While most of the headlines are being taken by the NFL labor issues, we’re planning on continuing to analyze the Miami Dolphins Roster and see which players might be added this offseason.  We’re keeping a pulse on the labor negotiations, but want to stay focused on Miami Dolphins football.  The team went 7-9 last year and a paltry 1-7 at home, so the need for upgrades is glaring. Today we’ll recap the QB Situations/Solutions, Update the CBA progress, Address the Dolphins Defense, and speculate on one big free agent acquisition that might make sense for the Dolphins.

Dolphins QB Situation/Solutions

Mando takes a look at the current state of the Dolphins quarterback position.  We found it interesting that the Dolphins have addressed the QB position in each of the last 10 years, except in 2010.  That is a lot of time, effort, and cost (draft picks, etc) associated with finding the Dolphins next QB.  There are a number of directions the Dolphins could go this offseason, but a lot of it will depend on the labor agreement.  If the Draft comes before free agency, will they use the #15 pick on a QB?  If free agency comes before the draft, will they look to sign a veteran to compete with Henne (Vince Young)?  Will they look to trade for a veteran (Kolb, Palmer, Orton)?  The options are there, but the direction the Dolphins choose will depend heavily on the timing of free agency vs. the draft.

NFL Labor Update

We are just over 16 days away from what should be the start of the new NFL Year.  On March 4th the NFL 2011 offseason officially gets underway.  At least, it will if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached.  March 4th is like Christmas Day/Hanukkah/etc. for Dolphins fans.  Usually, the Free Agency period begins and we get to see which players the Dolphins are targeting aggressively.  It’s the day when we get to see what Tony Sparano and Jeff Ireland have been planning since the Dolphins season ended in Foxboro in early January.  However, this special day, that we have circled on our calendars might not happen….at least not on March 4th.

If the NFL Owners lockout the players, the Free Agency signing period will be delayed until a new CBA is reached. That means the NFL Draft could come and go before the Dolphins have a chance to sign any free agents.  Certainly, this is a change from the normal operating procedure.  We encourage all Dolphins Fans to take part in NFL Fan Strike, an effort to boycott NFL Licensed Merchandise until the CBA issues are resolved.

For the latest news on the NFL Fan Strike, be sure to follow on Twitter @NFL_FanStrike

Dolphins looking to improve Defense

Dolphins fans everywhere realize that the offense was the primary reason the Dolphins finished at 7-9 in 2010.  If fans realize it, we can be sure that Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano know it too.  In the above article Omar Kelly takes a look at what areas the Dolphins could look to upgrade this offseason.  The one glaring, pending free agent is Paul Soliai.  At the beginning of 2010, did we really think he would be such a valuable signing?  Soliai was drafted in the 4th round a few years back and has improved each year.  Last year was a bit of a breakout year for big Paul.  If the money is right, it’s the best solution to the Dolphins nose tackle position.

Omar also mentions a pass rushing OLB to compliment Cameron Wake, among other areas.  The offense will probably get a bulk of the attention, but the Dolphins know that they must also look to upgrade the defense.  The defense improved dramatically under Mike Nolan, but upgrading the unit in Free Agency or the Draft is necessary if the Dolphins want to have a top flight defense in 2011.

Should the Dolphins Pursue Nnamdi Asomugha?

Matty at ThePhinsider.com offers an interesting suggestion for a way for the Dolphins to upgrade their defense in 2011.  Nnamdi Asomugha is one of the best CB’s in the league and he’s set to become a free agent once a CBA is agreed to.  He is great in press coverage, the defense Mike Nolan often asks his CB’s to play.  Signing him to a big deal would upgrade the defense, however it would create a logjam at the CB position.  With the Dolphins recently restructuring Will Allen’s deal, and the growth of Sean Smith and Vontae Davis, where would he fit in?  The Dolphins haven’t expressed any interest yet in Nnamdi, but if he was signed, we’d expect  Smith or Davis to be traded.  Perhaps they could garner a draft pick as compensation, or even an offensive weapon?  Time will tell, but adding Nnamdi to the secondary would be the type of upgrade the Dolphins are talking about.

