Why Not Us?

Why Not Us?
by the Knight who says Ni!

Roaming articles and blogs I see a lot of "we're 2 or 3 years away" talk and I say why?

We went 11-5 last year after a horrible 1-15 season in 2007. We did compete in half of those games and with better coaching we weren't that bad. But the injuries mounted and the coaching got worse. The writing was on the wall for all of us when Cameron handed over the reins to Capers in the last preseason game. As if he was so accomplished he could do that. Sparano would never do that.

So here we are, the trifecta runs the show. They've brought in their kind of players and they've been more active than some of us realize. The roster has been overhauled to the tune of 75%. Of the 85 players currently on our roster only 21 are from the pre-trifecta era. My guess is "at the end of this thing" (to quote Tony Sparano), there may only be 15 of those players left by the time we get down to 53. Pretty significant turnover in two years.

By the way I counted JT as part of the 21 even though that's not really accurate. That whole thing was highway robbery on our part. A 2009 2nd (#44 Pat White) and a 2010 6th (yet to be determined) for JT in 2008 who then comes back in 2009. LOL

The trifeca knows this team much better heading into the 2009 season. A good portion of the team including newly signed free agents have been involved in the off-season conditioning program. Some for two years and some currently participating for the first time as we speak. The team is bonding and there is plenty of veteran leadership and improved talent at multiple positions. Coach Sparano and his staff expect the best out of every player and they work them hard. The 2nd season, this year, they've already got their system in place and there is a core group that knows how to run it.

Let's take a look at the core players who are crucial in leading this team to a championship this year.

QB Chad Pennington - The savvy, veteran leader who is 4 years removed from his last surgery has a fire in his belly to win now. We know what Penn brings to the table. Enough said!

QB Chad Henne - The young, big, confident, strong-armed QB from Michigan who has always started wherever he's been. He has no desire to be a #2. He wants to start now! He's a good, young QB prospect who's being groomed in a good situation. John Beck recently said he's fine being the #3 QB. Henne would never say that. John Beck is now back with Cam Cameron in Baltimore.

QB Pat White - We all know what he is. He's a talented offensive player who doesn't have the size to be a traditional QB. But his unique skill-set is very intriguing. He was picked at #44 because he's a better passer than a lot of us give him credit for. Most teams had him in their top 50 as a best player available in this draft. That doesn't mean he'll pan out. But in a relatively weak draft, he was one of the more interesting prospects. The Wildcat and spread offense is where White will make his mark.

Side Note: Some teams have a 3rd QB who will never be a starter or impact player. Pat White may never be a traditional starting QB, but he can be an impact player. His running ability makes him dangerous.

I chose all 3 QBs because it's the most important position and at anytime they will be called upon to lead the offense.

RB Ronnie Brown - The sky is the limit for him. He has all the tools and he's 100% healthy and word is he's in fantastic shape. At 230 lbs. with improved strength and speed, that's bad news for Miami opponents.

RB Ricky Williams - He can still play at a high level and with an improved OL he should be a difference maker. Like Ronnie he can do a lot of things.

TE Anthony Fasano - He could have big year this season. I think he'll be a common target for the QBs this year, especially Penn who throws those 15 yard middle routes real well. He showed last year he can find the endzone. If he can step it up and be a complete TE, we have another weapon in our arsenal for both the running and passing game.

WR Ted Ginn - Could he breakout this year? I think so! His speed is lethal and hopefully this year he can take some to the house without a penalty. He has good hands, if his route running improves his speed will take over. If Ginn can double his overall TD production from last year that could be the difference in the team getting to the next level. That number is only 8, but an additional 4 TDs from one guy could make a big difference. Get him back on returns! We need his big play ability.

The O-line - The entire group getting to the next level is as important as any group on the team. If the revamped OL can open up holes for the RBs between the tackles, we're going to be that much tougher to beat. We all know that Jake Grove, Justin Smiley, Jake Long and Vernon Carey are the big horses. We can't afford to lose these guys if we want to get to the next level.

We need to find a RG or get Donald Thomas healthy. It sounds like Joe Berger will be the 6th man. He is the backup center which is the QB of the OL, and he can also play guard and tackle. Ike Ndukwe is probably the 7th man on game day because he can play every position. Unless he wins the RG spot. So we need to find a starting RG if Thomas can't go and Ndukwe doesn't win the job, and a pure backup tackle. Brandon Frye and Andy Alleman are probably the other leading candidates at RG. Is the rookie Andrew Gardner the best pure backup tackle? Can Shawn Murphy play? Will someone else step up?

