The Phinsider

Latest Pro Bowl voting results

2008-12-03T21:17:49Z

There are quite a few Dolphins who are faring well in the Pro Bowl voting this year. Of course, voting only counts for one-third of the process. Regardless, it's always nice to receive recognition. Below are how some of the Dolphins are doing in fan voting:

Ronnie Brown remains in 1st place at RB - but with just a 11,500 vote lead over Chris Johnson.
Jake Long remains in 1st at the tackle position - but leads D'Brickashaw Ferguson by just 4,000 votes.
Joey Porter still has a large lead over James Harrison for 1st place at outside linebacker - about 43,000 votes ahead.
Yeremiah Bell fell back to 5th place at strong safety - 100 votes behind 4th place vote getter Donte Whitner
Dan Carpenter is suddenly in 1st for kickers - 37,000 votes ahead of 2nd place.
Patrick Cobbs has fallen from 2nd to 4th place in the "special teamer" voting - 13,000 votes shy of 1st place.

Hat tip to Daniel52 for his FanPost about Dan Carpenter's sudden surge.

Perspective II - Observed Fires

2008-12-03T06:35:13Z

Last week I wrote a long article on the need for us as fans to keep our perspective about where this team is headed. There were many, many of us getting swept up into a 4-game win streak and being one game out of first place, and losing focus on the 1-15 season we had last year. Suddenly, New England, the defending AFC Champion, came into Miami and beats us, and everyone started bashing the team. It was ridiculous, and I wanted to remind everyone that, while I want us to win the AFC East as much as everyone else, if we don’t, the 6 wins at that point (7 now!), were only 600% better than last year. I’ll take that any day.

Well, this week I would like to again write. This time, I would like to give you my perspective on some of the things I have heard or read recently. I want to stress that everything in here is my opinion. At no point am I trying to tell you that you are wrong. I just want to let you know how I feel.

By the way...this is LONG! Sorry...

This team is good. We aren’t great. I don’t know how may times I have said or written that, but I still think it’s true. If we were great, we wouldn’t struggle against the Seahawks, the Raiders, or the Rams. But, a good team, struggling or not, still finds a way to win. That’s what we do. Last year, we found ways to lose. This year, it’s the exact opposite. Give us a couple more years. We won’t find ways to win. We will just win.

I think the first thing that the coaching staff needs to look at as the game plan these next four games is our running game. The Offensive line is still finding ways to get us holes. They may not be there every down, but they are there enough to break out a back. But, when you have the R&R Express sitting in your backfield, not to mention the do-everything Patrick Cobbs, you have to feed THEM the ball. Yes, them. You cannot expect the running game to dominate if you only feed one of our beasts. We need to be running the ball nearly 40 times a game…minimum. If you get Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown 20 carries a piece, you will dominate that game. Period. There’s no doubt in my mind.

Look at it this way. Ricky Williams has run the ball 120 times for 512 yards and 3 touchdowns. That works out to 4.3 yards per carry. Ronnie Brown is at 169 attempts for 690 yards and 10 TDs, for a 4.1 yards per carry average. Now, I know more carries will change the averages, but let’s just use them where they are. If you can get Ronnie 20 carries a game over the last four games, you give him an additional 328 yards, for a total of 1018 yards. Doing the same to Ricky would give him 856 yards total, or 344 yards in those 4 games. That would give us a 1,000 yard rusher, and one 150 yards away from 1,000. Plus, the running game would then allow us to control the clock, keep the other offense of the field, and keep the defense fresh. I like the sound of that.

Further developing it, CP10 would see a decrease in his attempts per game. There is a flaw in this analysis, in that I am ignoring any rushing attempts by players other than the R&R Express. I will assume that those players will continue to receive the same number of attempts and only compare CP10’s passing attempts to the R&R Express’ running. So, currently, Ronnie Brown is getting 14 attempts per game with Ricky rushing 10 times per game. If you up that to 20 each, that 16 pass attempts per game that CP10 will not make. Right now, we are averaging 30.3 passes per game by CP10, with 19.8 completions for 240.1 yards per game or 7.9 yards per attempt (2881 total yards and a 65.4% completion rate).

Now, take the 16 attempts away from CP10, and you get 14 attempts per game, with nine completions. Nine completions at 19.8 yard per completion is 178.2 yards per game. Over 4 games, that’s 712.8 yards, or a total of 3593 yards for the season. With our limited wide receivers (especially with Rillo out), I think limiting the passing attempts is a sensible idea. Plus, if we dominate the run, the play action pass becomes more viable, and therefore, the Ginnja would be able to get open on go routes down the sideline, resulting in a higher yards per game average on the same number of attempts.

Just something to think about. It make sense to me.

Okay, other random things.

Nicky, is there room on the Brandwagon? How fast are the seats filling? I’m not quite ready to jump onto it, but I am in line to buy a ticket.

Why are people anointing Matt Ryan as the NFL MVP? I keep hearing more and more commentators giving him the award. I know he turned a bad franchise around and has surprised everyone. I am pretty sure, there’s another QB doing the same thing south of Atlanta. If that’s the criteria for MVP, why not CP10? Even if we compare stats, CP10’s 238-364 (65.4%) for 2881 yards (240.1 per game) is better than Ryan’s 203-333 (61.0%) for 2625 yards (218.8 per game). Apparently, the MVP contests is decided on three factors, first, you have to turn around a bad team. I think CP10 should have an edge here, since we were 1-15 last year and all. Second, you must be a rookie. Sorry CP10, you’re out. And third, you must replace the dog fighting Michael Vick. That’s the main thing the talking heads of NFL coverage keep bringing up. How much they suffered because of Michael Vick. I didn’t know that Michael Vick’s career played such a large part in MVP consideration.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think CP10 is MVP of the league. I just think it’s ridiculous to give it to Ryan.

I find myself wondering a lot these days, and I am serious about this, what is an "ugly" win? I’ve seen ugly games. I’ve seen ugly losses. What’s an ugly win? Are there beautiful losses? I don’t think so. I really don’t think there are "ugly" wins. It’s a win…right?!?

Our defense needs help. We used to stop the run and lose because of the pass. Now, we are shutting down the pass much better, and letting teams run all over us. I don’t know what the solution is, but we need to fix it. If we are going to get burned, let’s get burned badly. Let’s blitz. Let’s cut Joey Porter loose. Porter should be finding things on the opposing QB’s body that the QB’s wife and girlfriend don’t know about. They should be picking out drapery together because Porter is living with that QB for the weekend. Again, I don’t know how we fix this, but something has to be done.

