Dolphins Salary Cap Analysis: Top Eight 'Bang For The Buck' (Part 2)

Yesterday, I posted part 1 of this feature - which examines which 8 players were the best values on the Dolphins' roster in 2008 in terms of production/price.  You can click hear to view numbers eight through 5.

Below are the top four of 2008:

#4: LB Channing Crowder - $1.192 million
You can't really blame Channing for seeking a significant pay increase over his rookie contract.  Just think about everything we got from Crowder at a price tag of just under $1.2 million.  He was 2nd on the team in tackles.  He was the defensive signal caller.  Generally speaking, he made the plays that he was asked to make on the field.  And we got some entertaining quotes as well - such as his preperation for playing in Denver was doing push-ups on his roof.  Channing was well worth his 2008 price tag.  It's just a shame that he likely won't be back in Miami in 2009 because, in his head, he feels he should get something like a 400% raise.

#3: WR Davone Bess - $302,000
Not only did the Dolphins not have to use a draft pick to acquire Bess, but they didn't have to pay him too much, either.  The undrafted free agent from Hawaii was everything I thought he'd be - and more.  His 54 receptions was 3rd most on the team - only two behind the team leader - and was the 2nd most receptions ever by an undrafted free agent in his rookie season.  His 554 receiving yards was also 3rd best on the team and his 72% success rate on passes thrown his way was the highest rate among all of Miami's receivers and tight ends.  And he only cost the Dolphins $18,875 per regular season game.

#2: WR Greg Camarillo - $445,000
It was tough to decide who should be ranked 2nd - Camarillo or Bess.  But when you really think about it, Camarillo is slightly more deserving.  After all, he ranked 2nd on the team in receptions (just 1 reception behind Ted Ginn) and 2nd in receiving yards (177 yards behind Ginn) despite missing the team's last 5 games.  Before his injury, Camarillo was on pace for an 80 catch, 900 yard season.  And the guy wasn't even making half a million dollars.  That's the definition of "value," my friends.

#1: QB Chad Pennington - $4 million
Alright - so Chad's the highest paid player on my list and yet he's ranked as the #1 value.  How can that be?  Well, did any player do more for this team in 2008 than Pennington did?  No.  All Chad did in 2008 was lead a franchise resurrection while ranking 9th in the NFL in passing yards, 12th in TD passes, 1st in completion percentage, 6th in yards per attempt, and 2nd in QB rating.  Just consider this - Pennington threw for more yards than David Garrard, Brett Favre, Eli Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger, all of whom made more in '08 than Chad.  And if you really want to see how much of a value Pennington was, consider Jake Delhomme.  Delhomme threw for fewer yards, fewer touchdowns, and more interceptions than Pennington (despite having a better offense around him) and made almost twice as much ($7 million) in 2008 as Chad.

And to further strengthen Chad's case as being the player from whom the Dolphins got the most bang for the buck in 2008, allow to me mention Derek Anderson - a player a lot of Dolphin fans wanted to see in Miami last offseason.  Anderson made double what Pennington made in 2008.  And before being benched, Derek averaged 67 fewer passing yards per game than Chad, averaged 2 yards fewer per pass attempt, completed only 50% of his passes, and had a QB rating over 30 points lower.

Yeah - I think we should thank the Jets one more time for giving us the chance to sign CP10.  What a steal he was in 2008!