Of course, the big story this weekend was the Super Bowl. I'll quickly touch on that, but then get into other things (Dolphins-related) that you may have missed while you were out and about this past weekend.
SUPER BOWL THOUGHTS
For a Dolphins fan, last night's game was something special. It was as special as it could be without having our team playing in it. Now, maybe (just maybe), people will really give the '72 Dolphins the respect they deserve and people can stop verbally making love to the Patriots. Because here's the bottom line: they didn't get it done. So when Tom Brady's and Bill Belichick's careers get talked about, I hope they mention the fact that they lost a Super Bowl in which their team was 18-0 and 12 point favorites.
As far as the game itself, it was everything you could ask for in a Super Bowl game. It was tight throughout and had a truly great 4th quarter. And like I've said all postseason long, this game was another example of how important the trenches are to success. The Giants' defensive line stepped up all game long, stopping the run and getting tons of pressure on Tom Brady. Meanwhile, the Giants' offensive line played very well, protecting Eli Manning and letting him make some plays. If there's any wonder why many (like myself) believe that the Dolphins have to address these 2 needs (OL and DL) first, this game should answer those questions.
PARCELLS SHARES THOUGHTS ON HIS NEW TEAM
There was a very interesting piece written by Armando Salguero on Saturday in his blog. In it, Salguero first writes that this is indeed Bill Parcells' rebuilding job. Sure, he's not GM. But "the entire NFL knows" it will be Parcells running the show.
That's not much of a revelation. But the following passage is:
"I talked to him a week or two ago and he was telling me he has only three or four players down there," another NFL legend said. "He believes he's got a punter [Brandon Fields], he's got a center [Samson Satele], he's got Ted Ginn, and maybe he's got a running back if Ronnie Brown gets back to being the guy he was early last year. But even Brown he's not really counting on."
Is that it? No Jason Taylor, no Zach Thomas, no John Beck, no Yeremiah Bell, no Vernon Carey, no Paul Soliai, no Channing Crowder nor Joey Porter?
"Nope," the man said. "That's it. He doesn't mention those other guys."
My first reaction to this was as follows: "Maybe he has a running back? Maybe? If Ronnie gets back to 80% of what he was becoming, he has a running back."
But I'll let that comment slide, as it will act as motivation for Ronnie to work his ass off to prove he is a true franchise back.
My next thought on this was how Parcells basically is saying he feels that Randy Mueller and Cam Cameron did a fairly good job in their only draft together. Therefore, I find it odd that he dismissed Mueller so quickly. But I suppose Bill wanted "his guys" in place in the front office and scouting department, so I can understand that. One thing I'm excited for, though, is to see how this regime will use Teddy Ginn on offense this year. But we'll get into that more once we see who is brought in as offensive coordinator. (Chris Palmer, anyone?)
My final thought on Armando' article, however, is that it's very likely Bill wanted this information to get out. And that's for a few reasons.
First of all, Bill is known to motivate by doing things like this. Will it work? We'll see.
Second, it acts as a smoke screen. For example, he didn't mention John Beck at all, leading you to believe that this regime isn't that high on him. However, I've been hearing differently (and that's all I'll say). But with the Dolphins looking to move the #1 pick, of course they wouldn't come out and say they like John Beck. Not when this team is trying to convince teams like Kansas City and Atlanta that they are seriously considering Matt Ryan at #1 overall.
Basically, what I'm getting at here is that this time of year, you can't believe anything you hear in regards to how teams feel about players.
But I'm curious on what all your thoughts are on this article by Armando.
FINS SHOWING INTEREST IN FLACCO?
You'll remember that last week I posted a video of Delaware QB Joe Flacco and said that he'd be the only QB I'd really want the Dolphins to consider on the first day of the draft.
Apparently, Flacco is already being looked at by the Dolphins. Here's what is reported:
Again, it's early and a lot of crap flies around this time of year, especially in regards to the draft. But like many of you, I'll be closely watching the scouting combine and Flacco will be one guy I'll be watching closely.