Tin Bits - Friday, 12/4/09

• Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel posted on Twitter that "Despite his limited playing time Dolphins OLBer Cameron Wake leads the team with 15 quarterback pressures. JT is 2nd with 13."

• Quentin Moses wasn't at practice today, which makes me think they put him in the Buffalo game to see if he was worth keeping around.  It could be he was just an excused absence, but it could also be they have made space on the roster for another defensive back or wide receiver. Stay tuned for updates. UPDATE:  Moses had 'family reasons' for not being at practice.
  

• Joey Porter did not practice today.  I wouldn't look into it too much, he was not riding the bike or anything, just observing, so I'd guess they're just trying to not over work him.

• Justin Smiley was back at first unit left guard today, but Nate Garner wasn't going anywhere, lining up at RG with the first unit.  Again, don't read anything into this regarding Donald Thomas, who will likely be the starting right guard for the Dolphins for as long as he has his health.  Just trying to get Garner to be as good as they can get him.

• Patriots running back, Fred Taylor, was back at practice for the first time in two months.  Probably still won't play in Sunday's game.

• Buffalo probably wishes they could have saved some of their 24 points scored in the 4th quarter of their game vs Miami for last night as they fell to the Jets 19-13 in a short week.  The win gives the Jets a half-game lead over Miami for second place in the AFC East.  And while the Dolphins aren't out of the playoff race yet, they HAVE to get a win over New England in order to have a chance at winning the division, and that would only happen if New England lost at least 3 games out of the next 5 while Miami won every game.  In a wildcard scenario we have a very clear-cut path.  The final 4 teams we we play are all either 6-5 or 5-6 and vying for the wildcard spots.  So basically we have to win those games.  If we win all 4 we're looking good.  We could still get in if we win 3 (not including NE), but if we lose another two games we're probably out for sure.  So basically if the Dolphins want to get into the playoffs they could eke it out with a 9-7 record but a 10-6 record would probably get us in. Again, we'd only win the division IF we beat New England AND they lose another 2 or more games after that.

• It's just been reported that Larry King will be doing color commentary for the Dolphins/Patriots game on WQAM 560 AM radio on Sunday.  Per the brilliant blogger, Brian Mcintyre, "As strange as it may sound, the 76-year old broadcast legend handled color commentary duties for the Dolphins back in the early 70s. With new Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reaching out to celebrities to enhance the live-game experience, it makes some sense for the franchise to spruce up its broadcasts, as well.  Even it is with a guy who looks like a frog."

I Might As Well Drink Through This One Too - or - The Pats vs The Dolphins

A couple of weeks ago I got pretty toasted by playing a drinking game during the Dolphins game, taking a large swig of a 151-based concoction everytime an obscure player showed up on camera.  To be honest, by the end I was taking a shot anytime the Dolphins did ANYTHING impressive.  And they won the game, so I drank more than I thought I would.  

Well, I fear I may be doing the same thing on Sunday, because I've run the numbers and I don't think this is a highly winnable game.  I'm not going to do a huge breakdown here, we all know what the Pats like to do to the Dolphins, and when they execute, they put up 40+ points on us, time and time again.  With Ronnie Brown out, and no big plays coming from our passing game, we simply cannot compete with that.  Our only hope is that our defense makes big plays, and scores a TD or two.  That's pretty high hoping considering how they've played down the stretch.

Another problem is that Jake Grove will sit out again, and may miss the rest of the season, per early reports this morning.  Grove was brought in specifically to matchup versus the Jets', Kris Jenkins, and the Pats', Vince Wilfork.  Jenkins did not play in the 2nd game versus Miami due to injury and in the first New England matchup, the Pats played Wilfork at DE, taking him away from being face to face with Grove.  Now Grove won't play on Sunday.  The following week we face Jacksonville who is starting Terrance Knighton inside (he was my NT prospect in the 2009 draft, who was on the board when Miami picked.  At least we don't have to face Haynesworth when we play Tennessee.  

