Philbin Speaks (video); Hickey On Deck

Once again, the Miami Dolphins were at the forefront of the NFL news this morning, as head coach Joe Philbin spoke to the media for around 15 minutes at the Combine in Indianapolis.  This coming off the heels of the firings of O-line coach Jim Turner and strength and conditioning coach Kevin O'Neil.

Here are the takeaways (with the full video at the bottom):


- "I want everybody to know,  I was responsible for the workplace environment at the Miami Dolphins facility. I'm the one that sets the schedule, I decide when the practices are, I decide when players eat, how the practices are, how they lift, everything they do in the facility."

- "It's unacceptable. And I'm the one who is charge of the work place. And I can tell you ... we're going to do things about it. We're going to make it better."

-  "The team, the performance of the team, the 8-8 record, that falls on my shoulders. I'm going to be more vigilant. I'm going to be more diligent. I'm going to be more visible. I'm going to have a better pulse."

- "We haven't made any decision on anybody's future."

- "We're going to look at everything. The way we educate, the way we communicate, the way we talk to one another. I'm going to look at every avenue. I have to make sure we create a better atmosphere and better environment."

- "I didn't necessarily name him [Richie Incognito] a leader.  There's a leadership council that we have in place. The process is the players elect the people they want to be on the leadership council. Out of respect to the process that's how the votes came in and he was on the leadership council."

- "I don't have the benefit to look back.  I would have hoped that I noticed some of these things. I can tell you I never turned my back. If I had heard this type of language or these type of acts, I would have intervened immediately."

- "I certainly wish I would have seen some of it. I would have intervened quicker and perhaps it would not have grown to this proportion it has grown to. But it's easy to look back. That's how it happened. That's how it unfolded. I have to focus on the future and correct the problems."

-  On whether he feels lucky he still has a job:  "Steve Ross is the one that does the hiring for the Miami Dolphins.  That's a question you should ask him."


Philbin took full responsibility for not having a "pulse" of the his locker room, which he needed to do.  That's a good first step.  Other than that, he didn't provide anything new.  It was a typical Joe Philbin interview, with the only noticeable difference, to someone who follows the team and watches every interview throughout the season, being his voice. Philbin, who is usually very low key and monotone in his local interviews, had a very strict, loud voice throughout the interview today.

I guess that's what happens when you go from the local media to the national spotlight?

Anyway, new GM Dennis Hickey is up next.  He is scheduled to speak with the media at 2:15.

I'll be back with the notes on that later on.

Gotta love the offseason.

Link To FULL Ted Wells Report HERE

First of all, does anyone else find it ironic that this report came out on Valentines Day?  Weird timing, no?

Anyway, here it is.  The report everybody has been waiting for for months now.  I'm about 20 pages in as we speak, and I will not have any opinions until I finish.  I suggest you do the same.  Read the 144 pages, THEN form an opinion.  Don't just go off what your twitter says, or what certain articles say.  Just read it yourself, and see what you think.

I'll be back in the coming days to give you my thoughts.  HOWEVER, after reading 20 pages and knowing what lies ahead, I can tell you this:

- Mike Pouncey and Jon Jerry were just as bad Richie Incognito, according to this report.

- O-Line coach Jim Turner's days will be numbered.  He comes off looking really bad in this thing.

- Joe Philbin is made out to look like the good guy, but still comes off as having little to no control of his own locker room, mainly because, according to the report, he was not aware of what was going on.

- Jeff Ireland should consider himself lucky he's no longer with the team.

- A surprise name, to me, was Nate Garner, who came off as just as bad of a victim, if not worse, as Martin. I hadn't heard Garner's name once in the past 6 months linked to any of this.


Okay, back to reading.  I'll have a more thorough analysis and opinion soon.

Here's the link to the entire report.  Enjoy, although some of it's a tough read.

Back for more soon.

Report: 2014 Will Be Make Or Break For Tannehill

This report hit the internet this morning, courtesy of CBS.com's Jason La Canfora.

And yes, it forced me to come out of my offseason hibernation about 3 weeks earlier then I had intended to (free agency).

Here are the bullet points:


- The big take away from reading this was the state of QB Ryan Tannehill and head coach Joe Philbin. An excerpt:

"He definitely wants to push Tannehill more," said one source who has spoken to Philbin about the quarterbacks, "and if he doesn't see improvement he said he might go to Moore at some point. He definitely has a lot of faith in Moore, and they're paying him a lot of money."

Now, I absolutely do not know whether this is accurate or not.  Nobody follows the Miami Dolphins more than I do, and I can tell you right now that not one time during the season was there even an inkling that Moore could replace Tannehill.  However, after struggling down the stretch, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case now.

Personally, I have no problem with competition for Tannehill.  Competition is good.  Competition gets you the most out of your players.  BUT, Matt Moore is going on 30 years old this August.  How much good would it really do the organization to have Moore replace Tannehill?  IF this were to happen, my guess is that Philbin would be fired, Moore and Tannehill would be gone, and a new regime would start over with a new, rookie QB in the 2015 draft.

It just doesn't make sense to start over with a 30 year old QB.  

Another thing to consider:  New GM Dennis Hickey is pro-Tannehill.  No, he hasn't said it.  But he's showed it.  Remember, the first thing Hickey did when he got the job was buy his son a Ryan Tannehill jersey.  Subtle, yes.  But very, very telling.

There's no doubt that Tannehill is your starter going into this season.  He threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 24 TD's last year, behind an historically bad offensive line and with little to no running game.  He earned a third year.

BUT, make no mistake about it:  2014 will absolutely be make or break for him.

- According to La Canfora, CB Brent Grimes is a "top priority" this offseason, and he's either going to be signed to a long term deal or franchise tagged.  Either way, he'll be back this season.

- The team, according to the report, also will rebuild the entire offensive line with the exception of center Mike Pouncey.  An earlier report this week also said that Joe Philbin wants to go after Chiefs LT Branden Albert.  Remember, Miami went after him last season and a deal could not be reached.

- The final take away from the report is this:  Both Paul Soliai and Randy Starks will be free agents next month, and only one will most likely be back with the team, not both.  This is nothing new, and my best guess is it'll be Soliai.  He wants to be in Miami, and has showed in years past that he'll do it for a lesser price.

Okay, back to the offseason.  The blog will make a brief return for a few weeks once free agency opens up.  Until then, I leave you with this depressing thought:

Only 7 months until the season opener.