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It seems like a looooonger off season than usual, but it’s finally upon us. And right off the bat, we draw a road game against the Patriots.  I’m particularly worried baout their defense, as they have several returning Pro Bowlers, plus they added Kyle Van Noy and Davon Godchaux.  Thos 2 men will clearly be pumped up and ready to face us. New QB Mac Jones is probably our best hope of winning.  We have to hope for a lot of rookie mistakes, althought Bill Belichick is usually outstanding at prepping younger players.  A few years ago, Tom Brady was hurt, so second-string Jimmy Garropolo gotRead More →

It’s no secret that offensive line is our most troublesome–or at least questionable–positions.  And now the bad news is that Austin Jackson tested positive for Covid. The news is bad, and can only get worse.  The NFL’s Covid rules are murky, but if you were in contact with a player who tests positive, then you yourself might be deemed ineligible to play.  That means some/all of Jackson’s linemates could have to sit out Week One, and that would be devastating.  Let’s see how this plays out before we panic, but you know Bill Belichick will be monitoring this closely… Also, for the 500th time…Isiah FordRead More →

A big thanks to reader Sean, who sent some really cool pictures of a recent Dolphins practice.  The facility looks awesome, and I give Stephen Ross credit for funding this.  Read More →

IN order to get down to the maximum roster size, today was the day for cuts.  Of the following cut players, no one really jumps out at me as a shocker, so that’s a good thing.  With Malcolm Perry cut and Lynn Bowden on IR, I don’t think the Phins will be running any Wildcat this year, but I hope I’m wrong.   Normally cut day would be bigger news, but this year–with the ominous cloud of Watson coming to town–I’m more concerned about this possible trade than in any of the guys we cut:   OL Cameron Tom QB Reid Sinnett SAF Nate Holley RBRead More →

This is a column I hoped to never write, but the writing is on the wall.  There’s only so many “rumors” being reported by all different insiders that can be ignored.   After a wile, you have to believe there is something to these stories.  Brian Flores doesn’t deny the rumors.  Chris Grier doesn’t deny the rumors.  It’s frightening. I HOPE TO BE WRONG.   I HOPE I AM VERY VERY INCORRECT. It seems like DeShaun Watson might be a Dolphin very soon, and that is terrible. I’ll mention his legal issues here, briefly, and move on.  The focus of my Watson-negativity is not because of theRead More →

I find it rather ominous that the Dolphins chose to sat BOTH Tua and Jacoby Brissett.  Are they saving those guys from injury on order to trade them tomorrow for DeShaun Watson?  That always happens in baseball when a trade is imminent.  Why not give Brissett a few reps?   Could be nothing, but something feels off. Another ominous sign for me is that Chris Grier and Brian Flores BOTH REFUSE to simply say, “We aren’t going to trade for Watson.   We are keeping Tua and keeping all our draft picks.   We do not want a player with 20 legal allegations against him.”  Why won’t Grier simplyRead More →

28-3.   Imagine having a 25-point lead in a Super Bowl with a few minutes left.  The Falcons don’t have to imagine it.   They can remember it. This year we play the Falcons in a real game on October 24, so it will be interesting to see how this week of shared practices go, leading up to the pre-season game itself.  I doubt we will see anything other than basic play calling, just like it was during the Bears game. I’ve been monitoring the injury situation among the Dolphins.  So far, there have been no catastrophes, but a lot of slow, nagging injuries keeping guys outRead More →

The offensive line (starters, remember, not a bunch of nobodies) looks horrible consistently.  Tua looked horrible on several throws.  He’s waiting too long after guys get open.  You can’t wait until the guy is wide open and pulling away.  He needs to pass the ball the second he makes his break.  A couple of balls thrown behind guys looked pretty bad so far. Jaelen Waddle looked nice on his lone punt return. Malcolm Brown seems to be the early workhorse RB.  Getting 3 or 4 yards per play is good enough sometimes, depending on the situation. Goal line offense was very vanilla.  Obviously they didn’tRead More →

By now, we all know the news.   Xavien Howard reported to training camp–and we thought that was that.  We were wrong. Unlike Aaron Rodgers and DeShaun Watson–who are both upset with their teams but decided to do the right thing and play anyway–Howard is still demanding a trade. His rationale seems like it was written by a sit-com writer.  Or by a truth-bending politician. He didn’t understand his contract.  Really?  But I bet he understood the part about earning nearly $16 per year.   I bet he saw THAT part of the contract loud and clear. The Dolphins don’t care about him.  If that were theRead More →

