Miami Dolphins make cap room

Call it Black Monday.

The 1-15 Miami Dolphins cut Trent Green, Marty Booker, LJ Shelton, Keith Traylor and 5 other players yesterday, clearing about $9 million in cap space, giving them an estimated $30 million in space under the cap heading into free agency.

Part of the salary cap space will be going to this year's draft class, but here are some offensive players I could see the Fins being interested in.

Quarterback: Definitely a need position, even if the Fins new brass love John Beck or if they draft Matt Ryan #1. Cleo Lemon is an unrestricted free agent and Trent Green was just cut and his career his probably over due to multiple concussions.

Derek Anderson is intriguing, but he is a restricted free agent, meaning the Browns can tender him and be eligible to match any offer a new team makes, or let him go for the new team's first and third round picks. The new team can negotiate that compensation but that's a lot to give up for a guy with a one year track record, and who may have benefitted from an awesome o-line and great skill players like Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow II, Jamal Lewis.

Todd Collins had an inspirational run in the Redskins bid to make the playoffs. He has been a career backup and is 200 years old, but if the Fins want to delay Beck or a new draftee QB for a year, he could be an option.

Rex Grossman: has had his ups and downs in Chicago, but the Bears players and coaches love the guy and gave him every chance to succeed there, and he brought them to the Super Bowl last year. Has a lot of intangibles and arm, but makes a lot of mistakes.

other interesting/recognizable UFA's: Daunte Culpepper (oy), Quinn Gray (Ft Lauderdale native), Josh McCown, Tim Rattay, Billy Volek

Running Back: Fins appear pretty OK at running back, depending on Ronnie Brown's rehab from ACL surgery and if Parcells is interested at keeping Ricky Williams cheap contract around. Jesse Chatman was servicable and he is a restricted free agent. I don't see them throwing a lot of money at RB, but some name players who are UFA include: Michael Bennett, Chris Brown, TJ Duckett, Justin Fargas, Jamal Lewis, Mewelde Moore, Musa Smith, Aaron Stecker, Michael Turner, Derrick Ward.

Wide Receivers: Definitely a need position for the Dolphins. After cutting Booker, your starting WRs are Ted Ginn (and his family) and Derek Hagan. Lot if interesting UFAs at WR, including Bernard Berrian, Drew Carter, Andre Davis, Jabar Gaffney, DJ Hackett, Bryant Johnson, Randy Moss & Ernest Wilford.


O-Line: Always tough for me to judge free agent non-skill positions, especially anonymous guys who might be 2nd stringers or who play for lesser televised teams. The Fins definitely will be looking to upgrade here. Some familiar names on the O-Line include guards: Martin Bibla (ex-Cane), Jason Fabini, Alan Faneca, Rex Hadnot, Ryan Lilja, Floyd Womack. Tackles: Flozell Adams, Jordan Gross, Max Starks.

Will A Blue Hen Become a Dolphin?

This from the Palm Beach Post writer Tim Graham

"Who knows Joe Flacco?

A select group of draft-eligible quarterbacks have generated a vast majority of the attention this winter. Matt Ryan, Brian Brohm, Andre Woodson, Colt Brennan and even John David Booty get mentioned most often when discussing this year’s draft class.

But because Flacco hails from the I-AA Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, he’s largely unfamiliar to anybody other than college football savants and draftniks.

Those days are over. Flacco’s stock is soaring, and the Dolphins are interested in the 6-foot-6, 232-pound accounting major. He certainly fits the classic quarterback mold Dolphins football operations exec Bill Parcells covets so much.

Although Parcells wasn’t at the Senior Bowl last week, the Dolphins interviewed Flacco there and came away highly impressed — maybe enough to take him in the second round.

The Dolphins also are high on Ryan. Who isn’t? But it’s debatable whether they should use their No. 1 overall pick to acquire Ryan or use it on a greater need and grab Flacco later.

Earlier today, fans had a chance to see Flacco’s skills on display in the College Football All-Star Challenge on ESPN. The annual exhibition, taped Tuesday at Arizona State, showcases players about to enter the draft in a skills competition.

Flacco cleaned up among the quarterbacks who participated: top-rated passer Ryan (Boston College), Brennan (Hawaii), Booty (USC) and Chad Henne (Michigan).

Flacco easily won the long ball competition. His throws of 74 and 71 yards were the best two tries. He said he would have hit 80 yards with a tighter spiral.

