Veteran wide receiver Joe Horn, who was cut by the Atlanta Falcons earlier this week, has been seeking employment with any of the remaining 31 teams in the league. He had reportedly narrowed his choices to Miami, the Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and St. Louis Rams. Thursday, the Dolphins got back to Horn’s agent and said they were not interested in signing Horn at this time. Are they nuts? Lets look at this situation logically and figure out if this is a good or bad decision.

First, the cons of bringing in Horn. Throughout his career, Joe Horn has been known as a flashy player, outspoken, and possessing quite an attitude. All of these things could be detremental to the Dolphins in the locker room and affect the team’s cohesion and performance on the field. Not necessarily something the team can afford as they try to turn around the franchise. Horn would also no doubt be seeking a hefty salary and still considers himself a legitimate #1 WR. Installing Horn as the #1 could damage the confidence of Ted Ginn Jr and Derek Hagan who as of Thursday appear to have locked down the #1 and #2 slots at wideout.

The pros of bringing in Horn could be limitless. Joe Horn was the face of the New Orleans Saints franchise for 6 seasons, and was a wonderful contributor to the community of New Orleans, especially after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. Miami is a team without a face for its franchise, Jason Taylor - gone, Zach Thomas - gone, Chris Chambers - gone. Bringing in Horn would be beneficial off the field and on. On the field, Horn is a 4 time Pro Bowler (4 appearances in 6 season with New Orleans) and a very reliable contributor. As good as Ginn Jr and Hagan have looked in preseason, it is just that, preseason. Teams never roll out all their tricks, and Ginn Jr and Hagan are likely to see several new tricks against full, first team defenses when the season starts for real on September 7.

Miami already passed on one opportunity to bring in a veteran to guide their young receiving corps, it would be a huge mistake to do so again. Veteran wide receivers don’t just fall out of the sky, and even though the Dolphins have said they’re open to bringing in Horn later, they need to bring him in now! Give Ginn Jr and Hagan someone to learn from, someone to teach them the finer points of the wideout position. More importantly, give Chad (take your pick, Pennington or Henne) a reliable go to receiver to get this offense moving!

It is unmistakable, there is a new aura surrounding the Miami Dolphins these days. After decades of determined and strong willed rule by Don Shula, the equally tough and determined Jimmy Johnson arrived in Miami in 1996. The last time the Dolphins were on track was under the rule of these two legendary coaches.

However, Shula and Johnson left with the 90’s, and the 2000’s ushered in a change in the aura of the organization. First came Dave Wannstedt, a nice guy but utterly disrespected and mocked by his own players behind his back in the locker room. The Dolphins initially prospered under Wannestedt going 11-5 in 2000 and 2001 but were blown out in the playoffs both years. The following seasons saw the Dolphins go 9-7, 10-6, and 4-12 missing the playoffs all 3 seasons.

Then came Nick Saban. Saban led the Dolphins to 9-7 and 6-10 seasons. Saban came in with the outward appearance of a coach that would be tough on his players, but it turned out the tactics that worked well for him in the NCAA ranks, were useless when applied to NFL players and Saban returned to the college ranks after two seasons.

And then there is the Cam Cameron era, so to speak. In one season in Miami, Cam Cameron was a disaster. He was completely disrespected, lost the faith of his players, and even his direct orders to players were ignored. The team finished 1-15.

Then Bill Parcells arrived in Miami late last season. Parcells’ arrival marks the return of a strong willed leader not seen in Miami since Shula and Johnson. For better or worse, Parcells is exercising his power and sending the message that Dolphins’ players can either get on board with his plan or hit the road. His tenure so far has seen the departure of beloved DE Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas. Jay Feely was the latest player to meet the guillotine in the Parcells era. Despite setting the club’s single season field goal percentage record, converting 21 of 23 field goals, Feely was cut earlier this week. Head Coach Tony Sparano put it bluntly, Feely’s performance in training camp wasn’t even close to that of his competition, undrafted rookie free agent Dan Carpenter.

The combination of Bill Parcells’ iron will and Tony Sparano’s blunt approach could be just what the Dolphins need to change the direction of the organization. There have been unfortunate casualties under this new regime, such as the conflict between Parcells and Jason Taylor that saw Taylor wind up in a Redskins uniform. In the end however, the determination of this new regime is likely to see the Dolphins return to their former glory.

