The list of guys playing well for the Dolphins
Today I am taking a break from the pitchfork and torch-carrying mob making its way up the castle steps wanting to kill Dolphinstein.
As you know very well, the Dolphins are winless but they've put up a fight in a couple of games so everything can't be completely horrible. So I will attempt in this post to tell you the players who are actually playing well.
It will thus be a short post.
This list comes from a Dolphins coach who took me into his confidence this week. Typically coaches on this staff don't say who is playing well or poorly for fear of offending -- something I never understood because it ruins their credibility when they say things like a receiver who dropped five passes is working really hard to get better.
Anyway here's the list:
1. Ronnie Brown. The guy has strung together consecutive 200-all-purpose-yard games and leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage. That TD in which he plowed the Oakland safety was magnificent.
2. Rex Hadnot. It stands to reason if Brown has holes to run through, somebody is creating those holes. Hadnot is not a Pro Bowl guy, but he's playing as well as he has in his career.
3. Donovin Darius. He took over for an injured Travares Tillman last week and is already an upgrade at his safety spot. It says here Tillman will not get his starting job back from Darius unless Darius gets hurt. Darius has also, after one start, returned a physical toughness to the deep secondary that coaches thought was lost for the season when Yeremiah Bell went down.
4. Derrick Pope. He is a career special teams player but upon getting a chance to play D when Zach Thomas got hurt and Channing Crowder moved to the middle, Pope has surprised folks enough that he has moved past Donnie Spragan in the linebacker rotation.
5. Jay Feely. He has to be on here because, well, the guy hasn't missed this year. He's 7-for-7 on PATs and 7-for-7 on field goals. I didn't even realize the Dolphins had scored that much this season, but Feely has delivered every time he's had the opportunity.
That's it. That's where it pretty much ends right now. Hopefully the list expands after the next few weeks.
Your thoughts?
As you know very well, the Dolphins are winless but they've put up a fight in a couple of games so everything can't be completely horrible. So I will attempt in this post to tell you the players who are actually playing well.
It will thus be a short post.
This list comes from a Dolphins coach who took me into his confidence this week. Typically coaches on this staff don't say who is playing well or poorly for fear of offending -- something I never understood because it ruins their credibility when they say things like a receiver who dropped five passes is working really hard to get better.
Anyway here's the list:
1. Ronnie Brown. The guy has strung together consecutive 200-all-purpose-yard games and leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage. That TD in which he plowed the Oakland safety was magnificent.
2. Rex Hadnot. It stands to reason if Brown has holes to run through, somebody is creating those holes. Hadnot is not a Pro Bowl guy, but he's playing as well as he has in his career.
3. Donovin Darius. He took over for an injured Travares Tillman last week and is already an upgrade at his safety spot. It says here Tillman will not get his starting job back from Darius unless Darius gets hurt. Darius has also, after one start, returned a physical toughness to the deep secondary that coaches thought was lost for the season when Yeremiah Bell went down.
4. Derrick Pope. He is a career special teams player but upon getting a chance to play D when Zach Thomas got hurt and Channing Crowder moved to the middle, Pope has surprised folks enough that he has moved past Donnie Spragan in the linebacker rotation.
5. Jay Feely. He has to be on here because, well, the guy hasn't missed this year. He's 7-for-7 on PATs and 7-for-7 on field goals. I didn't even realize the Dolphins had scored that much this season, but Feely has delivered every time he's had the opportunity.
That's it. That's where it pretty much ends right now. Hopefully the list expands after the next few weeks.
Your thoughts?
posted by Armando Salguero at 10:30 PM
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48 Comments:
For those of us out here, who would like to continue to see the team as a glass half full, you give us hope. On the other hand maybe the glass is full of Kool-Aid, and we all drank it.....I hope not, but time will tell. Thanks Mando.
how has vernon carey graded out? Well enough to keep him at LT or are we looking at finally drafting an LT early next year and moving Carey back to the right side?
You are right, it was short! I can't believe L Booker and Ten Ginn were not listed!! That said, I do think the whole O-line has played better then expected and that has really helped Ronnie look like a #2 pick. Also, Green has had time to make plays back there, so again I think the WHOLE line should be listed #2!
