Chad Pennington - Starting Commencement Speaker

This is one for herdfan, but Penne throws in just enough quotable quotes and inspiring tales to keep it interesting for the rest of us. The speech totals 18 minutes in length, but since it's motivational and aimed at success in business, your boss might actually want to watch along with you.

Don't know about you, but I sure needed that Monday morning pick-me-up.

You Don't Know The Troubles I've Seen

Well another Mother's Day has come and gone, and some Mothers are prouder than others. Right now, J.D. Quinn's mom is probably proud of her good for nothing son actually becoming an NFL player, if only for a short off-season time period.

The trifecta likes to talk big about the type of players they bring into the team. What was it Ireland said during his pre-draft press conference? High Passion, High Character, High as a kite?

Let's face it, I don't know J.D. Quinn. I've seen him play and he's a decent Center who can play Guard and he's probably going to come in to camp and try his damnedest to make the roster. But I don't know him personally, and can't say he's NOT of high character. But to use the old adage, if it walks like a duck...

J.D. Quinn has been arrested not once, not twice, but three times for DUI during his college career. Here's some reaction articles for each arrest: #1, #2 (this one might have been written by Quinn himself from the drunk tank), and #3.

Notice, that two of those arrest were AFTER he transferred to Montana, where it's virtually impossible to get a DUI to begin with.

Then there's the OU scandal where Quinn, Rhett Bomar(now with the Giants) and Jermaine Hardison received compensation from a car dealership without actually doing any work there. Ironically, Quinn had to sell his truck to pay off some of the damages. All three players were kicked off the team and any wins that Quinn and Bomar were involved in, were taken away from OU. I'm not sure how that works physically, but football police love to make silly rules. And when asked for comment on the 'sentencing', Quinn said that 'it was dumb' (not what HE did, but what the judges did), and in the below video tells the reporter to 'get a REAL job'.



So while I don't know Quinn personally, I am an adult human being and I basically have created certain rules that I abide by when judging people (and don't tell me not to judge people, it's what I do best!). First rule, three strikes and you're out. If your indiscretions are relatively mild, you may get away with probation or a career in the minor leagues, but if they were progressive and you showed no remorse, ala Quinn, you're done. You know when you have too many drinks and the next day you feel terrible and you apologize to yourself, your family and your God? Well, imagine if you didn't feel horrible about your hangover, your puke stained shoes, or the black eye you received whilst battling with a comeplete stranger over a twinkie in the 7-11. Well if you're THAT guy, then you're a scum-bag. Lights out.

If Quinn was Matt Birk good, and 315 lbs of pure muscle and field awareness, that would be one thing. But at 6'3" 299lbs, and playing for Montana at Center only because of catastrophic injury conditions (both centers ahead of him went down so he had to switch from Guard) Quinn is coming into camp basically as competition at the bottom of the roster. Is he worth it? Probably not. Just the media attention this has gotten is going to hurt the Trifecta. Why would the Head Coach expect the rest of the roster to stay in line and be good citizens when they reward this guy with a contract based on panty-hose tip-toeing practice with a bunch of other undrafted rookies? Immediately someone with the job security of Joey Porter or Vontae Davis may believe he doesn't have to hold himself up to such a high standard. And then one by one everyone starts to rest on their own laurels.

However, it is just possible that they signed him with the intention of having him get into a fist fight with Ernest Wilford so they could both get kicked off the team as examples. This must be the case, right?

Drew Rosenhaus says:

“Ernest Wilford is excited about this season — he has been in the Dolphins workout program and is ready to bounce back strong this year.”

To be perfectly honest, Drew, Wilford's issues last year had nothing to do with his workout routine. He was in excellent shape physically. His issue is ability. I suspect he was an overachiever in Jacksonville and in college and once he got his big contract in Miami, he stopped being an overachiever, and came back down to Earth, where his skills, speed, and natural talent are simply not good enough.

And as his agent, you should realize that he will not be able to beat out Ginn, Bess, Camarillo, Turner, Hartline, London, Armstrong and the two undrafted rookies Williams and Marion. He MIGHT be able to outperform Lowber, who I don't understand how he even got into the NFL.

There are 11 wide receivers on the roster right now, and Wilford is, at best, #8. But maybe he's #11 because the other 10 can play special teams. It's likely we will keep 6, with another one or two on the PS. Guess where that leaves Wilford? So, as his agent, you need to be out there looking for a job for this guy. At this point, I have more confidence in Pat White being a WR than Wilford, and I've only ever seen White catch one pass in my lifetime and it wasn't exactly awe-inspiring. Hell I have more confidence in Jy Bond being a WR for the Dolphins this year.

