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Jeff Darlington has covered sports in Florida - including college football and the NFL - since 2000. Currently the South Florida representative of the Pro Football Writers Association, Jeff began covering the Dolphins before the 2005 season. He previously wrote about the football and men's basketball programs at the University of Florida. Jeff also is a graduate of UF.
Submitted by Anonymous
Q: Any good fan websites you can suggest?
Answered 05/05/08 13:14:46 by Jeff Darlington
A: A great fan named Elliot Stares recently contacted me about his new site, so I just wanted to pass along some info he sent: "DraftMeFirst.com launches in the quest to find the ultimate Dolphins fan. The site, created by Miami's award-winning agency The Factory Interactive, invites you to upload your own fanatical football videos and photos that visitors to the site vote on each week. A monthly grand prize Fan Package will be awarded to the person who has the video or photo with the most votes. The deadline for the first series of video/photo entries closes at midnight on May 23. Visit www.draftmefirst.com to sign up, upload and vote! Log-on to watch a welcome video clip of the nachos-eating "Dolphan," Miami's most extreme football fanatic, with his beer belt and matching mid-section."Submitted by James Fitzpatrick Ir from Dublin, Ireland
Q: Great coverage Jeff. I've been a Dolphin Fan since '83 and went to match in London last year which had a good atmosphere for a large stadium. I'm working to promote a new American Football Team here in the coming months as we have a league in Ireland, I have launched and work with a golf tour here so love sport. Without boring you are anyone else here is my Query. We cut Zach Thomas very quick and he ended up in Dallas. We have taken a lot of injured players which I'm sure cost less. We have drafted formally injured players. We seem to be working on watching our spend, buying big skillful players which is the MO of the new VP. I thought we bought in Sparano as head coach, are you not worried we could be taking more risks on unhealthy players and if things do go wrong finger pointing could start between Coach and Club as it is not his stamp but that of another?
Answered 04/30/08 14:51:48 by Jeff Darlington
A: Hi James. You make some interesting points here. With Zach, Parcells simply didn't feel comfortable paying $5 million to a guy that comes with very little guarantee of full health for a whole season. That's big with Parcells: He wants his players to be durable. He wants guys that won't wear down. And while I disagree that Zach is that much of a health risk, it's tough to argue considering what happened with his head issues last year. My point, though, is this: If Thomas is considered a health risk, why go after other players who have come off recent injuries? Justin Smiley, for example, has been a recent injury liability as well. I suppose the team can justify it by noting they aren't paying any of those players the premium salary as a result of those concerns (something they didn't do with Thomas), but it certainly raises a question of hypocrisy. That said, I'm not a doctor. Nor have I evaluated any of these players. Not that it's easy to give anyone the benefit of the doubt these days (Drew Brees vs. Daunte Culpepper comes to mind), I'm in no position to question whether the additions of guys like Smiley are just as problematic as the subtractions of a guy like Thomas. I suppose at this point, we'll just have to wait and see.Submitted by Rudy from Kingsville, ON
Q: With the Dolphins adding Randy Starks and drafting two DEs fairly high for the 3-4, will Matt Roth be moved to OLB? It seems we need more depth there and he did play OLB early on at Iowa.
Answered 04/30/08 14:44:58 by Jeff Darlington
A: No, Rudy. The Dolphins actually like Roth at defensive end, and I'm thinking he'll be a likely starter on the left side. Roth fits this 3-4 system a bit better than last year's system, mostly because he has the motor that works well in this scheme. He doesn't have elite size, and his arm length is still an issue, but from what I understand, this team believes his energy and work ethic will help him compensate for the other set backs. We'll see. I'm not sold on Roth just yet, but I was impressed with his off-season training last year. Given this year's program is even more intense, there's a chance he could come back this season even bigger, stronger and faster than any of us anticipate.Submitted by Jeff Wilkinson from Philipppines
Q: Is Crowder deing converted to a MLB ? and who are the 2 OLB's I know Porter is one but who is the other? Conversion from OLB to MLB is a tricky scenrio, reads are diffrent and patience is involved, unless there blitzing alot, its will interesting to see OG and T's tandem Crowder, especially counter plays....
