Outlook: QB, Henne has weapons to shine in 2010
[picappgallerysingle id="1348984"]As a quarterback, there’s things you need to succeed in the NFL besides your own abilities. Entering his third season, Chad Henne has everything a quarterback could ask for.
Henne now has his number one “go-to” receiver in Brandon Marshall to go along with a slew of clutch pass catchers. He has a tremendous two-headed monster in the backfield to hand off too. And his line is the most stable it has ever been, so he’ll get the time to shine.
While the team’s success as a whole may not rest on his shoulders, Henne must improve his 75.2 quarterback rating from 2009. He threw just 12 touchdowns to 14 interceptions, but he did win seven of his first 13 career starts, going 7-6 after stepping in for Chad Pennington in week four.
Pennington returns from yet another season ending injury, but his leadership is valuable to a young Miami squad. Behind him though is where the big training camp battle will come from.
Last year’s second round pick Pat White didn’t do much to impress last season. He was 0-5 throwing the ball, but he did have 81 yards to 21 rushes.
White will be battling it out with Tyler Thigpen, who came over when Pennington went down last season. The Dolphins won’t enter the season with four quarterbacks, but expect it to go down to the wire before either White or Thigpen is traded away.
No matter who stays or goes, the most important quarterback is the one starting, the one Miami fans everywhere are hoping will become the new face of the franchise.
And he has everything he needs to do so.
Outlook: RB, Polite to Pro Bowl in 2011
[picappgallerysingle id="2880412"]Fullback Lousake Polite will be a Pro Bowler in 2011.
Bold statement? Not if the Dolphins can produce two 1,000 yard, or close, running backs and Polite can repeat his stellar short yardage production from 2009.
The Dolphins two-headed monster at running back is well known. There’s the bruiser, Ricky Williams, and the game-changer Ronnie Brown. One’s been plagued by injuries, one’s been plagued by just about everything else.
But over the past two years Williams has been a stud, especially in the absence of the oft-injured Brown. When Brown is healthy he is one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL, remember the fact that he can throw too.
Just imagine if both can perform at the top of their abilities, and have Polite clearing the path and doing the dirty work in short yardage. They can be one of the most feared backfields in the NFL.
Again, that’s in Imaginationland right now. But if it can come to fruition, Miami’s newly acquired pass catcher will be one happy camper.
Now on to the rest of the backfield. Patrick Cobbs is supposed to be another change-of-pace back for the Dolphins, but hasn’t panned out so far. Lex Hilliard is serviceable as well.
But if neither can impress in camp look for backs like Tristan Davis or Kory Sheets to try and slide by and onto the depth chart.
Polite is backed up by Rolly Lumbala, but don’t expect him to give up his seat blocking for R&R any time soon.
For now, things once again look good in Miami’s backfield, much like they have in the past. But in order for things to be great, all three have to perform the way the Dolphins know they can.
If that happens, Miami’s trio should be one of the NFL’s best
in 2010.
Outlook: D-Line, Odrick must come through
[picappgallerysingle id="8603913"]As a Dolphin fan, you should hope so.
Despite the fact that Miami has made a ton of high profile moves, it may be the ones that have flown under the radar that make the most impact on the 2010 Dolphins. No position however, has been in the news whether for good or bad, than the defensive line this offseason.
Miami made their first selection in this year’s draft a defensive tackle, Jared Odrick from Penn State, and it’s a good thing they did. The Dolphins lost tackle Jason Ferguson, first to an eight game suspension then retirement, and end Phillip Merling.
Merling may be lost for the season due to an achilles injury, but Odrick was already on his way to one of the two end spots. Aside from Kendall Langford at the other end spot, the line has a ton of questions on it.
It looks like Randy Starks is moving from end to tackle, and despite raves from head coach Tony Sparano, he’s still new to the position. Behind Starks at DT is Tony McDaniel, rookie Travis Ivey and newly acquired Montavious Stanley. Not one start between them.
On the ends it isn’t much better as Lionel Dotson, Ryan Baker, Ikaika Alama-Francis and Paul Soliai return 29 combined tackles, 25 of which from Soliai. With Merling possibly out for the year Miami picked up Marques Douglas, who registered 36 tackles for the Jets last year, and there are rumor’s swirling about Dallas’ Marcus Spears.
A line-up of Odrick, Starks and Langford should prove stable for Miami, but aside from Starks and Douglas, nobody has more than five years of experience in the NFL. In order for Coach Nolan’s defense to work, the line as a whole will have to step up big time in 2010.
Dolphins Central gearing up for training camp
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The countdown has begun here at Dolphins Central and I can’t wait for the season to get going.
Before I get going this weekend I wanted to introduce myself to our loyal fans and thank Rant Sports for giving me the opportunity to cover the Fins in what looks to be an exciting year.
My name is Chris Walsh and I’m a long time sports writer, both in and out of the country. I had one goal upon returning to the states, from the Virgin Islands, and that was to cover the NFL. Now that I’m here I can promise I’ll be keeping all of you up to date on everything Dolphins, the team that is still number one in Miami. Sorry Heat.
Coming up I’ll be dishing out some preseason predictions, some position battle information, fantasy predictions, and of course the day to day news on everything Fins.
So thanks again to Rant Sports and our readers, now it’s time to set the clocks and get ready for some football.
