The Miami Dolphins 2008 season should go down in the record books as one of the most improbable seasons in NFL history. Think about it. They went from 1-15 to 11-5 AND won the AFC East, despite playing in a division with Tom Brady (albeit he got hurt, but no one knew that going into the year) and Brett Favre. Heck, even in mid-October after a loss to the Ravens when the Fins were sitting at 2-4, no one gave them a chance. All Miami did was win 9 of their last 10 games en route to the division title.
But let’s not kid ourselves. No matter what you may be hearing from some of the more vocal members of this team (We’re looking at you Channing Crowder), the AFC East is New England’s to lose. The Dolphins are a capable team, and will win some games this year, and maybe even give New England a run for their money. But at the end of the day, barring another injury to Tom Brady, it is highly unlikely this team repeats as division champs.
Chad Pennington is entering the last year of his deal, and one has to wonder just how much field time he is going to see. Miami took the league by storm last year with the “Wildcat” offense featuring Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. The Dolphins also drafted Pat White this season, and he figures to be a prominent feature in the Wildcat package this year. Third-string quarterback Chad Henne might be the quarterback of the future, and the Dolphins may try to get him some work this season. Some rumors have even floated around that Henne may take over the starting role before the year is out. We’re not apt to believe those, given the level of competition in this division, the Dolphins should finish no worse than second, meaning they’ll be in the playoff hunt.
Surprisingly, the Dolphins had the 10th best passing offense in the league last year. Even though no receiver even came close to 1,000 yards (Ted Ginn led the team with 790), the Fins still put together over 3700 yards through the air last year. In fact, the Dolphins had 8 guys with over 200 yards receiving and 5 with over 450. Since his days with the Jets, Pennington has never been known as a down-field threat. However, he has the efficiency and accuracy that makes him a very good quarterback capable of leading a team to wins when the burden isn’t placed solely on his shoulders. Pennington led the league in completion percentage last year at 67.4% and had the second-lowest interception percentage at 1.5%. With the strength of the running game in Miami, Pennington is able to use Ginn, Greg Camarillo (who had career highs across the board last year) and Davone Bess (former standout receiver in Colt Brennan’s offense at Hawaii) along with tight end Anthony Fasano in a very efficient passing attack.
The Dolphins have an above-average defense, led by strong safety Yeremiah Bell and the aforemention Channing Crowder, both of whom recorded over 100 tackles last season. Former Steeler Joey Porter proved that he is still a force to be reckoned with on the outside, finishing the season with 17.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. The Dolphins drafted playmaking corner Vontae Davis from Illinois to add depth to their secondary, which they need to improve their 25th-ranked pass defense. With Indy, New Orleans, and New England on the schedule, the Dolphins need to hope that their secondary improves over its play from last season. Their run defense was solid last season, finishing 10th in the league, but they will be tested often this season with Atlanta, Carolina, Tennessee, and Jacksonville on the schedule.
Ian’s Prediction: 7-9
There are some winable games on the schedule, but last year’s division title isn’t necessarily indicative of the skill level of this team. During their 9-1 sprint to the finish, the Dolphins beat only 1 team, the New York Jets, that finished the season with a winning record. They were able to make their way through Buffalo (twice), Denver, Seattle, Oakland, St. Louis, San Francisco, Kansas City, and the aforementioned Jets. Only once in that run (the second Bills game) did the Dolphins have a double-digit margin of victory. This means that the Dolphins played a lot of close games last year, particularly against some bad teams, but they did enough to win. I’m not convinced that this Dolphins team will be able to keep up with the strength of their schedule, and I see them taking a step back from last year.
John’s Prediction:
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