One of the many questions that the Miami Dolphins front office is facing is whether or not to re-sign Jake Long.  In Madden terms, Jake Long is a “big mauler” or a stalwart left tackle.  The Dolphins have paid Jake Long well over 60 million since his rookie deal in 2008. Jake Long can pass block and run-block quite well...when healthy.

The pros for re-signing Jake Long start with four pro-bowl selections, his leadership on the offensive line, hard working in the offseason, and a protector of the Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

However, there is not much else to say that is positive.  After four seasons, Jake Long started to break down with leg injuries, sore shoulders, and now a triceps tear that is currently healing.  

His injuries have led to two consecutive late season appearances on the injured reserve. 

Even though Long has been missing, the Dolphins are 4-2 without Long and have shown resiliency in plugging in other linemen to get the job done. 

So as delicate and as puzzling the negotiation must be for the Dolphins front office, the biggest question remains: Is Jake Long elite?

Based on a blog post by Armando Salguero, only Jeff Ireland knows, but he is not saying.  In fact, Salguero compared Long to one former Jacksonville Jaguar Tony Boselli, who started to break down his 4^th season.  We all know that Boselli broke down to the point that he was practically handed to the Houston Texans for free in the expansion draft.

However, if Ireland isn’t saying that Jake Long is elite, then the negotiations can’t be leaning favorably for what the Dolphins want to pay Jake Long.  Two people believe that Jake Long is elite, his agent and Jake Long.

On one hand, Jake Long presents positive leadership on the offense as a whole.  Whether he is the cornerstone piece of the Miami Dolphins as Richmond Webb was during the Marino years, it remains to be seen what is future holds and if it is even synonymous with Canton, Ohio.  The biggest question now, is whether Long can stay healthy and be productive into the post season, which Miami hopes to be a part of in the future.

Going back to early September, the Dolphins showed how important Long is to the team.  However, during one of the first team practices, he goes down in a heap after getting his leg rolled on.  Then with kid gloves the Dolphins tend to him, speed up his recovery by blocking the media and rush him back onto the field, Long plays five days later in Houston with barely a limp.  However, Long played poorly in key games versus superior pass rushers.  When he got torn apart versus the Bills in Buffalo by Shawn Merriman, that was an alarming sign of a breakdown in technique and overall strength, something that Long got by with by expanding his massive frame. 

Everything about the plan of getting every ounce out of Long worked until the Dolphins discovered the flexibility of Jonathan Martin, moving him to his natural position of left tackle and filling in for Long admirably. 

So, while the Dolphins have many pressing needs on the offensive part of the ball, Jake Long does not appear to be a need, want, but merely a luxury that doesn't’t put points on the board or fans in the seats. 

Bottom line, the Dolphins can’t afford to pay Jake Long what he and his agent believes they are worth and pay for other key missing pieces.  It might be time to say adiós to Jake Long and re-allocate Dolphin Dollars to a different talent pool

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While the Dolphins players are off resting and relaxing, many questions have been posed about what steps the Dolphins offense will need to take to put more points on the scoreboard and win more games.

First, last season, when the Dolphins hired Mike Sherman to be the offensive coordinator, news of the hiring sparked much optimism amongst Dolphins fans.  After all, Sherman worked as the head coach for Brett Favre and a dynamic passing offense, worked in Houston with Kubiak with newly acquired Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, and finally had a great rapport with Ryan Tannehill at Texas A&M.  Heck, Tannehill was probably the Dolphins choice because of Mike Sherman, being his former coach at Texas A&M.

 However, how did the Dolphins offense improve when after one year of having an offense that ranked 27^th in points, 27^th in yards, and 26^th in pass yards per game.  As a result, many Dolfans were calling for Sherman’s head and wanted to move on to another re-tread offensive coordinator in Norv Turner.  Many Dolfans uttered the name Dan Henning several times on twitter and wanted the Dolphins to do more than just ground and pound right into the opposing defenses, at least the Dolphins could find solace in their run game at 17^th averaging 112.6 yards per game.

