigpen is likely to begin the year second on the official depth chart, though it wouldn’t be surprising if Miami turned to the veteran Pennington if Henne were to miss any games.  White, who didn’t complete a single pass last year, is, um, still on the team as of this writing.

Brandon Marshall, WR – Marshall, who set the NFL record with 21 receptions to go along with 200 yards and two TDs in Week 14, will catch more passes by Week 3 than the Dolphins’ previous #19 did all year (38).  The problem is that the volatile WR has been arrested at least four times on charges of assault, domestic violence, and DUI, and was suspended by the Denver Broncos for the final week of 2009 for exaggerating an injury.  Still, Marshall’s talents are undeniable — he’s caught over 100 passes and totaled over 1,100 receiving yards in three straight seasons and has averaged the fourth-most receiving yards per game (80.7) in the NFL since 2007. His off-the-field problems, combined with playing for a new team and a different offense, make him a somewhat risky pick in the second round (currently being drafted 19th overall), but you could talk me into taking Marshall ahead of the aging Randy Moss and the Kurt Warner-less Larry Fitzgerald (especially in Point Per Reception leagues). 

2009 Statistics:  101 catches, 1,120 receiving yards, 10 TDs
2010 Prediction:  107 catches, 1,250 receiving yards, 8 TDs

Predicting Bess' 2010 output can get a little hairy...

Davone Bess, WR – Bess had a fantastic sophomore campaign, leading the Dolphins in catches (76; 22nd in NFL), receiving yards (758), and punt return yards (209).   His stats are bound to take a serious hit with Marshall firmly entrenched as the top receiver, but Bess should still get his fair share of targets out of the slot.  Bess is a decent fourth WR in PPR leagues with some upside, and at the very least, is a smart insurance policy if Marshall gets in Coach Sporano’s doghouse.

2009 Statistics:  76 catches, 758 receiving yards, 2 TDs
2010 Prediction:  57 catches, 570 receiving yards, 4 TDs

Brian Hartline, WR - Hartline led the Dolphins in TDs (3) and yards per catch (16.3; 11th in NFL) , and finished third on the team in receiving yards (506) as a rookie.  He dropped only three passes in 54 targets,  and could end up being the beneficiary of Marshall’s double-teams if he wins the number two receiver spot in training camp.  Still, with Bess expected to see more targets and Greg Camarillo also in the picture, Hartline is only worth a late-round flier in standard leagues.

2009 Statistics:  31 catches, 506 receiving yards, 3 TDs
2010 Prediction:  43 catches, 660 receiving yards, 3 TDs

Greg Camarillo, WR - Camarillo, who should be fully recovered from a torn ACL he suffered in November 2008, was one of the most sure-handed receivers in the NFL last season, catching the highest number of passes without a drop and a stellar 70% of his total targets.  He quietly placed second on the team in both receptions (50) and receiving yards (552) in 2009, but stands to see a reduced role behind the quicker and younger Hartline in 2010.

2009 Statistics:  50 catches, 552 receiving yards, 0 TDs
2010 Prediction:  38 catches, 414 receiving yards, 1 TDs

Coming soon:  How will Ronnie “The Wildcat” Brown and Ricky Williams share the backfield?

I don’t know about you guys but I am getting more and more excited about football season every single day.  We are  just four days away from the start of training camp and I can’t wait. I have no idea what this team is going to look like but I could not be more pumped.

I think if Chad Henne continues to improve our offense could be something really special. We had the #4 rushing offense in the NFL last year and that was with Ronnie hurt. This year our QB has a full training camp to prepare and a guy you might of heard of named Brandon Marshall.  Add to that improved depth at offensive line and more experience for guys like Bess and Hartline we could really have an impressive offense.

On the defensive side you have to worry a little bit.  Mike Nolan comes to town with and amazing reputation for turning around defenses and Karlos Dansby provides us with a quality inside linebacker like we haven’t seen since Z Thomas was in his primte, but with Ferg retiring we have lost all three defensive captains.  Other than Dansby we really only have Bell, Allen and Crowder to provide veteran leadership and  you can question if Allen or Crowder will even start.  There is a lot of potential on this team certainly. Cam Wake seems like the guy everyone is talking about.  As a former Nittany Lion myself I am pretty excited about him, but I still don’t know if he is the real deal.  And that brings us to our secondary.  Sean Smith and Vontae Davis look to be our corner backs of the future. These are athletic guys who showed they could make plays last year.  They also showed that they occasionaly give up the big play.  I think everyone is counting on these guys to show up and I am confident they can do it, but will they be able to do it NOW? I hope so.

