Well it was another dud of an NFL playoff weekend - in terms of the quality of the games. For the second weekend in a row, three of the four playoff games weren't close. And the other one? Well it was probably hard for Dolphin fans to watch.
I think Sean Smith said it best via his Twitter account, "Wow...Jets huh?! Lol."
Are the Jets the luckiest team in the NFL? How else can you explain Philip Rivers throwing an interception right to a Jets defender's hands with no real target in the area? Or how about Nate Kaeding, who had missed only three field goals all season long, missing three field goals on Sunday - two of which were 40 yards or shorter? Regardless, you have to credit the Jets for turning a 60 minute game into what was essentially a 15 minute game. That's how you beat superior teams.
What I learned this weekend is simple. One - you need to have luck on your side this time of the year. And two - the Dolphins aren't that far off. After all, the Dolphins were just one Ted Ginn drop in the endzone from being 3-0 against the two teams in the AFC title game.
Enough of that, though. Let's move on.
Defensive coordinator search to heat up
The Dolphins will continue their search for their next defensive coordinator this week and you have to imagine things will come to a head pretty soon. With Al Groh and Keith Butler now out of the running, there are still a number of directions the Dolphins could turn. They could turn to Pepper Johnson - a guy with two Super Bowl rings while playing linebacker for Bill Parcells' Giants teams. He's currently the defensive line coach in New England.
Bryan Cox is the defensive line coach in Cleveland. That would be interesting to see him back in Miami roaming the sidelines. But he has little experience as an NFL coach and probably isn't ready to run a defense.
This past weekend's results may have helped the Dolphins as well. With Dallas losing on Sunday, Cowboy linebackers coach Reggie Herring would be available for an interview. As would Ravens linebacker coach Vic Fangio. I have a feeling we should keep a close eye on both of these guys.
Rolando McClain a "beautiful fit"?
It's no secret around these parts that my dream scenario for the Dolphins in the draft would be for safety Eric Berry to somehow fall to Miami's pick. But that's not going to happen. So number two on my wish list is Alabama inside linebacker Rolando McClain. And the "McClain bandwagon" is clearly getting revved up in the media.
Draftinsiders.com's Frank Coyle thinks that Miami's ideal scenario would be for the best linebacker prospect since Patrick Willis to fall to them. But what if he doesn't?
"McClain is a beautiful fit, but if he's not available, I would trade down from 12," says Coyle.
A lot of fans don't like the idea of trading down. But it might make some sense depending on who is available. We're going to talk much more about the draft in the coming weeks so I won't get too far into this. But I will just ask that if McClain was gone (and WR Dez Bryant was either already drafted or removed from Miami's draft board because of, among other things, who is agent is), where would you turn with that 12th overall pick?
Don't hold out hope for Boldin
After Arizona's loss to to New Orleans on Saturday, Armando Salguero caught up with Anquan Boldin. And those pushing for Boldin to come to Miami won't like what Anquan said.
Boldin, you see, told me as he walked out of the Arizona locker room that he will not request a trade this offseason.
"No," Boldin told me following Arizona's 45-14 loss to New Orleans said. "I'm going to let it play out."
"I can't do anything one way or the other," he said. "If I go to them and request a trade, it don't matter. I'm under contract for another year. So no matter what I say or do, that won't change anything. I'm under contract for another year. So whatever happens, it depends on what the Cardinals want to do. I'm not worried about it at all."
I can't say I'm at all shocked. I never really thought he'd ever end up here in Miami. Nor am I disappointed.
I love the kind of player Boldin is on the field. But he's just not on the field enough. Besides missing both of Arizona's playoff games this year, Boldin missed ten regular season games over the past three seasons. In fact, he's only played in all 16 games twice in his career. And he'll be turning 30 in October. Would trading away the kind of compensation Arizona would want for "Q" be worth it for a 30 year old receiver who plays so physical that he gets hurt a lot? Probably not.