By: Rich Rodriguez

When we left you last week, the Dolphins had looked like the same old team against the Tampa Bay Bucs as they did in 2007. No running game, no passing game, the defense couldn't get off the field on 3rd downs and the special teams kept having lapses. Let us not forget 9 penalties.

This week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Dolphins seemed to turn a corner, especially on defense. Do not let the final score fool you. Those 14 points by the Jaguars came in the 4th quarter, when Miami was fielding players that probably won't be on the team come September. For three quarters, the Miami Dolphins were pitching a shut out. They allowed 42 yards rushing for the game and were pressuring the Jags QBs all night long.

The offense also seemed to come together under the leadership of Chad Pennington. After starting the game off with a series reminiscent of the Washington Sentinels first drive of "The Replacements", which included a false start and a delay of game before the Dolphins even ran a play, the offense seemed to click. Pennington provided some savvy with his ability to scramble out of pressure and surprised with accurate passes that also had zip on them.

Here was 'noodle arm' Chad Pennington throwing 20-yard square ins on frozen ropes to Ted Ginn. It seems Pennington worked on his throws in the offseason and started incorporating more of a turning motion with his entire upper body to add a little mustard to his throws. In years past, Pennington relied more on his arm, which probably led to some shoulder injuries. As the season plays out, we'll see if this modification to his game will make a difference. But last night, Pennington looked like a different quarterback when the ball left his hand. There weren't any floating touch passes. But there were a couple of laser beams.

Speaking of Ted Ginn, 4 catches for 58 yards in one half is a coming out party for him. There was also what I consider to be a questionable call by the officials in which Ginn hauled in a 44 yard bomb from Chad Henne, but because he bobbled it the officials ruled it incomplete. Ginn was explosive against the Jaguars.

Other players worth mentioning...

Ricky Williams continued to show flashes of his former self, carrying the ball 10 times for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Yeremiah Bell was all over the field, recording 5 tackles and a pass defensed.

Matt Roth started at strong outside linebacker and contributed with a sack.

Paul Soliai posted 4 tackles and a forced fumble, and was able to consistently demand double teams at the nose tackle position.

Dan Carpenter made four field goals (31, 46, 44, and 37 yards) in four attempts.

Brandon Fields punted four times for an average of 36.5 yards, but two of those punts landed inside the Jags 20.

Greg Camarillo continued to show himself to be a good 3rd or 4th option at wide receiver, catching 3 balls for 26 yards, with a long of 13.

Other Stats...

Last week, the Bucs were able to hold the ball for over 36 minutes. This week, the Dolphins dominated time of possession maintaining control of the ball for 37:02.

The Dolphins still committed too many penalties, starting the game off with two consecutive penalties on their first offensive series and finishing the game with 7 penalties for 75 yards.

The Dolphins offensive lines did not allow any sacks, although early on they were having trouble in pass protection.

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Phinfever Live! MySpace

By: Dave Blake

Big Dave/Phinfever MySpace

Fins vs Jags tonight!

The game starts at 7:30pm EST in Jacksonville. The Dolphins currently have 75 players and will have to whittle the team down to 53 players in a couple of weeks, so, everyone on the bubble needs to impress. As always, we will have play-by-play and insight if you come into our Chat Room. Come by! We look forward to seeing you there.



Which Dolphins quarterback is on the trade-block?

FOXsports' senior writer Alex Marvez wrote an article late this week pointing out the different directions that John Beck and Bills QB Trent Edwards are headed. In fact, he pretty much compared Beck to busts Ryan Leaf and Rick Mirer. So far there has been little evidence to refute his comments about Beck. In fact, Marvez said that he's heard that Beck is on the trade-block.

There is no way that the Dolphins will go into the season with 4 quarterbacks. Some teams have entered the NFL season with only 2 quarterbacks. There is little doubt that rookie QB CHAD HENNE is the future. The Dolphins are paying Chad Pennington starter money. In last week's game it was quite clear that John Beck and Josh McCown are the weak spots at quarterback. Beck or McCown will be somewhere else in less than two weeks.

The truth here is that both Beck and McCown's names have been shopped around for any kind of a draft pick. We know that Sparano is the head coach, but his decision will have to be discussed with Parcells. Parcells likes quarterbacks with experience. Last week's game was only the first preseason game, but McCown's experience did not come out at all. Beck once again freaked out when there was pressure. I thought he actually threw better than McCown, but you cannot teach courage to a quarterback. McCown has the courage and the experience to back up Pennington. We need a viable backup because Pennington has only played all 16 games once in his career.

Pro Football Talk is so convinced that their mole is correct that Beck is out in Miami that they were confident that Beck was one of the 3 Dolphins released yesterday. Instead the Fins released 3 undrafted rookie free agents: WR John Dunlap (N.C. State), WR Selwyn Lymon (Purdue) and linebacker Keith Saunders (Alabama). At least Saunders got to play for former Dolphins coach Saban.

Is it too early to quit on Beck? Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, who knows what it is like to draft a bust at the QB position, said this about Beck, "If the player is a marginal player, the coach and G.M. are going to have a tough time with him. But if he's a great player, don't you think they're in love with him?"

It was Beck's job to lose. With him currently dropping to the #4 QB on the depth chart I think you can safely say that Beck will not be in a Dolphins uniform. If the Fins trade McCown it will be serious egg on their face as we will be stuck with his $2 million signing bonus. It will show a bad evaluation of McCown.

I like the confidence that Henne showed last week in the pocket. He has a very strong arm as well. He looked to me as if he were ready to back up Pennington. Still, he is a rookie, but he would not be the first rookie to back up the starter. I would like to see Beck kept just to see if there is any way to develop him. McCown has never lived up to expectations, and the Fins would not be the first to give up on him. The Cardinals and Raiders have all ready done so. I don't see it happening though. Kiss Beck good-bye. The Dolphins are only going to develop one future quarterback and that is Henne.



What about this video clip?

WR Chris Chambers is known for dropping the easy pass but catching the really difficult ones. It is just a matter of concentration. But, what about that FFL video clip showing Chambers catching 3 passes without even looking for the ball. Come on .... that has to be fake. Take a look at it yourself and tell me that it's real;)





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