By: Dave Blake

Big Dave/Phinfever MySpace


A New Attitude In Miami

With training camp set to begin next Friday, the 25th, there are a lot of questions facing this team. One is the obvious ... will Jason Taylor be in camp? Well, how can I answer that when he won't really answer it. He's still talking about playing for one more year, so, that makes it even harder to trade him. He is under contract with the Dolphins, so, if he is not traded he will have to retire from football as iron-will Parcells has pretty much stated that if he doesn't play for the Dolphins then he won't play at all. He said that his plan is to be there, but he was not very convincing in his interview with ESPN last week. What does he want? I really think he wants traded out of Miami as he is worn out from rebuilding every other year, but he does not want to alienate the Dolphin fans whom he values. I think he knows that he is stuck in Miami and what he needs is a new attitude. I can give him $16 million over two years of attitude. 2 years goes by quickly. Suck it up and see what the new Dolphins will look like after 2 years.

What is this new attitude? When Wannstedt was the head coach, the attitude was to play not to lose. Saban came in and tried to toughen up the team, but NFL players do not put up with the college mind games. That team beat themselves with penalties and did not give 100% every game. Cameron came in last year and tried to make this a fast and finesse team. He wore two hats as head coach and offensive coordinator and could do neither as the team folded late in games.

Bill Parcells knows the first thing he needs to change on this team is mindset. This team needs a different mindset and that mindset will propel this team to win late in games. When you walk into the team’s general meeting room you will see the words, "Smart. Tough. Disciplined" painted in huge letters on the wall. Smart ... I like that. Miami's first pick in the draft emulates these words. Long is tough and disciplined and does not beat himself. In his entire college career as a starter he only had 2 penalties. We're talking Shula football back in Miami as his teams always ranked #1 in committing the least amount of penalties.

Parcells does not have the players that he wants, but this is step one in the rebuilding process. In an interview on WQAM, GM JEFF IRELAND said, "I think we've accomplished as much as we can at this point. But it's not over yet. If a player comes available that can help us, I can promise you we'll pick that player up." I think any GM will say the same thing, but with the talent level not up to playoff ability you can believe that he means it. Since the Dolphins were the worst team in the NFL last year, they get #1 choice on the waiver wire. Right now he is looking hard at former Pro Bowl center LECHARLES BENTLEY. The reason he is available is because of his injury issues, but he is the kind of player that will help COACH SPARANO get that "smart, tough, and disciplined" attitude that wants for his offensive line.






Who Will Be Miami's Breakout Player This Year

Yahoo Sports is the second media expert that is predicting a 3-13 record for the Dolphins. Even though that is a 300% improvement that is not good enough. I think we will do better, but it will take some of those young "studs" that Cameron and Mueller brought in to take the next step. I am talking about QB John Beck, WR/ST Ted Ginn, C Samson Satele, DT Paul Soliai, and P Brandon Fields.

With better blocking along the offensive line Brandon Fields should have a better year. Both Parcells and Sparano are excited about what he can contribute on special teams. He has the biggest leg of any punter that the Dolphins have had second to the late Reggie Roby. What he needs to work on is his consistently, but mostly his trust in his offensive line. Last year he did not have that confidence and he rushed his punts at times. He does not have that quick two-step delivery that Roby had (not many do), so, he needs a little more time to get his punt out. I would imagine that a year of experience will be the key to his maturity as an NFL punter.

The offensive line affected QB John Beck last year as well. He never really looked composed in the pocket and made some of the silliest mistakes that I think I have seen a quarterback make. The offensive line last year improved in run blocking, but they were overwhelmed protecting the quarterback. With a larger and more aggressive offensive line the Dolphins should be able to protect him better, but if Beck cannot get the ball downfield consistently they will continue to blitz him.

DT Paul Soliai has been getting raves by Coach Sparano for his changed attitude. He did not play as well last year as the Dolphins had hoped, and it's looking as if he is as much to fault for it. The middle of Miami's defensive line has got to clog up the middle to force running backs to the outside where our speedy linebackers can make the play.

One of the first thing that Parcells did was to add good Special Teams players. Cameron let his good ST players go last year and did not replace them with quality players. He forgot 1/3 of what it takes to win in the NFL. With better special teams play I think we will finally see all that speed that Ted Ginn possesses. Sure, he can fly down the field for the pass and he did play better his first year than many of us expected as a receiver, but he rarely showed his explosiveness as a kick/punt returner.

Every media expert has penciled in C Samson Satele as Miami's breakout player. Some media writers commented last year that they felt he has the potential to be a Pro Bowl center one day. But, he needs to take the next step in his development.





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By: Rich Rodriguez

Please do not even consider bringing in this guy. Some members of the Miami Dolphins fanbase simply do not learn from the lessons of the past. The Dolphins have tried addressing the QB position over and over, year after year, with quick fixes and stop gaps. It is time to deviate from this failed course and develop a young QB into a longterm solution. It is going to take a couple of years and some patience, but that is the best way to restore the consistency in winning the Miami Dolphins demonstrated before the Wannstedt Era (Error).

This is nothing personal against Favre. He's had a great career and an incident with painkillers aside, he has been a model citizen. And despite his yearly pity party where he may or may not retire, or he may retire only to want to come back, he has a strong passion for the game and leaves everything out on the field.

But this guy is not what the Dolphins need. We do not need another veteran quarterback who played somewhere else but is in the twilight of his career like Trent Green. And while Favre did have a great season last season, let's not forget what he did the two previous years.

715 completions out of 1220 attempts (58%), 38 touchdowns and a disturbing 47 interceptions.

Another strike against Favre is that he will most likely cost a draft pick. The Packers are not just going to release him. He is either going to have to stayed retired or garner them a draft pick. If we had to trade for Favre, it would be just another episode of "Picks for Players", a philosophy that has consistently backfired for the Dolphins and put them where they are today.

We also don't want to deal with the emotional rollercoaster Favre brings. He cries at press conferences and interviewers about retiring, disappears for a couple of months, then wants back in. Brett Favre is as indecisive as a woman at the mall or a man deciding whether to commit to a relationship.

One last factor to think about. All three QBs currently on the roster know the playbook, while Favre would have to make up a lot of ground there. Favre has also played in virtually the same system his entire career. He would have to come in and play in an entirely new system, with entirely new players, and an offense that is lacking, severely lacking in proven talent, especially at tight end and wide receiver. And Favre may lead to the release of one of our two young QBs.

For all these reasons, bringing in Favre would be the wrong choice for the Dolphins.