But Miami faces 3 teams in the final 5 games that are in the top ten in run defense and they may do it with a backup o-line.  Not something that inspires optimism in Dolfans minds.  

So I may be drinking on Sunday.  I may be hungover to start because my company's Christmas Party is on Saturday night, and the game is on at 10am Sunday thanks to the NFL changing the time so the nation can watch he who shall not be mentioned here.  And I'll tell you what my drinking game will be - anytime the announcers of the Miami game (Phil Simms, Jim Nantz) mention the QB who shall not be named here during the Dolphins/Patriots game.  If Dierdorf was commentating, I'd drink anytime he showed his man-love for the Patriots, but thankfully, I won't have to fill up the shopping cart at BevMo this time... 

Practice Squad Update 12/1/09

Well, there is one thing I'm happy about this week, as the Dolphins have signed former USF standout WR, Taurus Johnson, to their practice squad.  Johnson signed with Kansas City as an undrafted free agent in the spring, and spent time on their practice squad and was signed to the 53 for a short time.  Johnson is not big or super fast, but was an excellent big playmaker for USF, and you know I targeted him during the pre-draft days for the Dolphins.  He scored 15 TDs in his senior year.  He is an excellent kick returner, runs reverses, and catches with his hands.  His biggest asset is that he plays fearlessly, lunging for balls, taking massive hits in traffic, etc.  The Dolphins worked him out before the draft.

Here's the up-to-date P.S.:

1.  Tristan Davis, RB.

2.  Julius Pruitt, WR.

3.  JD Folsom, LB.

4.  Mark Lewis, C/G.

5.. Will Billingsley, CB.

6.  Taurus Johnson, WR.

7.  John Nalbone, TE.

8.  Nate Ness, S

It STILL Isn't Over

Despite the Dolphins terrible showing at Buffalo, allowing them to stay in the game before giving up 17 points in less than 3 minutes towards the end of the game, the Dolphins are still in the playoff race.

With New England getting trashed by the probably Super Bowl bound Saints, 38-17, the Dolphins could climb back to within one game of the AFC East with a win over the Patriots on Sunday.

I know that sounds pretty unreasonable considering our performance two days ago, but the fact remains it is a possibility.  As much as I would love to have a good position in the 2010 draft, I'd much rather win the division, or at least be 'in it to win it'.  That's what football is all about - winning.  Other sports often say it's all about going out there and doing your best, but in the NFL, it's better to do your worst and somehow come out with a win. So, right as I was about to start working on the 2010 draft prep, the Patriots said to me, 'wait a minute, we're going to leave the door open'.  

With Ricky Williams putting up Pro-Bowl numbers since becoming the starter (in 3 games he has rushed 69 times for 336 yards, 4.87 avg, and scored 4 TDs), and the probable return to health for Jake Grove and Justin Smiley, plus the increased experience of Joe Berger and Nate Garner, there's no reason why our running game can't carry us to the wins we need.  The question of course is not if our defense can hold up, but if our coaching staff can use the right players on defense at the right times.  I'm still blown away by the fact that while we were getting to the Bills QB in the first half, we took JT and Wake and gave the lion's share of reps to Quentin Moses, who hasn't played all year, and who played terribly in the loss.  I'm sure there'll be an announcement today that JT hurt his pinkie and Wake got locked in the janitor closet during halftime, hence the Moses playing time.

Clearly our best defenders right now are Randy Starks and Tony McDaniel, yet they too were pulled to give more time to Soliai and Merling.  I'm all for rotating, but sometimes when you see a player is hot, you have to sacrifice the reps of another player to keep the hot one on the field.  Our coaches don't seem to get that.  I'm very disappointed in them this year overall.  I questioned them a lot last year for a few calls here and there, but this year I've often questioned entire gameplans, personnel decisions, and the Pat White debacle in addition to the few calls here and there (which seem to be an every game occurrence these days).  There have actually been at least two moments where I thought they were actually trying to lose games on purpose.  I know that sounds crazy, but if you're even slightly paranoid, you might have felt the same thing.

