Last time, I talked about the offensive line and the running backs. This time, it's going to be the WHOLE DEFENSE. It's funny how things can change over a season. In 2006, we had one of the best defenses in league. Our secondary was decent. We had a linebacking corps that was so good that even our back-ups could be inserted without TOO much of a drop off. It also didn't hurt to have one of the best middle linebackers in the game either. And our defensive line, especially our defensive end rotation of Jason Taylor, Kevin Carter, Matt Roth, and David Bowens, were giving quarterbacks hell. So, of course, everyone had high hopes for the defense last season. The defense did see some changes during the 2007 offseason. First was the cutting of Kevin Carter. Then came the addition of linebacker Joey Porter, which everyone went wild for. And why not? It meant another pass-rushing specialist opposite of Jason Taylor. Then they let go David Bowens, and seemingly replaced him with Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, only for him to be waived and replaced by defensive end Rob Ninkovich. Personally, the last moved puzzled me. Especially after AGB's pre-season. But it happened. Also, during the 2007 NFL Draft, the Cameron-Mueller regime picked up two defensive players in nose tackle Paul Soliai from Utah and defensive end/linebacker Abraham Wright from Colorado. What could go wrong? Unfortunately, the defense didn't turn out the way people hoped. During the season, the defense was dominated in every way possible. Quarterbacks who struggled against prior teams like Trent Edwards looked like Pro Bowlers against the unit, and we allowed over 150 yards rushing per game. To make matters even worse, the safety position was a revolving door, and Joey Porter didn't play up to full speed until the second half of the season. All this added up to a huge reason why we were on the verge of being the only team in history to have an undefeated season and a no-win season. Of course, things changed when the Big Three took over. A lot of the defensive linemen and linebackers were either released or traded (including Zach Thomas and, later on, Jason Taylor), which left only Vonnie Holliday, Matt Roth, Paul Soliai, and Rodrigue Wright on the defensive line, linebackers Quentin Moses, Kelvin Smith, Edmond Miles, and Channing Crowder, and defensive backs Will Allen, Andre' Goodman, Michael Lehan, Travis Daniels, Renaldo Hill, Jason Allen, Yeremiah Bell, and Courtney Brown. So of course, personnel were added. During free agency, two defensive linemen were added. First was Randy Starks, formerly of the Houston Texans. Then came nose tackle Jason Ferguson, was acquired via trade from the Dallas Cowboys. Linebackers were also added. While we failed to acquire linebacker Calvin Pace, we managed to sign linebackers Reggie Torbor and Charlie Anderson, from New York Giants and the Houston Texans, respectively. To cap things off, we added four defensive backs in former Cowboys Keith Davis, Nathan Jones, and Joey Thomas, and former Falcon Chris Crocker. During the draft, we added three defensive linemen in the draft in Phillip Merling, Lionel Dotson, and Kendall Langford. After the draft, undrafted free agents were added in linemen Anthony Torbio and Kory Robertson (who retired), linebackers Keith Saunders, Kelly Poppinga, and Titus Brown, and cornerbacks Will Billingsley and Scorpio Babers. Starting Defensive End Combatants: Randy Starks, Matt Roth Overview: Truth is, Matt Roth performance was well in sync with the trainwreck that was our last season. A lot of us had high hopes for him. But unfortunately, he was subpar. So of course, it would make sense to sign Randy Starks, and draft all of those linemen. And of course, Randy Starks is a shoe-in. My Predicted Winner: Matt Roth My Reasoning: Not so fast. Remember earlier in the year, a tentative depth chart was released, and the starting linemen were Roth, Ferguson, and Starks? And remember when asked about the starting linemen, it was immediately corrected, and Starks was replaced by Vonnie Holliday? Well, it pretty remained that way. Matt Roth has managed to keep the starting job going into training camp. Now this could change if Matt Roth is moved to linebacker full time, but so far, it seems to be Roth's job to lose. Starting Nose Tackle Combatants: Jason Ferguson, Paul Soliai Overview: Like Matt Roth, Paul Soliai's performance matched up with the season. This probably had a lot to do with him being improperly coached at the position. So this resulted in him being a pushed around a lot. During the offseason, Keith Traylor was cut and Jason Ferguson was brought in. Jason Ferguson is an 11 year veteran with tons of starting experience. My Predicted Winner: Jason Ferguson My Reasoning: As stated earlier, Ferguson has a lot of starting experience and veteran in the 3-4. Soliai, on the other hand, is still pretty raw at the position and is going to be re-coached. However, if Soliai develops and shows progression, I expect him to rotate with Ferguson, if not take over the starting spot later in the season. Back-up Defensive Ends Combatants: Phillip Merling, Kendall Langford, Lionel Dotson, Rodrique Wright Overview: Four people, three spots. There's Rodrique Wright, who despite being drafted in the seventh round (though he was projected to go first round), he has been productive when he was put into games, putting up 38 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season while backing up Vonnie Holliday. Then there is Phillip Merling, drafted number 32 overall. No one expected him to last, but he did. He was very productive and Clemson. However, what probably dropped him was his inability to perform at the Combine and Clemson's Pro Day due to his surgery to correct his Sports Hernia. Then there's third rounder Kendall Langford, who was also productive on the Division 1-AA level. He was named Freshman All-American and three time First Team All-MEAC. And finally there is Lionel Dotson of Arizona. He had his best season in his senior year with 50 tackles, nine tackle for losses, 6.