You know, I have heard the argument over whether you can be a fan of two teams. I think you can. But, I think you have to have one that is YOUR TEAM, and one that you kind of like and would like to see do well…AS LONG AS IT DOESN’T HURT YOUR TEAM. In that sense, I think your "second" team cannot be in the same conference as YOUR team. It can’t work. But, Titansfighter, this is not an attack on you. Just an observation. And, at least you are coming to the light side.

Do you realize 10 road teams won last week? How on Earth does that happen? I lost my picks pool BADLY this week.

Am I copying RZ with an article like this?

Why do we overpower every other team’s blog? So far, from what I have seen, if another site’s post has 10-12 comments, it’s a great post. All of our posts have 10-12 comments. We are so involved on our website, so when we move to another team’s site, it’s like the Colts sneaking out of Baltimore. The moving truck backs up, and opens its doors. But, rather than packing up the football offices, we all pour out and run the place for 5 days. It’s crazy.

I don’t think the Bills fans like being called Toronto.

Why don’t you ever hear jokes about Dolphin-safe Tuna? Is it just me, but doesn’t Parcells’ presence scream Dolphin-safe Tuna?

I know we own the tie breakers and can win the AFC East if we win out. That’s great. You know what I am looking at right now? We have seven wins. That’s right…7! With 7 wins we are one win away from a non-losing season. 1 win! That’s it, all we need. 1 win and we aren’t a losing team. What more can you want after 1-15?

Speaking of losing, do any of you feel bad for the Lions? I mean, I know they are perennial losers and that they don’t seem to ever get better. I know their going 0-16 would make people forget about 1-15, but still. No team deserves to go through what we did. I’m just saying, a little sympathy might not be bad.

A lot of people, especially from other teams but including some of our own, are pointing to the fact that we have been winning close games against 2 or 3 win teams to prove that we are still a bad team. First and foremost, a win is a win. I don’t care if we win by 1 over the Lions or if we win by 25 over the defending AFC Champions, it’s still a win. And, how do you fault a team for winning the games the NFL puts on its schedule? Plus, everyone focuses on our 3 wins against the Rams, Raiders, and Seahawks. That’s three of the seven wins. The other four are against such horrible teams as the Patriots (7&5), Broncos (7&5), Toronto (6&6) and the "better than their record" Chargers (4&8). I know it’s "any given Sunday" and all, but why would you bash on a team for winning games "it’s supposed to win" and ignore the games against the better record teams?

I really like having a plasma cannon that turns comments to goo. That’s an awesome thing. Too bad Matty doesn’t think we can get the tech guys to make that happen.

I have a new term. BNP. Bad News Phans. These are the fans who are always out to proclaim something is wrong with the team. How we will blow our lead. How horrible we are. These are the fans that you really want to just walk up and punch in the throat. Okay, maybe a little over the top violence there, but still. At least ask yourself, if all you do is scream about how screwed up the team is, can you really be considered a "fanatic," as that’s the root of being a "fan?"

Following on that, I hate Bandwagon fans (not to be confused by BRANDwagon fans). Not because they can’t be fans. Not because they don’t have the right to root for whomever they chose. I hate them because they come in trying to make it seem like they have always been there and then they are (typically) the first off the BNPs. Just an observation. I’m not trying to call anyone out, I’m just stating MY opinion.

Two more things. First, OntheGo stated something in a post. That this team has "work to do." I think that is a very, very astute observation. We all as fans need to be careful with our expectations. We forget that this team is actually a work in progress. We are doing great right now, but there’s still a lot this team needs to do to actually be great. We’ll get there, we just have work to do.

And, my final observation for this week. CP10 may be a genius as well. His statement, "More games are lost than are won," is a very, very valid point. The only addendum I have for that is, a team must be in position to win as the other team loses. We were never in that position last year. This year, we are. That’s a major difference between a bad team and a good team.

I know this is long. Maybe, if I am allowed to continue to post in here after this novel, I will figure out how to be concise. Until then, if you have read this whole thing, thank you. If not, I can’t really blame you. Hope you all have a good week. Now, let’s go destroy Toronto!

The Phinsider now on Twitter

2008-12-03T06:00:15Z

The Phinsider now on Twitter

For those of you who are big into Twitter, you can now "follow" The Phinsider on Twitter to ensure you never miss a new post.

Just click the link above or go here: http://twitter.com/thephinsider

Single-Season Turnarounds & "Mission 4W"

2008-12-03T05:15:06Z

Since it seems like nobody in the mainstream media wants to talk about the amazing turnaround of our beloved franchise, I'll toot our own horn.

As someone in our community pointed out, the 1963 Oakland Raiders (of the AFL) were the last team to go from a 1 win season to a 10 win season. In fact, since the merger, no NFL team has ever even made the playoffs after winning just one game the season before. And that's why what the 2008 Miami Dolphins are doing is so unbelievable. They simply have a chance to do something that no other team has ever done before.

Since 1980, 7 teams (other than the '07 Dolphins) have gone 1-15. Below is how they fared the next season:

'80 Saints: 4-12
'89 Cowboys: 7-9
'90 Patriots: 6-10
'91 Colts: 9-7
'96 Jets: 9-7
'00 Chargers: 5-11
'01 Panthers: 7-9

As you can see, the Dolphins are already among the top 5 "post-one-win seasons" since 1980. Also of note, the '96 Jets were headed by non other than Bill Parcells - the master of the reclamation project.

But that's not what the Dolphins are shooting for right now. Yes, after the season, it will be nice to sit back and think about just how surprisingly successful this season has been. But nobody here is looking to "settle" for 7 or 8 wins - or even 9 wins. No. Our eyes are on a much bigger prize. And even though much of the nation doesn't want to acknowledge the Dolphins, the Dolphins are currently in the hunt to make history and make the playoffs. And what lies ahead is what I'm calling "Mission 4W."

"MISSION 4W"

That's right. All that stands in the way of the Dolphins and history are 4 little wins. If the Dolphins can pull this off, they would instantly put themselves in position to be mentioned in the same breath as other great teams to pull off remarkable single-season turnarounds. Some of the most notable teams to make improbable playoff runs include the following:

'98-'99 Colts	3-13 to 13-3	Won Division
'98-'99 Rams	4-12 to 13-3	Won Super Bowl
'03-'04 Steelers	6-10 to 15-1	Lost AFC Championship
'03-'04 Chargers	4-12 to 12-4	Won Division
'80-'81 49ers	6-10 to 13-3	Won Super Bowl
'97-'98 Falcons	7-9 to 14-2	Lost Super Bowl
'05-'06 Saints	3-13 to 10-6	Lost NFC Championship
'90-'91 Lions	6-10 to 12-4	Lost NFC Championship
'00-'01 Patriots	5-11 to 11-5	Won Super Bowl
'95-'96 Jaguars	4-12 to 9-7	Lost AFC Championship

Incase you didn't notice, those 10 teams were listed in order of regular season win improvement. Only 1 team in NFL history has even won 10 more games than they did the season before - the '99 Colts. The Dolphins are just 4 wins shy of matching that remarkable feat.

