Thankfully, on Friday, the NFL Owners and NFLPA agreed to extend their negotiating deadline until March 11th, this coming Friday.  Hopefully the two sides can work out the new CBA by then.  If they do, business in Miami..and across the NFL, will surely pick up.  Once the CBA is done, Free Agency in the NFL can start and the Dolphins can begin to negotiate with players, they believe, will improve the roster for the 2011 season.

Ocho loves Miami?

Chad Ochocino and the Dolphins

The Cincinnati Bengals are in a a bit of disarray right now.  Their quarterback, Carson Palmer is threatening to retire if the team doesn’t cut/trade him this offseason.  Chad Ochocinco sees this all unfolding and has begun to flirt with other potential suiters, through the media.  On Thursday, Mad Chad extended his flirtation to the Miami Dolphins.  Chad said that Miami has always been his team, even suggesting that he uses the Dolphins whenever he plays Madden video games.  I’m certainly flattered.  Chad is just doing what his agents are telling him to do.  His comments in the above story are nice, but he is saying nice things about a number of teams.  He’s trying to create a market for his services this offseason.  Yes, he still has a contract with the Bengals, but that may only be for the time being.

Look, if this was 2007 and Chad was interested in coming to Miami, we’d be all in for the move.  But right now, the move should only be made if it is a calculated risk. Chad’s skills are diminishing at this point in his career.  If he would accept a low dollar deal to come to Miami, the Dolphins should welcome him.  But, they should not pay him a big contract.  Plus, think about that locker room…Chad Ochocinco AND Brandon Marshall?  Scary…On the other hand, think of the possibilities on the field….Could be scary too!

Dolphins O-line as it currently stands

Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post takes a look at the Dolphins offensive line, including the tendering of Nate Garner and the re-signing of Richie Incognito.  The Dolphins pass protection wasn’t the issue in 2010, it was the inability to run block effectively.  We agree with Ben and think the draft priority for an offensive lineman is high.  The Dolphins should look to upgrade the guard, or even RT, either in the draft or free agency.

Is Soliai enough?

Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel takes a look at the Dolphins Nose Tackle position in the above article.  Yes, the Dolphins just placed the franchise tag on Paul Soliai for $12 mil.  However, Omar asks an interested question.  What if Soliai can’t duplicate his impressive 2010 season? Where will the Dolphins turn in 2012?  With a deep draft at the NT position, we agree that the Dolphins would be wise to draft a nose tackle to develop for the future.  If Soliai repeats his impressive 2010 campaign, the Dolphins will have depth at one of the most important positions of their 3-4 defense.

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While the NFL Labor Issues taking most of the headlines, the original deadline of midnight March 4th has caused many teams to make last minute signings.  Today we’ll fill you in on some of the bigger names that have signed, as well as update you on the CBA negotiations.  We’ll also let you know about a ‘source’ that says the Dolphins have Cam Newton as their top target for this year’s draft.

Matthew Tosh

Dolphins might trade up for Newton?

Could it be true?  Or could it be a strategic ‘leak’ by the Dolphins?  According to Incarcerated Bob’s ‘NFL Source’, the Dolphins have made Cam Newton their top target in the NFL Draft.  Incarcerated Bob breaks stories for RotoInfo.com, however he’s very active on Twitter.  He tweeted on Wednesday:

**NFL NEWS**Source: Dolphins have made Cam Newton priority #1 at draft – Dolphins know he will not slide down so they are willing 2trade up

We’ve mentioned him  before, but Incarcerated Bob is right much more than he is wrong.  He has quite a few sources and he is usually ahead of the mainstream media.  If the source is not associated with the Dolphins, could they really be looking to bring in Newton?  Could it be a team the Dolphins spoke with about trading up?  We like Newton as a QB prospect from a physical and athletic standpoint.  But, the Dolphins must be careful with a player like Newton….or they could be drafting another Vince Young (as Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel recently compared him to).

However, we have to wonder who the source is.  What would the Dolphins gain by releasing this information?  If they do intend on trading up, why would they want this information known?  If anything, a strategic ‘leak’ would only be beneficial if they did not plan on trading up.  Otherwise, the Dolphins are telling the rest of the league that they are moving up to get a certain player.  That’s like showing your hand halfway through a poker game.

Dolphins Re-Sign Richie Incognito

Yesterday we told you about the Dolphins tendering a contract offer to restricted free agent OL Nate Garner. We mentioned that the Dolphins will probably have Garner compete for the starting left guard spot on the offensive line.  This left us to question what would become of wouldbe free agent Richie Incognito.  It turns out the Dolphins had Incognito in their plans as well.  Last night, the Dolphins agreed to a 3 year deal with Richie.  Incognito started the year at Left Guard, but towards the end of the year, he moved to Center and held down the position rather well.  Could the Dolphins have their offensive line set?  Jake Long LT, Nate Garner LG, Richie Incognito C, John Jerry RG, Vernon Carey RT?  We haven’t been through the draft or free agency yet, but it seems the Dolphins have a solid start to the O-line for 2011.

