ZachEY Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/football/story/950585.html Patriots inch ahead of Miami Dolphins with offseason moves The chase for a playoff spot and the AFC East title went to the final game last season, when the Dolphins leaned across the tape just ahead of the annoying, unrelenting Patriots. But the race for division preeminence that seemingly was won during the last week of the 2008 season somehow continues as we celebrate the spring of 2009. The Dolphins, again competitive and relevant after quenching a seven-year playoff drought, have not been allowed a victory lap after winning last season's race. The Patriots stripped the Dolphins of that honor because someone failed to inform them their pursuit should cease in the offseason. The Patriots instead have continued to chase the Dolphins, at times even passing them, as both teams already find themselves jockeying for position in 2009's marathon. You might argue that race won't start until the regular season. You might even argue it won't begin until training camp. Each time, you would be wrong. The Dolphins and Patriots already are running toward the 2009 finish line. They are adding and losing talent as we speak. They are scouting college players and planning their draft strategies. They are competing now and laying the groundwork for coming victories and defeats. The teams are locked in a sharpened elbows-throwing, heels-tripping back and forth that is entertaining, and even a little nerve-racking. The Dolphins had the advantage early. They enjoyed more salary-cap space and used it wisely to keep in-house talent. Big Tuna Bill Parcells and Tuna Helper Jeff Ireland re-signed starting offensive tackle Vernon Carey, starting strong safety Yeremiah Bell and starting linebacker Channing Crowder. It was expensive, but it was the right thing to do because the Dolphins, needing to plug holes elsewhere, didn't want to spring new leaks. The Dolphins upgraded in exchanging Renaldo Hill for Gibril Wilson during free agency. And Miami believes it improved the interior offensive line with Jake Grove, who must supplant Samson Satele and raise the level of center play to be worth his $29.5 million contract. The Dolphins this week also locked up Eric Green, a candidate to start at cornerback and lessen the loss of Andre' Goodman. That exchange feels like a net loss but only time will determine that. So the Dolphins have had a productive offseason during which they have improved their deep secondary and their offensive line while keeping important parts of the team intact. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the Patriots have kept pace, and in some instances, done better. While the Dolphins were chasing Green, the Patriots signed veteran corners Shawn Springs, who can still run like the wind, and Leigh Bodden, who is about as young as Green but also bigger and more accomplished, and who signed a cheaper contract. The Patriots have made no moves to improve their uninspired pass rush and, in fact, traded veteran Mike Vrabel to Kansas City in the Matt Cassel deal. So that remains an area of need in New England. But the Cassel-Vrabel deal brought the Patriots the 34th overall selection in the draft. Yes, the Patriots might have gotten more for Cassel, but Dolphins fans should be rejoicing they didn't. And it's bad news that New England has stockpiled four picks in the draft's first two rounds, compared to Miami's three picks in the same span. The Patriots lost personnel chief Scott Pioli to the Chiefs and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Broncos, and that will diminish the organization. But this is the same organization that survived the losses of Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and Charlie Weis without much problem. That brings me to another loss the Patriots survived last season. Tom Brady, you must remember, was not New England's quarterback for most of the year. The NFL's best player in 2007 missed 15 games in 2008 because of a knee injury. Brady is on schedule to return in 2009 because, you can be certain, the Patriots would not have traded Cassel otherwise. It tilts an inarguable advantage toward New England that any team would struggle to match. So, although it's early in this division race, the annoying, unrelenting Patriots find themselves today slightly ahead of the Dolphins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno the Jet Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 no wonder the newspaper industry is dying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonEJet Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Was that a term paper by a Univ of Miami student? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachEY Posted March 15, 2009 Author Share Posted March 15, 2009 Was that a term paper by a Univ of Miami student? While the concept may make sense for that, the article includes complete sentences and punctuation. So, I'd say no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Troll Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I think they "inched ahead of the Dolphins" the moment Tom Brady got healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroadwayJ667 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 boy the fish are gonna be sad when Chad gets injured this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.S. Dylan Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 no wonder the newspaper industry is dying... Seriously (no offense to EY) The first half of this article should have been edited out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/football/story/950585.html The Patriots lost personnel chief Scott Pioli to the Chiefs and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Broncos, and that will diminish the organization. But this is the same organization that survived the losses of Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and Charlie Weis without much problem. Somebody remind me how many Super Bowls the Pats have won since they lost Crennel Weis and Mangini.... Oh, that's right, a big, fat zero! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 yeah, the phags were such a juggernaut last season, how will anyone in the division ever catch them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachEY Posted March 15, 2009 Author Share Posted March 15, 2009 Seriously (no offense to EY) The first half of this article should have been edited out. No offense to me? You don't think I posted it because of how stupid it was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 yeah, the phags were such a juggernaut last season, how will anyone in the division ever catch them ? I don't know, they did go undefeated 37 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachEY Posted March 15, 2009 Author Share Posted March 15, 2009 I don't know, they did go undefeated 37 years ago. As much as this article is way over the top, I don't know how much Jet fans are allowed to mock other teams accomplishments around 40 years ago... It's all we've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMJ Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 As much as this article is way over the top, I don't know how much Jet fans are allowed to mock other teams accomplishments around 40 years ago... It's all we've got. Yeah, but none of our sports writers (as bad as they are) are touting us as better than the Patriots. The Patriots haven't inched past the Dolphins this off season, they inched past the entire NFL the very second Tom Brady was cleared to play. Not to mention they have their own 1st and two 2nd round picks (one being top 3 in the 2nd round). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klecko73isGod Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 As much as this article is way over the top, I don't know how much Jet fans are allowed to mock other teams accomplishments around 40 years ago... It's all we've got. Yes, but unlike they do with the Dolphins, the media does not have this bizarre notion that our long past success has some bearing on the current team's prospects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Jet Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 And of course the DolFAGS showed the rest of the league what kind of team they really were in the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Jet Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Yeah, but none of our sports writers (as bad as they are) are touting us as better than the Patriots. The Patriots haven't inched past the Dolphins this off season, they inched past the entire NFL the very second Tom Brady was cleared to play. Not to mention they have their own 1st and two 2nd round picks (one being top 3 in the 2nd round). A case of the rich getting richer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.S. Dylan Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 No offense to me? You don't think I posted it because of how stupid it was? Just coverin' the bases, man. By the way, it sounds like you took offense to me saying no offense, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachEY Posted March 15, 2009 Author Share Posted March 15, 2009 Just coverin' the bases, man. By the way, it sounds like you took offense to me saying no offense, haha. Ha. That would actually be closer to the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 "Inched" ahead of Miami? Bwaahahahahahhahahahahahha. I can't wait for Miami to win no more than 8 games in 2009. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno the Jet Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Yeah, but none of our sports writers (as bad as they are) are touting us as better than the Patriots. The Patriots haven't inched past the Dolphins this off season, they inched past the entire NFL the very second Tom Brady was cleared to play. Not to mention they have their own 1st and two 2nd round picks (one being top 3 in the 2nd round). not to mention they will likely get three compensatory picks (3rd, 5th, and 6th) http://forums.kffl.com/showthread.php?t=247418 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustInFudge Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Yes, but unlike they do with the Dolphins, the media does not have this bizarre notion that our long past success has some bearing on the current team's prospects. + 1. It a fascinating phenomenon. BTW, when I spell check your name, it suggest Geologist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.