"Mission 4W." It's a simple concept. More importantly, it's a mission that can indeed be accomplished. These 10 teams above are proof that NFL teams can indeed rise from the ashes of a bad season and accomplish improbable feats the following season.

And while nobody seems to want to talk about our Dolphins outside of South Florida, there's going to come a time - whether it's in a week, or two weeks, or 3 weeks - that the rest of the league is going to take notice of what's happening in Miami.

Because what's happening isn't just a feel-good story, it's potentially a historic story.

The question is how will that final chapter end.

The Pulse of Fin Fans

2008-12-02T20:54:40Z

Welcome to the first of what I hope to be a reoccurring feature. And it's very simple. Each week (hopefully - if I remember), I will ask all of you Dolphin fans a question about a hot topic that relates to our beloved Dolphins. And I'll BS for a little while and then close the post with a poll - taking the pulse of Dolphin fans everywhere. And because of how wide-reaching this community is - with readers all across the country and all across the globe - it should lead to some interesting results.

This week, the question is simple: In 4 weeks, what will the Dolphins record be - and will it be good enough for a playoff birth?

And to make things easier, I'm going to make the assumption that a 9-7 record is not good enough for even a wild card birth into the postseason - which is almost certain to be true.

We all know the remaining games and we all know how the Dolphins haven't been as sharp as we'd all like these past 4 weeks. But even still, CBS Sports' Clark Judge is picking the Dolphins to win the division - perhaps the only national media personality who has done so. He says:

The smart money is on the Jets, but I don't trust them in their two West Coast games. They're 0-2 there this season, and it wouldn't surprise me if they struggled with either San Francisco or Seattle. Maybe both.

Key game: Miami at N.Y. Jets, Dec. 28.

Advantage: Miami. Look at the schedule: Its next three games are at Buffalo, home to San Francisco and at Kansas City. The Jets counter with road games in San Francisco and Seattle and a home date with Buffalo, a seemingly cozy itinerary. But be advised: Those cross-country trips can be hazardous.

So what do you all say? Vote in the poll and then tell us why below...

Poll

With a gun to your head, how will the Dolphins finish the regular season?

As the dust settles

2008-12-02T05:15:05Z

We've now had over a day to digest what went down on Sunday. We now know that, yes, the Dolphins won in "un-pretty" - sounds better than ugly - fashion. We also know that the Dolphins now control their own destiny. Let's discuss further.

A SIGN OF PROGRESS?
The Sun-Sentinel's David Hyde wrote an article that poses an interesting theory. Basically, Hyde says that these ugly wins - and we've seen 3 in the last 4 weeks - is still a sign of progress. Here's an excerpt:

Because this was an easy game to sum up, if you want to get away from the over-analysis and over-complimenting coating every NFL game. Chad Pennington was asked if it was as simple as the Rams throwing three interceptions and the Dolphins throwing none.

"A lot of times it's as simple as that,'' Pennington said. "More games are lost than are won. It's not sexy for fantasy football, but for winning football and going home on the plane happy it's what matters."

"More games are lost than are won." That's really an interesting quote by CP10.

Back in week 10, the Dolphins let the Seahawks hang around - partly thanks to a bad decision by Pennington resulting in an interception return for a TD. And with 2 minutes left to go, the Seahawks had the ball and only needed to get into field goal range for the win. The Dolphins, though, held on to win by 2.

The following week saw the Dolphins out-gain the Raiders by 183 yards. But the Fins surrendered a late TD to the Raiders on a punt return. It took a Dan Carpenter field goal with under a minute left to pull out this one.

And on Sunday, we all saw that, despite 2 interceptions thrown by Marc Bulger, the Rams had the ball with 2 minutes to go needing a touchdown to win. Luckily, Bulger forced a pass and Andre Goodman made a play - picking it off and sealing the win.

To a non-Dolphins fan, it would look like the Dolphins are simply "lucking out" and winning games more so because of their opponents' ineptitude rather than their own performance. Opposing teams, they might say, have been doing more to lose the game than the Dolphins have to win the game.

But us Dolphin fans recognize what we're seeing. And it is indeed progress - even if the national media doesn't want to recognize it. Because we all know that the Dolphins lost 6 games by 3 points last year. And we know that it was just one year ago when the Dolphins were the team losing these kinds of games. They were the inept team beating themselves.

What a difference a year makes. So however this season ends a month from now, it's still been a 100% success.

GET EXCITED! IT'S BEEN SO LONG!
When was the last time it was December and you heard the head coach of the Miami Dolphins say things like this:

"You try to tell them not to look ahead, you try to tell them not to do all those things. But you're at a point in the schedule right now where not looking ahead is kind of a ridiculous statement."

"We know that we control kind of our own destiny right now. At the same time, I've been in some situations where you need help, and that's not a good situation to be in. When you're in those kinds of situations, the best thing that I know how to do is to put your head down, eliminate the distractions and think about the now, what's in front of you right now."

That's right - that's the sound of a head coach whose team is playing meaningful football in December. Not only meaningful football - in fact - but rather "destiny-controlling" football.

And you know what the best part is? I haven't heard one single media personality outside of South Florida bring up the fact that the Dolphins - a year removed from a 1-15 season - could make the playoffs by simply winning 4 football games. You'd think that would be a bigger deal, right?

Oh well - a couple of more wins and, once again, the Dolphins will be in the spotlight in late December for the first time since 2003.

Now all that's left to do is win. Is it likely? I don't know.

But why not? Crazier things have happened.

I.T.M. Rzayo24: Thanksgiving Special

2008-12-02T01:58:58Z

First of all, I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and fun past holiday with their loved ones. This past weekend I traveled to Tallahassee, Florida to watch my Seminoles take on the #2 Gators. By take on, of course, I mean get humiliated in the pouring rain in front of 80,000 poncho wearing liquored up good ol' boys. You really have not hit rock bottom until your ducking underneath a poncho trying to pour Jim Beam out of a Zephyrhills bottle into your 76oz Coca Cola. Especially when the stadium ran out of lids and the ratio of what you are drinking rapidly is turning in favor of rain water. Thankfully Sunday I had the Miami Dolphins win to patch up the holes in my heart that Tim Tebow hammer fisted. I have never seen a team with a better looking 7-5 record. If this 7-5 were a woman, she would be Megan Fox. If you don't know who Megan Fox is, google her, then come back here(3-5 minutes later) and finish reading my article.