Among the other last minute signings:

San Diego Chargers – signed former All-Pro Safety Bob Sanders

Carolina Panthers –  signed TE Jeremy Shockey

Washington Redskins – signed Safety OJ Atogwe

Green Bay Packers – re-signed LB AJ Hawk

Houston Texans – re-signed TE Owen Daniels

This may be the last we see of signings for some time.  While the CBA negotiation window has been extended, Chris Mortenson of ESPN is saying that player signings cannot happen until a new CBA is ratified.

CBA Update

Today would be the first official day of NFL Free Agency if the Owners and Players had started negotiating earlier and agreed on terms of the new CBA.  We’d be sitting impatiently by our computers and TVs, watching to see what big name players were on the move to a new city.  Would the Dolphins be on the phone with DeAngelo Williams (an obvious favorite of ours)?

Unfortunately, Free Agency will be delayed until the CBA is done.  The two sides may have taken a step in the right direction (albeit a small step), but extending the current CBA by 24 hours to allow for additional negotiations.  Make no mistake, the new CBA will not be finalized tomorrow.  However, the two sides could agree to extend the CBA talks for another 5-10 days, according to various news outlets.   The two sides are said to still be far apart, but an extension can only be viewed as a positive step.  After all, we didn’t see the NFLPA decertify and we didn’t see the Owners Lockout the Players…Baby Steps..Baby Steps….Hopefully, this CBA gets done soon so we can end the NFL Fan Strike and we can focus on how the Dolphins are going to improve the roster for an exciting 2011 season.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @phinnation for the latest Dolphins news

As we wrote in our earlier post today, the clock is about to strike midnight (literally) on the CBA negotiations.  At 11:59pm EST, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFLPA and NFL Owners will expire.  If you are interested in all of the details, check our story from earlier, by clicking here.  We’ll put the CBA talk on hold for the rest of this post and focus on the Miami Dolphins, we promise.  So here’s a look at some of the news effecting the Dolphins today:

Nate Garner the Dolphins Starting LG?

Today the Dolphins tendered a contract to 3 year veteran offensive lineman, Nate Garner.  Garner is a restricted free agent, meaning the Dolphins had to tender him an offer to avoid losing him.  Garner missed all of the 2010 season due to injury, but will be ready for the 2011 season.  Garner is said to be a favorite of Dolphins coach Tony Sparano.  Garner stepped in and helped the Dolphins in 2009 when injuries depleted their offensive line towards the end of the year.  Remember the game when he played Center, Guard, and Tackle?!

Garner will get a chance to complete for the starting LG spot next to Jake Long.  Some think he will be an upgrade over Free Agent Richie Incognito as he is a better pulling guard than Richie.  The inability for the Dolphins guards to pull on running plays last year led to the below average 3.7 ycp average on running plays.

Tyler Thigpen not necessarily back?

Yesterday we posted a story about the Dolphins tendering Tyler Thigpen, a supposed restricted free agent.  We say supposed because Thigpen is a 4th year veteran.  If the new CBA reverts to the old free agency rules (which many think it will), then Thigpen will be an unrestricted free agent.  All this means is that the contract tender given to Thigpen might be as worthless as Ted Ginn (low blow?).  If the new CBA states that 4th and 5th year veterans are unrestricted, then the restricted tender is simply withdrawn.

So yesterday, we may have been a bit premmature to say that Chad Pennington’s days in Miami are over.  If Thigpen is a unrestricted, he’ll likely look for another team that gives him a chance to start. If that happens, Chad Pennington COULD be back with the Dolphins as Chad Henne would be the only legit QB left on the Dolphins roster.

Patrick Cobbs not tendered?

Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post of Twitter said that his source indicated the Dolphins have not tendered Patrick Cobbs.  Cobbs has been a favorite of Tony Sparano in recent years and has contributed with solid special teams play.  However, if the Dolphins decide not to tender him, he will become an unrestricted free agent.

Cam Newton Probabilities

Tim Graham is the AFC East Blogger for ESPN.com.  In his story here, he gives his thoughts on the probabilities of each team in the AFC East drafting Cam Newton, QB Auburn.  Not surprisingly he lists the Buffalo Bills as ‘High’  (they do hold the #3 pick in the draft!).  He lists the Dolphins chances as ‘Medium’ and says this:

“The Dolphins have doubts about Chad Henne and don’t have any backups at the moment. They’d love to get their hands on Newton, but it’s doubtful he falls to them with the 15th pick.”

