How do you feel about Dolphins Stadium's New Name?

I’ll tell you how I feel about the new name of Dolphins Stadium, LandShark Stadium. It’s stupid in every possible way. It gives us such an identity crisis. We are Dolphins, not Sharks. They live in the water not on land. Dolphins kill sharks. Dolphins are intelligent and sharks are not. Dolphins are mammals and sharks are not. It’s just stupid. There will be jokes far and wide about this and nothing we can do to defend ourselves. How’s this for home field intimidation… as if our colors aren’t frightening enough the Dolphins welcome you to LandShark Stadium and will now be running through the tunnel taking the field to “Cheeseburger in Paradise” with our GM’s nickname Tuna. May as well call it “The Fish Tank”. A Cher Billboard would be more intimidating… and less embarrassing.

Ps… I kinda like “The Fish Tank”.

Which Dolphins WR's will make the 53-man Roster?

By Ronn Burner • on May 7, 2009

Bill Parcell’s and the Miami Dolphins are not keeping 6 Wide Receivers on the 53-man roster. They haven’t come out and said that yet but they don’t have to, I’ll do it for them. They only carried 4 for the majority of last year if that’s any indication. Assuming that is the case then who will our 5 receivers be this year?

Let me break it down the best we can at this point considering injuries, camps, off the field incidents, drug suspensions, and obviously preseason performance. As it stands right now I think it’s safe to say that Teddy Ginn and Patrick Turner are locks to make the team. I also think it’s safe to say that Ernest “Disaster” Wilford is a lock to be released. That leaves 4 receivers, Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, Brian Hartline and Brandon London fighting for three spots. Very tough to call when you consider all 4 guys bring dynamically different things to the table despite the fact they may seem similar on the surface.

- Davone Bess (5’9” 195 4.69): Football player before athlete, great route runner, deceptively quick despite lack of break away speed, scrappy player, tough, physical despite small stature. Excellent hands and always seems to find the opening underneath. Primarily plays in the slot, chain moving machine and red zone threat. Also contributes on special teams most notably as punt returner.

- Greg Camarillo (6’1” 190): Most experienced and consistent Dolphins receiver. Brings speed, toughness, grit, work-ethic, knowledge of the playbook, good route running and good hands. An excellent locker room guy and mentor to the younger receivers. Bad news is Camarillo is coming off an ACL injury.

- Brian Hartline (6′2″ 186 4.49): Talented but didn’t get much of a chance at tOSU to show it due to the number WR’s ahead of him. Good hands, moves the chains, quicker than he is fast making him great in red zone and in zone coverage playing underneath and athletic enough to win the jump ball battles against average size corners. Willing and able run blocker. Special teams asset with toughness and collegiate experience returning punts.

- Brandon London (6′4″ 210): Athletically gifted, huge body, long wingspan, will win most jump balls, great body control, ability to make acrobatic catches, special teams contributor and weapon, unlimited potential. Serious threat to be special but must improve route running, consistency, run blocking and just needs to get on the field. Preseason could take him from fighting for roster spot to starter. It’s all on him.

Obviously based on not being on the roster last season puts Hartline behind the others but conversely he may have an advantage in terms of mystery. We aren’t sure what we have with him yet compiled with his being a bit younger, and simply the fact he was drafted in the 3rd Round and nobody wants a player they just drafted to not even make the team, especially Parcells.

It’s also very likely that Camarillo could start the season on the Players Unable to Perform (PUP) list allowing Miami to keep all 6 guys at least for a few extra months allowing the development to come further along and ultimately allowing the top 5 to become obvious choices through performance, need and character. Regardless of the health of Camarillo’s knee I do believe Tuna will do whatever he can to buy his coaching staff time to evaluate these players thus enabling Miami to carry 6 until they are comfortable with 5 and also allowing Camarillo every opportunity to make the team at 100%.

