2009 Vital to Dolphins 2010

By Ronn Burner • on December 3, 2009

The Dolphins are out of the playoffs and it’s time to get over it and move forward productively and efficiently. Quit dreaming about all the “if this” and “if that” crap people. Our Wild Card chances are over even at 10-6 meaning their only “chance” is to win the AFC East. Even if Miami beats the Patriots to move to within 1 game, due to the tie breaker which NE would own provided they beat Buffalo, which they will, then Miami still needs to run the table getting to 10-6 and hope New England falls to 9-7 by losing 2 games to teams that they are not going to lose to such as Carolina, Buffalo, Jacksonville and Houston. It’s a pipe dream people. We couldn’t beat Buffalo! I know, I know…. “It happens. We were banged up. Blah blah blah.” Yes, I’m aware of what happened to Pittsburgh in Kansas City and Cincinnati in Oakland but there are very big differences in those losses to this one.

1. Pittsburgh and Cinci didn’t have their seasons on the line in those match ups. Miami did.
2. Yes, I know we were NOT healthy nor will we be. That line of reasoning is part of my point; we are also NOT going to be healthy moving forward. Who did we not have against Buffalo that we will have against New England? That team against Buffalo as far as the roster is concerned is the same team we need to run the table. If “that” team couldn’t beat Buffalo how do you expect the same group to go on a 5 game winning streak?
3. They crossed time zones. Miami didn’t. That counts! Besides, it helps support my point.

Sometimes we’re too close to the trees to see the forest. Things look bleak for Miami at best. That doesn’t mean quit and that we are hopeless, it just means that Buffalo loss essentially put them in such a bad position that even talking about the “playoffs” is somewhat comical. It makes me want to look people in the eye and with a squinty condescending look say “Really?” just to see what’s going on in there.

Possible? Yes. So is Megan Fox having my children.

There will be numerous monkey wrenches thrown into the mix changing things that we have no way of knowing at this point which is what makes the GM side of things in the NFL so much darn fun. We may not definitively know how these things will unfold but we do definitively know that these are the very same questions being addressed by Dolphins brass. As each question gets answered more questions arise. That’s the name of the game.

Is Chad Henne our future? In fairness Henne is rarely asked to sling it. Which brings me back to my original post regarding the next 5 games not being about some fairy tale belief that Miami can make the playoffs but rather about answering questions such as finding out what Henne is really capable of when asked to spread the field and throw it 40+ times? Hurry up? No huddle? Shotgun? Deep throws? Calling his own plays? Managing the game? Audibles? Anything aggressive out of the passing game would be nice that doesn’t involve throws by Ricky Williams. Based on what he’s been asked to do we have no idea how effective he can be at these very important game facets. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the kid has poise and the skill set to be elite. We just have to unleash him and allow him to grow, learn, gain experience, confidence and instill fear into future opponents as a legitimate dangerous passing threat. Nobody will appreciate that more than Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams.

How will injuries affect our roster? They have devastated us and recovering from them isn’t always as simple as surgery and time. Ronnie Brown’s foot is likely to return to 100% and that will likely be the reason we keep him. It’s not easy to get fair market value for a guy that has missed the better part of two seasons to injury. This is good… I feel like Ronnie deserves to be a Fin for life. Will Allen, however, is a great corner but a torn ACL for a corner is generally a 2-year thing. Not such an easy or guaranteed thing to return to form from. With the emergence of Vontae Davis and Sean Smith does that make him expendable at corner or will he become a nickel back? Another guy a love but there are certainly decisions to be made in regards to moving forward with him. Age is certainly a factor with Jason Ferguson, Joey Porter and Jason Taylor. It seems very likely Porter is gone (and easily replace in my opinion) and Jason Taylor may come back but the Ferguson thing is a major issue considering what a brute force he is despite his age. Replacing him has to one of our bigger offseason priorities. Obviously injury has stamped a huge question mark on his future in Miami.

What is our draft outlook? At this rate we’re a near lock for a top 15. Check the standings, look at our play and then check out the remaining schedule. Hey, I love Miami as much as the next Dolfan but that’s a very real and probable outcome. With that selection there are legitimate NFL WR’s like Dez Bryant, Damian Williams and Golden Tate that may be coming out but the downside being that it is so difficult to make that transition from Saturdays to Sundays for receivers. Unless we get a monster at the position that will step in and start than Free Agency is the way to go. Hopefully Brandon Marshall or Vincent Jackson or any receiver of that caliber is available. We’re almost certainly not getting those two I’m just saying that type of player. Regardless, the receiver position will be the area that receives the most attention from this point forward.

That’s my rant.