Speaking on Vontae Davis I got to meet the man the other week.  I saw on Twitter that Vontate Davis was going to be in New York on vacation.  I hit him up and he put me in contact with his assistant. I put her in touch with Dolfans NYC member Scott who is part of the ownership of the popular nightclub Greenhouse.  Greehouse has NFL players there all the time and I thought it would be the perfect spot for Vontae.  We got him a table set up for Saturday but he showed up on Thursday as well.  I went down both nights and hung out a bit.

Thursday was the day Ferg retired and it was one of the first things I asked Vontae about. He hadn’t checked the news and hadn’t heard about it. He almost didn’t believe me until I pulled up the article on my phone. He looked more than a little upset.  Still, he had very high hopes for this season and is a monster up close.  The guy is two inches shorter than me but his arms are bigger than my legs. He seemed like he had a great time both nights and he told me he would hit me up next time he is in town.  I am really glad Dolfans NYC could treat him right. Hopefully he will let other players know and we can build on the already good realtionship we have with the team. Also, Vontae’s assistant is going to try to send over some autographs so we have something to raffle this year.

Anyway, I should be updating this more over the next couple weeks as we get ready for the reason.  I hope you guys are exicted as I am.  Go Dolphins!

Vontae Davis and a friend at Greenhouse (via my personal blog Driven By Boredom)

This is the slowest time of the year and I can’t really take it. Everyone in Miami is talking about Lebron James and the only thing happening in Phinsland is that Chad Henne is getting married. And over over here at Dolfans NYC nothing is going on either. I really am trying to find something to update about and I just can’t do it.  July is just too long to deal with. I just keep refreshing the Phins newswire and hoping that Rex Ryan falls down a manhole.  He might actually fit now that he had his lap band surgery.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in with you guys and post a picture of the kitten I rescued. I found him and his brother in a box on the street. I found them good homes but before I did I taught them all about the Wildcat. They are named Jameson and Maven now, but to me they will be Ronnie and Ricky. Say hello to the Wild Kitten.

I noticed that Hulu recently released a ton of new NFL season highlights.  The Dolphins have about 10 seasons up including the ‘72 & ‘73 seasons and some classic Marino stuff… But I immediately went to the 2002 highlights.  2002 seems to be the Dolphins season that haunts me the most.  I think part of it was that it was the first NFL season after I turned 21 so it was the first time in my life I could go to sports bars and watch every single game.  Since that season I have only missed one full Dolphins game and I had a friend calling me every few minutes with updates…

But that season was one of the only times since Marino that the Dolphins really had a real shot at greatness.  We were destroying people until Jay Fiedler got hurt against the Broncos in what at the time was one of the best games I had ever seen.  We won with no time on the clock with a 53 yard field goal.  It was amazing. Unfortunately Fiedler broke his thumb and was replaced by the singularly worst QB in Dolphins history Ray Lucas who promptly lost us three straight games.  After that it was up to Wannstdet to over use Ricky until a season later he was hanging out in Australia instead of running over Jets and Patriots.

The 2002 season we had 6 Dolphins defenders in the Pro Bowl along with Ricky on offense, we trounced the AFC Champion Raiders and yet we went 9-7.  The next year we won 10 games and still didn’t make the playoffs. It was disastrous…. and it only got worse…

You watch these highlights and you will see so many players that got away or were never the same again… Of course we lost Ricky but within a few seasons rookie sensation Randy McMichael was gone, Surtain and Madison were cast aside, we let Todd Wade and Morlon Greenwood leave in free agency, Jamie Nails got injured and Chris Chambers never lived up to his potential.  In one of our biggest mistakes we traded Adewale Ogunleye for Marty Booker and a third round draft pick that we immediately traded for a running back who immediately got hurt. Wannstedt mismanaged Rob Konrad until he decided to retire and even solid role players like Travis Minor and Ed Perry were soon gone. And I still miss Olindo Mare if only for his booming kickoffs…

It was sad to see a team that good fall apart so quickly.  We were so spoiled then.  If we had only appreciated what we had in Jay Fiedler and how nice it was to have 10 and 11 win seasons even if we weren’t doing much in the playoffs… Sigh…

Anyway, I am going to just let you watch these highlights.  Try to appreciate them instead of depressing yourself like I just have.  And then look towards the future and hope that Chad Henne is the real deal and that Brandon Marshall’s hips and temper hold up for a few years and that Ricky has a few more 100 yard games in him and that Jason Taylor isn’t a 10th of the player he was in 2002…

Go Dolphins!

