Just before the 2009 season Miami looked very thin in the secondary. Two rookies were making noise in the July Camps and it became increasingly more evident as the 2009 season came closer that Miami would start Sean Smith at RCB. The left was still manned temporarily by Will Allen until his injury forced Vontae Davis into the lineup early in the season. The 2009 season rested on very youthful shoulders and the up-and-down play in the secondary was a testament to the learning curve taking place with Miami’s Rookie Cornerbacks. Davis now appears on his way to certain stardom while the jury is still out on Smith. What’s been settled is Miami is talented and deep at CB.

2010 doesn’t appear much different. Both outside LB positions will need to be filled before September arrives. Cameron Wake, Charlie Anderson, Koa Misi, Tim Dobbins, Quentin Moses or Eric Walden will have to nail down the spots held by Joey Porter and Jason Taylor in 2009. The hope is that Wake and Anderson will split time in one of the OLB positions with the other being currently unsettled. Koa Misi lined up there quite a bit during mini-camps. Whoever ends up there one thing is for certain: it’ll be an untested player. What this means in the larger scheme is Miami will be attacked on the edges with the running game early and often. How they respond will determine whether teams maintain focus on that.

Defensive line is another position where a rookie is expected to make an impact. Miami’s former rookie bookends have a serious challenger in Jared Odrick. Odrick will probably be expected to unseat Philips Merling who has been somewhat of an enigma. While Kendall Langford has been consistent and has gone through steady improvement, Merling is inconsistent. One some plays he looks ready for the pro bowl. On other plays he looks ready for the unemployment line. If he’s going to keep his job, he’ll need to be a little more consistent in a good way on the field. In any case, Odrick will be given a long look.

While the above positions are important, the NT position in the 3-4 is critical. Miami’s best defensive player last year was Randy Starks. At 6-3, 305 Starks had a great first move at DE. He consistently provided pressure as a DE in the 3-4 last year. The problems is he is now the NT. Fergeson was that guy until he injured a quadracept muscle. That and an 8 game suspension means Miami is heading into September with Paul Solai as their number 1 guy. Solai has been okay. He’s good enough to keep around but isn’t starter material. In comes Starks to try his luck at NT. How Starks performs in this transition will go a long way in determining if the defense will be good or bad. The run defense went down after Fergeson’s injury last year. If teams can run the ball up the middle, the off-tackle plays with smaller OLB’s will present big problems. If the combination of Starks and Solai can be an effective plug, it will free up Dansby and Crowder to make plays.

The wild card for the defense is coordinator Mike Nolan. I’ve always liked Nolan’s Defenses and he’s made them successful everywhere he’s been. He makes no apologies about attacking the LOS. He likes to bust up the rhythm of a play behind the LOS before it has a chance to develop. This has been a big plus to my psyche this year. I really think that Nolan’s attacking schemes will hide a lot of weaknesses on the defense. It may take a few weeks for the defense to totally catch on, but I’m certain by week 3 or 4 you’ll see a defense beginning to gel. If this does happen, look out. Miami can certainly score enough points to compete but to have a defense that is tenacious would without a doubt put them at the top of the pile in the East and on track for a deep playoff run.

Go Phins!!!

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