My guess is that Greg Camarillo ultimately becomes the odd man out due more to the possibility of what the others bring to the table more than his own shortcomings. That combined with being a 27-year-old WR coming off an ACL injury may be too much to overcome. It’s a tough call with Camarillo being a fan favorite. Who could forget his game winning overtime TD against Baltimore giving us our one win in 2007? The most famous or maybe I should infamous TD in Dolphins history was that intimidating duo of Cleo Lemon to Rich Camarillo. Marino to Clayton who? The image of Camarillo breaking away will forever be burnt into my memory bank of great football moments.

Dolphins Get Physical

By Ronn Burner • on May 5, 2009

Not only will the 2009 Miami Dolphins be the most physically imposing Dolphins team since the undefeated 1972 season but they will also be one of the most physical teams in the entire NFL this year. There I said it. Now I’ll tell you why.

Attitude is contagious. Imposing your will is contagious. Believing is contagious. Winning is contagious. Success breeds confidence and vice versa. If we have learned anything from last year’s 11-5 season it is that. Just as the 1-15 season the year prior showed losing and lack of confidence was an epidemic.

It all starts at the top. Bill Parcells came in on December 20, 2007 and immediately cleaned house. The man is brilliant in his approach. He brought attitude, swagger, and confidence and instilled a fear and discipline that was previously lacking. He was uncompromising and didn’t care who you were or what your name was; just ask Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor and Chris Chambers. He cross-referenced age and contract with talent and attitude and if you didn’t meet his standards you were leaving town, period. He eliminated the weak. Between January 2 and February 4 he had already replaced 18 coaches and staff members starting with the hiring of Jeff Ireland and firing of Cam Cameron the following day. The coaching staff was in tact in the persona of Parcells himself led by one of his most revered disciples, Tony Sparano. Attitude was coming.

Once natural selection was complete it was important to replace the weak and now missing players with the strong, fierce, ambitious and driven athlete with of course the perfect combination of price tag and age. Over the coming months there were more player transactions than Britney Spears panty shots. Tuna and Sparano bringing in a “type” of player that would have that attitude and swagger that the Dolphins regime was so hell bent on getting. Before the draft they had already signed 24 players, most of which former players and/or players well scouted by Parcells and Sparano, with another 20 players waived. If that’s not an over haul than what the hell is? This does 2 things and both of which are essential to being successful in the NFL. It puts the fear of god into each and every player as they realize that they are next unless they bring their A game and it brings a healthy competition to every position, which always makes you better.

The Draft was also vital as they drafted youth, talent, need and attitude to fill roster spots and immediately come in with an opportunity to compete for the starting job. Jake Long, Phillip Merling, Chad Henne, Kendall Langford and Donald Thomas last year and Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, Patrick Turner and say pat White this year. Let’s not forget the key Free Agent signings of Davone bess, Dan Carpenter, Cameron Wake, Charlie Anderson, Brandon London, Reggie Torbor, Justin Smiley and now Gibril Wilson, Jake Grove and Eric Green among many others. Some will fail, some will succeed but all will come in with an attitude, style and effort that Parcells and Co. covets thus making the entire team better.

A brilliant, yet disturbingly simple, blueprint to success.

Of course it took some luck along the way; Brett Favre and his ever annoying, (Don’t get me started on his newest comeback story) and never-ending career, allowing us to contract Chad Pennington. Sans Ernest Wilford no real busts via Free Agency or the Draft. Tom Brady getting injured. A last place schedule littered with jet-lagged teams. The gimmicky Wildcat formations that caught teams off guard and out of position that were already underestimating the Dolphins and their chances of actually beating them. All of which may be true, but winning breeds confidence and these Miami Dolphins, at the very start at least, will be bringing attitude and swagger and are chomping at the bit to bang heads and impose their will on opponents.

Pat White the #2 QB?

By Ronn Burner • on April 27, 2009

John Beck was cut today by the Dolphins after it became painfully clear this weekend that they were not going to get any draft picks or trade partners for his services. It just pisses me off to know that he was an absolute waste of a Draft pick… a freakin’ #2! The 40th player selected in the draft and we got nothing for him. That stings. We couldn’t even get a 7th rounder for him and the majority of those guys don’t even make the team anyway. We got absolutely nothing. What a disaster. Thank you Cam Cameron. Thank God that regime is over. The new regime comes in and hits a mammoth home run with Jake Long and I believe they went back-to-back with Vontae Davis. Imagine if that John Beck draft pick would have been used on a marginal special teams player, at least it was a contributor. That’s just frustrating. I wish John Beck the best of luck but his stay in Miami has been a monumental bust that was inevitably going to end the second the Dolphins drafted the 44th player selected in the 2009 draft.

