With the Dolphins back at practice today for the first time since Sunday's debacle in Arizona, it seems as though some lineup changes could be ahead for this Sunday's game against the Patriots.

Here's what we know, at least based on the media's ability to attend the first half hour of practice:

• Ernest Wilford continues to drop passes and seems to be either the team's 4th or 5th WR - with Derek Hagan being the other.
• Ted Ginn is back to being on the field in 3 WR sets, lining up with Greg Camarillo and Davone Bess.
• Chris Crocker seems to have lost his job.  But no, he's not being replaced by Jason Allen.  He's being replaced, potentially, by Renaldo Hill.
• Ronnie Brown lined up with the first team, with Ricky Williams dropped to second team.

So we'll have to see if these lineup changes stick or not throughout the week.  One other note, the RG spot still seemingly belongs to Ike Ndukwe - at least for today.

What can I really say other than just stating the obvious?  This team stinks.  They stunk last season.  And they might be even worse this season.

But here's the thing.  This was to be expected.  Things weren't going to change overnight simply because of a new regime and some new players.  That's not how this works.  Sure, there are times when bad teams surprise the next year.  But let's face facts:  the Dolphins lack talent.  But I didn't think things would be this bad, to be honest.

So let's get to the headlines from Sunday's debacle:

SWISS CHEESE SECONDARY
Did Tony Sparano really say a few months ago that this secondary pleasantly surprised him when he watched the tape from 2007?  Seriously?  Because the Cardinals simply made that group look like little boys among men.  The Dolphins couldn't do anything to slow down Arizona's passing attack.  And let's be honest; if the Cards wanted to, they probably could have scored 50+ points today.  Andre Goodman simply looked silly out there.  Chris Crocker apparently doesn't know how to tackle.  And Will Allen, the best corner on the team, couldn't do much to slow down Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, either.  I think the 75-yard pass play to Fitzgerald in the 1st quarter was a good example of what Allen's problem is.  He was right there with Larry, but he struggles playing the ball when the ball is in the air.  Fitzgerald just uses his size and athleticism to bring that ball in and break away.  At least Allen showed good hustle in getting up and chasing down Fitzgerald from behind.

And you have to wonder exactly what the coaching staff, Sparano and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni specifically, did all week when game-planning.  Because I don't understand how Boldin gets matched up with a linebacker without safety help on that 1st possession by Arizona.  I don't care if it was a mental mistake by some players.  It's the coaches job to prepare these guys.  Today, the defense looked completely unprepared.

COACHES DESERVE CRITICISM
Last season, everybody wanted to blame Cam Cameron for how unprepared the Dolphins looked.  Everyone also blamed Cameron for all of the mental mistakes, missed assignments, and penalties that the players committed.  And that's fine because it is the coaching staff's job to prepare the players.  A lack of discipline is a reflection of the coaches - or so many say.

So now it's time to call out Tony Sparano and his coaches.  Besides having their team totally unprepared for this game, their players made too many mental mistakes.  They missed assignments on defense.  And the penalties were completely unacceptable.  How do you get called for 12 men on the field on a FG attempt?  That's just ridiculous and is completely the coaches' fault.  And rather than missing a FG, that drive ended with a TD by the Cardinals - opening up a 24 point lead with 10 minutes left in the 3rd and essentially ending the game.

Oh, and incase you weren't paying attention, the Dolphins got called for 12 men on the field a second time later in the game.  But the Cardinals declined the penalty because they picked up 20 yards on a Warner-to-Fitzgerald connection.  Yeah, even with 12 men on the field, this defense was inept.

All in all, the Dolphins tallied 6 penalties, with at least 3 more being called on Miami but were declined.  Lack of discipline much?  I thought that this new regime was supposed to change the culture.  All I'm seeing is much of the same - at least from my perspective.

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Well we talked earlier about how some of the battles for starting jobs have been decided already.  But that doesn't mean there aren't any good battles remaining with 2 preseason games remaining.  So let's quickly talk about 2 of the more interesting ones.

SAFETY
Right now, the Dolphins currently have 6 safeties in camp: Yeremiah Bell, Jason Allen, Keith Davis, Chris Crocker, Renaldo Hill, and Courtney Bryan.  Bell is squarely locked in as the team's starting strong safety.  And Davis is very much locked in as Bell's backup - as well as being a key cog on special teams.

But over at free safety, things aren't quite as clear cut.  We all thought that Jason Allen would finally take that step this season and become at least a reliable free safety in this new defense that Paul Pasqualoni is installing.  However, over the past few days, Chris Crocker has actually been working with the 1st team defense in place of Allen.  What might this mean?  Possibly nothing.  But Tony Sparano does offer up this compliment of Crocker:

"I think Crocker probably has some of the best cover skills that we have back there at the safety position, which helps us from a flexibility standpoint."

