Miami
Dolphins

Dolphins Team Report

Updated: February 09, 2012 11:37 EST

New Dolphins coach Joe Philbin has spent the past five years orchestrating a high-octane west coast offense in Green Bay, so does he plan to bring that style of attack to Miami?

"I've been in the west coast system for nine years and I'm still not sure what that means," Philbin said. "With that being said, I think it's a mistake to take the Green Bay Packers playbook and plop it on the table here in South Florida.

"One of your responsibilities in coaching is to put your players in the best position to succeed. We have to learn more about our players and learn what they do well, and hide what they don't do well."

Philbin said he'll formulate more of a plan - west coast or pro sets, 3-4, 4-3 or multiple defensive schemes - once he puts together a staff of assistants together, and once they've thoroughly examined and tinkered with the personnel.

The Dolphins already have most of the pieces a west coast offense would need.

Reggie Bush is the quick, shifty tailback who can produce yards running the ball, or catching passes out of the backfield. He's under contract for one more season.

West coast offenses typically use a fullback and Charles Clay contributed 233 yards and three touchdowns on 16 catches his rookie season, but he wasn't used as a lead blocker.

Brandon Marshall says he "was raised in a west coast offense," referring to his Denver days playing for Mike Shanahan.

Davone Bess and Brian Hartline have both been productive in two different offenses, and tight end Anthony Fasano had his third straight productive season.

All that's missing is the quarterback to execute a west coast offense, and owner Steve Ross is adamant about finding a quarterback better than Matt Moore, who produced an 87.1 passer rating in his 12 starts last season after being elevated from his backup role.

"I'm looking for a franchise quarterback," Ross said. "That's the highest thing on our agenda."

Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn are on Miami's radar if they become unrestricted free agents, but there's no guarantee the Dolphins will land their quarterback. Manning will select his next team once the Colts release him, and Flynn, who has spent four years learning under Philbin as Aaron Rodger's backup, will play for the highest bidder.

If that's not the Dolphins then expect General manager Jeff Ireland to take an all-in approach to select Baylor's Robert Griffin III or Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill in the first round of the 2012 draft.

Ireland, who played at Baylor, has a high opinion of Griffin, and would likely trade a serious amount of assets to St. Louis or Minnesota to acquire him. Tannehill started at quarterback for two years under Mike Sherman, the Dolphins' new offensive coordinator, who was fired as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator after the 2011 season.

The only major free agents the Dolphins have are offensive linemen Marc Colombo, Vernon Carey and Lydon Murtha. Considering how poorly the offensive line performed last season - leading the NFL in sacks per pass play - expect the right side of the offensive line to be rebuilt.

That means Colombo, the starting right tackle, and Carey, the starting right guard, will likely be signed elsewhere. However, Murtha, who is a restricted free agent, will likely be re-signed, and could be put in position to serve as the starting right tackle.

The Dolphins need to fortify the offensive line no matter what quarterback gets added because the offense won't improve until that unit's blocking does.

--Don't expect nose tackle Paul Soliai to receive the franchise tag for the second season from the Dolphins. Soliai, who was selected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2012, will likely become an unrestricted free agent in 2012 because the Dolphins are unwilling to pay him the 20 percent raise he'd receive if franchised for a second season, which would make his 2012 salary in the neighborhood of $15 million.

"I don't get a lot of stats, but we finished third against the run (in 2012) and that's the only number that matters to me," Soliai said, referring to his unit holding opponents to 3.7 yards per carry.

--Former Dolphins and Jets starting quarterback Chad Pennington is finally healthy enough to resume his playing career, but he told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he's likely thrown his last NFL pass.

Pennington, who threw for 17,823 yards and 102 touchdowns during his career, plans to continue broadcasting games for FOX Sports instead of attempting his fourth comeback.

"It doesn't make sense for me to come back and try to play," said Pennington, who played two snaps in 2010 before tearing his labrum. "I know I can get healthy. I know I can be ready for training camp and do all those things. But can I take a hit? After four shoulder surgeries, that's a question that's hard to answer right now. That's something that's out of my control. I can control being strong enough, accurate enough, and smart enough. But I can't control not being able to take a hit in the wrong angle."

--What attracted the Dolphins to Joe Philbin was his plan to revitalize the Dolphins' offense, producing a more aggressive offensive approach, one that mimics the Dan Marino era. Ross hopes an aggressive offense will win back the fan base, boosting sagging ticket sales.

"The offenses he took over were so impressive, no matter the level he was at," Ireland said. "His body of work over a long period of time has been impressive. Going undefeated at Harvard, the championship (he won) at Allegheny (College), and his time in Green Bay."

--The Dolphins used a second-round pick to draft Koa Misi in 2010, and despite starting 20 of the 28 games he's played during his first two NFL seasons this former Utah standout has only contributed 5.5 sacks.

"Koa has done a nice job. He's played the Sam linebacker position for us. Koa has got a lot of versatility. I really like the way he's developing. It's unfortunate that he got hurt at the end of the season because I saw some growth in him there late," Ireland said. "We just got to see where he continues to grow. But he's got to get better."

--One of the team's top priorities this offseason is to find a better pass-rushing complement for Cameron Wake, who is losing Jason Taylor, and the seven sacks he provided, to retirement.

"Pressure players are the core to every defense and you can't have enough of those guys," Ireland said. "Look at the New York Giants. They have three or four of those guys who can get after you. You certainly got to find them, put them in the game, and let them go. We've got a few, but not enough."

--The Dolphins haven't hidden the fact their primary goal this offseason is to find a starting quarterback who could outperform Moore. But Ireland is insistent Miami can find that type of quarterback without using an early first-round pick on the position.

"Aaron Rodgers was the 22nd pick in the draft. Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick and Tony Romo was a free agent. There are guys out there. We just have to find them," he said. "We need a quarterback that can get us over the hump. There's no doubt about it, but we're going to research that position like every other position."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're not where we were in 2008 when we turned over 29 players out of the 53. Are we rebuilding? I do not believe so. Are we continuing to build? Yes. We are building. We're going to build around what Joe Philbin's vision is and it's a collaborative effort with what I'm looking for. I like some core pieces to this roster. We'll make changes, but we're trying to put together a championship team." - Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland.

The Chad Henne era in Miami is over.

When Matt Moore turned in a 87.1 passer rating in his 12 starts last season, producing a 6-6 record with the same weaponry Henne's had the past two seasons, the Dolphins were shown the light.

The team's 2008 second-round pick was more of a dud than stud.

Henne, who produced a 75.7 passer rating, is an unrestricted free agent, and will be allowed to sign elsewhere.

This spring Henne, a four-year starter at Michigan, should be fully recovered from his left shoulder surgery that derailed his 2012 season after four starts.

"Chad has done what we've asked him to do. I like Chad personally very well. He's very smart. Very intelligent. Very tough. A football guy. He loves being around the game and is a very good teammate," Ireland said. "But this football team didn't win enough games when he was quarterback here. But that doesn't mean he did everything wrong, or right ... If he goes somewhere else, Chad's a good football player. He can play in this league."

MEDICAL WATCH

--LT Jake Long missed the final three games because of a torn biceps, but general manager Jeff Ireland said the franchise left tackle should be healthy enough to participate in the offseason program when it starts in April.

--WR Davone Bess sprained his left MCL and is wearing a brace, but the Dolphins opted not to perform a surgical procedure. The timetable on Bess' recovery is unknown.

--OT Lydon Murtha missed all of 2011 because he tore ligaments and tendons in a toe on his right foot. Murtha will begin training on his own next month.