He also won the quarterback scramble, an obstacle course of sorts. He runs the 40-yard dash in about 4.9 seconds but looked surprisingly nimble for someone his size. Flacco also finished third in the accuracy competition.

Without question, Flacco will be popular at the NFL combine later this month in Indianapolis.

But he’s already high on the Dolphins’ watch list."

Below is the Flacco highlite reel. My favorite line? "You can't DO THAT any better than that, Scott Zolak!"

The Superb Owl

My buddy E-mar likes to tell the story of how the NFL shut down a real estate company that called itself "Super Bowl Realty" and had superbowlrealty.com it's website. You might notice the NFL doesn't let anyone use the name "Super Bowl" unless they are paying royalties for it (crazy, right?). That's why TV and appliance stores or restaurants and bars have to advertise sales and parties for "The Big Game" instead of "Super Bowl".

Upon being sued, the lady who owned the company changed the name to Superb Owl Realty.

Now I don't know if this is true or an urban myth; I couldn't find anything in the web about it, but it's a good story nonetheless.

Oh, and by the way fellow Dolphins fans - near 10% of the combined rosters of the teams in the Super Bowl are ex-Fins:

Giants: CB Sam Madison, Free agent not re-signed before '06
Giants: OL Grey Ruegamer, Drafted in '99, cut in 2000
Giants: DL Manny Wright, Cut in 2007 offseason
Giants: RB Reuben Droughns, Spent one month on practice squad in 2001
Pats: RB Kyle Eckel, Waived in '07 training camp
Pats: FB Heath Evans, Starter cut in Sept. '05
Pats: LB Larry Izzo, Free agent not re-signed before 2001
Pats: OL Billy Yates, Undrafted FA in '03, cut in '04
Pats: WR Wes Welker, Traded for 2nd-round pick in '07
Pats: RB Sammy Morris, Free agent not re-signed before '07
Pats: LB Junior Seau, Acquired in '03 trade, not re-signed before '06

On to today's game: We all know the subplots - Spygate, now Spygate II:How They Cheated the Rams out of a 2nd Superb Owl Win, the Pats trying to go Perfect, has Tom Coughlin's face recovered from the frostbite at Green Bay.

My prediction: New England 34, NY 17
MVP: Randy Moss (3 TDs and does a naked pole dance on the left field goal upright after the 3rd)

Real MVP: Tom Brady - luckiest man ever - one of the best QBs of all time, and maybe THE best after his 4th ring - rich, famous, handsome, great personality, got to host SNL, adored by millions. Greatest accomplishment - He left his baby mama on the left (Bridget Moynahan) while she was preggo to be with Gisele Bundchen (on the right.)

Ocho Cinco in Miami?

Check out this video of Miami native Chad Johnson -- the Cincy media asked him if he will be wearing Orange and Black next year, and he replies "maybe aqua and orange" - and ends it with "Parcells! Call me, man!".
I'd take him any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I'd give up the 2nd round pick the Fins got from San Diego.


It would be essentially a straight up trade for Chambers for Chad, and who wouldn't do that?

Fins Might Not Have Their Man at OC

Over the weekend, the Sun-Sentinel had an article, saying the Dolphins were trying to get the Saints' QB coach, Pete Carmichael to become the new offensive coordinator. Ethan Skolnick blogged here that this would be a good hire for John Beck's progress. Carmichael has been Drew Brees' position coach since Brees' second year in the league; the Saints QB is the player most often Beck draws comparisons to from people in the know. Prior to working with Brees, Carmichael coached at Louisiana Tech under Gary Crowton, who recruited and coached Beck at BYU. (shout out to my favorite La Tech alum, PJ Brown, whose textbook gutwrench suplex of Charlie Ward is my favorite Heat play of all time.)


Profootballtalk.com is reporting that the Saints are not going to release Carmichael (they are not under any obligation to) and that the Fins are interviewing ex Falcons offensive coordinator Hue Jackson today.

Kind of disappointing if this turns out to be accurate, as I was eager to see a young offensive mind like Carmichael come in and lead the type of offense the Saints had, and with the Fins having similar personnel, albeit unproven (Deuce: Ronnie, Reggie: Booker, Brees:Beck).

If it's not Carmichael, I'd bet the OC will end up being Chris Palmer- the Giants QB coach, Tony Sparano's mentor since college, and a Parcells guy, but he can't be interviewed until the Super Bowl is over. Palmer's claim to fame? Being the expansion coach of the Browns and picking Tim Couch #1 overall to lead your franchise. Not exactly something you want bolded on the old curriculum vitae if you're noted as a QB guru.