Call Out Boy

If Belichick is truly fueled by "Spygate", and that appears like a completely legitimate consideration, I can only imagine what kind of destruction he'll dish out on the Dolphins come December 23. This coming after Don Shula's suggestion that the 2007 Pats' season be marked by an asterisk. This isn't some random jab from the incessantly quotable Jay Feely or one of the jack-offs from the 1972 team; this is Grandpa Dolphin himself, one of the best coaches in sports history. I can understand all the hub-bub but can't help but think of Belichick hearing this news, turning to his coaches and asking in hushed, calm tones: "What do you think? 60+? Let's crack 70 against these clowns."

Merry Christmas, boys.

Ronnie's out for the Year

I've been to South Florida on a number of occasions, and, yes, when it rains it does in fact pour. Likewise for the Miami Dolphins. First Trent Green's five-game Dolphin career, then Yeremiah Bell's and Renaldo Hill's season enders, then Donovin Darius, then Lamont Thompson, then Cameron Worrell's best Cameron Worrell impression, then Jason Allen, then Vonnie Holliday, then I'm bored with this, then 0-7, and now Ronnie Brown -- the one shiny nugget of corn in this heaping turd of the Dolphin season -- is reportedly out for the year with a knee injury.

Really, all I can do is laugh. How can it get any worse. To quote Clark W. Griswold from "Christmas Vacation" -- "Worse?!!! We're standing on the threshold of Hell!!"

I'll get to the Pats game after I finish constructing my Cameron Worrell voodoo doll.

Hell's Bells

Bell's out for the year, and now former Jags safety Donovin Darius is working out for the team. This is logical enough when a list of likely fill-ins consist of the following: Travaris Tillman, Courtney Bryan and Cameron Worrell. It's so bad, coaches are open to moving Travis Daniels into the safety spot and naming Michael Lehan as No. 2 cornerback. Wow.

If there was one bright spot in the group of hacks we call our safeties, it was Bell. Now we're playing rent-a-player with Darius. My thoughts of him are still anchored sometime in 2003, when he and Rashean Mathis were one of the league's top safety tandems. What he can do now is anyone's guess.

Bummer.

Back in the Saddle

It's been a hectic couple of weeks for this guy, and I haven't had a ton of time to read through the countless Dolphin posts in my Bloglines reader. In fact, I'm just getting around to them. I have to hand it to the Herald and Sun-Sentinel reporters who offer up tons of information that would otherwise be nixed from the daily. Kudos, boys.

First up, from today's camp update, Jason Allen appears to still be struggling finding his niche with the team. This is discouraging on a number of levels. The obvious being his inability to impress even in the slightest. As you know, our secondary is starving for somebody...anybody to compete at the safety and cornerback positions. More so at safety, but whatever. With that said...

"It appears Michael Lehan has locked down that nickel spot, holding off Jason Allen. I've honestly tried to evaluate Allen without attaching his first round pick status, and to be fair he doesn't get beat as much as guys like Mitchell. But he is usually invisible. I'm starting to wonder if he'd have been better off staying at safety. Wasn't he moved to cornerback so he could break into the nickel package, starting to contribute on a regular basis? I'm sensing the most important role he might have in 2007 is as a flyer on the special teams unit."

Allen can't compete at the nickel spot. The number three corner. Behind the likes of Will Allen and looks-OK-for-being-young Travis Daniels. Allen is losing his job to Michael Lehan. No disrespect to Lehan, but he...well...he's Michael Lehan. Think hard about this: First. Round. Pick. Jason. Allen. Isn't. Good. Enough. To. Be. The. Team's. Third. Corner. Excuse me while I bite the curb.

In more uplifting news, it seems Ted Ginn is in on a lot of action, whether it be in the return game or running routes. This is good, friends. This is nice.

The first depth chart is out. Couple things: First, as Armando points out, the offensive line will go through a number of changes and switch-arounds over the next few weeks so I'll take o-line news with a grain of salt. Next, Hey! PK Sam! Every year this guy's in the hunt. I forgot all about it until I saw him in an NFL Europe game on TV this past year. I admire his determination. Maybe that's why I like him so much. That or I just enjoy his little-kid name. "Hey, PK Sam! Check out my new Super Soaker!" Lastly, and excuse my redundancy, but look at that friggin' secondary. Yack!

More on David Sutton. All that talk of former volleyball player this and former baseball player that and (thankfully) not one mention of Antonio Gates.

Also, I had a slight spell of dumbass in one of my previous posts that claimed James Lofton's son -- whatever his first name is -- to be a receiver. He is, in fact, a corner and no longer employed by the Dolphins.

I'll be back this weekend for a recap of Saturday's pre-season opener. Enjoy it, gorgeous.

Brady Quinn Q&A

If you're into self torture and/or kicking yourself in the balls, read Ethan Skolnick's latest Q&A with Brady Quinn.

After the surprise and supreme disappointment wore off, I'm now content with Ginn and John Boy and have been sober for 18 days. (applause)

I would have personally subbed out the magazine cover questions with some prodding:

Brady, on a "Surprise" scale from 1 to 10 -- 1 being the equivalent of finding a parking space in close proximity to the front doors of Target; Ten being equal to walking in on your girlfriend having sex with a dog -- How surprised were you that Miami passed on your good looks and questionable arm for a punt returner with a bum ankle?

If you were to murder Terry Shea, which weapon would you use: a knife, chainsaw, ratchet or your bare hands?