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After a slow start to the week, we finally have some things to talk about with Miami Dolphins!  Most of the NFL world is focused on the labor negotiations involving the NFL and the NFLPA.  Things don’t seem to be going very well as both sides appear too far apart to even meet.  They were scheduled to hold a meeting today, but the meeting was canceled after yesterday’s session.  As we’ve said before, the lack of a CBA will drastically effect how the Dolphins approach the offseason.  If you are interested in joining the NFL Fan Strike, please check this out.  Here’s a look at some of the top stories concerning the Miami Dolphins:

Will Allen Restructures

Last year, Will Allen was moved to the IR list early in the season.  In fact, Allen was quite upset with the team and it looked like a long shot for him to return.  To compensate for Allen’s injury, the Dolphins traded WR Greg Camarillo to the Vikings for CB Benny Sapp.  In a somewhat surprising turn of events, we learned earlier that Will Allen has restructured his contract and will be with the Dolphins for the 2011 season.  It’s worth noting that Sapp played decent for the Dolphins, but Allen should be an upgrade as the nickel corner.  We expect Sapp to be released/traded at some point this offseason.

Dolphins interested in Cam Newton?

According to a report, which can be found in the above link, the Dolphins have inquired ‘heavily’ about Cam Newton.  Like we said before, some mock drafts have the Dolphins selecting Newton with the #15 pick in the draft.  We’d expect to see a lot of these reports leading up to the draft.  Remember, not too long ago the Dolphins were really interested in Colin Kaepernick?  Teams will leak the information before the draft, but we wouldn’t read too much into it.  Every Miami Dolphins fan knows the Dolphins will look to upgrade the QB position.  If they are talking to Newton and Kaepernick, they’re just doing their due diligence.

Having said all that, Newton could the a player that the Dolphins could groom as their future QB.  They have a lot of other holes to fill on the roster.  Some compare his play to Big Ben, but he obviously has some off the field issues that have to be investigated.  Drafting Newton would likely mean that Chad Henne is the Dolphins starter in 2011, as many think Newton will need time to mature and grow into an NFL starter.

Paul Soliai and the Franchise/Transition Tag

Today is the deadline for teams to place the Franchise or Transition Tag on their own players that are set to become free agents.  As Mando mentions in the above article, it is unlikely that the Dolphins will use either tag on any of their players.  Some fans think that Paul Soliai is worth at least a transition tag.  We disagree.  Yes, he had a very good season last year. The Dolphins will likely make him a contract offer, but not at the numbers that would be giving to the transition tag.  Remember, the Dolphins went into 2010 thinking that their front 3 would be Jared Odrick DE, Randy Starks DT, and Kendall Langford.  Soliai was slated to be a backup, although he showed last year how valuable he was.  We think he’ll resign in Miami, perhaps a 3 year deal.

Thanks for reading!  Remember to follow us on Twitter @phinnation for the latest Dolphins news

The 2010 NFL Season has officially come to an end.  Last night’s Super Bowl was an exciting game, but in the end it was the Packers holding off the Steelers 31-25 to win their 4th Super Bowl Championship.  The game looked like a route early, as the Packers jumped out to a 21-3 lead, but the Steelers fought back.  They trimmed the lead to 28-25 in the 4th quarter, but allowed the Packers to drive down for a lead-widening field goal.  The Packers held on and Aaron Rodgers won his first Super Bowl, and also collected the MVP trophy.  It should be noted that the Miami Dolphins beat the eventual Super Bowl Champions, in Green Bay, during the regular season.  Are the Dolphins really THAT far away from being a serious contender?  Unfortunately, we think the answer is yes.  Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel agrees with us in his article here.

Aside from the game, we were disappointed with the commercials for the most part.  We like the ETrade commercials and some of the Bud Light commercials.  But our favorite of the night, came early in the game:

With the amount of uncertainty surrounding the upcoming NFL offseason, there are various opinions and directions on how the Miami Dolphins should go about improving their team.  Today we’re going to look at the upcoming April Draft and which players the Dolphins might target.  If there is no CBA agreed to by the time of the draft, Free Agency will not happen until after the draft is completed.  This obviously plays into the strategy of how Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano will look to upgrade the roster.

There are a number of mock drafts out there, but the truth is that no one knows how the draft will unfold in any given year.  This is especially true when we don’t even know if Free Agency will take place before the draft.  We say this to advise you against reading too much into what mock drafts might say.

So who might the Dolphins be looking at in late April, when pick #15 is on the clock?  We’ll go through a few of the popular mock draft sites in a moment.  But first, it should be noted that the Dolphins will likely look to trade backwards in the first round and potentially pick up a 2nd round pick.  So again, these picks are based on the Dolphins keeping the #15 pick and selecting a player.

