Miami Dolphins Football

Miami Dolphins Visit London: The Miami Dolphins will be playing the New York Giants in Wembley Stadium tomorrow! This is the first NFL game ever played in Europe. It counts as a home game for the Miami Dolphins, which means that season ticket holders got stiffed one game. Zach Thomas will not be playing because he was in a fender-bender as he left the stadium last week and he wanted to stay home and rest. Ronnie Brown, Trent Green, and Renaldo Hill are out for the season. Channing Crowder, a Dolphins player thought he had to hire an interpreter in England. He says he had no idea where England was on the map, and he did not know the British speak English. Yes, he plays football for the Miami Dolphins. Now you understand why the Fins are 0-7. The New York Giants are 5-2. I wonder if the people in the UK are excited about NFL Football? There are reports that the tickets sold out in 90 minutes, and that the NFL is more popular than soccer. ESPN has been saying that soccer stadiums are often half empty. I doubt that is true, but it seems like there is a lot of hype to market NFL Football in Europe. Update: The Dolphins lost again, this time it was 13-10. Now they Fins are 0-8 and have lost eleven in a row going back to the last three games of last year.


Update Game 7: The Perfect Season continues! The Dolphins got dismantled by the New England Patriots. It was 42-7 at half-time. Then the Patriots took a pity break and slacked off. The final score was 49-28, but I think the Patriots could have scored 70 points on the Fins if they had wanted too. Safety Renaldo Hill and first round pick Ronnie Brown both suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries to their knees and they will be getting surgery and are out for the rest of the season.

Update Game 6: The Miami Dolphins were crushed again, this time by the Cleveland Browns. The score was around 23-3 at one point, and eventually the Dolphins mounted a half-hearted comeback and the final score was 41-31. Following the game, Wide Receiver Chris Chambers was traded to the San Diego Chargers for a second round draft pick next year. The Fins are now 0-6 for this year.

Update Game 5: The Dolphins lost again, 22-19. This time they lost in the final seconds, as Chris Brown kicked a 57 yard field goal with only one second left. The Houston Texans are not a very good team, and the Dolphins could have won. The Fins are now 0-5. Trent Green was injured when he tried to block someone after Ted Ginn, Jr. fumbled the ball and lost 21 yards. Ted Ginn does not seem to understand that you don't run backwards. The idea is to run forwards. This is the Fins first round pick, and he seems to be dumber than a wooden post.

Update Game 4: The Dolphins lose again. This time it was their old quarterback, Daunte Culpepper, who came back for revenge. Leading the Oakland Raiders to a 35-17 drubbing of the Fins, Culpepper ran in three touchdowns and threw for two more. Culpepper is old, slow, and has bad knees. The Dolphins are older and slower. Sometimes it looked like the Dolphins were running after Culpepper in slow motion. Like usual, Joey Porter did not do much, and Jason Taylor was usually too little, too late.

Update Game 3: The Dolphins lose again, 31-28 to the New York Jets. This week Ronnie Brown really did a great job running the ball and catching too. However, the defense was horrible and special teams allowed a kick to be returned for a touchdown. The big free-agent aquisition of Joey Porter has resulted in nothing, as Porter seems to be all talk and not much else.

Update Game 2: The Dolphins lose ugly, 37-20 to the Dallas Cowboys. The Quarterback, Trent Green threw four interceptions and fumbled the ball once. Nobody showed up to play. Zach Thomas got a concussion. This is starting to look like a long season!

Update Game 1: Washington Redskins 16, Miami Dolphins 13 (Overtime) like usual, Chris Chambers dropped the ball a few times. The Fins had several dropped passes from the receivers and many penalties that set them back. The running game did not do much either. At least it was a close game. Jay Feely, the kicker who replaced Lindo Mare did not miss any field goals, and that is a big improvement. Weight Loss Champ Jesse Chatman made several good runs and contributed a lot to the offense.

The NFL (National Football League) Season has begun, and the Indianapolis Colts trounced the New Orleans Saints 41-10. Ouch. I used to like the Saints, but then they picked up Linda Mare, the choking dog who used to be the kicker for the Miami Dolphins. That was bad karma for the Saints. Now the Dolphins begin their season today. Last year they were 6-10 under Nick Saban. Saban then quit in shame to go to the Alabama Crimson Tide college football team. Now Cam Cameron is the head coach. He used to be the Offensive Coordinator for the San Diego Chargers. He is a rookie coach. Can the Dolphins win? Well it depends on some of these guys:

