It's time once again to clean out my inbox and answer some of the e-mails I've been receiving. And as always, you can sed your e-mail to phinsider@gmail.com. Onto the questions:
Q: AGAIN I am disgusted by the continuous B.S. moves that Randy Mueller and Cam Cameron are pulling off in Miami. You have got to be kidding me; a potential 4th round pick for a 37 year old Quarterback who is one hit away from being a vegetable. With this offensive line, I give him a 10 percent chance of finishing the season, so Mr. BYU had better be ready to play, and I'm sure that's going to be a joke too. Have these two clowns forgotten about a left tackle? Or who is going to play safety or corner? This team has too many holes in it to be giving away a 4th round pick for a quarterback that probably won't be here in two years. Cameron and Mueller have turned the Miami Dolphins into a clown college. I am ashamed to wear the aqua and orange!!!!!!
Wow. This also comes from a season ticket holder. But I'd have to dispute basically all of these points. First of all, Trent Green isn't exactly one hit away from being a "vegetable." The hit he took to sustain the concussion was a hit that would have given any player a concussion. It was a freak thing and it isn't really likely that Green will sustain another one. In fact, he's one of the most reliable QBs in terms of health. He also happens to be a much better fit for this offense than Daunte Culpepper and I, for one, am much more comfortable having John Beck learn under Green than I am Culpepper, who himself can't read defenses very well. And please don't go saying Beck is going to be a joke when all the reports by independent analysts is that Beck has a chance to be very, very good.
Now let's talk about the other points you made. First of all, they haven't forgotten about LT. They feel strongly that Vernon Carey will be successful as the team's new LT. Cornerback is an issue, but who were they supposed to get? Nate Clements got way too much money and Asante Samuel was franchised, meaning Miami would give up too much in terms of compensation to even think about acquiring him. So where should they have turned for a corner? Maybe you can answer this, because I can't.
Q: From a personnel standpoint, what's up with the left guard position? How has Vernon Carey looked as left tackle?
It's tough to say how Carey has looked, seeing as how mini-camps are all non-contact. But I will say this, from what I've read, it seems like the entire OL except for Carey has, at one point, "looked bad." But, again, this is non-contact, so who knows? As far as the left guard spot, it's seeming more and more like it's going to be a two-horse race between Chris Liwienski and rookie Drew Mormino. And even if Liwienski wins the starting spot, I wouldn't be shocked to see Mormino starting at some point during the season. Other guards on the roster including Tala Esera and Dan Stevenson have been working more on the right side, possibly battling to be Rex Hadnot's backup.
Q: Are you as concerned about the heath issues of Ronnie Brown & David Martin as I am?
No, I'm not concerned with the health of Ronnie Brown. He's not an injury-prone back and he has not been overworked by any means. If anything, he's been underworked. And though he has been injured in both of his NFL seasons, those were more bad luck than anything. Last year, especially, he got his hand caught in a linebacker's facemask. I don't think there are any RBs in the league who wouldn't have broken something on that. So no, Ronnie's health doesn't worry me one bit. David Martin, on the otherh and, does worry me. He's been injury-prone and is relatively inexperienced. Who is to say how his body will hold up over the course of a full 16 game season where he is the primary tight end. Hopefully he can stay on the field, but I do worry about it.
Q: I agree with your depth chart. After reading everything about the Phins Offensive line, I think you have it correct. However I do have a question on Mike Rosenthal. I have not heard a lot about him but since the Dolphins acquired him. I know he is huge man and a physical player. I orginally felt that Shelton should have stayed at guard over Liwienski and Rosenthal should have played at RT, but you don't even have him on the depth chart at all. So where is he in terms of a roster spot and how is he developing as a Dolphin?
Rosenthal is going to be an interesting player to keep an eye on in camp. He's huge, at 6'7, 318, and is very experienced. The way I see it, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rosenthal make the team as LJ Shelton's backup. But that would mean Joe Toledo and Julius Wilson both don't make it, which isn't a stretch, but seems unlikely. I just have a feeling the Dolphins want to go younger on the offensive line. I think there are really 4 players battling for two roster spots as back-up tackles. Those are Anthony Alabi, Joe Toledo, Mike Rosenthal, and Julius Wilson. Now, keep in mind both Alabi and Toledo are rather injury-prone and may not even be ready for camp on time, giving Wilson and Rosenthal a leg up on them. And it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.