Despite the fact that the Super Bowl will be played this Sunday in Indy, there is only one thing everyone is talking about Peyton Manning.

Today there was somewhat breaking news on the Peyton Manning saga as Adam Schefter had some interesting news to spread on Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN Radio.

This past week Manning spoke about rumors of his retirement and stated "I have no plans on doing that,"

."All the other talk, it is what it is. But my plan hasn't changed. I'm on track with what the doctors have told me to do. I'm rehabbing hard and I'm enjoying this week.''

“I'm very encouraged by what they've said. Everything's right on point that I'll be cleared and ready to play." - Peyton Manning said. Maybe Peyton wants to prove Rob Lowe wrong but it certainly seems Manning won’t go down without a fight.

This morning Adam Schefter said that he also believes Peyton will play next year and that the sweepstakes to land Manning might start earlier than most initially believed.

Shefty stated that it is very possible Manning is released as early as next week as both sides want to finish this as soon as possible after the Super Bowl.

Manning becomes a free agent immediately after being released by Indy and would not have to wait until March to be signed.

Shefty stated he believes the 3 usual suspects or main teams to pursue Manning would be Miami, Arizona and Washington. He also stated he doesn’t believe the 49ers will be in the hunt.

While any team can come from out of nowhere for Manning’s services the Dolphins, Cardinals and Redskins are the 3 teams that keep on coming up.

Evan Silva @evansilva

• More Schefter on Manning: "We could see sweepstakes begin as early as next week." Says "growing signs & evidence" Peyton will play in 2012.

Trent Dilfer added on @MikeAndMike that the Dolphins make a lot of sense for Peyton Manning. Dilfer feels Manning’s knowledge of the AFC and Miami’s strong defense are both factors that could help lure in Peyton.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out as I am sure it will be topic number one all off season.

No, Dolfans this blog at Phins Phocus is not going to lobby for Zac Taylor getting the starting nod on game day.  Even if yours truly is a Nebraska Cornhusker fan, it won't happen!

Taylor is the Miami Dolphins new Assistant QB Coach as of today. 

Taylor was brought over from Texas A&M where Mike Sherman had him as a Graduate Assistant.

While Taylor has elevated from GA to now Dolphins Assistant QB Coach it really shows that Mike Sherman trusts this guy with the clipboard and the development of the Franchise quarterback the Dolphins sign or draft.

First some background on Zac Taylor:

Zac Taylor was part of a late season switch by then coach Bill Callahan and responsible for engineering a massive comeback to knock off Michigan in the 2006 Alamo Bowl.  He threw three touchdowns in the game, but did not earn the game-high honors. 

Who did, you might ask?  None other than Chad Henne.  In fact Henne threw for 270, 3TD,1INT and was (21-43).

Henne at the time was a Junior, so his best season was yet to come. (Insert foot in mouth and everything about Bill Parcells.)

Henne was part of a team that relied on its defense to stop the Nebraska Cornhusker offense that was powerful with the pass for the first time in its history. No Husker player ever threw for 3 TDs in a bowl game!  Until Taylor! 

Henne got no breaks as a QB of the Dolphins and continually placed the defense in precarious situations because of interceptions and poor play at the QB position. 

However, back to Taylor who threw for 3TD, but only had 167 Yds passing on 14-31 passing. 

More with less or with a running game, Cory Ross ran for 160 plus yards.

Taylor went on to Tampa Bay and was cut in training camp as an undrafted free-agent.


Then went to Canada to play football for the Winnepeg Blue Bombers and in a Grey Cup in 2007.

After his career as a player ended, he went into coaching with Mike Sherman at Texas A&M.

So, as Taylor is given an opportunity to groom and develop all QBs in Miami, why is he so coveted by Mike Sherman?

Because Zac’s father, Sherwood was a DB and lettered at Oklahoma.  Football is in his blood! 

Or because Mike Sherman is his father-in law…or because Ryan Tannehill worked with both Coach Sherman and Zac Taylor.

Ryan Tannehill is the QB prospect from TAMU with a surgically-repaired foot and can't do anything until late March as far as workouts.

Let’s welcome Zac Taylor (and his family) to Miami and be hopeful that he can develop and work under the tutelage of Coach Mike Sherman!

Dolfans, it's not the Super Bowl, but it's the NFL's version of a consolation prize for fans all over the country whose teams are no longer alive in the NFL playoffs (under the new format). 

Today in Honolulu in Aloha Stadium, Brandon Marshall who on Twitter last week exclaimed Aloha! just said Mahalo to the "elite" quarterbacks he caught 4 touch down passes for 177 yards on only 6 receptions. 

One of his catches he made after Earl Thomas of Seattle defending on the play went up for an interception and tipped it in the air into the hands of Marshall who fell down and was lying on his back.

Brandon Marshall with 4 TDs is start for a day and Pro Bowl MVP.  There is no doubt that he was awesome today.

The last Miami Dolphin as Pro Bowl MVP was none other than Ricky Williams who in 2004 had a fantastic showing that he joined his friend Lenny Kravitz in a tent in India to hang out and share in some other type of activities thus missing the entire season.

