Rebuilding the Dolphins: Needs

In our first two looks at the 5 part series Rebuilding the Miami Dolphins, we looked at the “make-up” of the team, as well as the “personnel” currently in place.  In this, the 3rd part of the series, we look at the needs.

Every year a teams needs change based on factors ranging from coaching philosophies, coaching changes, retirements, injuries, and of course previous years performance.  It is the latter that is sometimes the most hard to understand and even harder to get right.

Take for example Dolphins offensive lineman Rex Hadnot.  An underachieving lineman from day one in Miami.  Most fans wanted him replaced this past off-season prior to the 2007 season.  It did not happen and Hadnot, 3 years after being drafted is becoming a player that Miami will need to lock down prior to the end of the season.  Those are the players that you must decide on, the ones in years 2 and 3 that have yet to reach their potential, but at the same time have shown little that they have any to show.  That is what makes rebuilding hard.  Wait too long and you put your team in a deeper hole, replace them too early and you risk overpaying for someone who may do even less.  It is a catch-22.

The Dolphins appear, on the surface, to have a number of off-season needs.  However, a closer look combined with the current make-up of the team as well as the current players on the roster, and those “needs” are not as glaring…yet.

Offensive Needs:

QB’s:  The quarterback spot is not written in stone with John Beck.  What transpires in the 2007 season with Beck as the starter will not be a determining factor in the drafting of another high round QB in ’08.  Provided of course there is no coaching change.  Where the “need” comes in is with the 2nd and 3rd string units.  The Dolphins have Trent Green, and unless Green decides to call it quits, he will likely enter the 2008 season as the primary back-up.  Like it or not, he is under contract and offers the Dolphins a veteran who can replace the starter should he go down with an injury.  Concussion history or not.

Beyond Green, the unit is a little more muddied.  Cleo Lemon is a free agent, and will not likely draw much interest in the market come March.  It is possible that Miami may resign him.  He is familiar with the system.  However, Lemon is not the future of this team, and drafting a 2nd day late round QB or getting a young free agent QB would make more sense, and likely be cheaper as well.

RB:  This was the position that Miami did not seem to be worried about.  Now, with the IR status of Ronnie Brown and an easy 9 month rehab schedule, questions will linger on whether Brown will be ready for either training camp or the regular season.  That would leave RB Jesse Chatman in position to start next year as the number 1 guy, problem?  Chatman is a free agent this off-season and he may draw enough interest from another team, that Miami decides not to invest a lot of money in a guy who would likely be a backup on the return of Brown.

The other options of course are Ricky Williams, Patrick Cobbs, and Lorenzo Booker.  The two latter options have little experience and risking next year on their talent could be a problem.  In the case of Ricky Williams, relying on anything with him is a problem.  Williams could be a simple luxury for the team, but no one in Miami should expect or believe that Williams will be available to carry the load until Brown returns.  The Dolphins must look at either draft or free agent options.  The contract demands of Chatman could go a long way in determining the route they take.

Offensive Line:  What was originally thought to be the worst unit in the NFL heading into the 2007 season, has surprisingly been the best unit of the Dolphins.  Both consistent and productive, the line unit has one other thing going for it.  Youth. 

The most seasoned starter on the line is LJ Shelton with 9 years of experience and 1st year Dolphins guard Chris Liwienski who also is in his 9th NFL season.  The unit itself has 3 of the 5 positions locked with young  guys.  Rookie Samson Satele anchors the unit at center with Vernon Carey playing very well at LT in his 4th year.  Rex Hadnot is proving to be the real deal at RG.

The need comes in at the right tackle position where LJ Shelton, although much improved, is also still a weak spot on the line.  The Dolphins should be able to find a replacement in free agency or perhaps in the draft.

The problem of where to replace Shelton is made harder by the back-up prospects of Anthony Alabi in his 3rd year, Drew Mormino, and Joe Toledo who has yet to stay healthy enough to play at all.

WR:  The Dolphins took steps to improve the long term answer at WR by drafting the much criticized choice of Ted Ginn Jr.  Ginn is only now starting to show signs of being a valuable asset to the WR corp.  Granted he has only been in the position for a few weeks.  Although Ginn is not likely going to live up to a number 9 overall pick billing, the choice of Ginn at least fills a need.

