Flip This Defense
After an 0-7 start, it’s time to take a critical look at this team…maybe even an “A & E” type look. The Miami Dolphins are bad…wait, terrible…uuummm, horrible! We’ve reached the point that our team is a punch line. Yesterday during a segment on a popular NFL postgame show this question was raised, “Who wins first, St. Louis or Miami?” The answer? “St. Louis! Those ARE the Dolphins afterall!” Sad isn’t it? But sad doesn’t even begin to describe the mess this team is in. And now is the time to begin making the tough decisions and start the youth movement. It’s time to Flip This Defense!!
The time has officially come to stop trying to stick a finger in the hole in the dam. The age-old debate about whether Zach or Jason will get their first championship in Miami has been answered. What’s worse, we’ve also received the answer about whether these two venerable players can help this team win now.
It’s pretty obvious that the Dolphins aren’t one or two players away but closer to being more like 10 to 20 players away. Here’s how the flip begins…
Youth, youth and more youth!!! Stop acting as if Lorenzo Booker isn’t a part of the team. He has yet to see the field. Why? Is he not good enough? Was Channing Crowder just blowing smoke during training camp about how good he is? Were we suffering from a case of premature jockularity when the team drafted him? The answers to these questions will never be answered until this kid sees the playing field. I’m sorry but I can’t see drafting a kid if you don’t play him to see what he can do? Afterall, I thought he was going to see time at WR this past weekend.
But I think we all know that the problems don’t end there. It’s time to tear this defense down and start over – starting immediately!!
DT – Sorry, Keith Traylor, your tank is empty. You look tired and slow. You just ain’t got it anymore. Now is when we see what Paul Soliai and Steve Fifita have. Ship Traylor off to the NFL raisin ranch and go young.
Vonnie Holliday has not proven to be worth the large sum of money we threw at him during the offseason and will have to do a lot more after he’s healthy to earn that big payday.
DE – We’ve painted ourselves in the corner here. The team has all of three DE’s listed on the depth chart…THREE!!! I’d say that’s less than ideal depth, wouldn’t you? Jason Taylor isn’t just having an off year, he’s disappeared into the black hole of mediocrity. The only other DE’s listed on the team are Matt Roth (apparently a great preseason player and a bad regular season player) and Rob Ninkovich. I just don’t get a warm fuzzy when I look at the DE’s. Not much can be done here now except play out the string and go young next year.
LB – I’m about to utter the unthinkable. Zach Thomas must go. Sure, he’s almost always around the ball, but everyone seems to think that he’s an All-Pro every year when, in reality, he’s making plays because no one else is. He’s slowed down. He’s small. And, worst of all, he always seems to blitz right into the firm grasp of a waiting 350-pound lineman where he’s swallowed up.
Channing Crowder has been inconsistent this season. He has the potential to be a playmaker but still has to show improvement. Joey Porter – he of the $32 million guarantee – isn’t worth a fraction of that money. Hell, is one sack in seven games worth $32 million? I’m beginning to wonder if we’re paying him for his mouth and his uncanny ability to start fights in casinos rather than for his ability on the field.
Young? You want young? Okay! Abraham Wright looked good at times during preseason (see Matt Roth) but rarely gets the opportunity to show what he can do. There’s no better time than the present to let him step in and do SOMETHING – good or bad!
CB – Talk about bad! Just to think, I came into the season convinced that the offensive line was the weakness of this team. Boy, was I wrong! Will Allen and Travis Daniels have proven to be good for one thing – giving up big plays to the opposition. The word “bad” doesn’t even begin to describe their play. And I sure am glad that Andre Goodman managed to come back in time to be lit up by the Patriots. Michael Lehan? The name doesn’t exactly invoke confidence in the secondary.
Again, there’s no real youth here. No depth. But I’m not sure there’s an answer at either corner listed on this roster. But I don’t think that things could get much worse if the team brought in replacement players off the street. This may wait until the offseason but none of these players should be spared from the cut list.
Safety – Who can evaluate this position when we can’t keep anyone healthy? Our two best safeties are out and we now have guys back there who are probably just working as temps. One thing is certain – not a single answer has been found since the injuries began to mount.
This defense was the strength of our team only months ago. Now, they are a liability. Is it the players? Are the coaches to blame? Maybe it’s both. Either way, we need to stop trying to fool ourselves into thinking that either A) this defense is one or two players away, or B) that this defense is anywhere near championship calibur.
Blow it up and start over!!! Hell, would it hurt to have eleven new defensive starters next week? Would it hurt to start trimming the fat now? Would it be wrong to change defensive coordinators in midseason? Its certainly not as if the team is winning or anything. And I don’t see how it could get any worse than it is. You want to win? It’s going to take a while before that happens again in Miami and the only way to do that is to Flip This Defense!