Archive for the ‘Miami Dolphins’ Category

Uniform madness, guys.

Earlier this afternoon we learned that the Jaguars have been in the design room much more than their war room. Their new uniforms were unveiled in a grand ceremony, and they’re not a puke-ish teal color. Therefore, they’re all kinds of awesome after clearing the lowest bar imaginable.

Now since secrets are obsolete here on planet Earth in the year 2013, Paul Lukas of UniWatch fame shared the new Dolphins and Vikings uniforms with the Twitters shortly before they too were officially unveiled.

So let’s start with the Dolphins then, because their uniforms are drawing from a rich history of being exactly the same for a really long time.

dolphins uni

Simple, yet effective. The lettering and trim looks much more, well, not 1991, and the ugly collar is gone. If you’re the before/after type, here’s the now dead Dolphins uni…

tanehill-uni2

As for the Vikings, they made the right tweaks too. Their new home look is now a more bold purple, from head to toe. That includes the helmet, which is a darker shade, and the purple is further emphasized by the absence of the white patch underneath the armpit, and the gold collar.

vikes uni

Again, for those who need to visualize the transformation…

ponder-uni2

Annnd here’s the three new unis, in all their glory and new-ness.

new unis

rhodes-again2

Your answer at first is, well, of course he is. With Dee Milliner seemingly assured of being a top ten pick, and he may even come off the board in the top five, at No. 12 the Dolphins will have a chance to address a key need following the departure of Sean Smith by selecting Xavier Rhodes.

He’s widely viewed as the second-best cornerback in the draft, and he’s the trendiest mock pick to the Dolphins. Now that we’re inside of two weeks in the slow, slogging march to April 25, consensus picks have very much emerged, which makes mocking the draft easy. We hear a certain player associated with a certain team so often that any other pick would be jarring.

Rhodes has either reached that point with the Dolphins, or he’s damn close. But while he’s talented, what if his talent doesn’t fit the scheme Miami would be jamming him into? Square peg, round hole, something something.

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Draft Preview: 12. Miami Dolphins

long-phins2

When a large man leaves, a large hole is created.

So far this offseason, the Dolphins have purchased pretty much every available player. That may or may not be a drastic exaggeration, yet it seems so true. Hey, $45 million (the approximate cap space the Dolphins started free agency with) is a whole lot of green.

The primary focus early was finding a remedy for Ryan Tannehill’s lack of reliable targets, a problem which threatened to slow his development. In the opening hours of free agency Mike Wallace was showered in sweet, sweet bills, and then Brandon Gibson and Dustin Keller followed. That all came after Brian Hartline was retained. Problem = solved.

There was also the matter of upgrading the linebacker corps. Enter Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler. Done and done.

Oh, you’re leaving, Sean Smith? No worries. Here’s your money, Brent Grimes.

Yep, making it rain has been the theme of the Dolphins’ offseason. But they failed to retain a key asset in one area, and as I discussed with Kevin Nogle from The Phinsider, addressing that miss will likely be Miami’s early draft focus.

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Atlanta Falcons v Kansas City Chiefs

The best remaining cornerback on the market is now off the board.

Adam Schefter reports Brent Grimes, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons, has signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. The deal consists of $5 million in base money, $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses, a $2.25 signing bonus and $750,000 of the salary guaranteed.

Grimes missed the majority of last year after tearing his achilles in the first game of the season against the Chiefs. In 2011, Grimes started 12 games for the Falcons, recording one interception, one forced fumble and 29 passes defended. As a 27-year-old, Shippensburg alum enjoyed his best season in 2010, picking off five passes and notching 70 tackles.

Grimes joins a Dolphins secondary that features Richard Marshall, Nolan Carroll and Reshad Jones.

New York Jets v Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Wallace is a very rich man. I know this seems like a very obvious statement considering the former Steeler signed a 5-year $60 million contract with the Miami Dolphins (the deal included a $11 million signing bonus and $27 million in guaranteed money).

He has so much money that he could buy and sell my existence several million times over.

That said, according to Wallace’s dad, the 26-year old wide receiver could have pocketed even more cash if he had decided to sign with the Minnesota Vikings.

“The [Vikings] had come to the point where they were telling him, ‘You don’t have to live here, just be here during the season,’ ” Wallace’s father, Mike Jr., said by phone this week. “He wanted to get out of that snow and cold weather.”

Well, I guess we learned today that sometimes money isn’t everything. We also learned that no sane human being would actively choose to live in Minnesota during the winter.

Hat-tip to the Miami Herald and PFT

New York Giants v Philadelphia Eagles

The Miami Dolphins have been extremely active in free agency and they don’t appear to be content with their current haul.

The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero reports the Dolphins are now seen as a viable option for veteran free agents thanks to the signings of Mike Wallace and Dannell Ellerbe.

One of those players could be former Giants DE Osi Umenyiora. Salguero indicates the Dolphins have spent a considerable amount of time studying Umenyiora’s tape and called his agents to see if a fit was there.

The 31-year old has notched 26.5 sacks over the past three seasons and would likely be employed on the right side as star pass rusher Cam Wake occupies the left side.

Carolina Panthers v Miami Dolphins

According to ProFootballTalk, the St. Louis Rams have signed former Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jake Long to a four-year, $34 million contract.

Long, the first overall pick from the 2008 NFL draft, will make $8.5 million per season, with $16 million in guaranteed money.

The Dolphins reportedly made a strong push to keep Long, but in the end, the 4-time Pro Bowler decided that his future was with the Rams.