The reality of the Dolphins offense is there were no offensive weapons to begin with (after making the Brandon Marshall trade) and calling plays became more of an adventure for Mike Sherman with the lack of pass catching and a running tight end, a lack of blocking upfront to spring Reggie Bush, and a lack of execution by third and fourth receivers who dropped, fumbled, or couldn’t out run sailing passes to help rookie QB Ryan Tannehill.  The personnel moves in the offseason did not mesh well with the offense that Joe Philbin and Mike Sherman were accustomed to running.

After looking at the season as a whole, Sherman’s best and worst job of play calling could be wrapped up into one game: Week 4 versus the Arizona Cardinals.  This is the game where the Dolphins played well enough to win and poorly enough to lose.  It was a tale of two halves.  After a very counter-productive first quarter by both the Cardinals and Dolphins, the Dolphins got on the board with a field goal.  Later after a 95 yard drive and a Jorvorskie Lane plunge into the end zone, the Dolphins made it 10-0.  This drive included 2 passes, one a 57 yard pass and another, a 19 yard pass in order to overcome a 14 yard loss on a sack.  This drive proved most impressive at the time by rookie QB Ryan Tannehill.  It was the quickest drive for a touchdown in that only 3:49 elapsed off the clock.  An eight play drive and a touchdown was music to the ears of all Dolfans watching. 

However, the second half, riding a 13-0 lead was a completely different story.  The offense seemed to go into a shell.  First the Dolphins opening drive of the 3^rd quarter led to a missed field goal after a 2:17 drive on a play call sequence of a pass for 6 yards, a run by Reggie Bush for 1 yard, a pass to Hartline for 30 yards, and run for negative yardage on 1^st down and then a couple of incomplete passes to Davone Bess.  The field goal resulted in a miss by Carpenter with Dolfans clamoring for better play calls and more #Fireland talk.  What was most un-nerving about this drive was the fact that the Dolphins had the Cardinals on the ropes.  Their defense was on the ropes and a 20-0 lead in the 3^rd quarter would have been close to smooth sailing to victory for Miami.

The next offensive drive brought about some puzzling play calls: starting at the Miami 16, on first down, Tannehill passed to Bess for 16 yards.  Then instead of maybe getting the receivers out wide and throwing the ball into the flat or even a screen pass with a furious pass rush by Arizona, the Dolphins chose run and Bush lost -5 yards.  Already in a game where Reggie Bush was hobbled by a knee strain, they ran him on first down, right at the defense.  By the time he bounced outside, the Cardinals had the edge and drove him back.  This was frustrating to say the least.  Even more frustrating was the next play call: pass to Bess that was almost an interception: 3 yards, then even after a huge pass interference call that was drawn by Brian Hartline, the Dolphins punted on this drive.  Total time of the drive was 3:05 and no points.  Lead 13-7. 

Fast forward to the end of the 4^th quarter and leading 13-7, Sherman calls Fake FB toss to Reggie Bush and Sam Acho happily meets him for a 9 yard loss.  Still leading at the end of 3 quarters 13-7, this element of trickery fooled every Dolfan, but not the Cardinals defense that pursued Bush with a fury.  On the next play, a pass on third down leading to another 9 yard loss and a blown drive with a chance to take some momentum into the third quarter. 

Despite what many consider to have been an overachieving season for the Miami Dolphins, a very pressing need emerged which caused concern amongst the fan base as the week's progressed. 

It's no secret that the biggest need that the team must address is at wide receiver. Impending free agent Brian Hartline had a breakout season in his fourth year in the league posting 1,083 yards however he only hauled in a single touchdown reception. Hartline is a reliable pass catcher and a player that many teams will covert but he  does not possess the skill set to be a No.1 receiver in the NFL. Davone Bess is also a solid option in the passing game however he is better suited as a slot reciever as opposed to one who can stretch the field. The position of third wide receiver on the team was an ongoing carousel with not one player showing the ability to make a significant impact. Analyzing the Dolphins current core of receivers, its clear that the team lacks a deep threat.

The Dolphins top priority this offseason will be to surround Ryan Tannehill with weapons and put him in a position to succeed in 2013. In order to accomplish this, the Dolphins front office must decide which route they will take in attempts to bring an elite wideout to South Beach.

