Wayne Huizenga, who has maintained majority ownership in the Miami Dolphins since 1994, has agreed to complete the sale of the Dolphins to businessman Stephen Ross. Last year Ross paid $550 million to gain a 49% share of the franchise and Dolphin Stadium. This afternoon, Ross and Huizenga are expected to finish the deal which would leave Huizenga a 5% owner of the team and give Ross 95% ownership.

The current economic situation has had an effect on this process, again proving no industry is immune to a recession. The deal for the Dolphins is expected to be worth roughly $1.1 billion in total and Ross has been searching for investors to help finalize the deal. However, Huizenga has been desperate to unload his majority ownership, so much so that he is allowing Ross to defer less than 1/3 of the payments in order to finalize the deal sooner.

The change in ownership isn’t expected, at the moment, to have many visible changes to the franchise. The biggest change revolves around Bill Parcells’ days in Miami. Parcells had a clause in his contract, signed by Huizenga, that if Huizenga were to sell the team Parcells would have 30 days to decide to stay with the team, or walk away with the remaining $12 million on his 4 year $16 million contract.

Parcells, along with coach Tony Sparano, is one of the main reasons for the Dolphins amazing turnaround in 2008. Parcells has long had a great eye for talent and it would be wonderful to see him remain with the team and see what magic he could churn up. Assuming the sale is finalized today, Parcells will have 30 days to decide to stay with the team or walk away with his cash. Huizenga believes Parcells will stay, but so far no comment has come from Parcells regarding the situation.

A lot of pressure will begin to fall upon the Miami Dolphins organization in the coming weeks and months, after all Bill Parcells and company took a 1-15 team and made them into an 11-5 division winner in just one year. No doubt they will face expectations to AT LEAST match that effort in 2009, if not surpass it all together and go deeper in the playoffs. One thing is certain though, the 2008 team, good as it was, cannot do it again next year without changes. Just what changes might be necessary to help boost the Dolphins in 2009?

Starting on offense, the most glaring need is for a game changing playmaker. 2 years ago the Dolphins believed they had that in drafting Ted Ginn Jr, and though he showed vast improvement this year, he’s still not an elite level performer who can lift his team on his shoulders and will them to victory. Chad Pennington has already been inked as the starter for next season, so what must the Dolphins give him to boost the potential of the offense?

Wide receiver is still the biggest issue needing to be addressed, an issue that can possibly be addressed by free agency. Tampa Bay WR Antonio Bryant is the biggest free agent WR this year, and the pool gets shallow for talent if he leaves the market quickly. The Dolphins’ remaining options would be TJ Houshmanzadeh, Jabar Gaffney, Amani Toomer, Michael Clayton, Devery Henderson, Shaun McDonald, Nate Washington, or Bryant Johnson. The majority of these guys have been role players for years now, are past their prime, or missed it all together.

The draft might however provide Miami the chance to get a young, albeit unproven in the NFL, explosive playmaker. The top playmakers coming out in this years draft for the Dolphins to target would be West Virginia’s Pat White or Florida’s Percy Harvin. Harvin hasn’t declared for the draft yet, but is expected to and is perhaps the most versatile threat coming out of the NCAA this season. The only catch here is Harvin is not likely to fall far enough in the draft that Miami could get their hands on him. However, White may fall far enough and would be an excellent weapon in the Dolphins wildcat scheme.

The Dolphins also have offensive line issues to answer. The Dolphins would like to resign T Vernon Carey, but if they cannot they must go out and find either a back up ready to emerge as a starter or sign a stop gap player and draft someone for a long term solution. The Dolphins also appear interested in changing  personnel at center, with C Jason Brown (25) of Baltimore being the top available free agent.

On defense, the Dolphins have more issues to tackle. Most important, the team needs another pass rusher in the front 7. Two very good, and very expensive, options will be out there. Julius Peppers from Carolina and Terrell Suggs from Baltimore. The only problem here, Baltimore is expected to stick the franchise tag on Suggs. Other options exist, but these two are far and away the best.

At linebacker, the Dolphins are trying to work out a new deal for Channing Crowder, but money appears to be sticking point with Crowder already having rejected one offer. If he were to go, Baltimore’s Bart Scott is likely to end up a free agent as the Ravens may not have the money to sign Scott in addition to free agents Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis.

As for CBs and Safeties, it gets a little easier. The best options at CB, should the Dolphins desire change, are Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha and Houston’s Dunta Robinson. The Dolphins want to keep both Yeremiah Bell and Renaldo Hill at the safety positions, but in the event they don’t, OJ Atogwe, James Butler, and Jim Leonhard are all good options on the free agent market.

For now, the Dolphins are free to dream big. They are expected to be roughly $25 million below the NFL salary cap, leaving them room to spend freely and acquire some big names. If they spend wisely, they could attract 2-3 talented new players to a franchise with renewed hope of success. Lets hope the Dolphins are proactive and get what they need to make 2009 as enjoyable for the fans as 2008.