Anyone else offically sold on drafting a cornerback early in next years draft? To me, that is what we are lacking most. You can't hide a Joey Thomas. Trying to hide Joey Thomas is like trying to hide Rosie O'Donnell behind a flagpole. We need a shutdown, smack-talking, big cocky (big cocky?) cornerback. I say use both second round picks on big athletic cornerbacks.

Is it me or does Ernest Wilford look like Devone Bess's taller older brother? Both have numbers in the teens. Both have dreads about the same length. Both catch passes....whoops. Two out of three ain't bad. I have an idea (Dr.Evil pinkie to lip); why don't we take Bess's head and hands and put it on Wilford's body? Bess mainly lacks size, so this seems like the only logical solution to this problem. We would have to die the frosted tips on his locks so everyone just thought it was Wilford playing better. The only problem is Bess could never take off his helmet and reveal his true identity. Of course he would have to say he has the same social anxiety disorder Ricky had that caused him to never take off his lid. Far fetched? I hate you Ernest Wilford.

I have stated before that when CP10 walks into a room I hear Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything for Love," but that is neither here nor there. The point is he is a great leader. We have won 3 games (Sea, Oak, St. Louis) against bad teams that could have easily caught us slipping. While the results were very close, a win is a win. Great teams beat the piss out of bad teams. But we are not a great team - we are a good team. So when we win, all is good. A saying I like is "Don't tell me about the labor pains, show me the baby." At the end of the season, show me your record. I don't want to hear excuses about weather or injuries. Like Bill Parcells says, "You are what your record is." Well we ARE 7-5. As I stated above, this is a Megan Fox 7-5, not a Hillary Clinton 7-5. To fully appreciate the ugliness of that 7-5 you will have to picture Hillary naked. I'm sorry.

With my normal 6 hour drive home from Tallahassee having turned into a 10 hour holiday traffic marathon, I decided to look throughout the AM world for the Jets game. Oh I got the game, and a Spanish salsa radio station at the same time. The Spanish music dominated the game 80/20 I would say. But under all the Latin chaos, I could barely make out the announcers voice. This was basically pure torture. At one point I could have sworn I heard them say Brett Favre got picked off by Menudo. The joke would have worked better if I could have thought of one popular Spanish group from the last decade. It did make for excellent "celebrating the Jets losing" music though. When they did not get that last 4th down, I found myself with my hand on my stomach and my hips swirling. Fantasico!!! Me gusta Jets el choko!!

I was watching the games on Thanksgiving, and thought to myself "Man this turkey is making me tired." Then I realized I had not eaten yet. Tt was the crappy football putting me in a coma-like state. The NBA gives us Kobe vs. Shaq, Lebron vs. Wade, Garnett vs. Duncan, but the NFL gives us 0-11 vs. 10-1. How do Lions fans watch that team? Culpepper has the fattest ass of all-time. He looks like his leg hurts because he ate it. Apparently Culpepper is not only his own agent, but he is also his own personal trainer. Every time I see Culpepper play, I want to kidnap Drew Brees and dress him in aqua and orange clothes until the police arrive. Stupid Nick Saban! Nick Saban, a blow torch,a hula-hoop, and me in a cold dark room alone. Name your price, if you make that happen. Don't ask me what the hula-hoop is for, you don't wanna know. The blow torch is just to light my cigar afterwards. If you didn't see the warning signs when you entered my mind then that is your fault - sorry.

Special thanks goes out to Eric Moulds(ex-Bills WR) for punching an Iraq War Vet in the face for asking for his autograph - real cool dude. Unless he was "dropping a Deuce McAllister" at the time, that is just unacceptable. Someone just wants your name on something they own. If they come at it respectfully, sign the damn napkin and get back to drinking away your unsigned sorrows. I think his punishment should be he gets deployed to Iraq, without a gun. Naked. With the words "USA RULES/IRAQ DROOLS" painted on his back. Filthy autograph seeking soldier puncher.

If Parcells took a dump, and a football player formed from his feces, that player would be Patrick Cobbs. Please, like the thought never crossed your mind. All I am trying to say is that Patrick Cobbs looks so much like a Bill Parcells guy, I am beginning to wonder if Bill Parcells himself birthed him from his anus. Once again, this is my mind,at least you get to leave.

Random Rapid Fire in closing:

I want my coffee from wherever Tony Sparano gets his. He says he watched the game film five times before Monday morning. I don't even have time to watch SportsCenter highlights before I leave for work Monday. Justin Smiley broke his leg. When athletes break their legs, they sure do stay pretty calm, don't they? If I ever break my leg you can bet the house that I will sob like a little girl until someone calls my mommy. Nice job by Plaxico Burress over the weekend. He accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a club. If I had brought a loaded gun to the club during college, I might have 5 assholes right now. Sparano gets so pissed when we get a penalty, sometimes I fear the dreaded "shart." He is really putting a lot of pressure on his colon when he turns red like that. It is true Jesus was a Carpenter - Dan Carpenter's father that is. DC$ could knock a chili dog from a fans hands in 431. Dude is accurate.

"You have to believe, deep down in your heart, that your destined to do great things."

-- Joe Paterno

If you don't believe in yourself, how do you expect others to? Catch lightning in a bottle and run with it Miami. Something happened to this team, and that something smells like fish. 5 of 6 wins, 7-5 record, AFC East title a real possibility, all these things are the Miami Dolphins reality today - the first day of December. Unbelievable. The team's motto for the season was "Believe in the Code". Well If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.

Dolphins knock off Rams; get back into playoff race

2008-12-01T05:15:06Z

This time last week, all of us Dolphin fans were sitting here in despair, wondering if the Dolphins had just blown their shot at an improbable playoff birth. One week later, we all feel rejuvenated - even after a classic "ugly" win by the Fins in St. Louis.

IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOU WIN
This seems to be a reoccurring theme for the 2008 Miami Dolphins. Some of their best wins have come in excellent performances against good teams. But others have come in "different" performances against teams in which the Dolphins were actually heavy favorites. The Seahawks and Raiders games come to mind. Well you can also add to that list Sunday's game against the Rams.

The offense struggled. Against one of the NFL's worst defenses - statistically speaking, the Fins were only able to find the endzone one time. Chad Pennington was only able to complete 56% of his passes and didn't even top 170 yards through the air. There were some dropped balls by receivers. Running backs simply tripped before the line of scrimmage from time to time. And on one of the most exciting offensive plays, a play that saw Ronnie Brown take a toss, scramble, and throw a completion on the run to David Martin, the end result was a turnover when Martin fumbled the ball away to St. Louis.

