When Chad Henne made mention of his meetings with Brian Daboll late last month, the idea was for Henne to learn the offense so he could teach the Dolphins other offensive players.  It appears that at least some of the Dolphins players are trying to begin organizing practices on their own.  Many teams in the NFL have new coaches and/or new offensive and defensive coordinators, so we expect other players to be doing something similar.  While there are certainly some benefits to the Dolphins players practicing on their own, there are also some risks.  We’ll explore both:

Risks

- Insurance: While the NFL players are being locked out by the owners, they are not covered by health insurance.  We’re sure that most, if not all, players have picked up a supplemental plan (i.e. Cobra)…just in case.

- Contract Status: If a player is injured while practicing outside of an NFL sponsored camp, there is a good chance that their contract can be voided or reduced by their team.

- Injuries: While we love the idea of Chad Henne getting extra time in with Brandon Marshall and Davone Bess, we also shutter at the thought of any of the players getting hurt.  Can you imagine the outrage if one of the Dolphins star players was lost for the season while taking part in these practices?

- Offense discovered: This may not be a big risk.  However, if the Dolphins are holding open practices, isn’t there a chance that another team (cough, Belicheat, cough) could tape their practices?

Rewards

- Leader: Chad Henne, if he’s learned the offense enough, can finally prove to be a leader of the offense.  If he is the players coach during these practices, it will be natural for the players to respect Henne more.

- Head Start: With a new offense being installed, the Dolphins will be getting a head start compared to what they would if they waited until the Lockout was over with.  No one knows how long the Lockout could go, so any work that the Dolphins can get in while it’s going on is a bonus.

- Chemistry: Last year Brandon Marshall missed 2 months of offseason work with the Dolphins due to his hip injury.  If he and Chad Henne can get on the same page this offseason, both could show improved numbers in 2011.

Overall, we think it’s great that the Dolphins players will be working out and practicing together.  We’re eager to know which players will be taking part.  Yes, there are injury risks, but are the risks any greater than if they were practicing within the confines of the team facility?  We hope these practices are useful and help the team be as prepared as possible for the 2011 campaign.

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This weekend, the Miami Dolphins will hold private workouts for two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL Draft.  NFL.com is reporting that the Dolphins will welcome in Cam Newton (QB Auburn).  Armando Salguero is reporting that the Dolphins will also host Blaine Gabbert (QB Arkansas).  It’s interesting that the Dolphins are bringing in these top two quarterbacks, as both are expected to be long gone by the time the Dolphins make their selection at #15.

Maybe they are doing their due diligence.  They’ve also shown interest in Christian Ponder (QB Florida State) and Colin Kaepernick (QB Nevada).  This is the most likely scenario.  The Dolphins want to do their homework on all of the players that they think could potentially be available to them and can help the team in 2011 and beyond.

The NFL Draft is now only 32 days away and despite the Lockout, things may begin to pick up between now and April 28th.  There are a lot of rumors beginning to circulate, but it’s hard to know what to believe.  We even heard that the Dolphins were talking to the Bengals about trading up to the #4 overall pick….take it for what it’s worth.  Today we’ll cover a breakdown of Ryan Mallett and Mark Ingram, two prospects the Dolphins are rumored to be interested in.  We’ll also let you know about the new NFL Rule changes and Tony Sparano’s thoughts on Chad Henne.

Mallet/Ingram Breakdown

Todd McShay of ESPN.com gave a breakdown of two draft prospects that are likely to be available when the Dolphins select at #15.  The full story can be found here on the Palm Beach Post’s blog.  According to McShay, Ryan Mallett (QB – Arkansas), is expected to go in the second round of the draft.  We’ve seen him rumored to be a mid-1st round pick so this is a little surprising.  One concerning point that McShay brings up is Mallett’s pocket presence and ability to avoid the rush.  In the NFL there will be more pressure in his face, so this could be a problem (especially if the Dolphins don’t fix their interior line!).