Answered 04/30/08 12:25:43 by Jeff Darlington
A: Hey Jeff. I just touched on this in the next question, but I'll delve a little deeper since it's obviously something of interest. Crowder actually played middle linebacker in college, where he was very good at decoding offensive strategy. A transition to the middle was anticipated as soon as Zach Thomas was no longer with the team. Even if the team were playing a 4-3, he'd move inside as well. I really think he'll be able to handle this position well once he gets accustomed to the role of an NFL MLB. Last year, he got some reps at the position, and Bill Parcells has said privately that he feels like Crowder was one of the few players who constantly made plays -- even if he never made "the big play." We'll see a lot more from Crowder in the coming years, and I'm not just saying that because he's a Gator. ;)Submitted by fake jorge from MB, FL
Q: What position is Channing Crowder going to play next season, MLB, ROLB or LOLB? It seems that every coach wants to move him around instead of focus on staying in a certain role.
Answered 04/30/08 12:20:08 by Jeff Darlington
A: He'll shift inside, Jorge. Even if the Dolphins decide to go to a 3-4 system, he'll play one of the inside roles alongside Reggie Torbor. Jason Taylor and Joey Porter will be on the outside.Submitted by Steve Pulliam from Atlanta, GA
Q: Do you expect that John Beck will be the starter and do you think he will have a break out year under new coach / management team? I really liked him in preseason and hope he is the next Dano.
Answered 04/30/08 11:39:25 by Jeff Darlington
A: Yes, I do think Beck will be the starter when the season begins. For two main reasons, I don't think we saw from John what he's capable of accomplishing. First, he had nothing around him. No offensive linemen. No experienced skills players. And a defense that often put him in bad field position. Second, he was a rookie thrown into a tough situation. Beck was learning from a coach (Terry Shea) who is very good at bringing veteran quarterbacks into a new system -- but isn't necessarily as good as developing rookie quarterbacks. From what I understand, Shea grinded John into the ground with his methodical teaching methods, something that wore on Beck as the season went on. Don't get me wrong. Beck is an unbelievably hard worker. And he's certainly willing to put in the time and energy required. (The dude has tossed more than 4,000 balls this offseason.) But the focus on John's game needs to be about fundamentals -- not the tedious studies that would be more appropriate for a veteran trying to make the jump from level 3 to level 4. Not a rookie trying to make the jump from level 1 to level 2.Submitted by Ryan from San Diego, CA
Q: Hey Jeff, I was looking through some stats and did you know that the Dolphins have only 4 players on their roster who were around prior to the 2005 season- Jason Taylor ('97 Draft), Ricky William ('02 Trade), Yeremiah Bell ('03 Draft), and Vernon Carey ('04 Draft). I was amazed by this and was curious what you think of today's Dolphins lacking a core group of veteran Fins. Do you think that this degree of player turnover is extreme (even by NFL standards) and will it get better any time soon?
Answered 04/30/08 11:34:46 by Jeff Darlington
A: Absolutely, Ryan. This is extreme even in the days of roster shakeups as a result of free agency. And the reason is very simple: Bad drafting. And bad trades. Not only has the team been poor in many of its selections (that's what happens when you make picks based on need rather than best available), the Dolphins also gave up far too many picks in ill-advised trades for quick-fix players that never really served as long-term options. That's why I think this draft shows some promise. For too long, the team has neglected the trenches, going into training camp with a patchwork approach. I like the idea of finding some stability on the line, so the team can later focus its attention to simply searching for long-term options at the skills positions.Submitted by Daryl from ATL Ga
Q: Hey Jeff, Tell the Tuna to sign this guy http://thefootballexpert.com/ryanoharainterview080001.html looks like a good project QB to stash on the PS
Answered 04/30/08 11:30:46 by Jeff Darlington
A: Not a bad prospect. I'm never opposed to picking up a quarterback that transferred from a big school to a smaller one in order to gain playing time. I saw guys like Ingle Martin do just that to avoid sitting the bench at UF behind Chris Leak, and Martin ended up getting drafted well before Leak in their respective drafts. Still, looks like this one isn't happening. The team added an undrafted free agent (Georgia Southern quarterback Jayson Foster) to a list that already includes three other quarterbacks.Submitted by Stuart from London
Q: What player numbers have been retired by the fins? Are there any that haven't been officially retired but haven't been issued for a long time out of respect to the previous player to wear that number? Thanks
Answered 04/21/08 19:37:52 by Jeff Darlington
A: The Dolphins have retired three numbers: 12, 13, and 39. Those jerseys belonged to Bob Griese, Dan Marino and Larry Csonka. As far as I know, there has not been any "unofficial" jersey retirements out of respect for the players. As of yet, I'm not aware of any players who have decided to slide on No. 54. Good luck to the brave linebacker who dares to try.Submitted by John Valdes from Campobello SC.