You know, now that I think about it, "bouncing back strong" could mean he gets 5 or 6 catches this year!

This guy should be fired.

Wilford is so 'hungry' he tries to steal Oreos from a starving family (gotta be honest, Momma doesn't look like she's starving). And when did Oreos become 'healthy food'?

2009 Draft Wrap Up - Last One - I Swear!

So, I was going to do a 'New Dolphin' article for Sean Smith, but then as I was researching for it, I realized I was searching through my own blog for Sean Smith goodies. This seemed both surreal and really ridiculous to me, but then it all clicked in my head that Smith was the one and only guy I had on the Dolphins board that they actually drafted. This makes me feel great that I targeted him but lousy that all the other targets ended up going elsewhere. So next year I think I will wait until AFTER the draft to do a board and articles on prospects (lol, jk).

In any event, for my own sanity, I thought I'd rewind a little bit and look at exactly where my prospects ended up.

Sean Smith, CB - Actually ended up in Miami, and playing CB. I was 100% right on this one, except I thought he would be picked higher up.

Connor Barwin, DE - Yep, my number one guy ended up being on the board when we picked Pat White, which still really effing pisses me off, then was drafted by Houston. The Texans are going to keep him as a DE and make him Mario Williams' backup. He will be a 3rd down pass-rusher. We'll see him Dec. 27th along with Brian Cushing.

William Moore, S - Drafted by Atlanta with the #55 pick, we'll never know if Miami would've pulled the trigger. He is projected to be the Falcons' starting strong safety. That means we'll be seeing a lot of him on September 13th along with Peria Jerry and Lawrence Sidbury, Jr.

Sherrod Martin, CB - Drafted by the Carolina Panthers at #59, ultimately a poor man's Sean Smith. Why go for the cheap stuff when the good stuff is on sale for the same price? We'll see him Nov. 19th, probably in the nickel package.

Darius Butler, CB - I thought he would be the top CB on Miami's board, but I didn't think Vontae would be available. However, I'm not happy to be facing him twice a year as the Pats took him at #41.

Evander 'Ziggy' Hood, DE - While I like Vontae Davis, a part of me still feels Miami should've taken Hood at #25. Well, we didn't, and that 'other' 3-4 team, the Steelers, took him at #32 and will use him as a reserve end. We'll see him on January 3rd along with another Miami CB prospect, Keenan Lewis.

Kenny Britt, WR - As if it isn't bad enough that our corners have to face the Big East elite, they'll have to control this future beast on Dec. 20th.

Terrance Knighton, DT - My top nose tackle target heading into the draft, is headed to Jacksonville to play as a 4-3 DT. Dec. 13th.

So, as you can see, while I'm ready to put these prospects to bed, we play against all of them this year, which will undoubtedly stir up unwanted feelings of 'why didn't WE draft him?' But in any event, this is the last time I will be writing an article on any of these players. (except for Sean Smith, lol)

For the record, I will be going attending a live viewing of the Steelers game at the home of a major Pittsburgh fan. He told me he would 'fire up the grill'. I haven't told him it's in January and will be freezing cold outside.

So, are there any guys from the draft class that you are looking forward to seeing regardless of team?

Madden retires, Pat White takes over.

Remember this?



Now see this:

This is an actual Wild-cat play designed into the new Madden '10 game. Sure, the actual human player does not run the play properly, running White out on a sweep before throwing the pass, but it's still the Wildcat (notice the unbalanced line). Also notice they gave the number 20 to Pat White.

Below are some more looks at the Wildcat in the new game. EA sports says the package will not be exclusive to the Dolphins.


And if you're wondering who gets to design these games and do the real-motion stuff, it's former Florida Gator QB Larry Richart who backed up Jesse Palmer (someone please give him a promotion to the NFL) about 10 years ago. Since then, Richart has been THE guy behind the NCAA and Madden franchise quarterback gameplay and playbooks for EA Sports.

The new game will include gang tackling, fighting for fumbles at the bottom of the pile, and perhaps a 2nd round draft pick wearing a running back's number instead of a QBs. What do you guys think? By the way, these videos were created either just before or a day after the draft. It could be pure coincidence that EA had Pat White in a Dolphin uniform....

Tin-Bits for Tin-co de Mayo

• The dreaded Patriots will play in throwback uniforms for four games this season, including the December 6th match-up with the Miami Dolphins. Question is, will the Dolphins be doing the same?

• "On Nov. 1, the Miami Dolphins, who joined the AFL as an expansion team in 1966, visit the Jets. On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, Oakland visits the Cowboys. Three days later, Miami is at Buffalo. On Dec. 8, the final legacy game has New England at Miami."~Palm Beach Post. It seems that only the original eight AFL teams will be wearing the throwback jerseys.
  