The other WR spots are holes.  Derrick Hagan has just not been able to make the impact that many, including myself, thought he would.  Likely to stay with the team for the foreseeable future, the Dolphins need play makers at the position.  Drafting a WR will not be enough.  A full blown competition must ensue, which is why the Dolphins will need to look at free agency as well.  The practice squad players are exactly that…practice squad guys.

Offensively, the Dolphins as it shows, do not need a ton of talent, they need continuity under the same system, like the offensive line.  What they need the most is another WR, one who can open up the field with good hands and good route running.  They need to be able to get an underneath guy who can set up much the Welker did.  The Dolphins need a body in the RB position and another QB to learn the system.  With Depth not as much a concern along the line, the Phins need to find a young talented LG and RT, although, the need for either was greatly diminished with the overall play of the entire unit itself.

The Defense:

The Defensive unit has become a cliché.  Old, battered, worn, untalented, over payed, you name it, they got it.  It is a unit that over the last 10 years has found very little in terms of solid contributing talent.  Mistakes such as Eddie Moore and Jamar Fletcher not only set the team back on the defense but cost the offense bodies as well.

The youth of the defense is just that, youth.  Only Yeremiah Bell (on IR), LB Channing Crowder, and DE Matt Roth are young starters who have yet to reach their potential.  However, they are still questionable in some way.

As a whole, the defense is a wreck.  Needs sprinkle the line, the LB’s, the CB’s, and the Safety spots.

DL:  Although Rodrique Wright is young, he has shown some flashes of being able to be a solid contributor on the Dline.  However, like the other young guys on the team, they lack the bulk and brutish strength to clog the line and kill the oppositions running game.  With the likely departure of Jason Taylor at years end, a large hole on the line will need to be filled.  Many will point to the DT spot, but DE is just as hard to fill.  Vonnie Holiday currently anchors the right tackle spot and Keith Traylor will need to be replaced as well.  Solid depth is a must for a unit that has been plagued by injuries this season.

Despite the overall need for a body on the Dline, the Dolphins have youth, therefore the drafting of a Dline-man early is not necessary.  Free agency should provide a capable veteran who will not be overly expensive while the youth of the line get better.  DE is the spot to look for in the draft.

LB:  If there is a must position in the draft this year, a solid middle line backer is it.  Zach Thomas is all heart but his body can no longer take the rigors of the NFL game on a game by game basis.  He is still 100 percent no stop and productive, but the team has to find his replacement. 

On the outside, Channing Crowder is best as a weak-side player and the Dolphins will need to find some depth for the unit.  Derrick Pope is young, but he is not a stand out player and Donnie Spragan barely rejoined the team this year and will be a free agent after the season.

DB:  This is the unit, the only unit, that MUST be addressed.  The “Needs” of the Miami Dolphins rest with this unit.  Will Allen is a productive corner but he is not a shut down corner and opposite him, the play of Andre’ Goodman is tempered by the fact that he gets injured too often.  Neither of the players are consistent in the takeaway department, and Miami needs takeaways. 

If you drop in the safety area of the team, you will find Yeremiah Bell.  Young, a hard hitter, Bell came into his own last season but has been on IR since week 1.  Behind him, a mixed bag of in-season free agent signings have been made to shore up a depleted position.  With injuries hitting hard, the Dolphins must find players that can come in and take over a game.

Defensively, the Dolphins have many needs.  From Dline depth to a veteran starter along side Holiday, a defensive end replacement for Jason Taylors’ inevitable departure, to a young middle LB to replace the aging Zach Thomas and another young LB who can play inside or out, a couple of shut down corner-backs, and a safety who can orchestrate it all.

The Dolphins have had mixed results with both their free agent signings and their draft choices over the last decade.  With the salary cap space projected to be between 22 and 30 million dollars, the Phins should be able to go out and sign a few young bodies in free agency, and work the draft from a probable first overall pick in each round.

The holes are many, but filling them is not impossible.

Join us on Monday as we present part 4 in the series, “Commitment”