This year's draft is filled with many good but not great wide reciever prospects with tremendous value to be had in the second round or later. With this in mind, the Dolphins would be wise to address some of their other needs via the draft and dedicate free agency to improving the passing game. Three of the game's premiere pass catchers could be on the move this offseason, here's a look at the players that will likely be pursued by the Miami Dolphins.

Thursday April 25^th, 109 days and 11 picks until the Dolphins make the 12^th selection of the NFL draft. While mock draft season is sure to get underway shortly, with the shrine bowl, senior bowl and combine still far away a lot of draft speculation is still premature.

The Dolphins have needs at pass rusher, wide receiver, seem tight end, cornerback and along the offensive line which leave many doors open for this year’s first round draft pick.

With the events preceding the draft just around the corner here are a couple of names Dolphins fans might want to monitor.

Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama

After a stellar national championship game, Warmack has established himself as a special prospect with the chance at being a very good guard in the NFL. Warmack would provide the offensive line a huge boost but most believe Miami wouldn’t spend a 1st round pick on a guard.

DeMarcus Milliner, CB, Alabama

Could replace Smith or simply provide a major boost at corner, Milliner reminds me of Leon Hall and looks like a legit NFL corner. Milliner will probably be off the board however when Miami drafts.

Bjoern Werner, DE/OLB, Florida State

Damontre Moore, DE/OLB, Texas A&M

Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon

Barkevious Mingo, DE/OLB, LSU

The Dolphins need help rushing the QB, playing Brady twice a year as well as many other top QB’s around the league a strong pass rush could make life easier on the Dolphins secondary. Mingo and Jordan might be the most realistic names on the list of pass rushers.

Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame

12 is probably too high for the Dolphins and they might not address this position in the draft after taking Egnew and Clay in previous years but a seem TE is exactly the help Ryan Tannehill could use.

Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan

Should Jake Long not be resigned the Dolphins might look at Fisher but like with Warmack an offensive line would still be a shocking selection

Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

See Fisher

Seeing as every Dolphins fan and their brother wants help at WR here is a list of the most impressive some the group this year.

Keenan Allen – probably not what I would want for the Dolphins

Justin Hunter

Terrance Williams

Tavon Austin – might be a bit too much praise but has some Harvin in him

Cordarrelle Patterson

Robert Woods

Stedman Bailey – excellent route runner

Also note, some exciting news, Eric Galko a very intelligent draft junky and director of Optimum Scouting will be headed to the East-West Shrine game as well as Senior Bowl. Eric will have coverage as well as actual game day coverage. Be sure to follow Eric and his sight as he will have his eyes out on some of the potential Dolphins targets.

You can follow him at @OptimumScounting and visit his site at http://www.optimumscouting.com/

When Brian Hartline was drafted in 2009, he fell into a mix with newly acquired Brandon Marshall, Greg Camarillo, Davone Bess, and pass catching tight end Anthony Fasano.  Fast forward three seasons and Brian Hartline is the main pass catcher for the Miami Dolphins after posting career numbers of 74 receptions and 1,083 yards receiving.  Marshall was traded for draft picks and greener pastures in Chicago, Bess found himself on the shelf an out of the lineup due to a back injury and later placed on IR, and fan favorite and 1-15 savior Greg Camarillo was traded prior to the 2009 season because Hartline surpassed him on the depth chart.

Of the group of Miami players that are free agents in 2013, Brian Hartline must be re-signed.  There isn’t a question here because Brian Hartline is a piece of the winning puzzle for Coach Joe Philbin’s master plan.  While Hartline has shown glimpses of being the deep threat, he is not, which makes him a strong second receiver on this team.  Every team needs a strong secondary receiver on their teams.  In the 80s and 90s, the 49ers had John Taylor.  The Oilers teams of the 90s had three receivers that had a monster season in an explosive offense.  While Chris Carter had his best years in Minnesota, he was not the deep threat that Randy Moss was and could make these sideline catches with ease.  Haven’t we seen Hartline make a ton of those sideline catches complete with toe taps, two feet dragging on the turf, an outstretched arms hauling in bullet passes from Tannehill? 

The reasons for signing Hartline are compelling and it definitely comes down to how one looks at his body of work.