Miami Dolphins

It's put-up-or-shut-up time for a team loaded with talent and a ready excuse for every failure

By Paul Zimmerman

Team Page | Schedule | Depth chart | 2002 Stats | Predicted finish: 3rd in AFC East

One year the Dolphins blamed their late-season fade on intense early-season practices that took away their legs. So now the practices are lighter.

The Dolphins plan to use Seau in pass coverage and perhaps even as an edge rusher in the nickel package. Heinz Kluetmeier

For a while they complained about an inconsistent running game. Then Ricky Williams led the NFL in rushing in 2002, and Miami still missed the postseason. They can talk about the six games that their quarterback, Jay Fiedler, sat out last year with a broken right thumb and how the 2-4 record during that span hurt them dearly, but the season still came down to the last two games, against the Vikings and the Patriots. The Dolphins blew a lead in each game and lost.

"Seems like every year at this time I give you an excuse," middle linebacker Zach Thomas says. "Then I say what has to be done, and we do it, and the next year there's a different excuse. But what they've done this year is pack the team with so much talent that we won't be able to blow it. We're so loaded that there just won't be any excuses."

They all know it. They get the feeling they're playing on some kind of Pro Bowl roster. Las Vegas has made Miami the short-priced AFC team to reach the Super Bowl, even ahead of last year's representative, the Raiders. "It'll just be a shame if we don't make it," tackle Todd Wade says. "This is the most talented team I'll ever play on."

The front office doesn't get a lot of credit, but the Dolphins never seem to lose their stars. The key people get signed. In free agency the imports are always better than the exports. This year, though, they outdid themselves. A team that had good personnel is now bursting with it.

Junior Seau, a Pro Bowl player for 12 of his 13 years in San Diego, is the new weakside linebacker. Thirty-four-year-old legends come cheap: He cost Miami a late-round draft choice. Seau plays a spot that has a lot of coverage responsibilities, but he's coming off a bad ankle sprain last year. "Horrible," he says. "They shot it with painkiller on Saturday and on Sunday. It hurt even standing in the huddle." So, can he still get downfield? "Just watch," he says. And you might even see Seau do something he did best at USC and early on with the Chargers -- line up as a down lineman in the nickel defense and rush the passer from the edge. "It's what got me into the NFL," he says.

Strong safety Sammy Knight, 27 years old and a Pro Bowl selection two years ago, was a terrific free-agent pickup. There isn't a scar on him. He's not that speedy, but he'll be playing closer to the line than he was in New Orleans. "This defense allows me to be more aggressive," he says, "which is delightful."

Almost overlooked was the acquisition of free-agent defensive tackle Jeff Zgonina, a classic run-stopper, late of the Rams. Every defense needs one; few have one. "Play the two-gap, stop the run -- I've been doing that my whole career," he says.

The Dolphins also brought in a former Pro Bowl quarterback, Brian Griese, as Fiedler's backup. Now Griese is sidelined after injuring his toe in last Friday's preseason game. From the Redskins they snatched the guy who has been the star of training camp, wideout Derrius Thompson. He runs disciplined routes and tears the ball away from defensive backs. "It seems that every day he's grabbing one that nobody thinks he's going to get," center Tim Ruddy says of Thompson.

"I told my guys, 'Believe your eyes,'" offensive coordinator Norv Turner says. "'You saw him. He is what you're watching.'"

Why did Steve Spurrier let him get away? "I wasn't his type of guy," Thompson says. "He was looking for something else, for those little tippy-toe receivers who run 4.4s. I do the dirty work. You've got to have blue-collar guys in your offense."

Thompson is the possession receiver that Miami has needed and never had in Oronde Gadsden, who was big and tough enough but undisciplined on his routes. Thompson's the perfect complement to downfield receiver Chris Chambers.

Yep, the Dolphins have it all, and if somehow they blow it again in December or January ... well, they'll just have to open a new can of excuses.

Enemy Lines: An opposing scout's view

"The Dolphins are a team that's very hard to figure. They're as talented as any club in the league, but they're an emotional team, and sometimes that emotion works against them. When the wheels come off, they come off in a hurry.... You hear people say that they get out-toughed in big games, but I don't think it's that as much as that they make the wrong decisions. Ricky Williams is as tough as any back in football. Jason Taylor is as tough as they come, fighting the double team all game. Zach Thomas is a tough middle linebacker.... The defense has people who are among the best in the league. The line never gets outmanned. Maybe Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison slipped a little last year, but they're still one of the best sets of corners in the league.... Junior Seau's going to make some highlight plays, but I don't think he is what he once was. Overall, though, it's a good linebacking group.... People say their offensive line and their quarterbacking could be better. I say the line is O.K. Jay Fiedler's passes might not always look pretty, but he wins games, and his team believes in him.... This is the soundest team in the division."

Under the Gun

In 2000 Brian Griese made the Pro Bowl with Denver. Two years later he was run out of town, all the way to Miami, where he was supposed to provide much-needed depth. When Jay Fiedler was injured last year, the Dolphins went 2-4 and missed the playoffs. Now Griese has been slowed by ligament damage to his left big toe.

Issue date: September 1, 2003