Playoffs??? Don’t talk about — playoffs??? You kidding me? Playoffs?? That’s right; I want to talk a little playoff football. Yes, in regards to the Miami Dolphins and how exactly they are going to get in.

The pessimist in the group, and believe me they’re here, may channel their inner Jim Mora. How is a football team capable of making a playoff run in the heated AFC East, playing third fiddle to the Jets and Patriots?

How exactly does a team that was two games under .500 in 2010 and was plagued by a tumultuous offseason that included the courting of Jim Harbaugh while Tony Sparano was still under contract, stand a chance in a conference loaded with elite teams?

Well, there’s this trend in the playoffs. Actually, it’s more than a trend. Its 15 years strong. It’s more of a rule. Over the past decade-and-a-half, five teams that made the playoffs don’t make it back the next year. Obviously, that means five teams that didn’t make the playoffs in 2010 are posed for a run at the postseason this year.

Why not the Dolphins? Why can’t a team that beat the Super Bowl champion Packers, lost to the AFC champion Steelers on a unanimously disputed call, and went into the Meadowlands and beat the AFC runner up New York Jets at their own game be a playoff contender?

The Dolphins also handed games to teams they clearly outplayed late in the season when they were edged by the Browns (Henne’s three picks), Bills (Dan Carpenter’s four missed field goals), and Lions (fourth quarter collapse) in the month of December. That’s a three game swing.

You can’t make excuses and the fact is we can go through all the coulda-woulda-shoulda scenarios we want, but what’s done is done. I’m simply stating what last year’s Dolphins were capable of.

Take away some mind-boggling mistakes and a horrific call and we could easily be talking about an 11-5 team. That means nothing now, but I think it shows that these Dolphins may not be as far off as some of the media’s talking heads tell us they are.

Having said that, the obstacles are very much still there. Making the playoffs in the AFC, where either the Steelers or Ravens are expected to land one wild-card spot, and in the AFC East no less, where the Patriots may be the best team in football again and the Jets project to land the conference’s second wild-card opening, will be no easy task.

I’m not saying it’s likely. I’m just saying it’s possible.

So what needs to happen for the Dolphins to bridge the gap from mediocre to the playoffs? Well, the short and easy answer is put more points on the board via Chad Henne finally getting his head on straight. Obviously, that is indeed the case. But the longer and more difficult answer is a little more complicated.

Today, I want to focus on the improvements that can be made on the defensive side of the ball before we venture on over to Brian Daboll’s offense tomorrow. This formula is devised with the thinking that the Dolphins will continue to stop the run and the pass well, if not improve in doing so.

INTERCEPTIONS

The Dolphins were sixth in total defense in 2010, but they weren’t as close to elite status as that ranking indicates. Great defenses in this league force takeaways. The Dolphins rarely did so in 2010, finishing 28th in interceptions and 24th in fumble recoveries.

But I want to focus on interceptions because that will be more in their control and they squandered several easy opportunities to pick off passes a year ago.

The five teams that led the league in interceptions last season, all made the playoffs. The Patriots led the league with 25 picks and the Steelers and Bears rounded off the top five with 21 apiece. The Dolphins only managed 11, probably dropping just as many.

Two players in particular that need to step their game up are Sean Smith and Chris Clemons. Sean is emerging as one of the top cover corners in football, but if he wants to be Pro Bowl caliber and help the Dolphins’ defense take the next step he’ll need to capitalize on the golden opportunities that hit him square in the hands.

Chris Clemons also had his share of drops, and assuming he starts over Reshad Jones, who he’s still battling for the job, the Dolphins would benefit if he becomes more of a ball hawk in centerfield.

Magic number: 20 interceptions

There is finally some optimism in the air following the Dolphins’ 20-10 win over the Panthers on Friday night thanks to a dominant first-half performance from the starters.

Those good feelings are tempered some by who the opponent was, a Carolina team that selected first in the draft after going 2-14 a year ago, but the progress we saw was refreshing nonetheless.

Let’s take a look at whose stock is up and whose stock is down halfway through the preseason.

RISING

Reggie Bush: One night in a meaningless preseason game doesn’t overshadow what Bush has done in his first five seasons in the league, but there’s no denying he looked the part of feature back against the Panthers.

He did the things we expected, showcasing explosiveness in the open field and receiving skills arguably second to none as far as running backs go.

But he also did some of the things the critics say he doesn’t do well. He ran between the tackles and picked up some tough yards after contact with determination and extra effort.

What appeared to be a long shot when the Dolphins traded for him, and that was being optimistic, Bush suddenly seems capable of becoming the Dolphins’ primary runner this season.

