Approaching Training Camp 2006

Thursday, July 27, 2006
Alistair Henderson
MDBW Staff Writer
Talk about this in MDBW Forums

On Saturday, July 29, at 9:30 am at Nova Southeastern University, the agony finally ends and the anticipation and hope and general basic reason for living finally begins again for us, we, that strange breed of persons known as Dolfans.

This ridiculous wait between the draft and training camp has just a few more days to go. As I write this, it’s just two more days before Nick Saban starts to whittle 95 hopefuls down to a squad of 53, set to begin a journey, which by some miracle will end at Dolphins Stadium and the 2007 Super Bowl.

Now, a whole bunch of things would have to go right for these Miami Dolphins to get to the Super Bowl this season, not least of which is the health of certain key players. Maybe we’re not a realistic contender just yet in some people’s minds. That we can even dream about it is an achievement in itself after the debacle of two seasons ago. Yes, there are still many questions about this team yet to be answered, but Nick Saban has them going in the right direction.

So let’s look at what those questions are.

Offense:

• Quarterback: Daunte Culpepper is generally projected as the second coming of Dan Marino. This after triple torn ligaments in his knee and an unimpressive performance in 2005 before the injury. The questions therefore are multiple with Culpepper, combining his physical ability to even play this season with his ability to produce. Add to that an offensive line which is still a work in progress, a new set of receivers and a new set of coaches, and frankly the odds are not in his favor. Sure he’s reported to be rehabilitating really well, and that’s the good news, but we are warned not to get too carried away with great expectations for this year at least. If Culpepper can’t go, or re-injures the knee, Saban did the right thing by bringing in a veteran back up in Joey Harrington. There’s no doubt that Harrington can throw a sweet spiral, but he has four years of bad memories to erase from Detroit, and he may take a bit of nursing back to mental health. He has the college pedigree and now he’s out to prove that he’s not an NFL mutt.
• Running Back: Ronnie Brown gets his chance to carry the load for the first time since high school, and he’s raring to go. He’s a bull of a back and he should do well, but if he goes down there’s a big drop off. Sammy Morris is the generally accepted back up, but he’s a star on special teams now and is unlikely to be able to carry both loads. Look for the Fins to pick up another running back before training camp is over.
• Offensive Line: Before the season is over, this could turn into one of Miami’s biggest strengths, but to start the season it might be considered a question mark because of the new faces and position changes. That’s not the best situation for a quarterback with a gimpy knee and opposing linebackers eager to test it. Newcomers L.J.Shelton and Bennie Anderson will likely start at left tackle and left guard respectively. Rex Hadnot seems a lock to move to center in place of Seth McKinney, and Jeno James and Vernon Carey will probably start off as favorites for the right guard and tackle positions. That leaves McKinney and Damion McKintosh on the outside looking in, along with a slew of others including Joe Toledo, Wade Smith, Mike Pearson and Tony Pape. One thing hasn’t changed and that’s the fact that line coach Hudson Houck is around for his second season, and so you have to guess that this will be a fine line before season’s end.

Defense:

• Secondary: Saban continues to recreate the secondary, and will have some good young talent back there, but not a huge amount of experience. Gone are the days of Madison and Surtain. We must now watch the secondary develop with the likes of Travis Daniels, Jason Allen, Will Allen, and Will Poole. Along with them are Renaldo Hill, Travares Tillman and Yeremiah Bell at Safety. There are others who may rise to the top during training camp, and this will be an interesting evolution, but even with Nick Saban’s hands-on tutoring this unit is to many the biggest question mark of the whole team.
• Strong Side Linebacker: Since Junior Seau hung up his cleats, the Dolphins have been unsuccessful finding a similar caliber replacement. Where is Wally Ogunleye when you need him? Donnie Spragan seems to be the front runner for the job, but he could be pushed by Sedrick Hodge or Keith Newman. This would seem to be a possible weakness going into camp.
• Defensive Line: They are OLD! Keith Traylor will be 37 when the season starts and Jeff Zgonina is close behind at 36. Kevin Carter, Jason Taylor and Vonnie Holliday are all over 30 and David Bowens is 29. Just the opposite of the secondary, they have a whole bunch of experience but will they wear down as the season wears on? This could be a chance for Matt Roth, Kevin Vickerson, Manuel Wright and/or Josh Shaw to break into the starting line up.

As with last year, a definite plus is in the coaching of this team. And I don’t mean just Nick Saban, even though he has turned out to be a huge advantage for the Dolphins. Hudson Houck, Mike Mularkey and Dom Capers head up a supporting cast that has to be the envy of most NFL franchises.

And that is why the last lingering question is whether or not this dream team of a coaching staff can do the seemingly impossible and create a super bowl contender out of this squad. Given the talent on and off the field, that’s a question that’s not out of the question. I believe that Miami will make the play-offs and will probably unseat the New England Patriots as AFC East Champions.