Of course, the offense wasn't all bad. The running game really did get going, with the backs combining for 134 yards on 32 carries. We also found out that Davone Bess can indeed be a key part of the offense and help take up some of the slack created by Greg Camarillo's knee injury. Bess made a number of plays, catching 6 balls for 84 yards - including 2 key receptions on 3rd downs. One converted a 3rd & 9 on Miami's only TD drive - with Ronnie Brown taking it into the endzone just 2 plays later. The other was on a 3rd & 2 and kept alive a drive that would end with one of Dan Carpenter's field goals. Let's hope for continued production from Bess.

But it was the defense - despite allowing chunks of yards to Steven Jackson on the ground - that really deserves the credit for Sunday's win. They exemplified the old "bend but don't break" cliche - never allowing the Rams into the endzone - which includes 2 drives that saw the Rams inside Miami's 20 only to have to settle for 2 field goals. It wasn't a dominating performance by any means - no matter what the 3 interceptions and 12 points against would lead you to think. But they did enough in a game where they needed to step up and carry a sluggish offensive unit.

The bottom line? The Dolphins went on the road, committed 10 penalties, converted just 33% of their 3rd downs, allowed the Rams to convert 50% of their 3rd downs, and lost the time-of-possession battle by 3 minutes. But they found a way to win.

REPLACING JUSTIN SMILEY
As you probably heard, Justin Smiley broke his right leg today and his season is over. So now the Dolphins must continue on this stretch run without their best interior lineman and Jake Long's buddy on the left side. Who replaces him?

There are two options right now, though neither will really replace what smiley meant to this unit. Andy Alleman will likely get the first shot. He's been playing some snaps each game over the past few weeks. On Sunday, he played basically 3 quarters in relief of Smiley. And he played well - from what I could tell. The running game didn't seem to suffer and Chad Pennington, though pressured a few times, was never sacked. If I recall correctly, there may have been one time where Alleman's man clearly beat him to force a QB pressure. After the game, Alleman said the only play he wasn't happy about was his false start penalty late in the 4th quarter. But with increased reps, those kinds of mistakes should be minimal.

While Alleman is probably the likely choice to replace Smiley, recently signed veteran Al Johnson could also get a shot. Johnson was signed last week. He's a once promising player who signed a 4 year, $17 million deal back in 2007 with Arizona but has had injury issues for most of his time in Arizona. He has experience with Tony Sparano, though - having spent 2003 to 2006 in Dallas, starting 31 games over those 4 years. He'll likely push Alleman for the starting job once he gets acclimated to the system.

WHAT SUNDAY'S EVENTS MEAN
Incase you missed it, Sunday was a very good day for the Dolphins. And their win was only just the beginning. Two critical 4:00 games broke right for the Dolphins. The Steelers knocked off the Patriots in New England and the Jets fell at home to the Broncos. What does this all mean?

The Jets now sit atop the AFC East with an 8-4 record. The Dolphins and Pats are a game back at 7-5. Now for the good news. If the Dolphins win all of their remaining games, they will win the division. That's right - the Dolphins are 4 wins away from an AFC East crown. Crazy, right?

Here's why. If the Dolphins win out, they'd sit at 11-5. The Patriots, at best, would also be 11-5. And if the Jets won all their games except for their final one against the Dolphins, they would also be 11-5. Onto the tie-breakers.

#1: Head-to-head - Each team would have split with each other. No winner.
#2: Division record - All 3 teams would be at 4-2.
#3: Common games - Other than division games, each team played 8 common games against the teams from the AFC and NFC West. The Dolphins would be 7-1, as would the Patriots. The Jets would only be 5-3. They're out.
#4: Conference record - Dolphins would be 8-4. Pats 7-5. Dolphins are champs.

So even after that tough loss at home to the Pats, the Dolphins do indeed control their own destiny. Not bad. A team that won just 1 game a season ago now controls their own destiny with 4 games left.

QUICK HITS
-I never thought I'd say this, but "get well soon, Jason Allen." Joey Thomas stinks. Period.

-Ten penalties? Really? Damn - this team is going to get ripped into by Sparano this week. Unacceptable.

-Congratulations to Dan Carpenter, or DC$$, on setting a new NFL rookie record for consecutive field goals made. He's hit 11 straight and is now 16 of 18 on the season - including 8/10 from 40+ yards.

-Can we please feed Ronnie Brown the ball? He needs 20+ touches every game.

-Another bad drop by Teddy Ginn. It's got to be his concentration, though, because he looks so smooth catching the ball every other time. He'll come around. He's developing nicely.

-Another Brandon London sighting. You know, for a guy with just 2 catches, he sure has a lot of fans.

-Where the hell was the pass rush today? The Rams are one of the worst at protecting the quarterback, but rarely was Marc Bulger under much pressure. Is Joey Porter running out of gas? Probably not. From what I saw, he's facing a ton of double-teams, meaning those around him have to step up.

-Matt Roth might be better suited as a role player and not a starter at strong-side OLB. An upgrade is needed in the offseason.

FINAL THOUGHT
It's amazing how far this team has come. I know I have said this a lot this year, but I'm just enjoying the ride. I never thought this team could be a playoff contender so quickly. But, all of a sudden, the Dolphins are just 4 games away from doing the unthinkable. Will it happen? I don't know. Its not going to be easy - that's for sure. But to just be in this position is amazing.

It's once again fun to be a Dolphins' fan. That's all you can ask for.

Sunday's Gameballs: Ugly Win Edition

2008-12-01T04:20:09Z

Hey, a win is a win is a win. Always. To me, anytime you win, it's beautiful. But don't forget for one minute that there is still much work to be done. There were a lot of mistakes today. Too many penalties, the offense was limited, and the D got no pass rush at all. The good news is that we are now 7-5. All three of the other AFCE teams lost today, tying us with NE, one game back of the first place Je-eehh. Sorry. The first place J-ughgh.. Can't say it. One game back of that Green team. The division got a lot tighter today, and we need to be focused on getting a victory in Toronto next week. A few quick points before the Balls...

On a day when the pass rush didn't show up, the secondary and LB's played terrific in coverage. Holding Bulger to 149 yards was a big reason why they only put up FG's, and the three INT's didn't hurt either.
Pennington wasn't bad. 13/23 for 166 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He did enough to get us in position for 3 FG's and the one touchdown run. He even scrambled and picked up a first down with his legs.
Patrick Cobbs just does everything. He had a couple nice runs for first downs. He made some big blocks (even flooring a LB with a crackback). And he's all over the place on special teams. Typical Parcells guy.
Joey Thomas stinks. Never would've thought I would miss Jason Allen, but I found myself wanting some JA after Joey's second pass interference on consecutive plays. He got beat like a drum today.