Perhaps Crocker could come in on clear passing downs in place of Allen?  Maybe it's just a vote of confidence for Crocker in case he ever has to play in place of Allen due to injury?  Either way, this might be more of a positional battle than we originally thought.

And I haven't even brought up the two 3rd teamers (right now): Renaldo Hill and Courtney Bryan.  Bryan is likely a goner prior to September.  But Hill might not be.  The question here is if the Dolphins will want to keep 5 safeties on the roster.  And in the end, it could simply come down to the numbers game.

WIDE RECEIVER
It's likely that both Ted Ginn and Derek Hagan will end up as the team's starters come week one.  But outside of those 2 spots, it's anyone guess as to who makes the team and who doesn't - and in what pecking order.

Davone Bess worked out of the slot with the 1st team offense last week, but failed to really cement his spot.  Ernest Wilford, however, has been possibly the biggest disappointment in all of camp.  And Greg Camarillo has had his moments, but really hasn't done much to really make a case for himself.

So where does that leave us?  It leaves us with at least 3 roster spots that have to be filled - and possibly 4 depending on how the numbers break down.  And other than those 3 above, David Kircus is also in the mix for a spot on the 53-man roster.  He was the standout WR of the first preseason game, but was non-existent last week.  So that means at least 4 players are battling for 3 roster spots.  And we haven't even taken into consideration undrafted free agent Jayson Foster and former AFL receiver Anthony Armstrong.  Though it's probably likely that one of those two - Foster and Armstrong - are battling for a practice squad spot.

So who you got?  Right now, I'll say it's Wilford, Bess, and Kircus - in some order.

We'll now wrap up our "5 burning questions" segment by talking a little bit about our secondary.  Despite many fans feeling that the Dolphins needed to sure up the secondary this offseason, either through the draft or via free agency, the front office stood pat (for the most part).

At cornerback, Will Allen will be the team's unquestioned #1 cornerback.  Allen's 2007 success rate of 51.4% ranked him 8th in the NFL.  He doesn't come up with many interceptions, but his man is usually covered fairly well.

The battle for the starting cornerback job opposite Will Allen will be interesting to watch.  It figures to come down to Andre Goodman and Michael Lehan, who is expected to be ready for camp despite suffering an ankle injury during offseason practices.  Goodman did struggle a lot last year after playing surprisingly well in 2006.  But following a second shoulder surgery back in January, Goodman feels good and is looking forward to 2008.  He tells the Miami Herald:

I feel a lot better. I couldn't have gone through another year like last year. I wasn't effective whatsoever.

Travis Daniels will enter camp as the 4th cornerback, but could be pushed by Nate Jones, who has experience working with Paul Pasqualoni and Todd Bowles back in Dallas.  He represents the only veteran that this regime brought in a corner.

So why didn't Miami look to improve the cornerbacks even more?  The Miami Herald reports that the new regime liked what they saw of the current corners - at least liked them more than they thought they would.  Says Jeff Ireland:

''I'm very excited what we have in the secondary. Will Allen and all those guys looked really good."

So can the Dolphins' cornerbacks play effectively all year?  That's something we'll have to wait on to find out.

Safety will also be a position to watch in camp.  Yeremiah Bell figures to enter camp as a favorite to start at strong safety.  He's a fan favorite who, following a very good 2006 season, was expected to break out in 2007 - until he tore his Achilles' in week one.  But he's reportedly recovered and looking sharp in practice.  I'd expect him to be the week one starter.

The free safety position, though, will get a lot of attention.  This is likely the "make or break" season for 3rd year pro Jason Allen.  Allen has disappointed thus far.  But some Dolphin fans continue to demand that he's going to be a star, pointing to last season's play when he made some plays once he got his chance later in the season.  But I think many people fail to realize that, while he did make some plays, he gave up way too many big plays.  He still got lost in coverage too often.

But now with a simpler, "player-friendly" defense being installed by Pasqualoni, some think he'll be able to think less and let his natural athletic ability take over.  Remember: his physical tools have never been questioned.  He has what it takes - physically - to be an elite safety.  But will he finally play up to his talent level in 2008?  Training camp will go a long way towards determining that.

Allen will be pushed by Renaldo Hill (once he gets healthy) and newcomer Chris Crocker, who isn't as physically gifted as Allen but has a ton of experience and may be more reliable - mentally speaking.

Here's the way I see this situation in the secondary.  I'm confident in two players - Will Allen and Yeremiah Bell.  Outside of them two, the Dolphins have a lot of questions.

Who will step up?  Can Goodman or Lehan take the next step and grow into a reliable #2 corner?  Will Jason Allen finally shake the "bust" label and play up to his potential?  These are the "burning questions" that we will keep an eye on as camp gets underway in Davie.

Thoughts?