Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins were a huge disappointment in 2006, as they failed to live up to the hype 2005's finish brought them. The singing of Daunte Culpepper backfired, as he played too soon, and never really recovered from the knee injury that hampered him in Minnesota. Ricky Williams hit up some drug problems once again, and Ronnie Brown found running room hard to come by as he was the only real threat in Miami. Without a quarterback to move the ball, the Dolphins lost double digit games in 2006. The Joey Harrington project failed again, leaving the Dolphins hoping for Culpepper to return to form in 2007 or Cleo Lemon to bust out and do work. Both hopes are questionable. All this combined to drive Nick Saban back to the college ranks, eventually making way for new head coach, Cam Cameron. The hope is that Cam does for Daunte what he did for Drew Brees, and does for Ronnie Brown what he helped accomplish for LaDainian Tomlinson. We'll see if all works out. Honestly, I think Cam is an upgrade over a college coach.

Recent Records:

2004: 4-12 2005: 9-7 2006: 6-10

Off-Season Plans:

The Dolphins paid big money for Joey Porter in free agency, and whether that was such a good move or not will depend on how healthy Joey stays over the next couple years. He is 30, and boy does he hit hard, 2 things that often mean injuries are on the way. However, on paper, the signing puts Joey on one side and keeps Jason Taylor on the other, making some dangerous collisions dance through the minds of opposing quarterbacks. Also signing was fullback Cory Schlesinger, as surely Cam understands the need for a good blocking back, he had Lorenzo Neal for much of his time San Diego. The Dolphins re-signed big defensive tackle Keith Traylor. They also cut, traded, or let go Joey Harrington, Damion McIntosh, Seth McKinney, Randy McMichael, Sammy Morris, Travis Minor, Dan Wilkinson, and Wes Welker among others. It will be interesting to see if the cleansing in Miami translates to more success than they've had the last 3 years. Some more moves could be on the way, as the Dolphins need help on the offensive line, in the secondary, and many other places. The draft should bring in a load of young talent for the Dolphins, which is just what their aging defense needs. The Fins could use a stud defensive tackle, like Alan Branch, and that's where I have them going with their first pick. However, if LaRon Landry is on the board at #9, he would greatly improve the Dolphins shotty secondary.

See the DOLPHINS draft situation at Lucky's Mock Draft!