Enter Pat White. I am convinced he was sought after and a priority of Sparano, Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland to come in and run the Wildcat offense. He’s coming in to do it all out of that formation. He’s a hybrid player and he’s going to run a hybrid offense and he’ll be great at it. The Wildcat has just been legitimized and I promise you every single team on our schedule is terrified of that formation now that they know there is a legitimate pass option now back there that also gets Pennington off the field thus making White a legitimate receiving threat as well. Crack on it all you want but that hesitation and uncertainty that will be displayed by opposing defenses will at the very least move the chains and enough first downs always leads to points.

Tony Sparano says that White will compete for the #2 QB spot but I don’t care what Sparano says, Pat White is the 3rd string QB brought in solely to master the Wildcat. Of course he’s going to say that, it’s competition which makes players work harder in the weight room and the class room. It’s smoke and mirrors though. I don’t care if he looks like Dan Marino in camp he is not beating out Chad Henne as the backup QB. No way. We’ll sign Ocho Cinco before that happens and you all know how likely I feel that is. There is too much invested in Henne, he’s in line to be our savior. He’s the next great QB to finally give Dolphins fans something to talk about that isn’t criticism because we’ll never see another Dan Marino, which makes every single QB that comes in a disappointment. Henne is going to be that guy, even if he’s not going to be great, he will be given the reigns and chance after chance to prove that he is great. Until Chad Pennington leaves town Pat White is our 3rd string QB albeit he may be the flashiest and most successful 3rd string quarterback in the history of the league.

Vontae Davis Post Draft Interview

By Ronn Burner • on April 26, 2009

Merely an hour or so after the 25th player selected in the 1st round, Illinois Cornerback Vontae Davis, I was fortunate enough to take part with the media in a conference call with the newest member of the Miami Dolphins.

Sorry for the delay in posting this but I had to transcribe the audio recording and it wasn’t as easy as it might sound. One thing I realized through the process, however, was that the dialog doesn’t do him justice. Contrary to some reports and popular rumor mill buzz Vontae was a genuinely humble and gracious guy who was nothing less that ecstatic about the reality that he was now a Miami Dolphin and he is excited to get right to it.

Mediator: Vontae Davis is on the line, picked with the 25th pick by the Miami Dolphins. So, Vontae, why don’t you just start by telling us all a little about what your day has been like today.

VONTAE DAVIS: I mean, um, of course I got up early and I actually couldn’t eat breakfast cause I was so nervous and just having my family there to support me and even my Mom even though we were up since early this morning but just anticipating the draft was much much work cause it’s 4 o’clock out here east coast time. Actually I was just trying to control myself. And eventually I did before it started.

Reporter: Vontae, Tom McNamara (sic) from St. Peter Tribute. Vontae, have you talked to, well, obviously you talked to the Dolphins people. What do you look forward to when you get down to their camp?

DAVIS: I look forward to competing with the other DB’s and making everybody else, you know, raise their game and that’s my job, for me to come in as a first round pick. Be the best, that’s what I have to do to the best I can to help this team win.

Reporter: What was it like for you just sitting there all day waiting and going all the way to #25?

DAVIS: Oh, I was just waiting there sitting and being anxious. For me to be the 25th pick in the first round is a blessing.

Reporter: What do you think about Miami, I know for awhile now you’ve been saying that you’re anticipating away in the draft. What do you think about that situation now going to Miami?

DAVIS: I mean it’s one of the best situations in the world in my opinion. As far as working out and training and it will be really good thing for my conditioning there and playing in good weather.

Reporter: Vontae, Did you expect to go this late or did you have hopes of going earlier and did the Marijuana story of a couple of weeks ago impact it?

