Jake Long Season Almost Over

Looks like the Miami Dolphins and Tony Sparano are about to throw in the proverbial towel on the 2010 season.  According to a source of Omar Kelly’s at the Sun-Sentinel, the Dolphins are seriously thinking of closing the book on the LT’s season and placing him on IR.  In other words, they are going to do the right thing.

Jake Long has zero business on a football field right now and the Dolphins need to protect that investment as much as he has protected theirs.

By deciding to put Long to rest for the remaining season, the Dolphins are saying that they realize what remains is going to be tough enough and losing Long in the process by doing more damage to his shoulder is not worth the risk. They are not really giving up on the season.  They simply are not going to risk the future of one of their best players for a season that currently sits a .500 past the half way mark.

If Long is placed on IR he will have surgery within the next month to repair the damage done to his Labrum, which was torn a week ago against Tennessee.  Amazing it hasn’t even been a full week yet since the Dolphins lost two quarterbacks and a starting tackle.  The question now becomes who would take his place?

The first thought is Vernon Carey.  Carey played the start of his career at LT and did o.k.  However, the last few years of Carey’s career has been a mirror image of a matador in a bull fighting arena or a revolving turnstile at Trump Plaza.  He has not been good.  The Dolphins don’t really have much more on their current roster and have a little over a week to find some street free agents to come in and work at saving this season.

Joe Berger, the starting center missed Thursday’s game and his absence allowed Cory Proctor to go down with a knee injury that will end his season as well.  Lydon Murtha would be the likely Jake Long replacement if the Phins do in fact end Long’s season.  The Phins can add Rey Feinga from the practice squad but may find themselves in a better situation adding free agent Jake Grove to the line, unless that bridge was burned on his release.

The good news is that Joe Berger will be back at practice this week but the bad news is that he is coming off a missed game due to injury.  Do the Dolphins really want Richie Incognito tossing balls into the backfield…again?  I doubt.

Back to Jake Long, Kelly says that Long is very adamant about finishing the season and believes that Dolphins won’t make a move until after the Oakland game when Long has 10 days of rest before playing.  I would suggest they add a few lineman to the active roster just in case he doesn’t make the whole game.  The fact is Long is a beast and doesn’t want to come off the field which also means that he will do a lot more damage before he tells anyone.  And that is why the Phins need to put him to bed until 2011.