NT Jason Ferguson - The big man in the middle needs to stay healthy. We need at least one more guy to step up and plays some snaps to keep Fergy fresh throughout the season and playoffs. You can't run an effective 3-4 without good NT play.

OLBs Jason Taylor and Joey Porter - Both of these guys off the edge is key to our pass rush and our defensive scheme. Without the edge rushers the 3-4 does not work. Matt Roth and Cameron Wake might bring something extra to the table this year, but we can't expect them to match what JT and JP can do. If they do, the defense goes to the next level.

ILB Channing Crowder - It's time for Channing to take it to another level. He was groomed under Zach Thomas for 3 years. He's the 'Mike' LB who calls the defense. Now that he has a year under his belt in the new 3-4 defense, it's time for him to make more impact plays. Last year he got the defense set and was solid making a lot of tackles. How about a couple of sacks and turnovers Channing! That said he's our best ILB and we all saw last year how our defense dropped without him in the lineup.

CB Will Allen - The quiet, underrated corner who has started every year he's been in the league just got an extension and he'll be with us for a few more years. Allen is a solid overall NFL corner who brings leadership and experience to a group that is suddenly quite young. His value may go unseen at times but he's more important than many of us may think.

SS Yeremiah Bell - The veteran safety with only a few years of actual playing experience under his belt is coming off his best season. He's not the ball hawk we wish he was but he can hit and tackle and does a decent job in coverage. He's a defensive leader and another key component to the 3-4 defense. Look for more attacking the line of scrimmage from Bell this year.

FS Gibril Wilson - He's an immediate upgrade at the other safety spot. He's bigger, faster and more of an impact player than Renaldo Hill. In our 3-4 defense the safeties are actually interchangeable. It's not always FS and SS. They're more left and right. Wilson can do a lot of the same things Bell can do. But he is more of a ball hawk.

I know I left out a lot of players to highlight but these are the players and groups I think are key to a championship run. I'm not sure we can get there without them.

For example our DEs. Well I view them as a group more than individually. We have some depth and I'm not sure anyone of them is key to the season. They're all big and strong and they do the dirty work inside without much fanfare. If any of them get to the next level as in pro bowl level, our defense goes to the next level.

Another group might be the young rookie additions to the secondary; Vontae Davis, Sean Smith and Chris Clemons. I'm glad we have them but can we rely on them to lead the way? Probably not. Can we expect production? Absolutely! But they're rookies who will have a learning curve. We need at least one of them to really make an impact. Again, if that happens the defense goes to the next level.

Some of you might say another player who should be on the list is Davone Bess. He's a fan favorite. But I still believe Bess is a situational player and not a stud. He does a nice job in the short passing game because he has the ability to make the first guy miss. He's part of our ball control offense. I don't see big play ability from him though. He's like Wes Welker and can he even get to that level? Maybe. If he does, our offense goes to the next level.

Who knows, maybe one of the other WRs has a big year. Brandon London, Patrick Turner, Brian Hartline or Greg Camarillo. I view these guys as a group too. They all need to produce. If one of them really stands out and has a big season, our offense goes to the next level.

I don't mean to underrate Camarillo, but he's only 6 months removed from knee surgery. I'm not sure how much impact he can make, especially the first half of the season. Anthony Armstrong is another guy but it's going to be tough for him to make this team. You know Turner and Hartline are in the long-term plans. Ginn is the most explosive player on the team. Then you have Bess, Camarillo and London. There is a minimum of 5 spots and a maximum of 6 spots on the roster for WRs.

Tony Sparano said there will be some tough decisions with the WR group this year and that's a good thing to have. Camarillo might start the year out on the PUP for the first 6 weeks which might make one of those decisions easier and buy us some time to evaluate the roster and WR position as a whole. It might help Camarillo as well.

All this next level stuff is what will make us a championship team. We still have some questions that need to be answered. The difference this year is I think we have more players who can answer those questions. There is no question we have more talent and depth. Just how good is it though?

(Tinshaker) The following video is a bit old but too good not to share. For some reason, they didn't edit off the first 18 seconds of black screen. For some reason, neither did I, so don't freak out. I just thought it would be a fitting way to close out the subject of 'Why Not Us' since we are so far removed from the mid-2000s era Dolphins. If you asked 'why not us' back then, it was a legitimate laughing fit you heard in response. We are no longer the joke of the league, we are a contender, so Why Not Us?