• I know it's a bit redundant to post a link to Omar Kelly's blog at the Sun-Sentinel, but to me, the fact that he actually wrote about Tearrius George deserves a link.

• As soon as I have enough free-time to figure out how to do some flash animation, I'm going to attempt to do a semi-animated depth chart for the site. Ultimately I want to be able to scroll onto a player and see an actual image of the player. If anyone knows how to do this, I'd love any advice and/or help.
  

• I checked in with rookie free agent signing, Louis Ellis, from Shaw University. He just officially notified friends and fans alike that he is a Miami Dolphin (for now). It seems like he's coming into the NFL with a big chip on his shoulder. Hopefully I'll get a chance to talk more in-depth with him throughout the summer. Here he is (#92)in high school in some of the most unusual DT action I've ever seen. (Get a load of #97 with his pants falling off at about 0:21).
  

He really shows a lot of athleticism and motor to me. I'm not convinced he's here to be a nose tackle. The way he gets off of blocks suggests he could be a good 3-4 end. Also Sparano has now said three times that he wants Ellis to shed a bunch of weight, possibly getting him back down near his high school playing weight. I'm not ruling out the Nose for Ellis, just throwing something out there.

New Dolphin - Chris Clemons, FS

I make no bones about the fact that I thought Clemons was the only 'solid' pick on the second day of the draft for Miami. While I think both he and Andrew Gardner presented good value where they were chosen, Clemons is probably the only one who is a near-guarantee to make the roster (yes, that includes Turner and Hartline).

Clemons came into Clemson as a cornerback so he has cover skills, and his hit-first, ask questions later style of football is something we've been sorely missing at the free-safety spot. Last year you could see the gears turning in Renaldo Hill's helmet. With the addition of Gibril Wilson, and Vontae Davis we brought in a more physical starting secondary, but do not be surprised to hear this guy's name called a lot during 2009 as he likely comes off the bench behind Wilson and could spell Bell as well.

He amassed 270+ tackles as a 3 year starter alongside another Clemson safety you may have heard of (Hamlin), but he knew from a very young age he wanted to be an NFL player.

"The thought takes his mother, Lillie Gulledge, back to when Clemons was a 4-year-old. She scolded him one night when she found him sleeping with a dirty football in his bed.

Clemons told her he wanted to be a football player one day, and she flippantly responded he didn’t know a thing about football. After making him put away the football, she discovered in the morning he had retrieved it during the night.

“I wish now that I had kept that ball, because his childhood dream has come true,” Gulledge said."

(click here for the rest of Clemon's background story, and to better understand why he will make sure he makes the roster)

He Came, He Saw, Thank God He's Gone!

He got released earlier this week and now he's a Baltimore Raven.




























Beck: "When you get fired, can I come with you?"

Cam: "They can't fire me if I don't show up to work!"

Ginn: "(sigh)"

Rookie Mini-Camp Video Highlights

This video is from MiamiDolphins.com's Aquavision, which I know some people have technical difficulty with, plus there's no forum to discuss it there. So here we go, day one. Yes, Pat White came into camp with a little finger injury which limited his snaps but at least we didn't draft Percy Harvin, who's in serious condition in hospital for a cotton mouth injury!




So, besides Sean Smith looking like a giant next to the position coach, what do you notice? What do you want to see improve tomorrow?

Round Up - New Dolphin Jersey Numbers

Right now the customized jerseys are on sale everywhere and the Dolphins have assigned numbers to their new players. They may not be wearing the same numbers come opening day if they make the cut, but after looking it over, I see no reason why 99% of them would be changed. So without further ado, here are the new players with their jersey numbers:

Jy Bond, #3
Pat White, #6
Brennan Marion, #14
Eric Green, #21
Vontae Davis, #24
Gibril Wilson, #28
Chris Clemons, #30
Sean Smith, #31
Anthony Kimble, #45
Orion Martin, #48
Tearrius George, #49
J.D. Folsom, #59
Mark Lewis, #60
Andrew Gardner, #63
Jake Grove #64
Joe Berger #67
SirVincent Rogers, #73
Tony McDaniel, #78
Ryan Baker, #79
Brian Hartline, #82
Patrick Turner, #84
John Nalbone, #86
Chris Williams, #87
Jared Bronson, #89
Cameron Wake, #91
Louis Ellis, #93

Cameron Wake played under #91 in Canada, so I'd bet he requested that number. And THAT's why they cut Vonnie Holliday! It all makes perfect sense now. So for any of you who may have an old Holliday jersey, you know what to do...

I'm tempted to do a Jy Bond jersey, just so a few years down the road, I'll get puzzled looks from people while wearing it...