No more delays, let's get to the Balls.

5. The R&R Express - Ronnie and Ricky combined for over 100 yards and a touchdown. They were both very effective between the tackles, and Ricky was even able to break a nice run on a sweep. Why we didn't stick with the run more confused me, because they looked better today than they have in a while. Ricky had 12 carries for 54 yards, and Ronnie added 48 yards on 15 carries and a TD. Not spectacular, but they set the tone for the game, and Ronnie accounted for the only Touchdown in the game on a very strong goalline run. He was stopped, spun out, lunged, and just crossed the line. I really think he needs to get more carries. He looks like the knee injury is a non-issue, he runs hard, and he's the type of guy that gets better as he wears the D down. Feed it to him, please.

4. Yeremiah Bell - It felt like everytime we made a stop on 3rd down, I was saying to myself (and to everyone in the live thread) that Bell made a nice play. He was heavily involved, making plenty of key stops before the reciever could pick up a first down after the catch. He tallied a team leading 7 tackles, tied with Channing Crowder. But the fact that he stepped it up in some big spots all game long puts him in this slot. I think he's a keeper. We need to get to work on a fair contract extension and lock him up.

3. Akin Ayodele - The 5 tackles only tell part of the story. His interception, while it didn't set up any points due to a terrible offensive drive, did halt a St. Louis drive that was heading towards our endzone. He dropped right into the route, and the ball came right at him. Good read by him, and good hands to make the catch. The Rams were driving, and had they scored a TD on that drive, it would've been a very different game.

2. Davone Bess - We were wondering who would step up to replace Camarillo after his season-ending knee injury, and Bess answered the call. He led the team with 6 receptions for 84 yards, and 2 of the 6 catches we're 3rd down conversions. I said it last week, and I'll say it again, the kid will make a living converting 3rd downs. That gets you into heaven. He was targeted often today, and I think he'll step right into Camarillo's shoes and perform well. He's sure-handed and knows how to get open. He also works the underneath routes very well, which plays perfectly into Pennington's style. There was a huge deal made over Mr. Irrelevant starting today, but Bess went UNDRAFTED, and has played a big role on a playoff contender. Where's his ESPN puff piece?

And the Number 1 Gameball goes to.. Dan "DC$" Carpenter - The guy continues to live up to his nickname. He's money. 3 for 3 on FG's, all three from 37 yards or longer. His longest was a 47 yarder that extended our 1-point lead to 4 early in the third quarter. He's also an undrafted FA we picked up after the draft. Once again, I ask, where's his ESPN puff piece? Where's the life story about his journey to the NFL? He also broke a rookie record for consecutive FG's with 11 in a row. On the year he's 16/18, with his only 2 misses coming from over 40. Clutch kicks, long kicks, whatever, the guy is solid.

This Week's Turd Sandwich goes to.. Injuries - Sure, it's probably a cop-out pick, but I'm pretty pissed about the Justin Smiley injury, and still a little peeved over Camarillo's injury last week. The Smiley injury severely hurts our offense, because he was playing very well at the LG spot next to Jake. A broken leg and multiple ankle ligament tears will not be easy to come back from, but he's a special guy and has a tremendous work ethic. The "Who will replace GC?" question was answered somewhat this week with Bess stepping his play up, and now we need to see who will step into Smiley's spot. Andy Alleman, you better get your game in gear, we're going to need you bigtime in the last quarter of the season.

Tough column to write when there are very few standout players, so let me know who I missed or what I got wrong, or just tell me how awesome I am :-)

Dolphins vs Rams Post Game Celebration Thread

2008-11-30T21:10:09Z

**UPDATE**: Some bad news. Justin Smiley has a broken right leg and tore all the ligaments in his ankle. This is a huge hit to Miami's offensive line. And not only do you have to worry about replacing him this year, but you have to also worry about the potential long-term effect. Ugh! [end update]

Well it took 3 Marc Bulger interceptions, but the Dolphins are 7-5 - knocking off the Rams 16-12 (damn - that's an ugly score).

Let's be honest, though. The Dolphins really struggled to win this one. But a win is a won - especially on the road.

Enjoy the rest of your Football Sunday.

Usual posts should be up later on today and tomorrow.

Oh - and let's go Steelers and Broncos!

Dolphins vs Rams Overflow Thread

2008-11-30T19:31:14Z

Halftime in St. Louis. Dolphins lead by 1.

That holding call by Ndukwe was a killer. And Steven Jackson has been just killing the Dolphins.

Another tight 2nd half is in store.

Go Dolphins!!

Week 13: Dolphins at Rams Game Thread

2008-11-30T16:30:05Z

MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-5)	WEEK 13	ST LOUIS RAMS (2-9)
	AT

Date:	November 30, 2008	Location:	St. Louis, MO
Time:	1:00 p.m. ET	Stadium:	Edward Jones Dome
TV:	CBS	Spread:	Dolphins by 9
Radio:	WQAM (560 AM)	Over/Under:	45
Weather:	N/A	SBN Affiliate	Turf Show Times
Final Score:	Dolphins 16 - Rams 12

Today's Inactives:

Dolphins - QB John Beck (3rd), FS Jason Allen, OL Al Johnson, G Shawn Murphy, T Nate Garner, TE Joey Haynos, DE Rodrique Wright, DT Paul Soliai
Rams - QB Brock Berlin, CB Tye Hill, LB Chris Draft, LB Larry Grant, C Corey Withrow, G Roy Schuening, T Anthony Davis, DE Eric Moore

Steven Jackson is active today and is slated for 16 to 17 carries, according to ESPN's John Clayton. That'll make things a little tougher for the Dolphins.

For the Dolphins, Paul Soliai was suspended. His time in Miami is probably coming to a close. Jason Allen is a surprise inactive. I guess his hand injury is more of a problem then the team let on. More importantly, though, Jake Long is active and will start.

It's time to start a new winning streak. As always, being a large favorite in a game worries me. But I trust Tony Sparano; his boys will be ready to play.

Let's get this "W" and then move on to the next challenge: Toronto.

GO DOLPHINS!!!

Dolphins vs Rams: Prediction Time!

