NFL Preview: Miami Dolphins

QB: C+ I’m not sold on the Brothers Chad (Pennington & Henne) at all. Chad #1 still has a weak arm that will falter in the cold, playoff weather while Chad #2 hasn’t shown much of anything in college or the pros. The grade is raised slightly because both Pat White and Ronnie Brown run a descent wildcat offense which will surely be used. FANTASY TIP! Pat White could get some playing time this year outside the wildcat because of injury prone Chad #1. Good late round pick for this year or in a keeper league.

RB: B+ Ronnie Brown, Smokehouse Williams & Patrick Cobbs are dependable runners assuming they don’t get hurt, which they are prone to do it seems. Miami backs always seem to wear down over the year in that South Beach heat so look for a split in carries for fantasy purposes. Smokehouse might be called upon more often if Brown is called on to do more in the wildcat so lets hope he lays of the medicine this year.

WR: C- Ted Ginn Jr. & Greg Camarillo may be the only two wideouts on this team you’ve ever heard of, unless you’re a big Patrick Turner fan from his days at USC. What? Nobody is? Lets move on then. This unit is solid catching the ball but nobody but Ginn can make a big play. This unit is a fantasy anchor for QB’s but good for RB’s.

TE: B- Anthony Fasano is petty ok but don't look for big plays. Look to see if Earnest Wilford can make the switch from slow receiver to fast TE.

OL: B- Good franchise tackle in LT-Jake Long, above average in RT Vernon Carey, pretty average anywhere else. FUN FACT! C Jake Grove couldn’t consistently start for the Oakland Raiders(!) earlier in his career.

DL: B+ NT Ferguson and DE Merling are both above average while other DE Langford is good enough. All these guys do in the 3-4 is chew up blocker for the LB’s.

LB: A OLB Jason Taylor has finally danced his way back to Miami and if he’s healthy he should be a terror with OLB Joey Porter. ILB’s Crowder and Ayodele are both fast and good tacklers. This unit is awesome if the DL can keep them free to run and make plays and Jason Taylor can keep of his Boogie Shoes.

DB: C+ Jason Allen is an above average defender but the other three position are sketchy. Will Allen is getting a little long in the tooth and is only 5-10(probably 5-8), Gibril Wilson got cut by the Raiders for not making any plays, Again, cut by the Raiders for sucking. Scary. I’ve never heard of Yeremiah Bell or Eastern Kentucky so I can’t comment other than to say that both Bell and Wilson are only 6-0(probably 5-10) which is small when you’ve got a 5-8 corner to deal with. This unit also gets propped up by the LB unit.

K/P: B Carpenter and Fields are both fine if not spectacular.

Coaching: A You can’t argue with the success of second year Coach Tony Sparano. Everybody thought the Dolphins would suck last year and 11-5 shocked everybody. Even if Sparano loses his mind, Tuna is just a flight of stairs away to take control.

BEST CASE SCENARIO: 11-5, Second in the EAST.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: 5-11, 3rd in the EAST. The one year dream ends. Smokehouse and Tuna shoot up and recreate various scenes from Miami Vice. The Colin Farrell/Jamie Fox movie, not the TV show everyone liked.