We like Cam Newton as a prospect.  It’s the off the field issues that scare us.  If the Dolphins do their due diligence and he checks out, I’d be very happy if they took him with the #15 pick.  But, like Graham says, he probably won’t be there at 15, which means the Dolphins would have to move up.  If the Dolphins, the people who LOVE draft picks, were to move up and get Cam Newton, they would have to be 100% sure his head is on straight.

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We’re now about 36 hours away from the NFL Offseason coming to a grinding halt.  Talk of the Lockout will surely be rampant until the Draft gets closer, but it will be in the headlines daily.   With the Lockout set to start at Midnight tomorrow night, teams are placing franchise tags and tenders on their own wouldbe free agents.  Expect a flurry of news within the next day and a half, before the CBA expires.

Dolphins Tender Thigpen

Omar Kelly’s is reporting that the Miami Dolphins have tendered Tyler Thigpen.  Thigpen was set to become a restricted free agent.  The level of the tender is not known at this time.  By ‘tendering’ Thigpen, the Dolphins will have the right to match any contract offer given to Thigpen.  The move pretty much ensures that he will be back in Miami in 2011 (if there’s a season).  This is an interesting move.  Why?  Because with Henne and Thigpen on the roster, there is really only room for one more QB.  Yes, they have Tom Brandstater under contract, but if he’s on the active roster, the Dolphins front office didn’t do their job this offseason.  With Thigpen probably returning it means that Chad Pennington may not be in the Dolphins plans for 2011.  The Dolphins should be looking to upgrade the QB position, which would mean bringing in another QB that would essentially take Pennington’s spot on the Dolphins roster.

Zach Thomas/Jason Taylor Speak

Even after he left, Zach Thomas still respected and appreciated his time in Miami.  Today, Thomas was asked if he has been contacted by the Dolphins about being inducted into the Ring of Honor.  He said that the Dolphins don’t owe him anything, but instead that he owes everything to the Dolphins.  In our opinion, Thomas deserves to be in the Ring of Honor, as he was one of the driving forces of the Dolphins defense for many years.

The other driving force?  You guessed it, Jason Taylor.  Today, Taylor said that he would ideally like to play one, maybe two more years.  He said that he’d love to return to the Jets, who fell short of making and winning the Super Bowl.  JT was asked if he would return to Miami.  He essentially said that there has been no communication with the Dolphins and that the communication wasn’t very good when he was in Miami.  Like we said yesterday, if JT is ready to retire, we think the Dolphins should sign him to a 1 day contract so that he can retire as a Miami Dolphin.

Should the Dolphins Draft a Running Back?

ThePhinsider.com suggests that Mark Ingram’s slow 40 yard dash time isn’t necessarily as bad as some have made it out to be.  Ingram is not a burner, he’s a power running back with great vision.  Matty also takes a look at some of the other running backs out there.  If you’re a reader of this site, you know that we love DeAngelo Williams and would like to see the Dolphins sign him, whenever the CBA is done.  However, if that plan falls through, we believe the Dolphins should look for a RB in the 3rd/4th rounds of the Draft.  Ingram is being mocked to the Dolphins in many mock drafts out there, simply because he fits a need for Miami.  We wouldn’t hate the pick, but we think the #15 pick could be better utilized, in combination by taking a RB later in the draft or signing D-Will.

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It seems that even when the Miami Dolphins aren’t making news, they’re in the news.  Monday, we told you about the recent meetings between Chad Henne/Brian Daboll and the Dolphins players practices that are set to start at the end of the month.  We then told you about Armando Salguero’s assertion that the Dolphins had violated the CBA agreement by allowing Daboll to meet with Henne to discuss the new offense.  Armando’s assertion turned out to be wrong as the NFL doesn’t seem too interested in punishing the Dolphins.  In fact, it appears many teams QBs have been meeting with their Offensive Coordinators.  Now that we have that all cleared up, we’d like to praise Chad Henne for taking a leadership role on the team…Hopefully it translates onto the field.

Dolphins should sign Jason Taylor

Reports surfaced yesterday that the New York Jets have cut Jason Taylor. Let us be clear, we’re not suggesting that the Dolphins can use Taylor on the field next year.  Taylor is unsure if any other teams will be interested in his services for the 2011 season (if there is a 2011 season).  If JT is ready to hang it up, we think the Miami Dolphins should offer him a 1 day contract so that he can retire as a Dolphin.  JT spent a majority of his career in Miami and deserves to end his career as a Dolphin.  Some say he is a borderline Hall of Famer.  That’s a debate for the NFL HOF voters.  He WILL most likely have his name forever inscribed into the Dolphins Ring of Honor at Sun Life Stadium.  If JT is calling it a career, we would like to thank him for his time with the Dolphins and express what a pleasure it was to watch him play.