Drafttek.com – This site is one of my favorites.  They run weekly simulations of their mock draft, so it’s continuously updated.  They take into account team’s needs and the offensive/defensive systems they run.  Earlier this offseason, Drafttek.com had the Dolphins selecting Mark Ingram, RB Alabama.  However, now they have the Dolphins selecting Cam Newton, QB Auburn.  The Dolphins analyst they have states that Newton might be the best pick, talent wise, but perhaps not best for a regime that needs to win now.   We’re still working on who we think the Dolphins should target in their qb search, but Newton is one that might make the list.  Some say he reminds them of Jamarcus Russell, but we see more of Big Ben in Newton.  He has all of the physical tools you would want in a QB.  The key with Newton being successful will be his ability to read complex defenses quickly.

InsideTheEagles.com – This site sounds odd, since we’re talking about the Dolphins draft.  BUT, year in and year out the site has updated mocks that are usually pretty good.  At this time, they have the Dolphins selecting Jake Locker, QB Washington.  We can’t say we’re happy with this pick, especially considering some of the other options that are still on the board in this mock, when the Dolphins pick.  Locker had an inconsistent senior year, which has raised a number of questions about him as he enters the draft.

Footballsfuture.com - Another mock draft, another one saying that the Dolphins will pick a quarterback.  Footballs Future thinks the Dolphins will select Cam Newton, QB Auburn.  Like Drafttek.com, they admit that the Newton has the most upside for the Dolphins, although he won’t be able to play at a high level immediately.

CNNSI.com – Don Banks at CNNSI thinks the Dolphins will select Mark Ingram, RB Alabama.  I don’t know if Ingram is the running back the Dolphins need, but the last line of Banks’ Dolphins analysis says “With Ingram in his backfield, Miami’s Chad Henne would already be a better quarterback”. Most people realize that if Henne is still the QB, the Dolphins need other upgrades on offense.

Don’t forget, tomorrow is the deadline for the Guest Blogger submissions, for details check here.

If you are looking for an update on the NFL Fan Strike click here. We’re only 2 days away!!!!

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The once busy offseason for the Miami Dolphins has gone quiet.  So what we are left with is a lot of speculation and opinion pieces.  Today we’re going to take a look at the State of the Dolphins quarterback position, give you our take on Anthony Fasano, and remind you about our Guest Blogger Contest.

State of the QB Position

ThePhinsider.com takes a look at the current state of the Miami Dolphins quarterback position.  This will certainly be a position that the Dolphins look to upgrade in the offseason, whether it be through the draft or free agency.  Chad Henne is the only quarterback under contract, so additions and upgrades must be made.  The Dolphins have many needs entering the offseason, but the one that they absolutely must get right is the quarterback position.  If they bring in a veteran and rookie RB that don’t exactly shine, it can be overcome by good QB play.  Quarterback is by far the most important position on the football field.  Whether it’s signing Vince Young once he’s released, trading for Kyle Orton, or drafting Colin Kaepernick, the Dolphins will make a move for a QB this offseason.

Is Fasano good enough at TE?

DolphinShout.com takes a look at Anthony Fasano and asks if he is a good enough tight end for the Dolphins, moving forward.  We agree that Fasano is good enough, but we think an upgrade (and certainly some depth) are needed.  Granted, they have Tom Brady at QB, but the Patriots drafted not 1, but 2 rookie tight ends in 2010, and they both excelled.  If the Dolphins can add a tight end with some speed, it might give the Dolphins quarterback (whoever it’s going to be), another downfield threat.  We like Fasano, he’s not great, but he’s a solid blocker and a good receiver of the football.  All we’re saying is that the Dolphins could use a young TE to compliment him.  In addition, if the Dolphins can help sure up the offensive line, Fasano won’t have to stay in and block as much as he had to in 2010.  This will open up the middle of the field for whoever the QB is.

Why does Kosar like Daboll so much?

Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel breaks down why Bernie Kosar thinks so highly of Brian Daboll, the Dolphins new offensive coordinator.  Essentially, Bernie blames the lack of talent in Cleveland for the issues on offense during Daboll’s reign as OC.   How much more talent is there in Miami?  Hard to say before the offseason changes are made.  One thing the Dolphins expect to add to their offense this offseason is some much needed SPEED!

PhinNation.com Guest Blogger Contest

There are only two days left to enter the PhinNation.com Guest Blogger Contest!  We want to know what Dolphins’ fans think about the upcoming offseason.  What would you do to improve the team?  How would you fill the holes if you were Jeff Ireland?  We are really excited to hear what you have to say!

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

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