Looking Forward: Who do the Dolphins resign?

January 6, 2009 · Written by: Butler

Alright I am back from a long break in posting, I had finals and then it was Christmas and then New Years. Along coupled with my superstition that not posting will get us to win. But I am back and hopefully I’ll get into my specialty that is the offseason.

We are starting to run a feature as we near closer to the Offseason Looking Forward to what the Dolphins will do this offseason. We’ll try to get in the mind of the trifecta of Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano. This segment we’ll be talking about who the Dolphins will resign.

The Dolphins have already resigned Patrick Cobbs, Greg Camarillo and Ricky Williams and their have been talks that Channing Crowder was talking extension earlier in the season that have been dead since preseason. The main free agents in the upcoming offseason are Yeremiah Bell, Vernon Carey, Renaldo Hill, Channing Crowder and Andre Goodman. Each are a little part to the improvement this season but not all of them maybe needed for next season.

First on the list of all that could get resigned is…

Vernon Carey

Percentage of resigning: 75%

Carey has been good this year but he has not been great like the Dolphins had expected him to, but being paired with a rookie guard on his side most of the time could contribute to that. Carey is very disciplined only having 2 penalties for 20 yards, but he did allow 4.5 sacks more than rookie Jake Long. According to Football outsiders runs to the right tackle and right end gained considerably more yards then the left side but that can also be attributed to the use of the wildcat.

Carey has never missed a game with an injury which is a plus for an battered line this year with both Thomas and Smiley going down. As mentioned in the Miami Herald, Carey could get 10 million guaranteed which is pretty reasonable for a tackle of Careys stature.

Carey has been here since he was the Dolphins 1st round pick in 2004, but the Dolphins might want a tackle who excels in both. But Carey has said he would love to come back to Miami, since he was a graduate of the University of Miami and went to Miami Northwestern High School. Bringing him back and possibly paring him with Donald Thomas again could create success if Thomas returns to the way he was in the first game and the preseason. Some depth maybe brought into make the line more injury resistant but Carey will keep his job if resigned.

Channing Crowder

Percentage of resigning: 40%

Although Crowder doesn’t get all the big plays, He certainly can get the tackles. He was the second leading tackler behind Yermiah Bell but he wasn’t fairly strong in anyother category getting 1 forced fumble and 6 pass deflections. I’m not trying to say Crowder is Ray Lewis but to compare him to an elite 3-4 ILB, Lewis has 3 INT, 2 FF, 9 PD and 3.5 sacks. Those might not be substantial increases in relation to Crowders stats but an INT and FF gets the offense back on the field 4 more times.

Crowder though has become a leader in the defense and is the play caller. And his prescence was felt when he was out against the Chiefs, The Chiefs basically ran all over the Dolphins and in somepart that was due to Crowder not being on the defense. But I think Crowders lack of stats can be attributed to his teammates around him, Roth overpursues far too much at the OLB position and Crowder has to make up for it by keeping the O-Line in key during pass rushes and when they offense is running it.

There are quite a few good ILB to be had in the NFL draft that could be at the Dolphins pick such as James Laurinaitis and Brandon Spikes another Florida MLB and theres good 3-4 talent in the free agent market such as Karlos Dansby and Eric Barton. But who knows if they can be as good of a leader as Crowder has already proven. But we know Crowder isn’t very happy with the Dolphins FO, so that decreases his chances of getting resigned along with the possible replacements out there.

Yermiah Bell

Percentage of resigning: 100%

Yeremiah has stated that he would love to be back to a place he has been his entire NFL career. Yeremiah has been the defensive star this year, Ireland signed Bell to a one year deal to see what he could prove and see if he could stay uninjured. And Yeremiah stayed healthy made a huge impact, He led the team in tackles and was second in passes defensed. He was very valuable to the secondary which wasn’t very good in the beginning part of the season but got marginally better as the season went on.

Bell is one of the unsung heroes of the Dolphins turn around his work ethic and play out on the field made the defense much better. He stopped plays from being massive gains and did what a Strong Safety is supposed to do and he might be one of the most underrated SS in the NFL. I see Bell going nowhere but Miami in the future.

Andre Goodman

Percentage of resigning: 50%

Goodmans contract is up in the air, He is 30 years old and although Goodman coming on strong at the end of the season we all know Will Allen is still the better ball defender. As well we know the Dolphins will go after secondary help this offseason leaving Goodman out of possibly a starting spot. So do the Dolphins let him stay in a system that he was successful or let him get a pay day elsewhere?

Goodman did lead the team and 6th in the NFL with 5 interceptions and 19 pass defensed, but will that transfer to next season. The Dolphins need to be sure not to overpay him, they need to get reasonable value for him. And thats a real question mark, Goodman hasn’t really commented on his situation so we don’t know what he wants. Its really a 50-50 shot at whether Goodman gets resigned.

Others:

Renaldo Hill: He more than likely will be let go.

Tyrone Culver: Could be brought back for Special Teams.

Brandon London: More than likely will be brought back, he is a special teams star and quite a talker.

Evan Mathis: Doubtful he will be brought back.

Quentin Moses: I would guess he would be back, but who really knows. He was inactive for the last game.

Ikechuku Ndukwe: He will probably be resigned as he has shown some promise on the line this year.

Looking Forward: Who could the Dolphins sign in Free Agency Part II

Dolphins Resign Bell

In unexpected news: Dolphins resign Crowder

Looking Forward: Who could the Dolphins sign in Free Agency Part I

Dolphins sign Gibril Wilson