Judges ruling could effect CBA Negotiations

Until Tuesday, the NFL Owners looked poised to Lockout the players.  They probably still will.  However, their position of power was weakened a bit on Tuesday.  Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the NFL could not collect (and keep) the $4 billion in TV contract revenue for the 2011 season if no games are played.  The Owners were surely a lot more comfortable locking out the players if they knew they had $4 billion to fall back on.  The NFLPA gains a little bit of leverage with this ruling.  Hopefully both sides can come to an agreement soon so we can all get on with our football lives!

Please remember that until the CBA is done, the NFL Fan Strike will continue.  Supporters of the Fan Strike are continuing their boycott of all NFL Licensed Products until the CBA issues are resolved.  The Fan Strike is a way for the fans to have their voices heard by the NFL.

Stephen Ross Speaks

Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross, speaking at a golf event, said that it will be ‘business as usual’ for the Dolphins in the event of a Lockout.  Some teams are cutting their employees salaries if there is a lockout.  At this point, it doesn’t seem as though the Dolphins will be.  Ross seems to think that the labor issues will be resolved sooner or later as all parties involved do not want the issues to effect the upcoming season.

Draft Spotlight

NFLMocks.com takes a look at the Dolphins and gives us their thoughts on who the Dolphins might select in the NFL Draft in April. Interestingly, they don’t have the Dolphins selecting a QB or a RB in the first round….They have the Dolphins selecting an offensive lineman, Gabe Carimi from Wisconsin.  While drafting offensive lineman aren’t the sexiest picks, it’s clear that the Dolphins need to do a bit of rebuilding to their line.  This is just one of the many opinions about the draft (and there will be sure to be many more before April 28th!).  The truth is, no one will know who the Dolphins are targeting until The Commish makes the announcement on Draft Day.

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For what was expected to be an uneventful offseason day in Miami, the Dolphins sure did manage to make some headlines!  Earlier today, we filled you in on recent meetings between Dolphins QB Chad Henne and Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll.  Henne spoke with reporters and told them of the offseason meetings that he has been having with Daboll to learn the Dolphins new offensive system.  Henne also spoke about the players organizing practices in the event that the NFL Owners Lockout the players.

This sounded like a well conceived plan that the Dolphins had laid out.  However, shortly after the reports began to surface, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reported that the meetings are in violation of the NFL CBA rules.  Armando’s story can be found on his blog here.  Mando’s report certainly created a flurry of tweets and criticism.  There was even some jabs on twitter between The Herald and Palm Beach Post beat reporters…and it’s continuing.

We are not CBA experts, but according to the ‘no meetings and no playbook distribution’ statements in the CBA, it sounds like the Dolphins could be in the wrong here.  But, we’ll wait to see what the NFL has to say.  We reached out to a number of NFL ‘insiders’, but none of have replied at this time.  As soon as we hear further, we will certainly let you know.

It does make you think; 1. Did the Miami Dolphins know this was a rules violation? 2. Did Chad Henne discuss something he shouldn’t have?  3. If it is a rules violation, will the Dolphins be punished?  And if so how?  A coaches fine?  Draft pick forfeiture?  A lot of questions at this point, but no real answers yet.  We should know more later today, as this story continues to grow.

[UPDATE: 3:30pm EST 3/1/11] - NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said that the league will likely not take action against the Dolphins for the meetings between Brian Daboll and Chad Henne.  Apparently a number of other teams have had QB/Coach meetings and it isn’t at the top of the NFL’s list of concerns at this time.

For the latest, please check back at PhinNation.com later today and follow us on Twitter @phinnation

In a very interesting story, Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post discusses the Dolphins’ contingency plans for the NFL Lockout. Volin says that Chad Henne has been working with new Dolphins Offensive Coordinator to learn the team’s new offense. You’re probably saying to yourself  “of course, he should be!”  But, Henne is not only learning the offense for himself, he’s learning it so that he can teach the Dolphins other offensive players during a Lockout. Yes, the same Chad Henne that struggled in 2010 will be leading the Dolphins offense practices this offseason if there’s a Lockout.

Another interesting note from Volin is that the Dolphins players plan to start offseason practices in late March on their own, if there’s a Lockout. Remember, players can’t work at team facilities or with their coaches during a Lockout.  So it is critical that the players begin preparations for the 2011 season when they normally would.  We wondered if this would happen and we hope many of the Dolphins players take part.  I really hope the media is out at the Dolphins Player Practices, because it will be interesting to see who steps up to lead when no Dolphins’ coaches are around.

Remember to follow us on Twitter @phinnation for the latest Dolphins news and analysis