DolfansNYC had a little run in at the 2010 NFL Draft with none other than Paul “Fitzy” Fitzgerald.  Fitzy is some sort of YouTube clown who likes to dance around and make jokes about football.  He was wearing a very cute Brady throwback, which I am sure confused him at first since he probably wasn’t aware New England had a football team before 2001.  Anyway, this guy overcame all the “18 and 1″ and  ”Fuck Tom Brady” chants long enough to ask some football fans some questions.  I asked him one myself “How’s Wes Welker’s knee doing?”  He had a cute response I am sure, but I try not to pay attention to what anyone from Boston has to say.

Eventually we came together in our hatred of the Jets, and I led DolfansNYC in a lovely J-E-T-S Suck Suck Suck chant around the 3:25 mark in the video. In all seriousness, Fitzy, aka Nick Stevens is a pretty funny dude and this video is well worth watching. Enjoy.

Jason Taylor hugs Bill Belichick after the Patriots defeat the Dolphins 27-17 on Nov. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

It was a football decision for both sides, plain and simple. The Dolphins wanted the leverage of waiting until after the Draft, while Jason Taylor jumped at an offer he feared wouldn’t be there come April 24.

The 35-year-old linebacker claimed that the New York Jets were the only team that showed interest in signing him, and wanted to continue playing football at the risk of waiting for the Dolphins to make up their mind. A part of me hates him for choosing to go to a rival he’d publicly hated and ridiculed for a dozen years, whose fans, in his own words, “take the ‘cl’ out of class.”

But as Taylor himself has shown, there’s no such thing as loyalty in sports, and I don’t fault him for going to a team that wanted him more (although it still troubles me that Taylor would be satisfied with getting the only ring of his career as a member of the Jets).

I fault him for berating the Dolphins front office for not showing him the respect he deserves when he’s continuously failed to give them the same courtesy.

Two years ago, after the Dolphins finished 1-15, Taylor wanted out of Miami in order to play for a Super Bowl contender in the latter stages of his career. The 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year opted to compete on Dancing With the Stars rather than attend the team’s offseason conditioning program, enraging new head of football operations Bill Parcells. Despite having two years left on his contract, Taylor announced that he only planned to play one more season.

When he was shipped to the Washington Redskins in July 2008, he quickly reversed course and said he’d honor the remaining two years of his deal. Despite his worst season in a decade — just 3.5 sacks in 13 games — the ‘Skins, who finished last in their division, wanted to keep Taylor for another season. But in a feud reminiscent of Dancing-gate, he refused to work out with the team during the offseason in order to spend time with his family, and was soon released.

In May 2009, he signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins, insisting that his heart was always in Miami. After Taylor turned down an extension in November because he felt “it wasn’t the right time,” he said Miami withdrew the proposal and never spoke to him again.

But according to a recent report, he actually declined another offer after the season, which included a significant raise, and the team was unsure if he wanted to continue playing after he underwent late shoulder surgery. By the time he was finally ready to talk, the Dolphins wanted to wait until after the Draft before making a commitment to a player who was on the downside of his stellar career.

Regardless of who’s to be believed, Parcells is as old school as they come and doesn’t let fan sentiment or presumed loyalty influence his business decisions. Hell, he cut Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, who’d just set the NFL rushing record, shortly after coming over to the Dallas Cowboys. Parcells likely believed the team was better without the aging Taylor, even as a situational pass rusher, and certainly wasn’t going to reward him after he turned down at least one confirmed offer.

Watching Taylor line up against Dolphins in Jet green next season will be heartbreaking for many fans, many of whom will never forgive him. The irony is, he essentially chose to sign with the AFC East version of the his old Redskins squad, a New York team that has acquired numerous over-the-hill players to assemble a paper champion that’s destined to finish around .500.

Thanks for the memories, JT, and good luck with your future acting career. And thanks for at least not pulling a Brett Favre and dragging this soap opera through the entire offseason.

