Tony Sparano on the latest Dolphins moves

In a special one on one interview with NFL Network's Rich Eisen, Tony Sparano sat down and addressed some of this week's key moves for the Miami Dolphins:

Rich: Welcome coach, good to see you once again.

Sparano: Aren't you a Jets' fan?

Rich: I er... well... er... yes, as a matter of fact I am.

Sparano: Nice season you guys put together.

Rich: Thanks coach. Now on to business. First order of business was the trade bringing in star wide receiver Greg Jennings from the Packers and giving up Vernon Carey as part of the deal. What are your thoughts on that trade?

Sparano: Well, we felt like we needed to get a guy on offense that could help Henne and our other quarterbacks take that next step. Greg is a guy we liked. He can get downfield and open up some of the other things we like to do on offense, that way. So that was something we wanted to do.

Rich: How do you replace Vernon Carey at right tackle?

Sparano: We have a couple of guys that we think can get the job done over there. Zuttah a guy we just added, we feel can play some tackle as he played that in college. Andrew Gardner is another guy that can fill that position. So we have some options there.

Rich: Joey Porter was traded to the Chiefs. What happened during the season that lead to his release?

Sparano: I don't think you can say it was one thing or the other. It was a combination of things. In the end we just didn't feel him enough this season, that way.

Rich: So, are the rumors true about him refusing to come out of the game and that lead to his suspension?

Sparano: No, Joey is a good guy. It was more performance based than anything else.

Rich: Do you feel you have guys on the team that are ready to step into a leadership role that perhaps haven't done so thus far in their career?

Sparano: Absolutely. In fact we just traded for the Vikings EJ Henderson who had he not gotten hurt this year probably would have been their defensive MVP. He can do a lot for your team from a leadership standpoint. And I also think it's time for some of our younger guys to express themselves, the Wakes, the Davises, the Langfords, the Longs, the Hennes. Those kinds of people need to step to the forefront and captain this ship.

Rich: Is EJ ready to return after that bad leg injury?

Sparano: That's a good question. We won't press him to come back too soon. That's an injury that's going to take time to repair and we'll give him every opportunity to rest up as we get into this thing.

Rich: Had to trade Ricky Williams also? Was that more of a cap move than anything else, for a guy that just rushed over 1,000 yards?

Sparano: It really was. He definitely had some gas left in that tank. But his salary was just prohibitive to what other things we needed to do to upgrade this team.

Rich: You traded Soliai and Merling, a couple of young studs on the defensive line for a top 10 tight end in Zach Miller and a high 2nd round pick. Talk about that one.

Sparano: We also got Justin Fargas in that thing and I feel that he's a very capable running back who can do a lot of things. Sort of a Patrick Cobbs but bigger. He's a very smart back and he'll work well with Ronnie as we rotate our guys. He can also do a lot in the Wildcat package, good hands, that type of thing. But yes, we traded Soliai and Merling. A couple of important pieces that we felt we could upgrade on. We felt we were going to have to add a nose tackle anyway in this thing and also with the emergence of guys like Randy Starks and Tony McDaniel, it enabled us to use some of that extra depth along the D line to get better in other areas. We needed a tight end who could stretch the field and we feel Zach can do that as well as a big body in there that way. And the high second round pick is a nice piece to the puzzle that we have.

Rich: You also traded for some interesting players who were maybe not household names yet. Talk about linebacker Keyaron Fox and strong safety Jamarca Sanford.

Sparano: Foxy is a guy that comes over from the Steelers and will be reunited with our new defensive coordinator Keith Butler. He personally vouched for him and told me he's the next great linebacker. From what I know he's a good capable guy who can do a lot of things in the nickel and dime packages. Covers very well for a linebacker. Good special teams guy. Sanford is a kid I really liked coming out of college last year from Ole Miss. Talking to the staff there, he was one of the hardest working kids on their squad. First to get in the weight room, last to leave. Always working to get better. He'll help provide some depth at strong safety and of course special teams. Both of these guys are young and will compete and that's what we're trying to do in this thing.

Rich: Last question coach, do you have any more trades on the horizon?

Sparano: You'll have to check with our GM staff on that. I don't acquire the talent, I just coach it and make it better.

 

Try to pay attention next time.