I found this rather interesting.   VERY interesting, actually. Watson, for months, said that no way, no how will he report to the Texans.  But the Texans did not blink.  They did not panic and trade him (not that anyone wants him with a dozen sexual allegations hanging over his head).  Watson, realizing he has lost, is now reporting to camp. Houston called his bluff and won. It’s sorta-kinda similar to the Xavien Howard situation.  Watson wanted power.   He wanted to decide who the coach is, who the owner speaks to, what free agents the team signs, and setting the price of hot dogs at theRead More →

Thanks to reader Sean for informing me of this transactions hours before it hit the news! I could have sworn Ford was already on the team.  I know he ended up on the Pats, but we got him back.  And now we got him re-back.   I can’t keep track of all the tenures this kid has has with the Dolphins. Anyway, barring lots of injuries, I don’t see him making the final 53, but ya never know.Read More →

I wish I had some inside info to share–or any info at all–but it’s been more of the same. Greedy Xavien refuses to honor his word and come to work.  The Dolphins, thus far, refuse to budge.  And I fear we are beyond the point of no return.  This is unfortunate. Let’s say that Brian Flores and Chris Grier cave in and give Howard a raise.  Does that make X happy and make him try even harder this season?  No.  I don’t see it that way.  It’s human nature for a man like him to have a chip on his shoulder.  His attitude would notRead More →

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/ndamukong-suh-comes-clean-role-110902118.html An interesting introspection by Suh.  He takes some blame for being too stuck in his own ways.   However, the most important part to me is how he disagreed with the new coach (Adam Gase) on everything.  Gase was far too stubborn and wouldn’t listen to his players. Maybe I’m wrong…but when an All-Pro like Suh is telling me that he can burst through Gap A, but Gase has him lined up in front of Gap B…then it’s time to listen to the All-Pro instead of stubbornly placing him where you guess the play is heading.Read More →

Don’t listen to the Dolphins’ official spin:  “Oh, this is not a big deal.   Just an internal issue we will work out.” It’s not a small little thing requiring the dotting of some I’s.  It’s bigger.   It’s HUGE. Xavien Howard is holding out. A year after he willing agreed to a contact, and willing accepted it, and willingly signed his name on the dotted line…he is now proving he is NOT a man of his word.  He feels he does not have to honor a contact that he already committed to.   He is greedy.  He is dishonest. If he had a poor season last year,Read More →

Barry Jackson at the Herald shared this article about the analytics of ranking the Dolphins defense. https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article251997838.html I usually agree with much of Jackson’s commentary, but he is way off base here.   You see, the ratings had the Dolphins’ linebackers ranked pretty low, and our defensive line ranked even lower.  No surprise there.   But I’m shocked that Barry Jackson thought the grades were unfair.  He thinks the Dolphins LBs and D-Line are better. Why?  What did he watch last year to indicate our non-secondary guys were any good?  Andrew Van Ginkel had a very exciting fumble recovery for a TD against the Rams, but canRead More →

A few random thoughts as rookie training camp got underway…. Jaylen Waddle signed his contract.   I probably care about that stuff more than most people, but this is big news.  Too many times, players hold out, gripe about their deals, or simply delay the signing until much later in the season.  I’m glad our #1 pick is set in stone now. Historically, the Dolphins have been fairly lucky with their holdouts.  There have been a few, but none of the holdouts devastated the team.  I think Reshad Jones was one, but his holdout came and went under the radar and didn’t affect the Dolphins.  CompareRead More →

We covered many of these yesterday, but here are some topics I’d love to hear your opinions on. Prime Time Games.   The Dolphins have a Monday game, a Thursday game, and an International game (whicj will be aired in prime time for the British soccer hooligans, but airs at 6 in the morning for the U.S.’s west coast.   Yep, Roger Goodell sure knows his priorities!  Anyway, prime time games used to be important.   Back in the 80s, and even moreso in the 70s, you did not have an internet, streaming, DirecTV Sunday ticket, ESPN instant highlights, etc etc.  You got two games on Sunday and oneRead More →