The year was 1972 when the Miami Dolphins set multiple records and became, arguably, the greatest team in professional football’s history. They completed the first perfect season by winning 14 regular games, two play off games and Super Bowl VII. They also went on to be victorious at Super Bowl VIII, though throughout the next two or three decades they would never taste Super Bowl glory again. This season the Miami Dolphins hope to make its 39th season (43rd overall) the most successful yet. There have already been shakeups in management (as this is Bill Parcells first season as Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Jeff Ireland as General Manager and Tony Sparano as Head Coach. This is not surprising, considering that in 2007 the Dolphins earned the worst record in the league with a 1-15 win-loss sheet.
On the plus side, this did earn the Dolphins’ first pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Will the Miami Dolphins be successful? It’s time to analyze the draft picks to see just how deep these dolphins hope to swim this season. The Dolphins had been negotiating with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long since before the draft occurred. It took him a while to sign, but on April 22 the team finally secured him to a five year $57.75 million dollar contract with $30 million guaranteed. They also assured Long they would take him first in the draft. (It’s about pride, man!)
Besides Long, the Dolphins scored some other notable signings. There was defensive end Phillip Merling of Clemson, quarterback Chad Henne from Michigan, defensive end Kendall Langford from Hampton, guard Shawn Murphy from Utah, running back Jalen Parmele from Toledo, guard Donald Thomas from Connecticut, defensive end Lionel Dotson from Arizona, and running back Lex Hilliard from Montana.
So far four other draft picks have been signed to deals: Jalen Parmele, Lex Hilliard, Lionel Dotson and Donald Thomas. After the draft, the team signed 18 undrafted free agents including Scorpio Babers, Davone Bess, Titus Brown, Michael Byrne, Dan Carpenter, Jayson Foster, Dan Gore, Daren Heerspink, Aaron Lane, Selwyn Lymon, Matthew Mulligan, Kelly Poppinga, Marcel Reece, Kory Robertson, Keith Saunders, Matt Spanos, Anthony Toribio and Justin Wynn. However, time passes quickly when millions of dollars are on the line and when millions of Miami fans grow restless. The Dolphins have already released Aaron Lane and Marcel Reece-in fact that they even didn’t last a week playing for 2007′s worst team.
Fan reaction to the Dolphins has ranged from critical to mixed. Nobody argues that Jake Long was a good signing and that most of the draft picks were sensible and desperately in need to restructure the Dolphins. However, when it comes to predicting victory experts still believe the Dolphins need to rebuild over time. Plus, they are in danger of losing Jason Taylor who is juggling his NFL career with an acting gig and also demanding to be traded. Even Miami’s biggest fans admit that without Taylor the team’s success in 2008 will be a long shot. However, the 2008 Miami Dolphins get ready to play hard, anxious to reclaim the glory days of the 70s.
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