FanPost

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: Off-Season

I’m baaaaack! Although I never really went anywhere. Took a Phinsider vacation for the most part. But let’s get on with our lives, shall we?! With not much going on in the NFL right now, I decided to bring back the Good, the Bad, the Ugly post that got some love when I recapped the 09 season. So to recap the off-season this far, I give you all…..

The Good: The Front Office

Brandon Marshall. Karlos Dansby. Mike Nolan. Miami made a lot of noise this off season in the midst of a mediocre/ reasonable 2009 season. After 2009 one thing was clear… we are competitors for sure, but we are just missing a few key parts. And, boy, did our Front Office respond. Beefing up our line backing corps was highlighted with the addition of former Arizona Cardinals stud Karlos Dansby, who has achieved 100+ tackles in the past two seasons. His addition hopes to not only make an immediate impact on the defense, but also give Channing Crowder some comfort. When it’s all said and done, this was an outstanding upgrade for a team who, at often times, was a few steps behind from stopping a key catch or run.

With Karlos Dansby comes Mike Nolan. How much value does this guy truly have? After splitting ways with Denver, Nolan committed to the Miami Dolphins just one day after. And why not? In Denver’s first six games, the defensive unit allowed just 66 points en route to a 6-0 start. As fans, we all saw how often the Dolphins got beat through the air. Luckily, for us, Nolan commanded the 3rd least yards per game through the air with just over 186 yards per game. Also, Nolan runs a hybrid defense, which brings excitement to the defensive side of the ball for us. The Front Office picked Jared Odrick in the first round to add to this type of defense. Us Fin Fans have a lot to look forward to this year with the new maestro on defense.

And the fan’s favorite—Brandon Marshall. So many people were on the fence about getting this guy, but trust me—once we all read on our ESPN Bottomline that he agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins, we were all ecstatic. This makes Miami one of the toughest offenses in the league. Sure, we’re still developing, but look what Chad Henne accomplished with a mediocre receiving corps last season. He had no go-to guy, but was ending the year throwing over 300 yards multiple times. Now with a true number one receiver, the Dolphins look like they’re showing all the right signs of becoming a serious contender for the Super Bowl in a few years. I don’t need to get into statistics for this guy, but I’m going to anyway. Over 100+ receptions and over 1100+ yards in each of the past three seasons? Tell me the last time any Dolphins receiver came remotely close to that consistency and dominance this millennium.

To Our Front Office--- we believe in you more than ever. And what a great off season we shared. We even got Richie Incognito—a player I personally can’t wait to watch.

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Honorable Mention: The premier of Run Ricky Run, a great viewing that showed the life of Ricky Williams, and how his life has totally turned around for the better.

The Bad: Jason Taylor

After spending 12 years in your 13 full NFL season career with the Miami Dolphins, it’s safe to say that your doing something right to the organization, city, fans, everything Miami related. Now, in Taylor’s 14th season, he ships ways to the biggest, most hated rival of the Dolphins and heads to the Jets. Is this bad? Not really, he’s way past his prime in terms of productivity. But, this is bad in the sense that he’s closing his career (perhaps) with a team he’s hated and disguised for so long with Miami. Will fans hate him for this? Not necessarily, we shouldn’t even forget what he did for us here in Miami, but as long as he’s wearing a Jets uniform, we have to think to ourselves that this is not the way to do it, Jason. He was a hometown favorite turned rival over night. It appeared he didn’t see eye to eye with Coach Sparano off the bat, but we took him back, only to see him play for the Jets. Like I said, it’s a bad ending—not a bad scenario. After he retires, I’m sure we’ll break out our old JT jerseys on certain Sundays. But—not for now, not as long as he’s wearing the same colors as Mark Sanchez and Rex Ryan.

Honorable Mention: Tony McDaniel gets arrested for domestic violence after fighting with his girlfriend. Not cool, dude.

The Ugly: Jeff Ireland vs. Dez Bryant

In the midst of a powerful and historic Miami offseason, GM Jeff Ireland makes headlines for asking draft prospect and Dallas bound receiver Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. Yuck. Not quite the national attention you hope for. Honestly, no one knows the true context the question was asked in. Based on reports, Dez Bryant’s mother supposedly worked for his father, who was a pimp. This little stick of information ignited the fiery question that made the Dolphins’ GM look foolish for the weeks that haunted us in the news. I still don’t understand why the national media would carry out this story for weeks, but it’s over now and mainly forgotten.

Jeff Ireland did apologize, and Dez Bryant looks like he’ll be great for Dallas. Bryant, by the way, did handle the situation with class. In the end, I think this whole ordeal was brought out too far. But for any man to be asked a question that seriously bashes his mother and to stay cool about it, you gotta give him some respect.

Honorable Mention: Sources_nfl_commissioner_roger_goodell_suspends_medium Why, Marshawn... Why?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.