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. He is another 3-4 end candidate. My Predicted Winners: Phillip Merling, Kendall Langford, Rodrique Wright My Reasoning: With Langford and Merling being drafted as high as they were, it may come down to Wright and Dotson. With Wright consistently being impressive during training camp and showing consistency during the season, I expect him to have the edge. Starting Outside Linebacker Combatants: Charlie Anderson, Quentin Moses Overview: With the trading of long time 'Phin Jason Taylor, the starting outside linebacker spot opposite of Joey Porter. This leads to competition between Quentin Moses and Charlie Anderson. Quentin Moses is an enigma. He was first drafted by the Raiders. But then he was cut. He was then claimed by Arizona before being cut again. Then he was picked up by us later in the season. And what happens? Eight tackles, and 1.5 sacks. In limited action. However, one has to wonder how well he could do with his hands off the dirt. Then there's Charlie Anderson, who has a lot of experience as a linebacker. He has been mostly a back-up during his career, but was able to string together five starts in his final year with the Texans. During those five games, he posted 25 tackles, two sacks, and one pass deflection. My Predicted Winner: Charlie Anderson My Reasoning: I like Quentin Moses. But Anderson's experience at linebacker pretty much helps his case. Starting Inside Linebacker Combatants: Channing Crowder, Akin Ayodele, Reggie Torbor We all know about Channing Crowder. He has brought mixed opinions on this board. While he has shown he is very bright (London Joke aside), he hadn't the way he should. So this could be a make or break year for the fourth year linebacker. Akin Ayodele was a starting inside linebacker the Cowboys for two years before being traded to Miami along with Anthony Fasano. Also in the mix is Reggie Torbor, from the New York Giants. He has some starting experience as well as a lot of special teams prowess. My Predicted Winners: Channing Crowder, Reggie Torbor My Reasoning: While Channing Crowder and Reggie Torber will be the starters, I expect a rotation of the three linebackers. Torbor gets the nod over Ayodele due to the fact that in the aforementioned trade, Anthony Fason was the main target. Back-up Outside Linebacker Combatants: Keith Saunders, Titus Brown, Junior Glymph, Rob Ninkovich Overview: Four linebackers, one spot. Keith Saunders was relatively quiet during his years, having spent the first half of his career as a wide receiver. Then there is Titus Brown. A monster in the SEC his last two years, totalling 170 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, and 18.5 sacks in his whole career. Which kind of makes me wonder why he fell off. Then there is Junior Glymph. Despite his impressive measurables, he has only amassed nine tackles in his whole career despite being in the league since 2004 and has only stuck with Dallas Cowboys. And Rob Ninkovich only has six to his credit and was waived by the New Orleans Saints. My predicted winner: Titus Brown My reasoning: Truth be told, I'm not totally sold on any of them. However, out of the two rookies, Brown was the most productive in college. Also, Ninkovich wasn't able to crack the rotation when he was with us. As for Junior Glymph, he only stuck with the Cowboys twice and was subsequently waived afterwards. Starting Cornerback Combatants: Michael Lehan, Andre' Goodman Overview: Here's a stat - Will Allen and Michael Lehan was actually top five in yards allowed per attempt. Pretty impressive. Especially when you consider that Lehan was supposed to be the third cornerback. Unfortunately, Andre' Goodman went down was placed on injured reserve. However, Goodman is back, and ready to take back the second quarterback spot. My predicted winner: Andre' Goodman My reasoning: When healthy, I think Goodman is a better corner than Lehan. If he comes back in 2006 form, we'll have a great cornerback combination. Fourth and fifth cornerback Combatants: Will Billingsley, Nathan Jones, Scorpio Babers, Joey Thomas, Travis Daniels Overview: Travis Daniels, out of the aforementioned group, is the only holdover from last season. Travis Daniels is a decent corner back. Problem is, when he does get beat, he gets beat. He also hadn't shown any improvement from his 2005 season. Joey Thomas is somewhat a journey man, having stints with five football teams, including the Dolphins themselves and the Edmonton Eskimos, and has experience on special team. Nathan Jones is a cornerback that has a lot of experience on special teams, thus bolstering our unit. Then there is rookie cornerbacks Will Billingsley and Scorpio Babers. While Billingsley impressed coaches, especially with his speed, Babers has been reportedly fall behind (though, to be fair, after reading Hagan being a so-called drop machine in camp, only to be called the best receiver by the coach, we should take those reports with a grain of salt). My predicted winners: Nathan Jones, Will Billingsley. My reasoning: Nathan Jones, mostly because of his special teams prowess. And if Billingsley builds on his mini-camp performance, he has the last cornerback spot. Starting Safeties Combatants: Jason Allen, Yeremiah Bell, Chris Crocker, Renaldo Hill Overview: I'll be honest with you. Had Jason Allen choked out Dom Capers during the season, I wouldn't have been surprised. In the beginning of the season, Allen was moved back to cornerback, which resulted in him being buried under the depth chart. Which doesn't seem to bad until you consider the fact that almost every safety signed to the roster started before him. This included Courtney Bryan, Cameron Worrell, and Tuff Harris. And yet, when he did start for half of the season, became the Dolphins' most productive safety, snagging three interceptions in only eight games. Then there is Yeremiah Bell, who is very quick and can punish ball carriers and receivers alike. He is a playmaker when healthy. Emphasis on healthy. He went down with a torn Achilles earlier in the year, adding to the list injuries he suffered before. His starting mate, Renaldo Hill, who has experience at both cornerback and safety, also went down, with an ACL. He is a very solid starter in coverage and is a sure tackler. Also, there is Chris Crocker, who started at free safety for the Falcons. My predicted winners: Jason Allen, Yeremiah Bell My reasoning: Jason Allen has proven that when you give him playing time, he can produce. So has Yeremiah, when he is healthy. If Jason Allen improves, and if Yeremiah Bell can stay healthy, we can have the most athletic and rangiest safety duo in all of the league. Please discuss.