DAVIS: I didn’t worry about that, I just wanted to know where I was going to be living and I was just real relieved and happy that I was with the Miami Dolphins.
Reporter Chicago Sun Times: What is the first thing you’re going to do when you get done with all of these media obligations?

DAVIS: Well just training, just training that’s the big one to get ready for camp so I can get ready for the season.

Reporter: What are you going to do later tonight, Vontae?

DAVIS: You know, I’ll probably just spend time with my family and I’ll probably just get some sleep.

Reporter: Are you going to watch the draft?

DAVIS: Yeah, I’ll probably watch it with my family and the highlights on TV.

Reporter: How do you feel about the story that broke about you?

DAVIS: It hurts me because you don’t know me as a person, you know. I mean it was just a bad thing, all the rumors, and I mean it’s all behind me now because I’m with a team, the Dolphins, that do know me as a person and feel like their getting a great player.

RONN BURNER, isportsweb: Vontae, this is Ronn Burner from isportsweb. Can you tell us a little about the conversations you have had over the past few days or weeks with Dolphin brass leading up to this?

DAVIS: Well, I did a private workout and that was it. I talked to the Rookie Scout and then he called me and said hard work pays off and practice like that in Dolphins camp.

RONN BURNER: When did you do that private workout?

DAVIS: Umm, this was back in this past March. And we actually talked about how they went to the playoffs last year and how I could come in and help them break through so I knew I was going there, it was just a question of being there [at pick 25]. I feel it’s a great value pick.

RONN BURNER: I saw your numbers posted at the combine: a 4.49 40, 25 reps on the bench were you comfortable with those numbers or do you feel you left some better numbers out there and you can actually improve on?

DAVIS: You know, I didn’t really have anything to prove there, everybody knows I run a 4.4. My biggest thing there was just training and getting in condition for the season, you know.

Reporter: What did your brother [Vernon Davis] say to you to get you through this process?

DAVIS: He just basically called me and told me not worry and he tried to calm me down and guided me through it telling me to try and relax cause it’s a long process, you know, and it’s gonna happen for me. He’s been through it to so I listened to what he told me.

Reporter: Can you tell us a little about your time at the University of Illinois and how important it was to get you to this point and how much Coach Zook did to kind of help you along and prepare you for the NFL?

DAVIS: Yeah, he just told me to fly around on the defensive side of the ball and disrupt the offense’s game plan and just leave it to God and that seemed like the right thing to do. And actually after I got drafted he was the first person I called and he was very happy for me at the time. He just told me to do what I normally do and it’ll be good enough at the next level and I’ll ultimately have success.

Reporter: You’ve probably been dreaming about this day for a long time, so Vontae, what’s it finally feel like to be able to say, “I’m a Miami Dolphin, I’m an NFL football player”?

DAVIS: I mean, it actually hasn’t even hit me yet. I’m just excited thinking about the uniform and one that I hope actually fits.

RONN BURNER: What jersey number are you hoping to get?

DAVIS: I have no idea. Whatever they let me to get and I’ll wear it.

25th Pick: Vontae Davis CB Illinois

By Ronn Burner • on April 25, 2009

Amazing. A gift fell into our lap provided he cleans up his off the field character stuff. Talent wise Davis is a stud at 6′0″ 204 lbs and runs his 40 in 4.49 seconds, the cone drill in 6.75 and the 20 yard shuttle in 4.07 which are all great times for a big cover corner, with toughness and tackling ability to go with his excellent tackling skills. Not to mention the fact that he benched 225 lbs 25 times which is spectacular. Davis is the new starting CB for the Dolphins and all of the sudden along with Will Allen, Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell the one glaring weakness in the Dolphin Defense was the secondary and it is now in line to be a major strength. An absolutely excellent pick by the Dolphins and we can now focus on getting our WR and OLB in the 2nd round. Could the football Gods be with us and allow Connor Barwin to fall to 44 and Brian Robiskie to 56? If so… we had the best top 3 picks imaginable. Oh if only. We’ll see…