I worry Reggie won’t be able to hold up with workhorse carries combined with all the extra touches he gets as a receiving threat and in the return game. But if he can stay healthy, I don’t see why Reggie can’t have a career year in Miami.

Kevin Burnett: Burnett was less than stellar in the opener against the Falcons, failing to fill running lanes effectively which was one reason why Atlanta was able to run all over the Dolphins early on.

On Friday against the Panthers, though, Burnett looked like a considerable upgrade over Channing Crowder, filling running lanes, getting after the quarterback, and dropping back into coverage where he saw the opportunity to reel in an interception bounce off his hands.

It’s evident that Burnett is much faster and athletic than his predecessor. He figures to bolster the Dolphins’ ability to cover backs and tight ends and adds the playmaking aspect Miami has missed over the years with Crowder.

Dansby and Burnett should be entertaining to watch this season, flying all over the field as one of the league’s most underrated inside linebacker tandems.

My colleague Cody has already written a blog about the Dolphins brining in running back Larry Johnson, but I wanted to share my personal thoughts on the signing as well.  

Many fans are going wild in Miami suggesting the Dolphins would have been better off looking at OJ Simpson or Mercury Morris over Johnson, but I think those fans are missing the point.

People must see the Larry Johnson signing for what it is. The Dolphins most likely will keep four running backs on their roster this year. Bush and Thomas are obviously locks to make the team and it would seem you could add Lex Hilliard to that group too at this point.

That leaves one bubble spot for the final running back slot on the roster. Bush has struggled with health issues his entire career and Daniel Thomas is an unproven rookie. Keeping that in mind, it is 100% necessary, due to the lack of experience Hilliard has, that the Dolphins make sure their 4th running back is a veteran.

While I would have preferred Ronnie Brown (went for a bargain to Philly) or Marion Barber, Larry Johnson has had success in this league before. Johnson is apparently in very good shape and is a player Daniel Thomas has modeled his career after.

Hopefully, Johnson will be able to bring in some solid insight for Thomas while potentially acting as also a goal-line back for Miami.

Another note that Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald made was that Larry Johnson played his college ball for Penn State and running back coach Jeff Nixon, hired this year by Miami, also has ties to Penn State.

The most important thing, which Dolphins fans might be ignoring, is that there isn't much risk here. If LJ stinks and is old and plays like it, the Dolphins can just cut him. Plain and simple. End of story!

All indications were pointing to Clinton Portis brining his talents back to South Beach where he played his college career.

The Dolphins just cut Kory Sheets and reportedly worked out Portis this morning. Instead, a curveball was in order, which always seems to be the case with this regime.

The Dolphins have officially signed Larry Johnson. The same Larry Johnson that combined for 3,539 yards and 37 touchdowns in only two seasons from 2005-2006.

Okay, so not exactly the same guy. Same person, yes. But not the same running back.

Johnson is now 31, hasn’t played a full 16-game season since 2006, his last decent year was 2008 (874 rushing yards, 5 TD’s), and he only carried the ball twice for five yards in two appearances last season for the Redskins.

All things considered, I would have preferred Clinton Portis, who is nearly two years younger and probably has a little more left in the tank.

But I’m not going to complain too much here with Johnson. The Dolphins needed another capable workhorse as insurance for Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush. The former is still a question mark as a rookie and the latter is injury prone.

Who knows if Larry Johnson can still be a capable workhorse at his age, but if he can somehow find fresh legs he’ll be a nice addition in Miami.

If not, he won’t make the team. Simply put, this is a low-risk, high-reward signing for the Dolphins.

According to Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald and really Kory Sheets’ twitter account considering he tweeted “Goodbye Miami” before the announcement was made, the Dolphins have decided to part ways with the former Purdue Boilermaker.

Sheets was passed up on the depth chart by Nic Grigsby last week in practice after he struggled to make any plays in Atlanta. 

The Dolphins gave Sheets the nod over Grigsby against the Panthers, though, receiving eight carries to Grigsby’s three. Now it looks like they were simply giving him one final chance to make an impression.

Sheets is a letdown to some degree considering many thought he could potentially push to be Daniel Thomas’ compliment in the offseason.


Those fans and even media members in some cases, were probably getting a little ahead of themselves when you take into account Sheets went undrafted for a reason.

At any rate, it will be interesting to see whether or not the Dolphins add another back. They currently only have four on the roster, but that’s how many I expect they will keep when final cuts are made considering Daniel Thomas is still a big question mark and who knows if Reggie Bush can hold up for an entire season. 

UPDATE: According to Pro Football Talk, the Dolphins worked out former Miami Hurricane runnning back Clinton Portis this morning. If signed, Portis would provide the Dolphins a capable workhorse in case Daniel Thomas doesn't pan out or Reggie Bush is unable to stay healthy.