The Weight Loss Story: Jesse Chatman is someone to root for. He had not played football most of the 2005 season because he gained over fifty pounds on his playing weight of 220 lbs. Chatman is only 5'8" tall, and as a running back he has to be fast, not fat. He last played on the San Diego Chargers, where the new Dolphins Head Coach, Cam Cameron, was the Offensive Coordinater. Being overweight made Jesse Chatman useless as a professional athlete. After being cut and traded and cut from several teams, Chatman was out of the NFL in 2006. Reportedly, he had blimped up to over 300 lbs during 2006, and nobody expected him to return to pro football. However, at some point he got motivated, and he lost at least 80 pounds and came back weighing in at 220 lbs. and he made the Dolphins roster. Update: After making some contributions for the first two games, Chatman was not used much in game 3.

THE GOOD:


Jason Taylor, the perrenial pro-bowl and MVP defensive lineman who usually leads the team in sacks, and who always gives the Fins 110%!



Zach Thomas is one of the best in the NFL, and while some doubt that he will ever get into the Hall of Fame, he is definitely a powerhouse of guts, energy, and effort. Update: Thomas sat out game 3 due to a concussion.


John Beck, this rookie quarterback is the future of the franchise, and hopefully he will develop into something great. If not, then the Dolphins have whiffed again on another draft pick.


THE UNKNOWN FACTORS:



Joey Porter was the only major off-season signing, and he was injured and had knee surgery a month ago. He has not played in any of the pre-season games. The Pittsburgh Steelers did not want to re-sign him because he is too old and injury-prone at 32 years. Update: So far Joey Porter is a big fat zero. After the first week's game, he got into an argument with long-time radio commentator (and former player) Jim Mandich. Porter did not like any criticism and put a verbal smackdown on the elderly Mandich. However, that is the only time this year that Porter had shown any guts. Man-up, Joey. Time to start hitting the football players on the other teams instead of yelling at reporters.


Ronnie Brown was the overall #2 pick a couple of years ago, and he has yet to stand out as a running back. His yardage is not very impressive, and his speed is not outstanding. He has never broken a run all the way to score a touchdown, and he usually gets caught from behind whenever he breaks through a hole in the defense. Update: Great results in Game 3, hopefully Brown will finally become the stud running back he should be. Update 2: Ronnie Brown busted his ACL in game 7 (Patriots) and is out for the rest of the season. Good luck to him in rehabbing after the surgery!


The first round pick this year was Ted Ginn, Jr., whose leg was in a cast because he had broken his ankle. The last time the Dolphins used their first pick for a guy with a bad leg it was Yatil Green who never played in the NFL after blowing out his knees in pre-season practice in each of his first and only two years. Update: Ginn caught his first NFL pass in game 3!



Chris Chambers, the #1 receiver for the past six seasons, has a tendency to drop the ball. Whenever it matters, especially third downs, Chambers will drop it. Update: In spite of dropping a few balls, Chambers has made some great catches. Update 2: Chris Chambers was traded to the San Diego Chargers for a second round draft pick. That was a great deal. Hopefully Chambers will blossom when he is on a good team, and The Fins will get a top rookie next year in the draft.



Jason Allen, the first round pick who could not learn the defensive scheme and has been confused ever since. He gets burned by opposing receivers regularly. Sometimes he spends the entire game on the bench. Maybe this is his break-out year? Update: The coach never even mentions this guy anymore.



Trent Green, the quarterback who was picked up from the Kansas City Chiefs after he spent a large part of last year injured due to a concussion. Since the Dolphins have a notoriously weak Offensive Line, the odds are good that Green will be on his back often. One more concussion could spell the end for this 37 year old veteran. Update: He passed for over 300 yards against the Jets in game 3. In Game 5 he was injured (concussion).


THE UGLY:

Former coach Nick Saban, who had a personal bodyguard and would not permit anyone to speak to him directly (unless they were pro athletes or millionaires). Reportedly he had a member of the Dolphins' Headquarters janitorial staff fired for saying hello to him. Update: Little Napoleon had started 3-0 but got upset this week in overtime. I wonder how many janitors Saban has had fired at Alabama?

Daunte Culpepper who came to Miami to sit on the bench for one season and rehab his injuries. He collected at least eight million dollars and then left complaining that he was not treated with respect. Update: Culpepper is playing for the Oakland Raiders, thanks to an injury to their starter.

Ricky Williams, suspended for the fourth time for testing positive for drugs (marijuana).

The cheerleaders and the inevitable stories about their off-field activities.

WHAT LOSERS SAY: "It is still a work in progress." "We are still rebuilding." "The running game is still developing." "This is not what they wanted, but they tried hard."