About a dozen members of Dolfans NYC met up at the NFL draft. There were more of us originally planning on going but there was rain and some miscommunication and not everyone showed up. Still, we had a pretty nice group as we waited in line for 5 hours on Wednesday and 3 hours on Thursday. A few of us even went back the next day, but we only stood around for about an hour. It was an awesome time despite the lines. All the football fans were talking smack and talking football. We all love the game and it was just a great time.

I can’t tell you guys anything you probably don’t already know about our draft picks, but I did meet one of Jered Odrick’s high school coaches and he had nothing but amazing things to say about the guy. He said he will make our OLB’s so much better because the Olinemen will never be able to get past him. He talked about the guys character and how psyched we should be. My freshman year roommate at Penn State still lives in State College, PA told me a lot of the same stuff, and compared him to Pittsburgh DT Aaron Smith. That’s some high praise.

Anyway, this update is mostly just to share with you some of the pictures I took at the draft. There are some nice ones, check it out.

Ps. Check out our new t-shirts in the pictures!

I bought a Ted Ginn, Jr. jersey before the start of the 2009 season and targeted him in the middle rounds of my fantasy football drafts.

Ted Ginn, Jr. catches a TD pass against New York Jets (Hector Gabino/El Nuevo Herald/MCT)

It’s easy to forget now, but after Ginn’s terrific sophomore campaign, he had “third-year breakout” written all over him.  In 2008 — when the Dolphins went 11-5 and won the AFC East — he led the team in catches (56), receiving yards (790), return yards (711), and all-purpose yards (1,574; 18th in NFL), while scoring four touchdowns (two receiving and two rushing).  Those numbers may not jump off the page, but they stacked up very favorably to several All-Pro wide receivers who blossomed after their second seasons, including Steve Smith (1.0) and Santana Moss (not to mention, Steve Smith (2.0) and Sidney Rice last season).

Of course, Ginn didn’t come close to living up to the expectations thrust upon him as the Dolphins number one WR, taking a major step backwards to the point of being benched in favor of rookie Brian Hartline.  Ginn had only 38 receptions on the year, tied for 69th among WRs, and his 11.95 yards per reception tied him for 68th with 74-year-old 32-year-old Laveranues Coles.  He dropped nine passes — Dolphins fans would argue that’s actually being generous — which tied him for fourth in the league behind Dwayne Bowe (11), Vernon Davis (11), and Santonio Holmes (10).

Despite his struggles on offense, however, Ginn was sensational on special teams.  While his critics often lamented him for avoiding contact by running to the sidelines, Ginn led the league in yards per touch (17.9), ranked fifth in kickoff return yards (1,296), fifth in yards per return (24.92), 10th in all-purpose yards (1,826), and tied for fourth in non-offensive touchdowns (2).

He single-handedly led the Dolphins to a road victory against the New York Jets on November 1, 2009, becoming the first player in NFL history to record two 100-yard return TDs in the same game (and in one quarter, no less), on a day when the Dolphins mustered just 104 total yards on offense.  I proudly wore my Ginn jersey, just as I did on every other game day, and heard his name praised for perhaps the only time that season.

The very next week, the Dolfans’ love-hate relationship with Ginn was right back on, as he was yet again getting blamed for a loss to the New England Patriots.  He managed just one catch for seven yards, dropping several passes late in the game, and wasn’t as dramatically effective in the return game.

Once the Dolphins acquired Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos last week, Ginn became immediately expendable.  The San Francisco 49ers acquired him for a fifth-round pick (145th overall), hoping to use him as a situational deep threat while reviving one of the league’s worst return games.  Still only 25 years old and among the fastest and most athletic players in the league, he leaves Miami with 128 catches for 1,664 yards, a modest 34.7 receiving yards per game average, and five receiving touchdowns over three seasons.

For Ginn, it’s a fresh start in a place where he doesn’t have to deal with the giant shadow of being selected ninth overall in 2007, and hearing the boos that have haunted him since draft day, when fans were hoping to land Brady Quinn (how did that one turn out?).   While he certainly didn’t produce as well as expected, he was routinely forced to play a role that wasn’t suited to his strengths and became the scapegoat for the team’s offensive struggles.

Could Ginn have been better utilized in the slot and opposite Marshall, a true number one possession receiver?  Could he have stretched the field and found himself wide open down the field when Marshall faced double teams?  At the very least, could a proven return specialist, whose role will now need to be filled by the undoubtedly slower Davone Bess, Patrick Cobbs, and Brian Hartline, have made the offense more productive and dangerous than any player the Dolphins can draft in the fifth round?