2008-11-29T05:30:05Z

miami dolphins - Game Averages

	Pts	Yrds	Pass	Rush
Off	21.5	357.0 (8th)	244.2 (8th)	112.8 (15th)
Def	22.3	334.7 (20th)	240.6 (28th)	94.1 (9th)

st louis rams - Game Averages

	Pts	Yrds	Pass	Rush
Off	13.4	265.2 (28th)	176.7 (28th)	88.5 (28th)
Def	31.3	386.8 (30th)	223.9 (21st)	162.9 (30th)

It's again time for our predictions. Above are each team's offensive and defensive rankings. Below are some "expert" picks:

Chris Mortensen - Dolphins	Jay Novacek - Dolphins
Ron Jaworksi - Dolphins	Pete Prisco - Dolphins
Tom Jackson - Dolphins	Harmon Forecast - Dolphins
Mike Ditka - Dolphins	Michael Silver - Dolphins
Peter King - Dolphins	Jason Cole - Dolphins

I'm always worried when everyone likes the Dolphins in a game. And we've seen 2 times the last 3 weeks that the Dolphins don't usually perform well in games when they are heavily favored. Let's hope that all changes this week in St. Louis.

This week, I would hope that the Dolphins can finally get a solid running game going - out of their base formation. Ronnie Brown could use a big game this week as well.

Defensively, I expect the Dolphins to get after the quarterback. Joey Porter will likely pick up at least another sack, putting him back on top of the league after DeMarcus Ware took the lead from Porter on Thanksgiving.

I'll take the Dolphins, but I don't expect it to be easy. Dolphins win 27-20.

Your predictions below...

Dolphins/Rams Final Injury Report

2008-11-28T22:39:35Z

So what's Jake Long listed as? And what about some of St. Louis' key players? Find out below...

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Out
WR Greg Camarillo (knee)

Probable
OT Jake Long (ankle)
CB Jason Allen (hand)

Notes
-Long practiced fully on Friday

ST LOUIS RAMS

Out
LB Chris Draft (foot)
CB Tye Hill (knee)

Questionable
RB Steven Jackson (hamstring)
DT Adam Carriker (shoulder)
LB Gery Stills (back)
LB Will Witherspoon (shoulder)
DE Eric Moore (spine)

Probable
QB Marc Bulger (concussion)
OT Orlando Pace (knee)
WR Keenan Burton (knee)

Notes
-Bulger and Pace both practiced fully on Friday
-Jackson and Witherspoon were limited in practice on Friday

Random "Post-Thanksgiving" News & Notes

2008-11-28T13:00:08Z

As we all continue to come out of our turkey-induced haze, here are just a few quick notes of interest:

JAKE LONG EXPECTED TO PLAY
On Thursday, Jake Long returned to practice - in a limited role - with his ankle taped. But Long says he'll be fine for Sunday's game:

"I'm getting better," he said. "I'll be good for Sunday."

Offensive coordinator Dan Henning said on Thursday that Long was prepared to practice fully on both Wednesday and Thursday:

"Tony (Sparano) has mentioned to me, we've got to be careful with that guy," Henning said. "This week, he wanted to practice heavy Wednesday and wanted to practice heavy today. But Tony wouldn't let him. We're pleased he's that type of player, but also run the risk of it going the other way."

Ike Ndukwe has been taking some of Long's snaps at left tackle. But Jake should be ready for Sunday.

Oh - and by the way - this article also says to expect to see Ernest Wilford active on Sunday. Will he finally earn his large paycheck?

PRO BOWL UPDATE
On Wednesday, the NFL released updated fan voting for the Pro Bowl. And there are still some Dolphins very much in the mix:

Ronnie Brown is the leading vote getter for the AFC at running back - 36,000 votes ahead of 2nd place.
Jake Long leads the vote at left tackle - 12,00 votes ahead of D'Brickashaw Ferguson.
Joey Porter leads at outside linebacker - 42,000 votes up on 2nd place.
Patrick Cobbs is currently in 2nd as a special teamer - trailing Anthony Madison by just 4,000 votes.
Yeremiah Bell is in 4th place at strong safety, but well behind the leader.
Dan Carpenter is up to 5th in the AFC at kicker.

Dolphins vs Rams: 5 Burning Questions

2008-11-28T05:15:06Z

Well I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Now it's back to work and time to turn our attention to the St. Louis Rams. And the Rams, despite their 2-9 record, are not a team to be taken lightly. This is a team that knocked off the Redskins (in Washington) and the Cowboys in back-to-back weeks. And that Dallas game was also the last time both Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger started together. Well it seems like the Rams might be healthier than we thought on Sunday - with Bulger, Jackson, and Orlando Pace all back at practice this week.

Onto the burning questions:

How will the Dolphins respond after last week's letdown?
This is the question on everyone's mind. We all witnessed a total collapse lat week during the final quarter and a half against the Patriots. We saw fights break out, dumb penalties being committed, dropped passes left and right. We watched the Dolphins' best defensive player directly disobey his coaches and their most productive wide receiver suffer a torn ACL. It wasn't a very pretty thing to witness.

And now, with this young team coming off a devastating loss to a division rival in their biggest game of the year, the Dolphins have to head into St. Louis to play a team that, on paper, isn't very good. Oh, and let's not forget that looming ahead next week is another big game against a division rival in Toronto.

This is a true test for both the coaching staff and the players. Will they take out their frustrations on a team that is down and out? Or will they let last week's game linger and cause the team to crumble?

Will the Fins be able to run the ball?
The Dolphins exploded two weeks ago against the Raiders for 200+ yards on the ground. But last week, the Dolphins only ran the ball 17 times (not including Pennington's scramble) for 59 yards. And with the season entering the month of December and the Dolphins having some cold-weather games remaining in KC and in NJ, it's going to become more and more important that the Dolphins get back to running the ball effectively...out of their base offense.

Listen - I love the Wildcat. And I still hope to see it run a few times per game. But it's getting to the point where this offense has got to be able to simply line up in a normal formation and pound the ball with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. To do so, the onus falls on the offensive line. To say I've been disappointed with their play this year would be an understatement. I had high hopes for an offensive line that I thought we be a bulldozing unit that created running lanes for our backs. But it hasn't really happened consistently yet.

The Rams are very bad at defending the run - ranking 30th and surrendering 162 yards per game on the ground. And their 4.9 yards per carry against is the 2nd worst figure in the league. So this week is the perfect time to get back to the basics and build some momentum on the ground for the rest of the stretch run.

Who replaces the production of Greg Camarillo?
It still pains me to think about what happened to Greg. And I think it especially hurts because of the kind of person/player he is. He practices every day as if he might get cut. He was legitimately a "nobody" and suddenly became the team's most productive wide receiver. And yet, he remained as humble as anyone. So his injury just really irks me, both as a Dolphin fan and an NFL fan. Camarillo's an example of all that is right in the NFL - and to see him suffer that kind of injury is tough.