Brandon Marshall is no Ricky Williams, but Brandon Marshall surely gave Dolphin fans a glimpse of what playing with an "elite" quarterback means.

Marshall caught touchdowns from Rivers, Roethlisberger, and Andy Dalton (2).  Marshall caught a TD in every quarter.

While catching a toucdown in every quarter of the game, as a Dolphin fan, a lot of us can take solace in that if Marshall plays this well against NFC opponents then we can all have really good games against the NFC.

Looking at Marshall's numbers v. NFC opponents in 2011, Marshall caught 1 TD versus the Cowboys and another against the Eagles. 

Against AFC opponents Marshall had TDs against the Patriots, Jets (at home, should have had one on the road), Texans, and Chiefs.

6 touchdowns and 4 today! 

As Dolfans we need to embrace this moment and share in it and buy the Marshall jersey because as a pro bowler we are pround that he represented in a big way the aqua and orange!

His record setting performance can be viewed right here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=320129031

Brandon Marshall told NFL Network reporter that this game was his playoffs and he certainly played like it. The Dolphins receiver scored a single-game record four touchdowns, finishing with 176 receiving yards to lead the AFC to a 59-41 win over the NFC in the Pro Bowl on Sunday at Aloha Stadium.

Marshall had a very nice mix of acrobatic and beautiful touchdown grabs as it appeared he was one step faster and tried that much more then everyone else at this years Pro Bowl.

Marshall certainly left his mark on the game, in which he was named MVP. This game just went to show the type of talent that Marshall has. Throughout the game Mike Mayock continually stated that Marshall has the skills to be as good as Brandon Marshall wants to be. That has been the very thing that has led to all of Marshall’s success but also all of his downfalls.

Marshall put a little doubt in some of his haters down in South Beach as he gave the Dolphins fans a little flavour of the type of plays he can come up with if he only had a better quarterback to play with.

Marshall was not shy after the game complimenting his quarterbacks and basically lobbying the Dolphins brass to go find him a franchise QB. “Quarterbacks make it easier for me,” Marshall told a NBC sideline reporter during the Pro Bowl. “These guys are putting it in the right places and I’m making plays. It’s easy right now.”

“Down in Miami, getting a feel for different quarterbacks, had three or four of them throughout my two years there,” said Marshall. “Elite quarterbacks put [the ball] in the right spots,” Marshall said.

While an elite QB would not take away many of Marshall’s key drops throughout the season there is a thought that his play could be defiantly be elevated with the help of a franchise QB.

So Jeff Ireland and Stephen Ross, Brandon Marshall just played his hand, now its time to play yours…..

Despite previously mentioning that I think the Dolphins need to trade out of the 8/9^th draft pick that is easier said than done and as we all know we cant always trust Ireland in being proactive.

That being said here are a couple of names that Dolphins should and most probably will monitor very heavily before deciding who to select in April.

1) Quinton Coples , DE North Carolina

Going into this season Coples was most likely slated to be a top 10 pick. With a very nice mix of size, speed and freakish arms, Coples has all the tangibles to be a great defensive end. Coples has even gotten the high praise of being compared to Julius Peppers another former Tar Heel.

He could be a defensive end or tackle in a 4-3 scheme at the next level, or he could be a defensive end or outside linebacker in a 3-4. Making him very versatile and also appealing to a team like the Dolphins. Coples had a very solid senior bowl week impressing most scouts however he did have a few blemishes including an unnecessary roughness penalty which might put into question his character.

The Dolphins like most team will be looking for an elite pass rusher and Coples could potentially fill that void. 


2) Riley Reiff, OT Iowa

 

It would be a safe pick and one that doesn’t involve a lot of risk. To me that sounds right down Jeff Ireland’s ally. With the Dolphins having one of the worst right tackles in the league in Marc Colombo and with the addition that they most likely will let Vernon Carey walk, the addition of a offensive linemen in the draft is highly probable.

The two-time all-Big Ten left tackle on the Iowa football team is one of several very solid offensive tackles in this year’s draft. Reiff is regarded by multiple draft experts as a potential top-10 selection for the NFL's April draft

3) Ryan Tannehill, QB Texas A & M

Tannehill might be off the board when the Dolphins are selecting and the Dolphins might have already signed Matt Flynn or Peyton Manning, with that being said due to the strong ties Tannehill have with Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman.

Tannehill is a pretty athletic and made several big plays in the aggies offense with both his feet and has a strong arm. This season, Tannehill completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,744 yards with 29 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. With Barkley and Jones staying in school, Tannehill most likely will be the third QB taken in this year’s draft. Tannehill however does have serious questions as he just missed the Senior Bowl due to a foot injury which required surgery.

The injury does have the potential to drop Tannehill’s draft stock.

Notable names off the list include:

Courtney Upshaw- OLB, Alabama – A pure beast pass rusher who has the potential to slip into the top 10 if he has a nice combine.
 

Alshon Jeffery and Michael Floyd – Two very solid Wide Receiver prospects who could be nice playmaking options for the Dolphins. Philbin is use to having tools in GB and might want to add a few weapons to the Dolphins offense.

Justin Blackmon and RG3 who the Dolphins would obviously take a strong look at however both most likely will be off the board when the Dolphins are on the clock.