As much as we want to talk about the pass rush, the young secondary, and Mike Nolan's first year as defensive coordinator, is there any doubt the biggest make or break factor on this defense is Randy Starks' ability to move inside to nose tackle? After all, a 3-4 defense is only as good as it's nose allows it to be.

Considering Starks has only seen limited action at the nose tackle position, and that his size indicates he is a prototypical defensive end in the scheme, there's always the possibility this move tanks, which would all but guarantee the defense as a whole has another mediocre season at best.

Given the track record of this regime's prior nose tackles, though, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic. First of all, in Dallas, Parcells enlisted the undersized Jay Ratliff (6'4, 303) to anchor the defensive line, and he is now considered by many one of the better noses in the game. Secondly, the recently retired Jason Ferguson, who played an instrumental role in enabling Miami to switch to the 3-4 with relative ease two years ago, weighs in at 310 pounds- a mere five pounds heavier than Starks.

So, while Starks' switch carries some uncertainty and has to be considered somewhat of a gamble, there's no reason to think Parcells and company are taking a shot in the dark here. It just seems like the Parcells' mold for nose tackle is a bit smaller than the rest of the league, which is not consistent at all with how he typically views every other position, but nonetheless, is something that has been successful in the past, and surely can be again, given the caliber of player Starks has become.

Safe

Randy Starks: Given how well Starks played last season at defensive end, this regime must really be sold on his ability to play nose tackle to sacrifice that production for a transition inside. Pro Football Focus ranked his 09' performance second among all 3-4 defensive ends, and his 7 sacks was tied for the most at the position. If he can be just as successful at the nose, although his stats are sure to decline, the switch will be a smart one considering nose tackle is more valuable to the 3-4 than defensive end.

For the 3-4 to be successful, you need a double team commanding nose freeing up space for the linebackers to make plays on the ball carrier. Mike Nolan, however, reportedly will shake things up a bit. Instead of lining up directly over the center, some expect Nolan to place Starks in the gap to the right or left in order to produce some interior penetration and pass rush.

Given Starks' athleticism for his size, that philosophy would make a lot of sense, even though it's difficult to predict how that would hold up against some of the better rushing attacks in the league. In the event things get ugly, though, you can't put much blame on Starks. While a guy like Albert Haynesworth has thrown a fit over the Redskins' switch to the 3-4, despite being a $100 million man, Randy Starks has handeled the Dolphins' wishes to move him inside with nothing but class.

The Dolphins added some more depth to their defensive line today, by agreeing to terms with free agent defensive tackle Montavious Stanley. The 6'3, 302 pounder has spent time on five different clubs, most recently with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In four seasons, Stanley has accounted for 53 tackles and 1.5 sacks in primarily a reserve role.

He's been in the 4-3 system for most of his career, but in the Dolphins 3-4, he's a prototypical defensive end. Of course, the Dolphins shied away from prototypical with their move of Randy Starks to nose tackle, but Stanley is most likely being brought in to add even further depth to defensive end after the Phillip Merling debacle.

The 33-year old defensive end has been somewhat of a journey man over the course of his eleven year career. Over that span Douglas has seen three different tenures in Baltimore, starting 32 games for consistently one the best defenses in football, a brief stint in New Orleans, three years and 47 starts in San Francisco under head coach Mike Nolan, and this past season in New York, where he started twelve games for the Jets.

An impressive resume considering some of the teams and defenses he started for. With so much mileage under his belt, though, are the Dolphins just getting a washed up veteran on the last stand of his career? Based on his production a year ago, one could argue he's still got it. Surprisingly, Douglas had one of his better seasons as a pro for the Jets, racking up the third-highest tackle total of his career (64), despite coming off the bench in four games.

Now, from a pass rush production, he's surely fallen off quite a bit, even though he never had far to fall. Douglas has only accounted for 20.5 sacks in eleven years, with his career high coming in 2004 when he put up 5.5 quarterback take downs for the Ravens. Over the past two seasons, though, he's only managed 1.5 sacks, both coming in 09'.

But, really, that doesn't mean much. As a 3-4 defensive end, the primary goal is to stop the run and allow the pass rush production to come from the outside linebackers. The Dolphins did get some production from their defensive ends last year, as Randy Starks led all 3-4 types with 7.0 sacks, and Kendall Langford threw in another 2.5. But if Douglas can effectively maintain his ability to stuff the run, he will find a home on this defense.

Whether that be a rotating role, much like that of Phillip Merling's a year ago, or the starting job. The latter isn't likely, though. Make no mistake, this is Jared Odrick's job to lose. The Dolphins want to throw Odrick into the fire in the same way they did with the rookie corners last year. He was considered the best five technique defensive end in the draft, he has the run-stuffing skills to translate effortlessly to the scheme, and possess some pass rush ability that could contribute to an interior pass rush.

If he doesn't turn heads in camp, the Dolphins could start the season with Douglas opposite Langford, and gradually increase Odrick's reps each week until he's eventually ready for the starting job. In the event he flat out disappoints, though, Miami now has a backup plan that was briefly absent with Merling's situation. Douglas is more than capable of stepping in as the starter, and would prevent the run defense from falling apart, which could have been a reality under the same circumstances with no depth behind Odrick and Langford.

And let's not forget the way Miami used their trio at defensive end last year. Starks and Langford were outstanding, but still conceded 376 snaps to Merling, which in turn kept everyone fresh. That's why Douglas projects to have a big role, regardless if he's the temporary starter or the man on the rotation.

The Dolphins didn't wait long to find Phillip Merling's replacement. Earlier today, they agreed to terms with former New York Jet Marques Douglas. The deal is reportedly for two years and is worth $2.5 million. The 6'2, 290 pound eleven year veteran probably doesn't have much left in the tank at 33 years old, but is a nice stop gap solution to the depth concerns that come with Merling's season-ending injury.

Perhaps the last remaining weakness on an offense potentially destined for greatness, is the tight end position. Tight end was actually a strength on the 08' team, though, as Anthony Fasano put up a solid 454 receiving yards and was a dangerous red zone target, accounting for 7 touchdowns.

09' was a completely different story. Fasano had a disastrous opening day in Atlanta, when he lost two fumbles that essentially gave the game to the Falcons, and never fully recovered. He stumbled to a mediocre 339 receiving yards and only 2 touchdowns.

Now that the Dolphins have a complete receiving core, they won't likely need to rely on much receiving production from their tight ends. Blocking may define Miami's tight ends this year, but nonetheless, the front office could be tempted to add a receiving tight end next offseason, as the offense potentially moves to more of a pass first scheme with Ronnie and Ricky's 2011 status up in the air.

Safe

Anthony Fasano: If Fasano can somehow return to his 08' form, him and Brandon Marshall could produce a lethal redzone duo for Chad Henne to play with. Even if he doesn't, though, he's value as a run blocker can't be ignored. He may not be a true receiving tight end, but he is arguably one of the better run blocking tight ends in football. Considering, the Dolphins still want to be a run-first offense, I would say Fasano is still the man for the job, and if the long-term vision of the team is to remain run-first, he could earn himself a nice multi-year contract to stay in Miami.

Joey Haynos: At 6-8, 270 pounds, you would think Haynos would be a more dangerous receiving threat, especially in the red zone. He produced some in his second season, with 169 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, but was still primarily used for blocking purposes. If he continues to be solid as a blocker, he could be a part of the Dolphins plans for years to come as a decent backup, but any emergence of receiving skills would highly benefit this offense, and could possibly translate into a competition for a starting role with Fasano.