Thomas and Crowder Expected Back, Need to Make Impact
Throughout the past couple of years, we’ve come to expect one thing from this Dolphins team and that is that our defense will punch you in the throat. The team can be good, the team can be mediocre or the team can be downright horrible, but the defense will kick you in the ribs one way or the other.
Last season was no different. The team struggled but the defense was one of the league’s best and Jason Taylor wreaked plenty of havoc on his way to winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. That said, I expected that unit to be even better this season and I argued that when I wrote my season preview a while back.
What we’ve seen so far this season from this unit has been a punishment for the retina to say the least. Right now, they rank somewhere between the Temple Owls and the ITT Technical Institute and getting Zach Thomas and Channing Crowder back this weekend will be big if we want to break that utterly disturbing trend.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that with our regular, spine crunching defense, we’d have 2 wins right now and maybe even 3. It might sound stupid and you can ridicule me all you want but think about it.
A defensive stop in overtime could’ve been the difference against Washington. With any defense at all we probably beat the Jets and gimpy Chad Pennington (when our offense actually musters up 28 points, we usually win). And some actual defense might have also been the difference against Oakland.
Coming into the season, the strength of this defense and probably the strength of this team was supposed to be the linebacking unit. Thomas, Crowder, Taylor and newly acquired Joey Porter were supposed to be running around like mad men right now…pillaging small villages and kicking J.P. Losman on his ankles.
This is how I envisioned it after Joey Porter came aboard…
"Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, Channing Crowder and Matt Roth will now bring so much heat that the sun will start to sweat. It’ll be so aggressive and dominating that it will keep Tom Brady from empregnating Gisele Bundchen. Thomas Jones just requested a trade out of New York, just to avoid the massive beating that his organs will be receiving soon."
Sadly, it’s been those guys that have been the most disappointing so far if you ask me. Taylor has failed to make a big impact and has shown frustration. Thomas and Crowder have both gotten hurt and Joey Porter has only shown why the Steelers were so ready to part with him.
No surprise then that Justin Fargas wore us like a cheap scarf on Sunday. But now Thomas and Crowder are expected back on the field on Sunday, and I’m hoping that it will give this defense a shot in the arm…especially having Zach back there making the calls.
Zach is the leader of this defense and he’s probably the hardest to replace and the past two games have shown that. If we’re to do anything this season, he needs to have his guys playing like the old days again.