“I wouldn’t say a sense of relief, but it’s always good to have a new start,” Ginn said. “Leaving Miami, I don’t hold any grudges, no bad feelings about anything. My time was up there. I enjoyed it there, and now it’s time to move on.”

I truly hope that he does well in San Fransisco, and while I’ll always cheer for Miami, I’ll be sure sure to wear my Ginn jersey the next time he plays against the Dolphins.

Wow. We just traded two 2nd round draft pics to the Broncos for Brandon Marshall. That is nuts.  I went to bed and when I woke up we were suddenly a much better football team.  And yes, the pics are worth it.  Marshall has had domestic violence issues and problems with Josh McDaniels in Denver, but as far as I am concerned he is well worth the risk.  He is going to make Chad Henne so much better, he is going to spread the field and make the run game so much better, he is going to make the recievers so much better.  The Phins are evidently trying to trade Ted Ginn, but with Marshall there is no way you can double Ginn, or Bess or Hartline or whoever is on the other side.

Someone pointed out on a forum that this trade could be a good PR move and mabye lessen the hurt of Jason Taylor going to the Jets, but to me this is a response to the Jets trading for Cromartie and Holmes.  It also takes away a second round pick that could have been used to fill the whole that JT and Porter left.  If we resign JT we can wait another year to see how Cam Wake pans out before drafting an ouside linebacker early.  We can focus on nose or safety with our first round pick and spend the rest of the draft trying for the other.  OUr offense could use another guard and maybe a TE, but other than that, it’s really all defense in the draft. I can’t wait.

Speaking of the draft, Dolfans NYC is making a group trip to Radio City Music Hall for the draft.  You have to get in line at 10pm on Wednesday night to get a wrist band and then come back the following afternoon to get in line for tickets.  DolfansNYC is going to meet up around 6pm at a near by bar and send scouts out to see if they are giving out tickets before 10pm like they did last year. We will be sending out a Facebook message and email with all the details, so make sure you join our Facebook group.

Also, Michelle is going to be filming the Draft and our meet up for MiamiDolphins.com so anyone who comes out can get in the video and see yourself on the Phins official web site.  That should be big press for the club!

Lastly, we have some more exciting news!  We will have DolfansNYC T-shirts for the draft.  They are aqua with the DolfansNYC logo printed on the front.  They are insanely bad ass.  They will be on sale at the draft meet up and at games next year for $15.  I hope you pick one up so we can really represent at the draft.  We spent a good deal of money on them, so we need to sell a bunch of them to break even.  After that the money will be used for promotional stuff for the club, raffle items and other club expenses. Last year Michelle and I dropped a lot of money on this club, and it would be nice to at least break even this year. Anyway, the shirts will be amazing so I don’t think I am going to have to guilt anyone into picking them up… heh.

The shirts won’t be ready until next week, but to see the logo in action, check this picture Michelle took of the DolfansNYC banner her friend printed up for us. This will be hanging out front of Third and Long every Sunday.  Get excited!

I Can't Wait To Bring This To The Jets Game!

The Dolphins are planning big things for the fans for the upcoming draft.  I just got this in my inbox from the Dolphins.

MiamiDolphins.com will provide live video coverage as General Manager Jeff Ireland hosts his annual pre-draft press conference on Thursday, April 8, 2010, at 12:30 p.m. After the press conference at 1:00 p.m., Ireland will take part in a 30-minute Live Video Chat with Dol-Fans. We ask that fan please be sure to submit your first name, city and state with their question. To submit a question for the Dolphins General Manager, please go to www.MiamiDolphins.com/AskJeffIreland.

Its not often that the Dolphins give access to Jeff, much less fan access, so I hope you guys take the chance to send in a quesiton or two.  I know I have a lot to ask… although very little of it has to do with the draft.

I think my first question might be HOW THE HELL DO YOU LET JASON TAYLOR VISIT THE STINKING JETS!!!?!?!!!??

Good lord, my heart is breaking today.  Let’s just hope this is a smoke screen that actually works in getting JT signed for another two years.  I want him to retire a Phin and it’s not like we are swimming in pass rushers…

On a club update, we are trying to organize a trip to watch the first round of the draft live.  We wanted to do a draft party, but I think we instead are going to bring out a group to the draft.  Hopefully we will have t-shirts by then! Get excited.

And lastly, remember to check out Run Ricky Run on ESPN on April 27th.  It should be really intresting.

Go Dolphins!