But life goes on - and the Dolphins have to find a way to replace the production that Camarillo gave this team week in and week out. He had at least 4 catches in every game this season but two and led the team in receptions and receiving yards - and 31 of his 55 catches went for first downs. His 66% success rate also shows that he was indeed QB friendly.

So how do the Dolphins replace this kind of production? If I had to guess, I'd say it'll be a combination of more running and using different packages at wide receiver in different situations. What I mean by that is it wouldn't shock me to see guys like Davone Bess, Brandon London, Patrick Cobbs, and even Ernest Wilford out as the receiver opposite Ted Ginn - depending on the particular situation.

Will the Dolphins have a solution to the "spread" offense?
The NFL is a copycat league - and there's no doubt that opposing teams will not try to spread out the Dolphins. For the Rams, it might not be a good idea just because they could get their QB, whether it's Marc Bulger or Trent Green, killed behind the Rams struggling offensive line. But Jim Haslett is a desperate man, and he has the "skill position" personnel to spread out the Dolphins if he chooses.

Torry Holt, Donnie Avery, and Dane Looker would be the primary 3 receivers in St. Louis's spread. They then could line up a guy like Antonio Pittman as the 4th receiver and leave Steven Jackson (who is likely to play) in the backfield as a dual-threat. He could take the hand-off up the middle - which has killed the Dolphins in "spread" situations - or go out on a route.

If the Rams do indeed try this, will the Dolphins actually have an answer?

How will Joey Porter respond?
We all know about the "insubordination" last week by Joey Porter, refusing to come out of the game after committing two dumb personal foul penalties. This week, Porter not only apologized to Tony Sparano, but also to his team.

But that's not enough. I think Porter needs to explode for a big day. I think he needs to channel all of his pent-up anger over last week's game and just take it out on whoever is under center for the Rams. St. Louis has allowed the 4th most sacks in the NFL (37) and their QB, whether it's Bulger or Green, is not mobile at all.

Considering how last week went down, and remembering that Porter is still chasing Michael Strahan's sack record of 22.5, Porter could use just a monster game - one of those 3 sacks and a forced fumble kind of performances that quiets his critics and gets his teammates to forget all about last week.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-27T05:30:08Z

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, enjoy the holiday and be safe!

Enjoy your friends and family and let's all hope for at least some marginally interesting football today.

Titans at Lions, 12:30, CBS
Seahawks at Cowboys, 4:15, FOX
Cardinals at Eagles, 8:15, NFLN

And I do want to just say that one of the things I'm definitely thankful for this Thanksgiving is all of you out there. You take the time of out your busy day to stop by here and join in the discussion - and I really appreciate it. Thanks to all of you, we've built quite the community here. And this place just wouldn't be any fun without all of you getting involved regularly.

So on this Thanksgiving, my gift to all of you is below after the jump. I promise you'll all like it!! (Want a hint? Think Leon Lett.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey's of the Year

2008-11-27T01:31:57Z

Blatantly stole this idea from PTI earlier today, so nobody has to point that out lol.

Since this is the beginning of the holiday season, I wanna take a look back at all the people who have made us laugh, made us angry, or made us just plain thankful that we aren't as stupid as them. Anybody is eligible, and I'm basically just here to get this topic started. I can't possibly get everyone, but here's just a sampling.

Brett Favre - His retirement before the season was a joke. And dragging it out for 46 months was just annoying.
Pacman Jones - He's a Human Suspension. Can't stay out of trouble, even with bodyguards surrounding him at all times. However, we did get this heartfelt apology to the bodyguard and the commissioner after his most recent suspension.
Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson - Changing his name from Johnson to Ocho Cinco was hilarious. The Bengals being 1-8-1 is even more hilarious. Chad could win this award every year I swear.
Kash Beachamp - Just one of many crazy ass baseball managers. He blew up during a game, forcing the umpire to smell his armpit (which is awesome). I'm just using him to cover for any and all coach blowups in baseball this year.
Matt Light - Obvious choice here. Anybody who wants to relive the girliest punches ever, go right ahead. I can't help but laugh at his patheticness. I don't care if it's not a word, I like it.
Mike Singletary - Wow. What a nut. He goes from doing commercials like this, to dropping his pants during halftime of an NFL game. Can't make a Turkey post without him.
Brandon Marshall - Crybaby of the Year, maybe. After laying an egg and getting shut down by the Dolphins earlier this season, he had this to say regarding Joey Porter. Strong words from somebody who failed to show up for the actual game.

So that's my list. No, it's not complete. No, it's not comprehensive. But it probably made you laugh. Now, Phinsider's, go forth and find more Turkey's and make sure to post an accompanying photo or video for everyone to snicker at. And, Happy Turkey Day to everyone.

The NFL responds to Crowder/Light situation

2008-11-26T21:14:37Z

As you know by now, both Channing Crowder and Matt Light have been fined $15,000 for their little altercation on Sunday. But this has set off a firestorm all over the internet regarding how these 2 punishments are the same.

Dolphins blogs/websites all over are filled with angry mobs who don't understand how Light gets the same penalty as Crowder even though Light threw (and landed) 2 or 3 punches at Crowder's head while holding onto Channing's hair. Crowder, on the other hand, did nothing but run away once he got out of Light's grasp, never throwing a punch. Our community is up in arms over this. Readers commenting at PFT also don't get it. Even the South Florida media doesn't understand it.

So I sent an e-mail to the NFL's Senior Vice President of Public Relations, Greg Aiello, to ask him what went into this decision to make both penalties the same even though it was Light throwing the punches - not Crowder. Here's what Aiello responded with:

Matt,
Both players were fined for a verbal and physical altercation. Our office fully reviewed the facts by talking to both players and others with knowledge of what happened. That review determined that Channing Crowder bore responsibility for verbally instigating the altercation in violation of our on-field policies.

I really do appreciate Greg taking the time to respond to me. But I don't necessarily agree with the thought process here. It seems like the NFL is saying that it's just as bad to "verbally instigate" the fight as it is to physically throw punches. It must fall under the logic that if Channing doesn't instigate the fight, then Light never throws his punches.

I guess us fans and the NFL will just have to agree to disagree on this one. But again, it's mighty nice of Aiello to respond to a blogger like myself. At least the NFL cares somewhat about what we think - even if we disagree.

Thoughts on this?

Jake Long Update

2008-11-26T19:04:01Z

Jake Long Update

Jake Long did not practice on Wednesday. Instead, with his ankle heavily taped, he worked on the side doing some rehab drills and whatnot. Good news, though, is that Jake didn't walk with a noticeable limp.