The miraculous turnaround the Miami Dolphins made this season won’t soon be forgotten. It is hard to see that now through the angst of a tough loss today to the Baltimore Ravens, but with time fans will look back and remember fondly the Miami Dolphins’ 2008 season. True, we all would have preferred to see the Dolphins advance beyond the Wild Card round but it just didn’t turn out that way.

The Miami Dolphins looked more like the team of 2007 today as they fell 27-9 to the Baltimore Ravens. The Dolphins’ problems were almost too many to list, but we’ll try and hit them all. Chad Pennington, usually so careful with the football, threw 4 interceptions, the defense put almost NO pressure on Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco, and the offense just couldn’t breakdown the Raven defense.

In the 1st half it appeared the game would be a defensive stalemate throughout. The teams traded FGs in the 1st quarter, and no TDs were scored until Ravens’ safety Ed Reed picked off Pennington and returned it 57 yds for a TD. A Baltimore FG with 16 seconds left would send Baltimore into halftime with a 13-3 lead.

In the 2nd half Miami’s turnover problems would get worse, and so would the score. Baltimore would get a TD in the 3rd quarter to stretch their lead to 20-3, and after Miami got back to 20-9 on a Pennington TD pass (Carpenter would miss the PAT), Flacco scrambled into the endzone with 3:53 to play giving Baltimore the 27-9 victory.

The biggest problem for the Dolphins was their uncharacteristic amount of turnovers. After turning the ball over only 13 times this season, tied with the New York Giants for the lowest in the NFL, the Dolphins turned the ball over 5 times today. Chad Pennington, who threw only 7 INTs all season, threw 4 today. Another major problem for the Dolphins was the defensive line. Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco had all day in the pocket to make decisions as the Dline was getting NO pressure. Despite that, Flacco was unable however to really burn the Dolphins on a consistent basis.

In the end, the Dolphins inability on offense cost them today against a superior Ravens’ defense. The Dolphins struggled to move the ball, almost completely lacking a run game, and turned the ball over too much to survive their encounter with the Ravens.

The Dolphins are now left to ponder a season that was, look back on the good and bad, and try to build off of their successes in the 2009 season. Make no mistake, the Dolphins meager effort today doesn’t take away from their amazing season. Tony Sparano, Bill Parcells, and the Dolphins’ players were able to prove their detractors wrong and win the AFC East when no one gave them a chance. Next season, it will be time to build off their successes this year and see if they can return to the playoffs and get a better result.

Our defensive line is not getting through the Ravens O line. Flacco has all day to throw or throw it away.

Our offensive choices are way too conservative given the situation. How many short dumps can they do underneath their linebackers? How many draw plays?

If they don’t open up now, its over. Pennington is looking very Jetsy in this 2nd half.

As we close in on the Miami Dolphins’ first playoff game since early in 2002, a familiar foe will enter Dolphins Stadium on Sunday and attempt to rain on the parade in South Florida. Tomorrow the Dolphins (AFC East Champions) face the Baltimore Ravens, an AFC Wild Card team.

The Dolphins have a good deal of recent history against the Ravens. The last time the Dolphins made the playoffs, they faced the Ravens and were booted from the playoffs in bad fashion after a 20-3 loss. Last season, as the Dolphins struggled, it was the Ravens they defeated 22-16 to get their lone win of the season. And earlier this season as the Dolphins struggled to a 2-4 start, it was the loss against the Ravens 27-14 that lit a fire under the Dolphins. After that loss the Dolphins went on to finish the season 9-1, win the AFC East, and find themselves hosting an opening round playoff game.

If the Dolphins hope to keep their magical season afloat, they should pay close attention to the lessons learned in their past two encounters with the Ravens. Within those games the Dolphins can find the gameplan to beat the Ravens again this Sunday. The Dolphins lived much of this season taking advantage of the “wildcat” formation, using its surprise and versatility to take advantage of their opponents confusion. The Ravens however are one of the BEST defenses in the NFL and in the Dolphins’ loss to the Ravens earlier this season, Baltimore was more than ready for the wildcat formations.

The Dolphins need only look to last seasons victory over Baltimore to find the way to beat them. The best way to beat Baltimore is a balanced attack and the ability to exploit a weakness if/when it is found. Baltimore will no doubt be ready for the wildcat, so the Dolphins need to employ a more conventional game plan and save the wildcat for surprise opportunities.

Win, lose, or draw tomorrow the Miami Dolphins are by far THE story of the NFL this season. Their meteoric rise from 1-15, to 11-5, division winner, and playoff participant is almost unprecedented. The Dolphins are just the 2nd team in NFL history to make a 10 game improvement on their record and make the playoffs. A huge amount of kudos are due to Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano for tearing down a system that wasn’t working and build it from the ground up. No one in their wildest imagination could have forseen such a rapid turnaround, but while it lasts, enjoy the ride! GO FINS!