Lamar Miller signs, Dolphins switch to 4-3, and Long to be franchised?

Jun. 04 News and Notes 4 comments ---Bill

It’s early June, but there are some notable Miami Dolphins tidbits we wanted to share with you.  First, the Miami Dolphins have signed another draft pick.  Late last week, the Dolphins agreed to contract terms with Lamar Miller, the Dolphins 4th round draft pick.  I believe Miller may be the steal of this year’s NFL draft and he could be the eventual replacement for Reggie Bush as the Dolphins starting tailback.  Miller has the type of of play-making ability that should thrive in the West Coast offense Joe Philbin is currently installing…think along the lines of Shady McCoy in Philadelphia.  The only unsigned Dolphins draft picks are Ryan Tannehill, Michael Egnew, and Olivier Vernon.  All should be signed well before Dolphins training camp starts in late July.

It’s been widely rumored that the Dolphins new defensive coordinator, Kevin Coyle, is bringing a 4-3 defense to Miami.  Well, even though the Dolphins won’t confirm it…it’s coming.  The Dolphins defense may be a 4-3/3-4 hybrid, but the 4-3 alignments will be used to take advantage of the Dolphins speed on the defensive line as the Palm Beach Post highlights here.  I know we’re still 3.5 months away from seeing this defense unveiled, for real, but I’m excited to see what they have in store for us!

Over the weekend we learned that the Dolphins may have plans for Jake Long after this year….only it might not be in the form of the long term contract he’s looking for.  As Barry Jackson confirms here, the Dolphins are prepared to use the franchise tag on Big Jake, if they can’t work out a long term contract with him before next offseason.  If Long regains his pre-2011 form in 2012, there’s no reason to believe the Dolphins won’t sign him to a long term deal before next offseason.  The Dolphins know how important Jake is and they don’t want to lose him, but they must see him return to the Jake Long that we all know and love….the dominating, best left tackle in the game, Jake Long.

Finally, in sort-of Dolphins related news, you may have heard that Ryan Tannehill’s wife, Lauren, will be featured in an upcoming issue of Maxim magazine.  I, for one, plan on buying the issue…you know, because I like the jokes in there.  If you’re eager to see some early pics from the photoshoot, check this out.

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  • michael mcbride

    I know Ryan’s wife is pretty, wouldn’t be nice if her husband turn out to a pretty good quarterback?

  • KillerFin

    Tannehill WILL be good, just wait & see!!! Start him week 1 & let it fly!!!

  • joecobb

    tannehill is no where near ready and probely wont be this year!!! Moore will do better with a whole offseason to work with this year and i belive jake will get his deal by next offseason!!! Lamar Miller was a steal in the draft! First round talent picked in the fourth round, “congrats too lamar and the fins”!!!

  • newengfinfan

    Agree I don’t think Tannehill is a starter this year. At least I hope they don’t. I’m sure Moore will be our answer this year. As far as Jake, I hope we are able to get something done, but not at the cost of raising our salary cap again this year. Word is as of right now, we’ll have about 40 million going into the off season in cap space. Not alot thinking we have a bunch of guys hitting the free agency market and will have holes to fill this year and def next year as well.