McShay has nice things to say about Mark Ingram (RB – Alabama).  He says that while Ingram doesn’t possess great measurables (i.e. speed), he does have great anticipation and vision.  If he can improve his hands, he could be exactly what the Dolphins are looking for.  Tony Sparano stressed that the Phins will be a 2-back team, likely adding one speedy playmaker and one grinding back.  Ingram could be the grinding back the Phins are looking for.

NFL Rule Changes

The NFL apparently likes touchbacks.  In the spirit of player safety, the NFL has moved the kickoff line to the 35 (from the 30).  This will ultimately result in more touchbacks and teams starting with possession on their own 20 yard line.  Many of the games great returners have already voiced their displeasure with the move…and we’re not too happy about it either.

Another big rule change is that every  scoring play will be subject to reply as seen needed by the replay official ‘upstairs’.  This will eliminate the coaches from using a challenge on any scoring play, for or against their team.

Another Shot for Chad Henne

In this article by Ben Volin, Tony Sparano defends Chad Henne’s play in 2010 and says that he will get another shot at being the Dolphins QB in 2011.  Sparano thinks that Chad Henne has progressed and still has a chance to become an above average starting quarterback.  Keep in mind that Henne is currently the only legitimate QB the Dolphins have on the roster, so what else should we expect Sparano to say.  Once the draft and free agency (eventually) take place, we’ll have a better idea as to whether or not Henne will get a legitimate shot to start for the Phins in 2011.  Hopefully the Dolphins can bring in a QB, either via the draft, free agency, or a trade, to compete with Henne and upgrade the QB position.

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Today we learned that the Miami Dolphins have been fined for the offseason meetings between Chad Henne and Brian Daboll.  The NFL confirmed that 4 other teams were also fined for improper offseason meetings.  Initially, Greg Aiello of the NFL said the league wouldn’t be investigating the Dolphins offseason meetings.  Apparently, that changed.  According to the rules set forth in the now expired CBA, players were not supposed to meet with position coaches between the end of the season and March 4th.

Stephen Ross will be missing some of these!

Henne was meeting with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to learn the new Dolphins offense.  We first mentioned these meetings on February 28th, following Henne’s comments at a golf outing.  The thought was for Henne to learn the new offense so he could teach the Dolphins other offensive players in the event of a Lockout.

There is no dollar amount being reported yet, but at least it isn’t draft pick compensation….and we appreciate the Dolphins for having a plan to work through this abbreviated offseason.  Can’t help but feel a little bad for Chad Henne though.  On a day where some interesting photos came out from his vacation, he also has to deal with the Dolphins being fined for a meeting that he wasn’t supposed to talk about to the media!

Again, the pictures are what they are, the guy was on vacation.  The Dolphins shouldn’t be all that upset about them.  But maybe the Dolphins should’ve instructed Chad not to mention the meetings with Daboll….Maybe they did and he forgot….But we thought ‘robots’ weren’t supposed to forget once they are programmed?

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Label this in the “Chad Henne has some personality” file.  The Miami Dolphins QB does have a fun side!  Henne, the Dolphins presumed starting QB, was caught by TMZ cameras while on vacation in the Bahamas.  Henne appeared to be out at a restaurant/bar and looked to be having a good time, having a couple of beers. And by having a good time, we mean adding some muscle to his upper body.  We don’t want to ruin it for you, the pictures speak for themselves.  Check out the TMZ pictures, here.

We’re sharing this with you because we find it funny more than anything.  Some will criticize him for his actions, but not here.  Chad Henne is doing nothing worse on his vacation than any other NFL player is doing right now.  In fact, it’s actually nice to see that he can have a little fun.  Apparently Dolphins Coach,Tony Sparano doesn’t think so though!  Sparano spoke with Mando of the Miami Herald about Henne’s pictures:

Armando asked, “I assume that’s not what you want to see from your quarterback?”

“Good assumption,” Sparano answered

Honestly, compared to some of the off the field incidents that have taken place with NFL players, should the Dolphins be THAT upset with Henne?  Our guess is that by the time this Lockout is over and Dolphins Training Camp opens up, this will be a non-issue.  The Dolphins have many more important things to worry about than Chad Henne’s 20-something humor in a bar.

