if you guys know me you know im a dolphins fan by heart and lately ive been reading all on espn and foxsports (my two favorite websites to anything sports related =]) and i was reading at all the mid season report cards on all these teams. so here it goes my mid season report card on my dolphins!!! its simple ill break it all down by passing, rushing, defense, and then finally a overall grade.
passing- where can i start about chad pennington at qb!? i mean dolphins fans have been suffering year after year after year with starting qb's. since dan marino himself retired we have named a new starter every year. the dolphins craved a constant qb for years and we finally got it this year. he leads the nfl in accuracy by completing near 80% of his passes and that makes up dearly since he has a water gun arm. enough about the qb though... where there is good there is the bad. the receiving core we have as of now shows a lot of potential but is way inexperienced. (figures since the average age of the whole dolphins team is 28.7 years old, youngest in the nfl) so in the future we show promise. as of now though we lack at big plays and inconsistent at times to just catch the ball. granted we are young and have to get used to the speed of the game we need atleast on veteran to teach these young guns how to play in the nfl.
GRADE- B
running- the wildcat offense has turned heads and raised eyebrows as the dolphins have executed this to a perfection. best thing about this offense is defenses spend there time learning how to stop this particular offense, since it is brand new to the league, that they forget how to stop the the most basic forms of offense. ronnie brown has been a blessing for us. easily our best player he deserves every bit of the credit for us being in the shape we are and the wins we have. ricky williams an old friend we either love or hate has backed up ronnie and coming into this season with both of them running the ball we thought they would for sure rack up yards as a one-two punch. not much so far... when one does well the other one doesnt. so far not what i expected...
GRADE- B-
defense- joey porter is a man on a mission. he leads the league in sacks and he does it with a passion and a love for the game. you cant help but to love a player with that attitude. the linebackers and defensive line have been as solid as a rock. holding opposing offenses to little rushing yards and making them and forcing them to throw the ball. that is where i will mention our secondary. extremely inconsistent. i mean we look like on some games a bunch of pro bowl guys back there and in some we look like a fucking pop warner team. alot of potential and all they need is just some experience.
GRADE- A-
overall- who would have thought that a team, and i still cringe to say had only one win last year, would be fighting as of now for a playoff spot and not only a playoff spot but division win. i mean that is insane!!! we are as of now 1 game back to tying for the division with still half a season to go. now the end of that makes me happy cause as the season goes this team gets better. i think in my heart we will go to the playoffs but not as a division leader but instead as a wildcard. tony sporano and bill parcells have there finger prints all over this team. in a few seasons we will be fighting for superbowl contention. mark my words.
GRADE- A

