Finally, we arrive to the most important position on the football field, the quarterback! There is little question that the play of the quarterback determines the success of the offense and his play usually decides the outcome of most wins and losses. Training Camp 2012 for the Miami Dolphins will hopefully decide whom the triggerman will be moving forward for Miami.
Two things are always paramount when your talking about the defensive line for the Miami Dolphins: your numbers against the run and how may times you can either sack or pressure the opposing quarterback. The run defense in 2011 was stellar, holding opponents to 95.6 yards per game, which ranked third in the NFL. The Dolphins were also third in the league holding teams to 3.71 yards per carry!
The Miami Dolphins have numerous positions up for grabs when the 2012 Training Camp opens on Friday, July 27, and one area of the team to focus on is the offensive line. Most fans would agree that center and the left side of the line of scrimmage is one of the strengths of this team, but the same cannot be said about the right side where no starters will return to the roster from last season.
Officially tomorrow makes two weeks away from the start of Training Camp 2012 for the Miami Dolphins, and position battles on both sides of the football have been discussed by arm chair quarterbacks all across South Florida! Quarterback and wide receiver are the two positions on offense that garner most of the attention, but on defense, I’m going to focus on the linebacker position.
Summertime is usually the time of the season when the NFL slows down until training camp ramps up in late July all across the country. Passionate football fans still are looking for their information about certain players, position battles or predictions on where their team will finish at the end of the year. I had a front row look at the 2012 version of the Miami Dolphins through organized team activities and a three day mini-camp last week and here are some of my thoughts heading into training camp.
There are numerous ways to describe the 2011 season but overall the Miami Dolphins fell significantly short of everyone’s expectations. After struggling through the first half of the season (starting 0-7) the Dolphins finally notched their first victory of the year at Kansas City 31-3! The team continued to play with more consistency winning five of there next eight football games, and looked like a team that could compete with anyone in the NFL at the end of the season!
The curtain closes on the 2011 season with the last of three straight AFC East opponents visiting Sun Life Stadium on Sunday. The New York Jets (8-7) come to South Florida looking to keep their playoff hopes alive, while the Miami Dolphins (5-10) hope to send the Jets back to New York disappointed. New York was riding high a few weeks ago and looked like a team that couldn’t miss a play-off berth, but back to back losses to the Philadelphia Eagles (45-19) and the cross-town rival New York Giants (29-14) have left the Jets on the outside looking in!
It was a tale of two football games all wrapped into one as I observed Saturday’s match-up between the Miami Dolphins (5-10) and the New England Patriots (12-3). Coaches at every level of sports always preach about playing from start to finish, and it was on full display this past weekend! The Dolphins defense completely dominated the first half of the game, making Patriots quarterback Tom Brady look confused and frustrated.
The tour through the AFC East continues for the Miami Dolphins (5-9) as they travel to Foxborough, MA to face the first place New England Patriots (11-3). These two teams last faced each other to open the season with the Patriots winning 38-24, and now New England is looking to extend their six game winning streak. In that week one game, these two teams combined for the most passing yards in NFL history with 906 yards.
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline doesn’t care where the New England Patriots defense is ranked, he knows it will be a challenge for the Dolphins offense. Hartline talked about the importance of scoring touchdowns in the red-zone instead of settling for field goals. Also, Brian talks about the way quarterback Matt Moore has been able to spread the football around to everybody.