Q: Jeff, Saw you on NFL network this morning, good job. Glad to see you working on the forum again. Short answers and all. You see, it's not that hard to answer a few questions every day or so. Just keep the answers short and it will not be a burden to you. Keep up the good (we need you) work.....Sincerely John Valdes
Answered 04/21/08 19:33:08 by Jeff Darlington
A: Thanks, John. That's good advice. I appreciate it.Submitted by Ed from Mendon, N.Y.
Q: If Chris Long is the first pick and we get to the 32nd pick and a solid LB or CB is sitting there (Dan Connor, Antoine Cason)do the Dolphins grab that player? I know O-Line is a huge need but a solid corner or linebacker to pair with Channing Crowder in the middle sounds awfully attractive.I would think there would still be enough value at #57 or #64 for an O-Lineman
Answered 04/21/08 19:31:50 by Jeff Darlington
A: Reggie Torbor is going to be the guy that pairs with Crowder in the middle. And I predict that's going to be a very, very solid duo. Plus, if the Dolphins were to draft Chris Long (even if it's looking like they won't), there's no way the team could select anything other than the best available tackle with the 32nd pick.Submitted by David from New York, NY
Q: Hypothetical scenario: the Dolphins draft Matt Ryan at #1, then look for the best possible trade down, given that they've just claimed the only QB consistently projected to go in the top half of the first round. By my count there are 4 teams in the top eight looking for a QB upgrade (Atlanta, KC, Jets, Ravens). My guess is that a trade down would look much more possible once the only top-10 QB in the draft is actually off the menu. If the Dolphins could get the Falcons to trade, Chris Long would almost certainly still be sitting there at #3, since the Rams seem high on Dorsey or Jake Long. Result: the Dolphins get a player they loved, for cheaper than he would have been at #1, plus whatever gravy they can get from the trade (maybe a third-rounder, given the devaluation of high picks this year, but the Falcons have a lot of picks to peddle). Of course, there's the risk that no one would be willing to trade, or that the top candidates for the Dolphins (the Longs and Gholston) are all gone by the time a willing team's pick comes around. But Parcells seems like he has the nerve to pull this off. Thoughts?
Answered 04/21/08 19:30:21 by Jeff Darlington
A: Too much of a gamble. You lose leverage when you draft a player that you're simply looking to trade -- and the Dolphins have already made it too clear that they aren't going after Ryan at this point.Submitted by chris johnson from miami,florida
Q: how can I have a walkon tryout for the miami dolphins.Is there anyway I can prove to the dolphins that i'm capable of making the team.
Answered 04/21/08 19:29:25 by Jeff Darlington
A: The Dolphins AND the Heat? Bo? Is that you? How's the hip?Submitted by chris johnson from miami,florida
Q: is ther anyway i can tryout for the miami heat.I can shoot, i can play D, and i'm fast.so please let me know if ther is away to aproach this. thanks,chris
Answered 04/21/08 19:28:13 by Jeff Darlington
A: Hmmm...Submitted by bryan in ohio from boardman ohio
Q: jeff please tell me the dolphins are going to draft chris long i heard from an inside source they are comparing long with demarcus ware from dallas if that is the case then it's a shoe in yes?
Answered 04/21/08 19:27:15 by Jeff Darlington
A: Actually, Chris is about 30 pounds heavier than Ware, which makes him a bit of a different threat. DeMarcus is more of a natural outside linebacker, whereas Chris is more of a hybrid tweener, who would probably be a better fit at defensive end if he was a little bit bigger.