My beloved Dolphins will go 0-16 because of Cam Cameron.
stop hating. 0-16? you kidding me, its been 4 games. Ronnie B is a monster, plain and simple, ive been saying this since he shared his snaps with ricky. Zack will be back next week and lets hope we can add his name to the list, then chambers.
you cant blame cam for the losses. Think about it! the dolphins offense is moving the ball and scoring more then last year. If anything, its the defense of coordinator that is holding us back. If defense was playing ball like how we know they could, we should at least be 3-1
That many players playing well wow that's pretty pathetic. The Rams and Bills could provide double that list i bet. I put the bills in the worst team category because lets be honest they suck almost as bad as we do. I can't help but think when we get at worst a top 3 pick who or what position do we pick?
The wise 1...
you cant blame cam for the losses.
True, he's not on the field. But his three main additions to the team, Green, Ginn and Porter, haven't really done anything.
You're completely right about the defense. We've gone from the #5 defense last year to bottom of the league this year. Worst for me is JT. He's being handled easily and he's not even being doubled. He's not giving 100% every play {watch him carefully this weekend} and I fear he may go the way of Surtain, another player who quit.
I was thinking the other day what a great addition Feeley was. Funny cuz the Giants kicker missed a PAT and a 34 yard kick last week. They are definitely missing him.
Hey Armando, I think you should add Juste Peelle to that list. After all of the talk about bringing in David Martin, and Courtny Anderson, Justin has been getting the job done. He blocks better, and has shown the ability to run routes and catch, imagine that. And he was on the roster the whole time.
Well, if no one else is playing well, than it's time to put these rookies in the game and see what we have. Especially Ginn. I find it hard to believe he's not out there as a receiver. Don't tell me we're afraid to ruin his confidence. If he's that weak mentally we should have left in Ohio.
Armando, shouldn't Reagan Mauia be on the list as well? He's been doing some pretty good work in front of Brown. That pancake block he had against the Jets, where he planted his man into the ground 6 yards deep in the endzone was simply textbook.
Vernon Carey belongs there too. He's playing 1 of the hardest positions in the game and he's doing well. Considering he's a RT better suited for Guard,he's doing very well.
And I'm not surprised at all by the play of Darius.I was 1 of the few that liked that signing when this blog was full of in depth analysis like "Why would 2 teams cut him if he's any good?" and "All options are bad"
I've always liked Pope. He's a high energy guy who has always flown to the ball with good instincts. If he was 240lbs instead of 225lbs, he would have been a starter since day one and they could have saved the $100,000,000,000 dollars they paid to the Invisible Porter.
Darius is awesome! Syracuse players almost always make good NFL players. I would add Chambers and Satele to the list also.
Donovan Darius may be tough but Jay Feely is tougher! That's right Jay Feely is tough. I've seen him hit a couple of guys out there and he was right in the pile fighting for an on-side kick a couple of weeks ago. If the rest of the team brought as much desire as Feely has this team would have won a couple of games by now.
Samson Satele, although he's made some mistakes, he's playing very well at one of the more difficult positions to play on the line.
Trent Green...Tahts right I said TRENT GREEN....
After the way he has played he must be tough to show up on game day.
Armando why isn't Chambers on the list???
And anybody who knows a little football knew that Donovan D was a great replacement for Y. Bell. As long as he stays healthy he should bring alot more physical toughness to our secondary!!!
Trent Green???????? LOL.. Lets get Lemon out there before we lose that 4th round draft pick!!!!!
Ah, Vernon Carey has been the best offensive lineman on this team this year and his play is head and shoulders above Hadnot's. While Hadnot has been impressive on some plays, his brain just turns off on other plays and it's embarrassing.
Players that deserve to be mentioned (In Order):
Vernon Carey
Reagan Mauia
Justin Peelle
Samson Satele
How have Reagan Mauia and Justin Peelle been better than Chambers?
