Jason Allen In, Michael Lehan Out

One of the biggest questions this year is, "Where is JASON ALLEN?" We all know him as he was our first round draft pick in Saban's 2nd and last year. We saw him bounce back and forth between safety and cornerback under Saban, Cameron, and now Sparano's head coaching jobs. The most frustrating thing is that Jason Allen actually played well at safety the second half of the season last year when he finally got the opportunity because of an injury. Most of us were expecting him to take the next step forward at the safety position this year, but Sparano surprised us by saying that Jason Allen will learn the cornerback position and play when he shows that he is ready.

Well, I have some good news and some bad news about all of that. The good news is that Jason Allen will finally get more playing time tomorrow, but it comes because of an injury in our secondary. The Dolphins played MICHAEL LEHAN on IR which means he is lost for the season. Lehan actually had a decent season last year for which prompted Parcells to sign him to a 3 year, $4.95 million contract. He sprained his ankle in June, but pulled his hamstring this week in practice. 

With that said, The Sun Sentinel is reporting that Allen "is expected to play regularly in the secondary for the first time this season."  Jason Allen is in his 3rd season, so, the only way we will know if he was a bust or just a slow learner is to just put him in the defense more and see what he has. I do know that the more that he plays the more experience he will have. Just get him in the game and give him a chance to succeed.

Need a "2" in the 3-4

While it appears that the Dolphins need another offensive lineman and a cornerback, do not be surprised to see Parcells target a large defensive tackle in next year's draft and free agency. DT JASON FERGUSON does a great job for us, but he is 35 years old. When he went down in the first quarter last week with an injury, the Dolphins had to slide the undersized RANDY STARKS over to clog up the middle and the results were not the same. 2nd year DT PAUL SOLIA was suspended last week for breaking a team rule, but he is most likely not going to be a starter for us. In fact, Solia seems to be trouble and needs some growing up.

Bryan Cox Time

A lot of us groaned when BRYAN COX joined the NY Jets years ago when Parcells was their head coach, but at least he did not join the Buffalo Bills.  In fact, I do not think that was ever a thought for either Cox or the Buffalo Bills after he flipped off the fans in Buffalo. He played with a chip on his shoulder and he treated the Buffalo Bills with the respect they deserved ... and we loved him. 

So, with Sunday's game with the Bills on our minds, it is our hope that we ride those Bills all the way back to Buffalo. I have a bet with one of the ladies I work with in my office. If the Dolphins win, she has to wear one of my Dolphins jerseys (a Marino one) all day Monday and at home Monday night around her Buffalo Bills loving finace. Unfortunately, I will have to wear a Bills jersey if the Bills to win, but I felt it was worth the chance.

So, go Fins!!!

Pictures

I found this image on the web years ago. I do not know who created it.

I am looking for a video clip to post here of Louis Oliver after his 3rd interception of Jim Kelly. Louis Oliver is one of my favorite former Dolphins. He played all-out on every play and hit like a mutha. I was hoping that Jason Allen could be our next hard-hitting safety. I will look for that clip to post here, so, come back later.

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It's pretty easy to find frustrated fans after any loss. I mean, we're unhappy because we lost the game, and we all feel attached to the Dolphins, so we vicariously share their disappointment.

We all have opinions on what malfunctioned here, what went haywire there, why this should have been done, why that should never have been tried, etc.

The one thing most of us have a hard time coming to grips with is when we overestimate that which we admire, and that is where the frustration gets ignited. We felt like we were going to squish Flacco and win the Baltimore game. We felt like we were going to beat the Texans in a close game. When those didn't happen, it stung, and probably still does to most of you (it certainly does to me).

However, look at what is going on. I've read several posts in the forums that have called the coaches boneheaded (and worse...stupid and idiotic have also been bandied about).

That just isn't true.

Have they made some questionable calls? Absolutely, to the lay fan.

Have they made some questionable personnel moves? Absolutely, to the lay fan.

They're a new staff. Stuff happens, and sometimes you live good, sometimes you don't. The roster is full of new guys. This is a whole new beginning: bound to be bumps, potholes and even roadkill along the way. Our roadkill in '08 is going to be many of the current Secondary players, and some of the WRs. They're not going to survive to play here in '09. Until we get the bodies to replace them, we have to live with them. And their mistakes. And their defficiencies.

The staff knows what they're doing, more than any group we've had in years. They're the reason our DBs are right in the right spot, only to watch the ball bounce off their numbers. The coaches can't go out on the field and catch it for them.

The Wildcat is a direct result of that. The struggle to move the ball prompted the staff to look for any possible solution. They found a blast from the past, a freaking Pop Warner formation, the Single Wing. It gives us a chance to get favorable matchups with our best skill players. The staff didn't put that in because we have Drew Brees at QB. They didn't put it in because we have Reggie Wayne at WR. They put it in because we are still talent-poor at WR and we needed to move the chains. Simple as that. It has the same significance as putting in 5 wide, or going into the Shotgun, or the No-Huddle. It gives us matchups favorable to us. It has already been wildly successful. If it doesn't do anything else for us it has already been worth every minute of practice spent on it. Kudos to the staff.

This will be a long process to restore the gleam to Miami, and I am excited for it. Watch us pull an upset in one of the next two games. It was all gloom and doom after Arizona, too. Then suddenly the sun broke through the clouds and we blistered NE. The followup on SD had us all puffed up and out of our minds.

Now we've simply come back to earth, and had to realize, yeah, we've got some more renovation that needs to happen.

I take comfort in the fact that we have the right crew in place to do the job. They're already working wonders with one of the most rebuilt teams in the league, and one of the youngest. Kudos to the staff.

Look at the decision with Porter. High salary, not all-world performance in '07, hmmm., he'll certainly be a casualty...whoops, nope, we're simply going to play him where he should have been all along, and get a guy playing at a probowl level. Kudos to the staff.

Look at the injury report. It's gotten almost comical. We are a superbly-conditioned team. Kudos to the staff.

Patience has never been one of my overriding qualities, but with Sparano's boys, I'm comfortable, and I for one am going to enjoy the process. Bring on the Buffs.