DolphinsQB
Chad Henne, left, is Mr. Right in the eyes of coaches, who see him as the franchise's future. Chad Pennington, meanwhile, seems to be Mr. Right Now, providing experience and sound play while Henne matures. Josh McCown and John Beck will vie for snaps in practice.
RB
The resurgence of Ricky Williams, left, is timely considering Ronnie Brown's difficult attempt to regain form after knee surgery. The young backups better be good special teams players.
WR/TE
The Dolphins say they have plenty of talent here. No, seriously. That has yet to be proven as Ted Ginn Jr., left, and Derek Hagan both need to meet their potential while Ernest Wilford and the rest of the band need to gain the QBs confidence.
OL
Rebuilt and resurgent, it has yet to be proven this unit is any good. But they certainly look the part with doublewide sized men taking up space and rookie Jake Long, left, taking up more salary cap space than anyone else on the roster.
LB
The plan was to have Jason Taylor among this group but after an offseason saga forced a trade, the Dolphins continue to search for a consistent pass-rusher. Joey Porter, left, and Charlie Anderson are candidates to fill that role but injuries have hampered that progress.
DL
Rookies Kendall Langford and Phillip Merling, left, offer promise for the future while Vonnie Holliday and Jason Ferguson bring a stabilizing force with 23 years of experience. The Dolphins paid much attention to this unit in the offseason so that opposing offenses will notice during the regular season.
DB
Injuries at cornerback and safety caused the team great problems and even embarrassment in 2007 but this season the team believes the addition of Joey Thomas, left, Nathan Jones, Chris Crocker and others have the Dolphins feeling confident about their depth.
ST
Punter Brandon Fields, left, is a favorite of Bill Parcells while rookie Dan Carpenter was picked over veteran Jay Feely in the preseason. And so 2008 will prove how much the Miami new regime really knows about specialists.
The McClatchy Company