Chambers has dropped some passed this year as well and then dumb penalty he got last week was as bone headed as they come! I agree, the entire o-line has been much better...Green has time and Ronnie has holes, what more can you ask for...Peelle has played well, he should start over Martin...Hadnot, Carey and Satele have done a nice job, are young and a nice anchor for the line...Ronnie has played great the past couple games...we need to see it this week though to be honest this is a true test, the texans have an up and coming defense and this will tell the tail, Ryans, Okoye, and Williams are a very good test!
Anonymous ......every rec. in the league has dropped some passes before NO ONE IS PERFECT!!!
Other Dolphins, err former Dolphins, doing well this year:
1) Sammy Morris
2) Wes Welker
3) Daunte Culpepper
4) Kevin Carter
The list could probably keep going, but you get the idea..
Bad management is the problem, not the players...
Chambers had 8...yes EIGHT DROPS this year, that is 2 a game, for someone who is paid to catch the ball and your #1 WR, that is about 7 to many for me!
Cam rules. Now the GM, well....
I don't know why Cam the coach is being given a pass by some of the people on this board and in the media. From day one the guy has been making one bad decision after the next.
1. Releasing Daunte without giving him a chance to compete for the job and replacing him with and aging Trent Green.
2. Drafting a kick/punt returner versus Brady Quinn who could have been groomed into our starter.
3. Has no interest in allowing a return for Ricky Williams even though offensively our tema needs every little bit of help it can get, Williams would probably be the best running back on the team.
4. After 4 losses Cameron is still refusing to give Cleo Lemon a chance to start. Could he be any worse than Green?
I am in no way a football expert and don't claim to be but even I can see that this coach is getting off on the wrong foot. I don't think it is time to fire the guy but he's pretty damn close.
Here's a list of staff writers on the Herald who are working hard and producing quality work regarding the Dolphins:
Uh, uh, mmmm, oh well...
I Can't understand why people keep saying. The Dolphins should have taken Brady Quinn instead of T. Ginn. If he is ever on a team that can consistently dictate that the defense play 8 in the box. Ginn will be a game breaking deep threat. But Brady Quinn was not the guy to take there in his place. With the aging Miami defense. Patrick Willis probably is the guy that should have been picked. Willis, Beck & Satelle would have been a great top of the draft.
Fred, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken crap.
If you don't like it, challenge your mind and read your horoscope or the comics.
For whoever was hopeful that Chambers might be added to the list, forget it; he is a #3 or #4 receiver at best; nowhere near a goto receiver. He should have been traded long ago!!! Dolphin receivers are the cause of 50% of the interceptions.
Chris Chambers should also be on this list. He already has 2 - 100 yard games and 323 yards for the year. His TD's will come when Green (or other(s)) gets more in sync. He's not a #3 or #4 WR, he's a bonafide #1 WR if he's got a QB who can throw a deep ball. Grenn can't. Being able to throw the deep ball will open up more running lanes and the short drag routes where Ginn, Brown and others can make big yards after the catch.
Plain and simple Sampson needs to be on the list. Yeah, Chambers is better than people on this board are giving him credit for, and I beleive he is a number 1 receiver, but he had 2 catches for 20 yards last week. He needs to step it up. Satale, however, IS MAKING ALL THE LINE CALLS AS A ROOKIE! Brown is getting over 5 yards a pop. How can Satalae not be partly (mostly!) responsible for that?
I have been busy and havent written in a while but I want to say excellent articles and blogs lately Armando. I love the tough stance you have taken on the team and appreciate you asking the tough questions; especially about accountability. You must have gotten a ton of hits on those articles because I see your co-worker Cote has picked up on the same thread.
I have been unusually negative on this blog lately (always about the GM and coach) so I will take this time to add to your list of outperforming Fins players.
1) Ted Ginn -His 4.3 speed is on display every week. To bad its east to west out of bounds, instead of north to south goalpost.
2) Ted Ginns father- Since we drafted the whole family. He is the guy setting new records for arm tackles on defense.
3) Ted Ginns mother- She makes sure the players get there blow chunks soup before every game.
4) Joey Porter- For backing up his ironclad guarantees. On par with the cable guy and the stripper who says she will go home with you.
5) Lorenzo Booker- Has already booked his plane ticket for the practice squad all-stars. Also proved that we didnt waste a third round pick on an unneccesary position like DL, OL, safety, or cornerback.
