“Welcome back football.” That was Adam Schefter’s tweet Saturday night following reports that the players are expected to ratify a new CBA today, effectively ending the longest work stoppage in NFL history just in time for training camp and a full preseason slate minus the Hall of Fame Game.

We’ve been let down time and time again in this process, but now it appears there is finally some validity to our optimism. Once the new CBA is officially in place, reports now have it that free agency will open anywhere from Tuesday to Friday and training camps likely a week from today. That should give teams a little more time than expected to fill out their rosters before opening, but it’s still going to be a crazy week to say the least.

One unit where we shouldn’t see much activity is the offensive line. Tony Sparano’s specialty is the offensive line, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell it by watching the Dolphins’ offense a year ago.

Jake Long was once again all-world at left tackle and while Vernon Carey seemingly continues to gradually digress, he was adequate on the other side. In between the tackles was nothing short of a nightmare.

Jeff Ireland took a calculated risk to save a little cash by cutting ties with starting center Jake Grove, who may have been overpaid, but contrary to popular belief, played a huge role in enabling the Dolphins’ running game to rise to top five status in 2009. Joe Berger was nowhere near capable of picking up where Grove left off and was subsequently, in my mind anyway, the first screw to come loose in the collapse of what should have been a solid offense.

Richie Incognito was average, if not mediocre at left guard and rookie John Jerry struggled on the right side to round out one of the league’s worst interior O-lines. The Dolphins are counting on first-round pick Mike Pouncey and possibly the return of Nate Garner to shore up the interior in hopes of returning to ground and pound Tony Sparano football in 2011.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN FREE AGENCY
The consensus around the team is that the Dolphins are content with what they have and probably won’t look to free agency to acquire a starting caliber lineman despite huge question marks at both guard spots. Those questions don’t come without potential answers, however.

The Dolphins will likely entrust Richie Incognito with the left or right guard spot and hope either John Jerry steps up his game in year two or Nate Garner is ready to cease one of the openings after being penciled in as the starting left guard in training camp last season before being lost for the year with a broken foot.

SAFE

Jake Long: The top lineman in the entire league and the best player on the roster will, needless to say, safely and soundly make the 53-man roster. We already knew he was as dominant of a left tackle as they come, but he also revealed how much of a warrior he is in 2010 by playing through a dislocated shoulder for the second-half of the season. The offense opens up training camp with uncertainty all over the field, but the one thing fans can count on is Jake Long. That’s not going to change anytime soon.

What should have been a smooth voting process considering all major details of a new CBA have been agreed upon, turned to chaos last night as the owners apparently tried to sneak in a few details that had not been discussed into the deal they passed by vote.

The players have been very outspoken about their disproval of the owners’ tactics, but it appears things have been smoothed over to some degree this morning, with a vote now expected to come by the players possibly today, but more likely this weekend.

If all goes as planned and we don’t have any more unexpected surprises, free agency and training camp will still open on Wednesday. But it’s probably going to take the players swallowing some pride and taking one on the chin here to finally put this lockout in the rearview mirror.

We have a few preview-able positions left on the Dolphins’ roster before camp kicks off. Among them, the offensive line, tight ends, and inside linebackers. Let’s finish off the defense today with Karlos Dansby, Channing Crowder, and company.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN FREE AGENCY
Many fans wouldn’t mind seeing the Dolphins clean their hands of Channing Crowder, who has seemingly been all bark and no bite in the past couple years. But the Dolphins are still high on him it appears. They wouldn’t have put up with his mouth for this long if they weren’t. I still see Crowder being paired with Karlos Dansby for the time being, with the Dolphins probably not considering a starting caliber addition until at least 2012.

With A.J. Edds returning from injury, the Dolphins also have who they hope will be an excellent coverage linebacker who can spell Crowder on passing situations. There really doesn’t appear to be much work for Jeff Ireland here in free agency. They could add a camp body with the inflation of the roster from 80 to 90, but they opened camp with six inside linebackers a year ago and already have that many.

SAFE

Karlos Dansby: His production from 2010 won’t blow you away, but Karlos Dansby was surely the addition the Dolphins’ defense was desperate for last offseason. He flashed some of the playmaking ability Miami acquired him for with 3.0 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, but Mike Nolan’s unit benefited the most from his coverage ability.

Dansby repeatedly was able to cover 20 to 30 yards down the field with the speed to run stride for stride with many running backs and tight ends. He was a huge acquisition for the defense a year ago and the optimism surrounding that side of the ball heading into 2011 probably wouldn’t be possible without him.

Phins Phocus readers, we have just added an interview tab at the top of our main page to make it easier for you guys to access all of our interviews.  All interviews will be placed in that tab, including the ones we have done with NFL Network's Jason La Canfora, Charles Davis, Michael Lombardi and Albert Breer along with some of your favorite Dolphins like Davone Bess.

Also pretty big news, we're expecting to have an interview with Pro Bowler Randy Starks sometime next week, so stay tuned!

Wanted to keep you guys who are out of the loop on the latest on the lockout news informed. That being said it has been almost impossible not to hear about whats been going on out there in the NFL world.


Quick Update as of 11:21 AM 22/07/11

Mawae said NFLPA will consider proposal today and vote is possible but not likely, more likely vote happens this weekend, the league most likely will not open until the players approve the NFL proposal and vote to pass it.

AdamSchefter: reps emailed a letter to players, "We will meet again Monday to discuss our options and the direction we want to go."

@mortreport Chris Mortensen I believe things will be worked out over weekend. or very early next week. There is more optimism.


Quick update as of 21/07/11:

The NFL owners ratified the proposal to end the lockout 31-0 (with Oak deciding not to vote). That set up potential for Free Agency to being the 27th and the league to open on the 23rd if the players approved the vote.


The NFLPA is still looking for a global settlement. There will be no vote as of thursday night. Players haven't rejected the deal; they just want time to read it over. It's the rules they'll be playing under for the next 10 years.

There is a lot of buzz going around a lot of people blaming players. There are many players claiming this was all a PR move by the owners. Many players have gone on twitter and on NFL Network saying they havent seen the deal before and have sited different reasons why they dont think that the owners are offering a fair deal. NFLPA also launched two emails clearly stating there has been no deal which has been made yet. We really dont know what to believe but the bottom line is, as of today, there is NO DEAL DONE.

George Wilson (Buffalo Bills Player Rep) said that there is no time table as to when the players will vote.

Hope still floats, but its not over till the fat lady sings (aka Godell and De Smith).

Frustration, Aggravation, Irritation, Annoying, Nuisance; all adjectives that could describe the NFL lockout quite accurately. That being said, today is supposed to be the day that it all gets settled. Yesterday the players voted conditionally to approve the new CBA and the owners will reportedly meet in Atlanta today and also vote to approve the new CBA. Obviously, we can’t take anything for granted in this process, but today is SUPPOSED to be the day this mess comes to an end.

If all goes as planned, teams will have the opportunity to resign their players on the 25th and free agency would open on the 28th.

So whether you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, atheist or whatever you might be, let us pray that this all ends today!