From a football perspective, we hope Henne does enjoy his vacation.  We hope he returns with a clear mind and is ready to lead the Dolphins.  Remember, he is the one that studied the new offense of Brian Daboll.  He is the one that is expected to lead the offseason, players-only practices during the Lockout.  If he hopes to keep his starting job against whomever the Dolphins bring in to compete with him, he’d better make sure he takes advantage of his head start with the offense.

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With the CBA conflict set to head to the courts, we as Dolphins fans have to wait patiently and wait before our teams can sign free agents or make trades involving players.  This morning, Armando Salguero writes in his blog that the Dolphins best veteran QB option is Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Picture by: SteelCityHobbies

Armando explains that Palmer is the best veteran QB option available for the Dolphins this offseason…whenever the new CBA is agreed to.  He points out that this thought is that of people within the Miami Dolphins organization, not his own opinion.

We think Palmer would be an upgrade for the Dolphins over Chad Henne, but that’s probably not saying very much!  Last year, Palmer threw for over 3,900 yards, 26 TDs/20 INTs and had a QB rating of 82.4 (stats by ESPN)  The key will be 1. If the Bengals will actually trade him, 2. What the cost will be to acquire him.  He seems intent on retiring if he is not released/traded by the Bengals.  When the new CBA is finalized, it will come down to a war of wills between Palmer and the Bengals.  Who will win could determine if he will end up wearing the aqua and orange of the Dolphins.

The uncertainty of the CBA could cause the Dolphins to draft a young QB instead of looking for a veteran to compete with Chad Henne.  The Dolphins have contingency plans in place for each CBA scenario….If only they would share them with us!

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Over the weekend,  rumors started to circulate around the upcoming NFL Draft. Keep in mind that the word we just used was RUMORS. We are about 5 weeks from the NFL Draft, so of course, rumors are beginning to fly.  Some will be smokescreens and some will be legitimate.  We’ll share the sensible rumors we hear, because it’s part of the fun of the NFL offseason…and sometime, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.  Despite the NFL Lockout, the Draft will still proceed as scheduled on April 28-30th.

Picture by: Marianne-OLeary

Over the weekend we learned a few things.  First, Blaine Gabbert (QB Missouri), scheduled a private workout with the Miami Dolphins.  This is on the heels of the Dolphins having reportedly scheduled a private working with Cam Newton (QB Auburn).  It is widely expected that these two quarterbacks will be gone by the time the Dolphins are on the clock at pick #15……

That brings us to our second point of this post…Yesterday, we saw that Incarcerated Bob of rotoinfo.com tweeted that the Dolphins and Patriots are both interested in trading up into the top 8 picks of the draft.  Let’s forget about the Patriots for now, they’re probably targeting AJ Green/Julio Jones OR a pass rushing OLB.  We followed up with Bob to see who might be in the Dolphins sights in the top 8…and he mentioned Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert.  Bob is the same guy that tweeted earlier this month that the Dolphins are very interested in Cam Newton and would be willing to trade up to get him.  All interesting notes that would lead a logical person to believe that the Dolphins think one or either of these young QBs can be the future franchise QB that Chad Henne apparently is not.

Keep in mind that a trade up to get a player would likely not happen until draft day.  The Dolphins are probably targeting picks 7-10 to see if either player falls into that area of the draft.  If they are both taken by then (say Carolina takes Gabbert and Buffalo takes Newton), the Dolphins will likely look to stay where they are at #15 or trade down.  We received some clarification this weekend from Greg Aiello on Twitter, that future draft picks (2012) CAN be traded for 2011 selections.  To move up that far, and without a 2nd round pick in 2011, the Dolphins would likely have to give up their #15 pick this year and next year’s first round pick. Remember though, with no CBA, there cannot be any players involved in trades.

Our Take: While the thought of Gabbert is exciting, the sacrifice of potentially 2 first round picks would certainly be steep.  Without knowing all of the details of interviews, workouts, etc., we would rather trade down, regain a 2nd rounder, and draft Ryan Mallett later in the 1st round.  However, Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano want to win as much as the fans do in 2011…as their jobs are on the line.  So, if they think that Gabbert/Newton could help the team more than Chad Henne, then this is the type of move that they should certainly entertain.

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