Dolphins News...

[04/26/12] -- It's Tannehill
To almost no one's surprise, the Dolphins drafted Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill with their first round pick in the 2012 draft earlier this evening. Tannehill has long been rumored to be the Dolphins' favorite and recent reports have suggested that owner Stephen Ross was pushing strongly for Tannehill in private, despite his protests to the contrary in public.

Tannehill is widely regarded as the third best quarterback in this year's draft, but most of the pundits also agree that he is probably not worth a top 10 pick and will not be ready to start this first year in Miami. Tannehill only started 20 games as a quarterback in college, after starting his first two years as a wide receiver. He is big, fast and strong and played in a system that used the college equivalent of a west coast offense. And of course, Dolphins' offensive coordinator Mike Sherman was Tannehill's head coach at A&M, which gives the Dolphins an almost unfair advantage in evaluating him as a player.

Curt's Comments: One of my failings as the owner and director of Phins.com is that I know very little about college football. That makes it very difficult for me to pass judgement on the quality of Miami's draft.

Having said that, I am happy that the Dolphins took Tannehill. While he is a high-risk, high-reward choice, the Dolphins have been lacking a franchise quarterback since Dan Marino retired. And since it's pretty clear the Dolphins are in a rebuilding mode, it won't matter so much that Tannehill won't be ready to start on day one. Taking Tannehill shows a commitment to improving the most important part of the team - something we haven't seen in far too long.

[04/20/12] -- Dolphins Get Ready for the Draft
A lot more is riding on the 2012 draft than just the players who the Dolphins will choose to build the foundation for the first year of the Joe Philbin era. This off-season, the Dolphins have looked particularly inept in their handling of the Peyton Manning hunt and the tepid pursuit of Matt Flynn. If they are to draw the fans back into the stadium in September, they must have a draft that will excite the fans and provide hope for the future. And that is why, as Phins.com columnist Chris Shashaty tells us this week, it is Time for Ireland to Deliver.

[01/20/12] -- Dolphins Pick Joe Philbin as Head Coach
Numerous news outlets are reporting tonight that the Dolphins have picked Packers OC Joe Philbin as their new head coach. The Dolphins have confirmed on twitter that they have made Joe Philbin the 10th head coach in their history. Fan reaction has been mixed, but a poll on David Hyde's Blog showed that the fans preferred Philbin over any of the other available candidates.

Curt's Comments: I don't know much about Joe Philbin, other than he is Ross' favorite and that he had great success as offensive coordinator with the Packers. Another consideration is that he has worked closely with Packers backup QB Matt Flynn, who will be highly sought after as a free agent this spring. Having Philbin as the head coach could make signing Flynn much easier.

At this point, I will reserve judgement on the Philbin signing. It will be at least 9 months before we have much of a clue as to how this will work out and in all likelihood, much longer than that before we know for sure if he's the right man for the job. About the only thing that is fairly clear is that he was the best candidate available at this point.

[01/03/12] -- Dolphins Have Key Positions to Fill
The 2011 NFL season is over for the Dolphins after a disappointing 6-10 finish that resulted in the firing of head coach Tony Sparano and probably ended the Dolphins' career of QB Chad Henne. As a result, the Dolphins have two very important personnel decisions to make: They must hire a new head coach and they must decide on a quarterback for the future. The administration is already interviewing head coaching candidates and will make their decision as soon as possible. At quarterback, however, the player who will fill that role - for the next season, at least - may already be on the roster. As Phins.com Columnist Chris Shashaty tells us in his latest column, the Starting QB for 2012 will be Matt Moore.

[12/24/11] -- Dolphins Try to play Spoiler in New England
The Dolphins travel to New England this weekend for a game that has little meaning for them as a team, but could mean a lot to certain individuals. Matt Moore has improved a lot this season, but still has to prove that he can be the starting quarterback of the future and having a good game against the Patriots would go a long way towards proving that. Also, interim head coach Todd Bowles could make a strong case to be considered for the permanent head coaching job by beating Belichick and the Patriots today.

[12/16/11] -- Dolphins Try to Sweep Bills
The Dolphins travel to Buffalo this weekend to try and make it a sweep of the Bills this year as neither team has much left to play for except for bragging rights. It looks like Matt Moore will start on Sunday, despite having suffered a minor concussion in the last game against the Eagles. The last time the Dolphins faced the Bills, they crushed them 35-8, denying the Bills any touchdowns while Matt Moore threw for 3 TDs himself. This weekend, the Dolphins' defense should be able to continue their dominance and Miami should come away with a much-needed victory.

[12/12/11] -- Dolphins Fire Sparano
The Dolphins have fired head coach Tony Sparano and named former Assistant Head Coach Todd Bowles as the interim Head Coach until the season is over. For more info, see the Phins.com News Wire.

[12/03/11] -- Dolphins Host Raiders
The Dolphins host the AFC West-leading Oakland Raiders in Miami on Sunday in a game that probably means very little to the Dolphins - except for the chance to defeat one of their oldest, bitterest foes - the Oakland Raiders. In the glory days of the Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders were the team that the Dolphins hated and feared the most. They were the team that ended Miami's SuperBowl run in the "Sea of Hands" game in 1975. For those of us who have been Dolphins' fans since the early days, the Oakland Raiders hold a special place of hatred in our hearts and any game against them carries echos of some bitter defeats in the 70s.

The Dolphins have an excellent chance of beating the Raiders this Sunday as long as they can get back to scoring touchdowns in the redzone. Matt Moore has proven himself to be a better quarterback than Chad Henne, but he still has a lot to learn and this Sunday will provide another tough test for him.

[11/25/11] -- Dolphins Lose Last Hope by 1 Point
The Dolphins lost to the Cowboys by one point on a last second field goal last night, ending any hopes they might have had of a miracle resurrection of the season. For most of the game, the Dolphins matched the Cowboys play-for-play and gave as good as they got. However, in the end, the Dolphins' offense couldn't run out the clock and the defense couldn't stop the Cowboys' offense from driving down for an easy chip shot field goal to take the win.