TGIF! It’s a football Friday and the first Dolphins game of the season is only 2 days away. Things are getting exciting as the Dolphins should have only one thing on their minds right now and that’s pulling off the huge upset against the Texans, although I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Yesterday I took a poll, and 20-13 voted they thought a Win is more important than a strong week 1 Tannehill performance. Tannehill will have all eyes on him Sunday as he is the first Dolphins rookie to get the week 1 start in 13 years.

That being said Ryan Tannehill isn’t going to be the only player on the field this Sunday and there are several other factors that will be big factors in determining the outcome of the game.

Below are 5 things that will be huge factor in the Dolphins first showdown of the season.


1) Dolphins defense ability to tackling 

Whether it’s been the cornerbacks (Sean Smith) or linebackers missing tackles in previous seasons or this preseason the Dolphins won’t have much wiggle room week 1 facing the best one- two running back duo in the league. Foster perhaps the league’s best back, joined with the talented Ben Tate can hurt you in the run game and even more so in the screen game and the Phins D have to put these elusive backs on the ground upon the first opportunity.

The Phins have no slack, if these two backs hurt them then it will open up the play action pass and things could start getting ugly. The run D in Miami has been an asset and they will need to come up huge this week if they want to have any chance at winning this week.



2) Ryan Tannehill needs a little help from his friends

After receiving praise all week from Texans head coach Gary Kubiack, NFL’s Greg Cosell and ESPN’s Ron Jaworski, Tannehill simply won’t be able to do it alone this week. All the “weapons” will need to be playing their best this week. Whether its new comer Anthony Armstrong or Brian Hartline returning from injury, every bit of help Tannehill can get the Dolphins need to take advantage.

Drops can’t be in the forecast, as the Dolphins are going to need long drives to keep the heavy fire powered Texans offense off the field

3) The offense line starting to gel

The Texans are now without Mario Williams yes; BUT J.J Watt has the makings of being one of the best pass rushers in the league so the Dolphins will get no break. Jake Long and John Jerry both scheduled to play this week won’t have any time to rest up as they are given the test of maybe the league’s best defense right away.  The pass rush will be fierce as I expect Wade Phillips to give the rookie QB all he can handle right out of the gates. The O-Line needs to be Tannehill’s best friend this week if they want to keep the kid alive and well for his model wife.

4) Joe Philbin’s game preparation

While there were certainly aspect of Joe Philbin’s coaching style that have been impressive and on display this offseason and on Hard Knocks, his preparation for game day is something that been lacking. The Dolphins came out pretty soft 3 out of the 4 games and never seemed fully prepared going into their games. While obviously the Dolphins ran vanilla defense and offenses for the preseason, Joe Philbin must out coach and out prepare Gary Kubiack this week, to provide an advantage for this underdog Phins team.

5) Dolphins invisible pass rush against the weak right side of the Texans offensive line

The Dolphins know they will get a solid effort and production from Cam Wake but Jarred Odrick and the young OLB’s will have to provide a solid pass rush to make sure Schaub doesn’t have time to connect with Andre Johnson who year in and year out has burned the Dolphins. A great pass rush can go a long way, and the Dolphins are going to need more than 1 guy to step up this week.

Dolphins football is almost here! PhinsUp!

It’s just Christmas morning today, or maybe even better, today NFL football is back! Opening day, a day filled with excitement around the league. A day where 31 teams are still hopeful their team can win the big game and become the next super bowl champion.

I of course say 31 because here in negative Miami most fans have the Dolphins as a 5-11 team or worse and hope is a hard thing to find. That being said there is still excitement over rookie Ryan Tannehill and the small glimmer of hope maybe this team will surprise us all and pull it together.

That being said today is the day where people start revealing their super bowl picks, so here at Phins Phocus we thought we would do the same.

@PhinsDaniel – Daniel Eliesen –

 

Green Bay over Pittsburg

I went chalk with Green Bay taking the most popular team but I think Aaron Rogers is the best player in the NFL right now and has a sour taste in his mouth that will lead him back to glory and a 2^nd Super bowl championship. Let’s not forget the Packers only lost 1 game last year.  I am not into picking the Texans just because my gut says they won’t be able to get over the hump,  I hate the Patriots more than anything so refuse to put them back there. So by process of elimination I took the best run organization in pro sports perhaps. Big Ben is a winner and has the weapons to bring the Steelers back to the big game.

Super Bowl rematch with the same results.