So, the bottom line is that the Dolphins still have a chance to win the division.  If they beat New England, they'll own the division record tie-breaker and there could be a repeat of last year, coming down to the final game of the season for Miami to knock NE out for the AFC East crown.

So what do you think needs to happen for the Dolphins to win out their final 5 games?

Dolphins @ Bills

The Dolphins waived DB Evan Oglesby and signed DL Ryan Baker from their practice squad. Oglesby was just signed on Tuesday, but the Dolphins needed to call up a defensive lineman with Lionel Dotson out.  Justin Smiley will play as a reserve - Nate Garner starts at LG, Joe Berger starts at C.

Dolphins Inactives:  RB Kory Sheets, WR Patrick Turner, C Jake Grove, third QB Tyler Thigpen, LB Erik Walden, DE Lionel Dotson, DE Ikaika Alama-Francis, and OT Lydon Murtha.

Bills Inactives:  WR James Hardy, CB Ashton Youboty, third QB Brian Brohm, DE Chris Ellis, OT Demetrius Bell, DT John McCargo, WR Steve Johnson, and CB Terrence McGee

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Practice Squad Update 11/25/09

 Nate Ness has be re-added to the practice squad, which now looks like this:


1.  Tristan Davis, RB.

2.  Julius Pruitt, WR.

3.  JD Folsom, LB.

4.  Mark Lewis, C/G.

5.. Will Billingsley, CB.

6.  Ryan Baker, DE.

7.  John Nalbone, TE.
8.  Nate Ness, S

Tin Bits - Wednesday, 11/25/09

• Matt Roth was waived yesterday and Cleveland holds the top claim spot and they run a 3-4 and Mangini is familiar with Roth.  Seems like an open-shut case that Roth will be a Brown by Thanksgiving. UPDATE: The Browns have claimed Matt Roth off of waivers.
  

• The Dolphins held practice today and DE Kendall Langford was absent during the media portion but showed up right after then.  DE Lionel Dotson has an unknown injury and rode the stationary bike during practice. 
  

• The Dolphins had the following O-line at practice today:  Long, Garner, Berger, Thomas, Carey.  Jake Grove rode the exercise bike.  Justin Smiley was present but was limited during drills.

• The Dolphins have signed a new Offensive Lineman.  Wearing number 61, it's Mark Lewis, the rookie out of Oregon who was with the Dolphins in the offseason/preseason as a Center/Guard.  He was released during final cuts and eventually signed to Seattle's practice squad but was released shortly after.  Correction:  Mark Lewis was signed to the practice squad, and practice squadder, Andrew Hartline, was promoted to the 53.
  

• Things aren't easy for a displaced Dolphins fan when it comes to watching the games.  The Dolphins got shunned by the NFL, as they were 'flexed' out of the Sunday Night matchup versus the Patriots in week 13.  I'm sure they will get good coverage on CBS, but living in an area that has two NFL teams, I usually have no chance of being in that coverage area. Things are not looking good for this week as only South Florida and the Buffalo area seem to be getting the game.  Even Tampa is scheduled to get Jacksonville.

• Ricky Williams has been named the AFC Offensive Player of The Week for his week 11 performance vs Carolina.  The last time he won the award was in the 2002 season. Keep in mind that the Dolphins played two games 4 days apart and Ricky put up a combined 42 carries for 221 yards (5.3 avg), 4 catches for 25 yards, and 3 TDs in that 4 day span.  If you took those numbers and averaged them out, then multiplied them by 16 games, it comes out to 1781 yards rushing, 200 yards receiving, and 24 touchdowns.  Let's hope Ricky shows consistency for the rest of the year..