By the Numbers: Can 2010 Be Marshall's Best Season Yet?

Written by Cody Strahm on .

With really nothing going on this time of year, outside of rookie negotiations and signings, you could literally here a pin drop, due to the dullness and silence that is late June. Consider Brandon Marshall's comments over the weekend at his youth football camp the pin.

“I’m not making a prediction,” Marshall told the Palm Beach Post. “But this is going to be a great year for us, and for me probably the best year I’ve had.” Nothing earth-shattering or controversial, thankfully, but something to talk about nonetheless.

While Marshall's lofty expectations for the Dolphins and himself might get fans all wound up with excitement, realist may make the case that career numbers are unlikely with Miami's dedication to the run.

So let's get to Marshall's statistics thus far, and how often the Broncos have ran and passed compared to the Dolphins, to get a feel for what Marshall is capable of.

Brandon Marshall

Year G GS Rec. Yds. TD
2006 15 1 20 309 2
2007 16 16 102 1,325 7
2008 15 15 104 1,265 6
2009 15 13 101 1,120 10

As you can see, it's going to take at least 1,326 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns for Marshall to have career numbers. Of course, if he has a little less than 1,300 yards but surpasses his 09' touchdown total, or has one or two less touchdowns but puts up more yards than ever, you could still make a case for 2010 being his best season.

Whatever the case, it's going to take a very prolific year for Marshall to statistically one-up what he has done in Denver. But will he get as many opportunities in Dan Henning's offense? Let's take a look.

Miami Dolphins

Year Pass Att. Run Att.
2008 491 448
2009 545 509

Denver Broncos

Year Pass Att. Run Att.
2006 454 488
2007 515 429
2008 620 387
2009 558 440

Those totals come out to the Dolphins passing the ball about 52% of the time, while the Broncos aired it out around 54% of the time during Marshall's four year stint in Denver. Those percentages don't seem to indicate that Marshall's numbers are going to decline too heavily in Miami's run-first attack.

Obviously, these statistics don't take into effect things like having to throw the ball because you are behind, or milking the clock with the lead, but they seem fairly parallel with each team's philosophy. And when you take into account the fact that Marshall gives the Dolphins the ability to open things up a bit, meaning throwing the ball more, Marshall having a career year in 2010 doesn't seem too far-fetched after all.

And maybe he wasn't even talking about individual accolades when he made those comments. Maybe he was suggesting that by winning ball games, and making a serious playoff run, the team's success would define 2010 as his best season yet. But then again, career numbers from Marshall would go a long way in making those team goals possible.

Technical Difficulties Have Been Resolved

Written by Cody Strahm on .

If you have been wondering why certain articles have been appearing and disappearing over the last couple days, it was because the Bloguin network has been experiencing some technical difficulties. To specify, the whole network was in the process of switching over to some new and improved servers, but that process took a little longer than expected.

It appeared we successfully made the move over the weekend, but technical difficulties forced us to move back to the old ones. While we were back on the old servers, the Dolphins signed a couple draft picks, seventh-rounder Austin Spitler and fifth-rounder Nolan Carroll, so I wrote up a couple brief posts that gave the details on the two signings. But because we had to move back to the new servers, and because I forgot to save both of those posts, they were both lost to the old servers.

Anyway, we are back up and running on the new servers and it appears everything is operating smoothly. Expect my frequent posting schedule to resume tomorrow, and get ready for the start of July as we crank things up a bit in preparation for training camp!

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Dolphins Sign Edds

Written by Cody Strahm on .

The Dolphins now have two rookies from this year's draft locked up, as Scout.com's Aaron Wilson reported earlier today that they came to terms with fourth-round pick A.J. Edds. It's reportedly a four-year deal that includes a $477,000 signing bonus. It is perceived that Miami drafted Edds for his coverage abilities, which should translate into seeing a lot of him in the nickel package this season.

Chris Clemons' Time Has Come

Written by Cody Strahm on .

Well, there are officially no more legitimate free safety options remaining on the free agency market. With O.J. Atogwe re-signing with the Rams yesterday and Ken Hamlin coming to terms with the Ravens last week, the powers that be are trusting Chris Clemons, or possibly Reshad Jones to hold down the starting free safety job. 

I say possibly Reshad Jones because, as far as we know, he could still beat out Clemons, but for all intents and purposes it appears to be Clemons' job to lose. The coaching staff and front office have talked up Clemons ever sense OTA's opened, have praised the progress he has made from a mental standpoint, and point out how he has received more reps than anybody this spring.

The vote of confidence Clemons has got from the Dolphins though, seemed to come out of nowhere, starting at the draft. They could have stayed put at No. 12 and selected Texas' Earl Thomas, but they didn't. They could have traded up a few slots in round three in order to snag Georgia Tech's Morgan Burnett, or picked up Florida's Major Wright in the same round, but they passed on both.

Instead, Ireland and Parcells chose not to address the safety position until round five, when they drafted Reshad Jones. Yes, Jones will compete at free safety, but on paper he appears to be better suited as Yeremiah Bell's eventual successor at strong safety.

Then of course, there was Atogwe hitting free agency earlier this month. The Dolphins were rumored to be in the mix for his services, but really never made a strong push, despite the fact that he would have instantly provided stability at the position. But was that because of how much cash Atogwe was requesting, or was it because the Dolphins honestly think Clemons is the long-term solution at a position that plagued them a year ago?

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Who Had the AFC's Best Offseason?

Written by Cody Strahm on .

The NFL Live crew, Mike Golic and Chris Carter, recently debated which teams had the best and worse offseasons in each conference. You can watch Golic and Carter's reasoning behind their responses on the ESPN's AFC East Blog, but to make a long story short, Golic, who surprisingly diverted away from his Jets worshiping ways, thinks the Ravens had the AFC's best offseason and the Bills had the worse, while Chris Carter gave the Dolphins some love by selecting them as the offseason class of the conference, and gave the Steelers the dead last rank.

So who's right here? Did Baltimore outshine Miami, by solidifying their receiving core with Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth, and selecting Sergio Kindle and Terrance Cody, two prospects could have easily gone on day one, in the second round of the draft? Or does the combination of bringing in Mike Nolan to improve the defense, signing a playmaking inside linebacker in Karlos Dansby, and trading for Brandon Marshall, give the Dolphins the edge?

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