@DolfanDaniel

Ravens over 49ers

@DolphinMick

Pats over Eagles 

Just when you thought the roster was almost close to being set, another injury occurred on the Dolphins' offensive line.  RT/RG Artis Hicks has neck/nerve injury that will keep him out indefinitely.  

As reported by Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald on his blog an hour ago, Hicks stands to be out with an injury and placed on injured reserve.

While the Dolphins have depth at other positions such as running back and the defensive line, they cannot afford to lose Hicks, a veteran offensive lineman, for the entire season.

With the current health status of Jake Long up in the air until at least Friday, the Dolphins will need to make a roster decision and find a guard to replace Hicks and provide some much needed depth to the line.

Looking at the current depth chart, Dolphins coach Joe Philbin had pencilled in Hicks to start as of a few days ago, but now there is even more uncertainty at the right guard position.  Why? As indicated by Salguero in his report, John Jerry has been hurt a couple of days, so if he cannot go, the Dolphins may call on Josh Samuda, Nate Garner, or Ray Feinga.

Some possible calls the Dolphins could make are: 

Eric Steinbach a call and coax him out of retirement or look at Jake Scott.

After all, a line without experienced starters on the right side and a rookie quarterback leading the offense is not an immediate recipe for success versus a Texans D chomping at the bit more than ever.

A defense that claims to already know the Dolphins snap counts and cadence from watching Hard Knocks on HBO.

So far this makes 2 free agent moves made by Jeff Ireland go bust in a week.  First with Garrard and now with Art Hicks.  What's next Dolfans?

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Something that sets winning organizations from others who struggle is consistency. There is an expression, “the family who plays together, stays together”, the same can apply to a football team. Teams that have had the ability to gel together and build relationships over the years generally perform better on the football field.

This can be seen on a football team, with QB’s building a relationship with its WR’s or an offensive line working together.

From @DolphinsNews “As of today, 34% of the Dolphins roster has been turned over from last season " 

With a young rookie QB and a team which seems it’s about to get their second rebuild, this team will need to work together and build off each other if it’s going to succeed.

While change can usually be a good thing in football, too much of it can really damage a roster. Dan Marino who recently made some comments on the Dolphins and Ryan Tannehill at Dolphins’ Touchdown Club luncheon said ““Ryan Tannehill is going to have to grow with the people around him and learn as much as he can on the run. “

Marino notes the importance of Tannehill growing with people around him.

This rebuild will be a process, it will take time until the Dolphins turn this thing around, however if the Dolphins want to make this work they will need to improve on creating consistency and building relationships on this team, churning the roster is no way to succeed in this league.

With only five days remaining until the Dolphins kickoff the 2012 campaign at Reliant Stadium against the Houston Texans, Miami made its decision on which quarterbacks it will take into the regular season. 

Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that the Dolphins have released veteran quarterback David Garrard.

Garrard's release certainly wasn't because of his on field performance during training camp seeing as he was once listed atop the Dolphins depth chart and was the early favourite to win the starting quarterback job. Many believe that with Garrard in the mix for the entire preseason, Ryan Tannehill wouldn't be the week 1 starter. Miami cut the 34 year old Garrard due to a lack of durabilty and the fact that he wouldn't be game ready for another several weeks. 

Nearing the end of his career, David Garrard has been hampered by injuries. He missed the entire 2011 season with a back injury and suffered a surgery required knee injury in early August while playing with his children at home.  

The Dolphins ultimately elected to go with Matt Moore as the backup to the rookie Tannehill. Although Garrard had past experience working in the west coast offence, Moore is much younger and more prepared at this point to be Miami's backup. With Tannehill, Moore and Pat Devlin as the third string, the Dolphins have a solid trio at the NFL's most important position.

The release of Garrard also creates cap space and a free roster spot for the Dolphins. Miami brought in several wide recievers over the weekend that could be signed in the near future with the latest being former Patriot Jabar Gaffney. If it's not a reciever, the other position the Dolphins may address is cornerback where Rod Hood remains an available option.

Although Garrard's time with the Dolphins was brief he will leave a lasting impact on a key part of the team. Garrard's veteran presence assisted Tannehill thoughout camp and was in large part the reason Tannehill was able to catch Moore for the starting job.

Following the release David Garrard took to twitter saying "To all the dolphins fans thx for ur support! Best of luck to all my teammates. Thx for making me feel at home!! Phins up!!"

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