18 New Faces Expected In Miami
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins turned over a large portion of the roster the year after Nick Saban left. Following the Cam Cameron canning, the Phins turned over almost half of the roster from the previous year. Now, entering the 2nd year for Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland, it appears that as many as 18 new faces will be lined up as Miami Dolphins come opening day.
Speaking with Sirius Satellite radio, Bill Parcells said that he expects around 18 new faces, a significant number of turnover given the past two seasons. Parcells said that this years schedule is a lot tougher than last years but that the team they field will be a much better unit.
That will be hard to top considering the Phins won the division, hosted a playoff game, and made one of the largest jumps from one year to the next in all of proffessional sports going from 1-15 to 11-5. Apparently, Bill Parcells and company expect it.
If 18 new faces will arrive in Miami then that also means that 18 old faces will be gone. With two members of last years team already cut, LB Kelvin Smith and G Matt McChesney, there will at least be 2 new faces. But who else may have played their final game as a Dolphin? Real names, not the bottom of the roster that tends to get cut, resigned, and then cut again.
The first name on that list is Channing Crowder who with his agent has not bothered to schedule any new meetings with the Dolphins brass about a new deal. The two sides are so far apart that with two weeks remaining in the 2008 season, officially, that Crowder will test the market and likely will not be back.
Vernon Carey, Yeremiah Bell, Andre’ Goodman, and Renaldo Hill are all also soon to be free agents and it would not be surprising if all of them tested the market. The Dolphins have stated that they want these guys back, but the players may be over valuing their worth or the Dolphins could be undervaluing their talent.
Another name that was mentioned earlier today is Samson Satele who could be traded by training camp. Vonnie Holliday is due a large roster bonus as well and may find himself cut or traded. John Beck could have a new home as could Matt Roth. The interesting part of it all is that only a select handful are really immune from being dumped which leaves speculation pointing at a variety of positions and players.
If Bill Parcells is correct in his vision and the Phins do indeed bring in 18 new faces, it would seem almost absurd for some of those replacements to not carry with them a recognizable name that doesn’t go along with a google search.
18 new faces is a lot on any team. When that has become the norm over the past 4 seasons…it’s no longer odd…it’s rebuilding. For those believing that Bill Parcells wants to win now…well…you may want to rethink those ideals. Bill Parcells wants to set this team up to win for a very long time.