Miami Dolphins

What do Tony Nathan, Andra Franklin, David Overstreet, Lorenzo Hampton, Troy Stradford, Woody Bennett, Sammie Smith, Mark Higgs, Bobby Humphrey, Aaron Craver, Terry Kirby, Irving Spikes and Bernie Parmalee have in common?

1) They have all lined up as Miami's feature back during the last two decades.

2) They ain't no Larry Csonka.

Only once in the last 20 seasons has a Miami running back rushed for 1,000 yards, and not since '87 have the Dolphins averaged as many as four yards per carry. The team produced a franchise-low 3.1 yards per rush in '97 and just 3.4 yards last year when Miami ranked 13th in the AFC on the ground. "Everyone knows that the running game has been this team's downfall for many years," says coach Jimmy Johnson. "We're determined to run the football this season, because you have to run it to have any chance of winning a championship."

The '98 Dolphins were the worst short-yardage team in the NFL, converting just 29 of 76 third-down situations when they needed three yards or fewer. It got so bad that in those circumstances Miami occasionally worked out of the shotgun. Defenses could crowd the line of scrimmage because the Dolphins lacked speed at receiver. Miami thus had only six pass plays of 40 yards or more all season. Johnson hopes he addressed that problem by signing free-agent wideout Tony Martin, who on his own had four catches of 40 yards or longer for the Falcons in '98. Johnson also went to work on his offensive line, a group that for years has been bred to pass-block and protect quarterback Dan Marino above all else. Miami traded for surly three-time Pro Bowl guard Kevin Gogan and drafted center Grey Ruegame. Of course, Pro Bowl tackle Richmond Webb's preseason holdout hasn't helped matters. "We thought we lost some games last year because we couldn't convert on third-and-short," running backs coach Joel Collier says. "So this season we changed our philosophy, looking for more physical guys and some runners who can make something out of nothing with will, force or power."

The Dolphins conducted their latest search for a dominant running back with a fishnet approach, beginning in the summer with 13 candidates, including three of their first four '99 draft picks: Mississippi State's J.J. Johnson, a punishing runner who led the SEC with 1,383 yards last season; Rob Konrad from Syracuse, an agile 255-pound fullback who the Dolphins hope can evolve into a player like Dallas's Daryl (Moose) Johnston; and Cecil (the Diesel) Collins, clearly the most gifted athlete of the trio. The fifth-rounder possesses the rare ability to run over or around a defense. In less than four full games at LSU in '97, Collins ran 72 times for 596 yards, an 8.3-yard average. The BLESTO scouting service rated him as the top prospect in the draft, but he dropped to the 134th pick because his recent past includes two arrests for breaking into a woman's apartment, three failed drug tests, two dismissals from college and 27 days in jail.

Johnson, who once said he would draft Charles Manson if he ran a 4.4 in the 40, performed his most extensive predraft background check ever on Collins and liked him enough to give him a chance even after unsuccessfully attempting to rehabilitate Lawrence Phillips two seasons ago. On draft day Johnson described Collins as "a faster Emmitt Smith," but since then he has tried to downplay Collins's potential, hoping to quell the mounting hype for a player who rushed for a grand total of 713 yards in college. "He's a good back," Johnson says. "He doesn't give you a whole lot to tackle, just shoulder pads, knees and elbows."

Heck, Dolphins fans are so desperate for an exciting running back that they began chanting "Cecil! Cecil! Cecil!" during an August scrimmage against Tampa Bay, in which Collins rushed four times for 22 yards. Ideally, Johnson would like to use incumbent Karim Abdul-Jabbar or J.J. Johnson early in the year and gradually integrate Collins into the offense. Collins claims that he wants to be the Randy Moss of '99. "I want to surprise people," he says. "Off the field I've made some mistakes, and I know I have to prove myself. That's fine. Watch me."

Long gone is the Don Shula era, when the Dolphins became synonymous with stability. Johnson, who arrived in '96 touting a three-year plan and has won only one playoff game in his three seasons in Miami, actually retired for one day back in January, and there is a sense that his time at the helm is short. Marino, who turns 38 in September and spent the summer hanging out with such recently retired laggards as Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and John Elway, is likely to leave with his coach. Then the Dolphins will really need a running back.

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