Interesting news out of Miami Dolphins camp today, Coach Tony Sparano remarked that the team may consider keeping all four quarterbacks currently in camp. This can accurately be described as baffling news. Few if any teams ever decide to carry four quarterbacks, most teams carry three. It is becoming more and more clear with each passing day that Chad Pennington and Chad Henne are going to be the current and future leaders of the Dolphins offense.

In practice on Tuesday, Pennington and Henne dominated the snaps during team drills. Pennington took 33 snaps, and the remaining 25 snaps went to Henne. John Beck and Josh McCown had 0 snaps between them. When the season rolls around, typical practices see the starter take 85% of the snaps in practice, and the back up taking the remaining 15%. Typically the third string quarterback is given snaps with the scout team, which are usually few to begin with and would become almost irrelevant when splitting them between two quarterbacks.

Perhaps most puzzling is the fact that a team not afraid to part ways with players, especially star players as of late, would consider keeping four quarterbacks. This offseason has seen Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor leave the Dolphins after several years of Pro Bowl service. Last season Chris Chambers was traded away, so why the indecision on whether to carry three or four quarterbacks? If the discussion involved Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, and Vince Young all on the same team, I could understand the difficulty. However, we’re not talking about four Pro Bowl quarterbacks. It is clear Pennington and Henne are here to stay, now the decision is whether to cut McCown or Beck. Looking at the problem simply, Beck and McCown have roughly the same skill level, Beck however is much younger and has a lot more room for growth. Sounds to me like McCown should prepare for the worst.

With Brett Favre landing in New York as the Jets new starting quarterback, someone had to go. That someone, as it turns out, was Chad Pennington. The Jets released Pennington Thursday, and it is rumored the Dolphins are interested in acquiring the former first round draft pick.

This, like every deal, has an upside and a downside. This is a case where the cons may in fact outweigh the pros. Pennington was the Jets first round draft pick, 18th overall, in the 2000 NFL Draft. He has played all 8 of his NFL seasons in New York.

Pennington does have more experience than anyone currently in camp with the Dolphins. He’s been to the playoffs three times and has a record of 2-3, more than can be said of any of the 3 quarterbacks currently on the Dolphins roster. Pennington would also provide a decent opportunity for Henne, and Beck for that matter, to learn from a veteran that has performed well at times. He would certainly be a better quarterback for the two youngsters to learn from than Josh McCown.

That being said, there are several downsides to bringing in Pennington. Chad has long struggled with throwing the deep ball, not just his accuracy but his ability to even get the ball deep. In his 8 years in the league, Pennington has played 1 full 16 game schedule and only played 3/4 of the 16 game schedule twice. Injury problems, particularly to his throwing shoulder, have occurred numerous times. Last season Pennington was benched half way through in favor of Kellen Clemens, and until Favre arrived was battling Clemens for the starting position this year for the Jets. Over his career, Pennington is 33-34 as a starter in the regular season with an 88.9 passer rating and 65.6 completion percentage.

In the end, the decision to bring Chad Pennington to the Dolphins would be a 50/50 call. There is a fair chance he could succeed in the short term, but in the long term a deal to make Pennington the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback would not be a successful one. If they brought him to Miami it should be with the knowledge that he’ll be shoved aside in 1-2 seasons in favor of Chad Henne.

On Thursday the Miami Dolphins put a puzzled look on the face of many football fans when they invited Quincy Carter to workout at the quarterback position in camp. One can only speculate where this idea came from; most likely it was Bill Parcells’ idea. Parcells was Carter’s coach with the Dallas Cowboys in 2003, Carter’s last full season in the NFL, when the Cowboys went 10-6 and made the playoffs. 2003 was Carter’s one and only full season in the NFL during which he threw for 3,302 yds 17 TDs and 21 INTs.

Carter would bring a knowledge of the offensive scheme that new head coach Tony Sparano will be working with, a system that at least initially appears to be difficult for John Beck, Chad Henne, and Josh McCown to figure out.

On the other hand, Carter brings with baggage. We aren’t talking about a former All Pro at his position attempting to come back after several years out of football. At best, Carter was mediocre in his career. While he brings mobility to the position, he had fumble issues in Dallas and was not the most accurate passer. On top of all that, let us not forget Carter didn’t leave football because of injury or premature retirement. The Cowboys cut him in 2004 after a string of drug related charges.

