Rebuilding The Phins: Personnel

TDJets72027 · Nov 25, 2007

Starting with the QB, it is plain to see that the rebuild process has begun with the John Beck era. Beck fits the mold of what Cam Cameron wants in his offensive system. An intelligent game leader. A field general. Beck, on paper, possesses the arm strength to throw the ball, but also the smarts to manage the game. Beck comes from the same mold of the cerebral QB. He is not the gunslinger that Dan Marino was or Peyton Manning is, but he is a manager of the game like a Trent Green or a Joe Theismann. What is lacking in Beck is simply time. Time to evaluate if his talent matches that of those he is most compared to. Beck is the right fit for this system, but is he the right talent?

At running back, the Dolphins are set if and only if Ronnie Brown can return to health after his knee injury. Jesse Chatman is a valuable back up and is proving each week that he can carry the load. Ricky Williams is back, but Ricky cant be relied upon. The Dolphins may very well need to address this position in the off-season. Although Brown is a combination of a bruising back and finesse runner, his health has become an issue. With a team desperate for continuity on both sides of the ball, Browns lack of, is of concern.

The offensive line is the best this system has to offer. They thrive within the system. This unit is neither bone crushing nor simply finesse. They are intelligent. They have consistently improved from each week prior. Perhaps the best part of this unit, is its age. Vernon Carey and LJ Shelton are the old men on this line. Carey is only in his 4th year. With Satele and Hadnot in the mix, and young guys like Alabi and Mormino in the wings, it is clear that this teams unit is no longer a work in progress. It needs one more player to step up and anchor it. A right tackle. Whether in the draft or free agency, or maybe just in a healthy return of one of the young guys could solidify this unit for years.

The wide receivers saw a big change this season. The departure of Chris Chambers. Chambers has been the number 1 guy in the Miami offense for 5 years. His departure brought into question the capability of Mueller and Cameron to take this team into the future, aside from their record. Still, Chambers had one problem, consistency. Consistency again, more than anything else is the reason this team is where it is today. Chambers for all his talent could never really get it right over the course of several games. He brings to the team in his final bow, a 2nd round draft pick.

The rest of the WRs have questions themselves. Ted Ginn is showing flashes of being a very good WR. Still, it is too early to judge him either way. Derick Hagan is a question mark as a number 2 or 3 wide receiver although he is improving. The team will have to start thinking of replacing Marty Booker, and probably this off-season. Bookers production vs. his salary just do not equal each other. With the youth infusion on offense, another young WR addition through FA or the draft would be the smart play.

All in all, the offense has already made the biggest changes to accomplish the rebuild on that side of the ball. The QB is young albeit inexperienced, the same can be said for Ted Ginn. The line is the surprise and there is no reason to believe that the production does not continue to improve. This is a unit that could be around for a very long time. It is the basis for an offensive transformation that finally is showing the not so subtle signs of being great.

Miami needs to continue to address the offensive side of the ball. It needs another WR. A young one. It needs a running back as security for Brown which creates a problem. Do you go with youth through the draft and spend a high pick on a guy who may only see spot time if Brown is healthy, or overpay in free agency for a guy who may do the same? Do you draft a mid round guy or a take a risk on Ricky Williams, only to find out that Brown cant stay healthy and now you have to rely on the unproven and untrusting? The Dolphins will need to address the RT spot on the line, perhaps with what is already on the roster but not 100 percent healthy, perhaps in the draft, perhaps both. Maybe free agency will bring a young lineman to fill the need.

What is known, is that the offense is at a point where it can almost afford to draft some guys for development, or take a flier on a free agent. The offense does not lack depth as much as it lacks experience. In rebuilding this team, the concentration on the offense was done this past year. A piece here and there could almost complete it, then it is a matter of gaining the experience and the productivity. On the defensive side of the ball, that is entirely less clear.

The defense is as much in transition as the entire team as a whole. Where there is now direction on the offense, there is regression on the defense. Some will blame coaching, some will blame depth, some will blame age. In reality, it is a combination of all 3.

What the Dolphins do have is some youth along the front of their line. Matt Roth is in his first real year of full time play, so in reality, he is still learning. With the injuries along the line, the Dolphins have been able to see continued improvement from young guys like Rodrique Wright and 2007 draft pick Paul Soliai. Both are inexperienced and it shows, but there is hope. Vonnie Holliday anchors a line now at 30 years of age, and will be anchoring the line for at least another few years. His production decline is more of a result of system changes due to injury than his own fallout. The problem is with his teammate, Keith Traylor. Traylor is on his last leg, and at times looks like that to is gone. This off-season, Traylor needs to be replaced. The Dolphins just lack the experience and combined production to fill a 4-3 defense or for that matter a 3-4.

If the defensive front is a question in terms of experienced depth and productive starters, the LBs are a question of use vs. production. Like it or not Joey Porter is here for at least another 3 to 4 years. His production decline could be the result of several factors, age, health, or system. In Porters case, two of the 3 are likely. He is only 30 years old, but he is not utilized the way he was in Pittsburgh where he posted All-pro numbers and had an impact. Who or what is to blame is the question.

Inside, Zach Thomas is still the all go no quit linebacker that has been there for 11 years. What he is not, is healthy. Thomas is in the twilight of his career and regardless of what he says, his head injury and the recurring migraine headaches is cause for personal reevaluation. Thomas needs to call it quits. He says he wants to play another year or two, his body is saying go now. His absence whether by injury or departure leaves Miami with a gaping hole. Channing Crowder is the guy that fills in, but he is more suited to the weak side OLB spot, not inside. Miami needs to focus on the LB position if they are to successfully rebuild this team. Both outside where Derrick Pope and Donnie Spragan are unspectacular depth bodies, and inside where there is no depth at all.

If the Dline was bad, and the LBs were worse, then the secondary is a horrendous. There are only two bodies in the secondary that are young and hold promise, one is IR resident Yeremiah Bell at safety and the other is 2007 free agent safety Cameron Worrell. In the case of Worrell, he was brought to Miami for his special teams play, not his starting safety prowess. He has a long way to go to fortify that position, however, he is a no quit type of player and does not dwell on mistakes, but tries to learn from them. Whether he can remains to be seen.

Outside of those two individuals, the Dolphins possess little to build around. Will Allen is getting up there in age and is not a shut down corner. On the other side of the field Travis Daniels has not improved his coverage skills over the past 3 years. His promising future in his rookie season, has been hampered by injury, coaching changes, philosophy changes, and talent questions.

Jason Allen, the first pick overall for Miami last year, is starting to show signs of being a productive safety, however, just as it was too early to call him a bust at the beginning of the year, it is too early to say he has turned it around 11 weeks later. What Jason Allens play has done, is perhaps buy him some more time.

All in all, the team possesses youth in almost every portion of their offense and with the exception of the defensive line, lacks it everywhere else. In terms of overall personnel, the Dolphins have pieces on offense and few pieces on defense. Where on one side there is hope and promise, there is a lack of both on the other. What is present on that side, is questions. Questions of the system, questions of the talent, the coaching, the future of the only two real stars that the unit has.
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http://phinphanatic.com/2007/11/25/rebuilding-the-phins-personnel/

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Rebuilding The Phins: Personnel

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