6) Annie- She has aged terribly, but she is keeping moral up for the players by promising the sun will come up tomorrow.
7) Trent Green- For proving to us that you can do worse than Jay Feeley and Joey Harrington.
8) Last but most importantly not least the MVP of every opponent we have played this year. CLUELESS CAM-MORON. With horrific clock management, bad play-calling, and overall terrible game-planning, he guarantees our opponents a victory
each and every week. Plus he provides countless hours of comedy relief from watching his interviews. If the guy ever says anything that makes any sense or is truthful I will have a coronary.
1. Ronnie Brown: I admit I wasn't sold until two games ago, give him the damn ball.
2. Jay Feely: Perfect kicking, isn't afraid to take a hit.
3. Samson Satele: Rookie playing center, 'nough said.
4. Donovan Darius: New to defense, hardest hitter, keeper.
5. Chris Chambers: As always dissed, his dropped pass last week was TIPPED, his penalty bogus. 8 dropped passes my ass.
6. Huock: Realignment of offensive line was ingenious.
Memo to Cam: Play Ginn and L. Booker in same formations, speed kills.
Has anyone ever figured out why Lorenzo Booker hasn't played? As much as I think that Cam has improved the offense, the answer is obvious. As the moral police, Cam isn't playing Booker because he had a child out of wedlock and missed practice.
Wow!
With all these smart coaches and GMs posting there thoughts, I didn't realize I could have hired a gem right from these blogs.
Remember...Bill Belicheck was somehing like 2-14 his first ear....Jimmy Johnson was 1-15 with Dallas his first year, so at least we have some hope that after we go through this bismal season we might hae the same success.
Being a Houston Texan fan i can understand injuries to a team....We have had quite a few like yourself....Fans here are worried about tomorrows game....Miami is hungry for a victory....
Let us hope that neither team has any serious injuries in the game....
On the subject of having a good game today, let's all hope Mando has a good game, plays above himself, and actually gives us commentary with insight, not just adjectives for players like "sucks" or someone is playing "like crap." Armando, put that journalism degree to use, be professional and give us some intellectual analysis.
-- Reed Gordon, Coral Gables
Chris Chambers has one dropped pass this season.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/5499/receiving_splits.html
Can't blame Cam for 0-16, but Randy Mueller and the rest of higher management haven't made the right personnel choices...Need a shake-up in personnel guys!!!!!
Mark in Minneapolis
i think chris chambers has been very good this year, he's on pace for well over 1000 yards. his last two games weren't all that impressive, but todays game was with the backup and we all know how terribly trent Green has been playing. This guy never gets any respect in this town, while he's playing with Highschool level quarterbacks and no O-line until this year
you people shouldn't harp on dropped passes all that much. Terrel owens and randy moss are consistently among the league leaders in dropped passes. last year TO had 17 dropped passes, CC had 8. This year chambers has only been credited with ONE dropped pass, so i'm not sure where this 8 number comes from. dropped passes are different from passes not caught due to a poor throw from the QB... Yet he got creamed over every single one. In chambers case the drops are exentuated b/c the rest of the offense (save ronnie brown)is terrible, so when he drops a pass its most likely going to lead to a punt b/c none of the other players can pick him up... its time to pick a new scapegoat
This list is bogus with out C. Chambers.
He is on pace to have 80 rec. 1094 yrds, his pro-bowl year he had 82 rec. +/-1118 yrds.
Armando, with holes opening up for Brown and pass protection pretty good, you're saying that the only O lineman playing well is Hadnot? I can't understand how you came to that conclusion.
And one more thing - if the D played anywhere close this year to how they played last year, the Fins would have 3-4 wins and everyone would be talking about what a great coach Cam is for turning around the offense in short order and Houck for once again proving his worth by shifting around journeymen players and making them into a very effective blocking unit (and coaching a rookie at center, virtually unheard of in the NFL). It appears that most blame goes to Capers as he runs the defense. Mueller pulled the plug on Carter and Bowens but we'd all be crazy not to think that the moves were based on the counsel of Capers.
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