With gaping holes at WR, three question marks at QB, and a defense that for the first time in 10 years won’t have former pillars Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, the Dolphins have enough tasks on their hands without digging up Quincy Carter for a try out. Today was one day lost that could have been spent evaluating Beck, Henne, and McCown and maybe, just maybe, helping these guys figure out the system.

Could it really hurt the Miami Dolphins to give the aging Terry Glenn a shot? Glenn has 12 seasons of football under his belt, his last two full seasons with the Dallas Cowboys he had back to back 1,000 yard receiving performances and 13 TDs.

Sure, Glenn was out all last season with knee injuries, he’s just turned 34, and over the course of his 12 year career only played a full 16 game schedule 4 times. But we’re talking about the 1-15 Dolphins. A team without a proven #1 receiver, much less a #2. Miami wide receivers combined for a total of 12 TD catches last season, and you have to add together last seasons #1 and #2 to even get within grasping distance of 1,000 receiving yards. Lets not forget that it is still not clear which QB will attempt to lead this offense in 2008 either.

Glenn would bring experience to a receiving core that is lacking to say the least, he would be a wonderful security blanket for whomever makes it out of training camp alive as starter, and he’s played twice before in a Bill Parcells’ regime.

When you are this low, there really isn’t room to fall any farther. Glenn’s presence could only benefit the team. He’ll be good for at least one more victory this season, so what’s the cost then of a shot at 2-14 season?

The Miami Dolphins took the 16th pick and Nick Saban upgraded by selecting CB Jason Allen out of University of Tennessee. The guy is coming off a hip injury and can either play safety or cornerback. Nick Saban loves height and athleticism. This kid has both, I just think they could’ve gotten someone on defense in the 3rd round.

The selection to me was a little off key. I felt there was too much offensive talent this high in the draft such as WR’S Santonio Holmes [OSU] and Chad Jackson [UF]. 3 Strong RB that could spell Ronnie Brown: Joseph Addai [LSU], Laurence Maroney [Minn.], and DeAngelo Williams [Memphis].

In the 3rd round Nick Saban went for Offense selecting WR Derek Hagan [ASU] a 3time all Pac ten team player. He was a great receiver and made some big catches for this team. He might be the deep threat the Dolphins were looking for, however I think this 3rd round pick will be a bust. One of those journeyman who gave all they had in college. Again I felt they missed the key on this pick. OL Eric Winston was on the board 4 spots before they selected I think he was a potential 1st rounder who slipped they shouldve moved up and solidified another Offensive Line Player.

I give the 16th pick a C- I don’t think he will be a starter and when you draft that high you must draft a starter.
I give the 82nd pick a C+ The guy can catch , just dont think hes a deep threat. Again not a starter.

Reggie Bush will not be the first pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. That honor will go to Mario Williams DE out of NC State. Saints pick #2 and have already discussed trades with Jets , Titans, and 4 other teams trying to get a shot at Reggie Bush. The Dolphins select #16.

Dante Culpepper was traded to the Miami Dolphins today under the contingency that he passes his physical exam.

–I’m very excited about this.

Source

This is sure getting a ton of online press.

Dolphins Stadium chooses Daktronics to design and build world’s largest HD LED video display

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Oct. 7, 2005 – Daktronics Inc. (Nasdaq-DAKT) of Brookings, S.D., announced today that it has been awarded a contract to design and build the world’s largest high definition (HD) light emitting diode (LED) display forDolphins Stadium in Miami.

Daktronics has been chosen by Dolphins Stadium to provide two large ProStar® video displays, each with true, physical pixel resolution exceeding the 720p high definition television standard of 720 pixel by 1,280 pixel resolution. The largest of the two displays will be the largest of its kind in the world. The project is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2006 baseball season.

The facility will be the first NFL venue to implement true HD large screen video. Sports fans are becoming accustomed to watching their teams on high definition broadcasts. Now fans inDolphins Stadium will see incredible, high resolution, crystal clear, live video and replays on the new digital displays behind each end zone. Both ProStar® screens will incorporate an even wider aspect ratio than the 9:16 wide screen ratio of HD television, and will give fans a wider, more panoramic view of the action. With their superb resolution and super wide format, the displays will also have the ability to show multiple images simultaneously.

Daktronics PR

I say its about time!!! The Dolphins Stadium has had some of the worst screens in the NFL for years now. Again, good job, but its about time.