Posts Tagged ‘Pro Bowl’

Pro Bowl Preview

Saturday, January 26th, 2013

Cam Wake Pro BowlI know most people don’t care about the Pro Bowl and honestly I think the last one I watched featured Ricky Williams as the MVP but I haven’t updated Dolfans NYC much recently so I figured I should try to pretend to be interested in the Pro Bowl.  The Dolphins have a few players on the roster and as always I find the choices super questionable. So let’s talk about it.

Who made the team and who SHOULD have made the team?

Cam Wake is our only starter with John Denny the only AFC long snapper. Randy Starks and Richie Incognito also made the team as alternates after other players backed out. Reshad Jones, Mike Pouncy and Brandon Fields all should have made the team. Jones was one of the best safeties in the NFL this year much less the AFC. Pouncy out played his brother who is a Pro Bowl starter and Brandon Fields averaged over 50 yards a punt and was probably the best player on the Dolphins.

What happened?

The problem is that the Dolphins are not a great football team. Even with all their cap room and draft pics I doubt anyone has bet on the Miami Dolphins to win the Super Bowl next year. When you are an under .500 team you aren’t going to get any love from the Pro Bowl voters even if you have some really deserving players on the team. Hopefully our players will get a little more recognition next year when we finally make the damn playoffs. At least Fields was rewarded with a new contract.

Should you watch the Pro Bowl?

Eh, probably not. At least we are only three months from the NFL draft… sigh…

 

Brandon Marshall Wins Pro Bowl MVP

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Brandon Marshall catches a touchdown in the Pro BowlBrandon Marshall admitted he came into the Pro Bowl with the goal of winning the MVP award, calling it his Playoff game.

After catching a Pro Bowl record four touchdowns — two less than he had during the entire regular season — to go with 176 receiving yards, Marshall had his wish, driving out of the stadium with a brand-new SUV as his prize. Marshall joined Ricky Williams (2002) and Garo Yepremian (1973) as the third Dolphin to earn the honor.

Sure, Marshall’s impressive statistics can be viewed as meaningless when the two teams combined to score 100 points, but just look at the highlight-reel catches the Dolphins wide receiver made in the game. One TD came when he was able to keep his concentration after the ball sailed through two defenders and bounced off Marshall’s own foot. On his final score, he once again caught the ball in traffic, twisting his body in the back of the end zone and dragging both feet inbounds while being held by the defender.

When he was interviewed mid-game by NBC sideline reporter Alex Flanagan, Marshall wasted no time in crediting the Pro Bowl quarterbacks for making spectacular plays, simultaneously throwing every Dolphins signal caller under the bus.

“Down in Miami, getting a feel for different quarterbacks — had three or four of them throughout my two years there — and the (Pro Bowl) quarterbacks make it easy for me,” he said. “These guys are just putting it in the right places and I’m making the plays, so it’s easy right now.”

If you’re counting, the “three or four” Miami QBs would be Matt Moore, Chad Henne, Tyler Thigpen and Chad Pennington (for a few snaps), as well as J.P. Losman, for good measure. And just in case he wasn’t abundantly clear the first time around, Marshall reiterated that the Pro Bowl quarterbacks were responsible for his MVP performance after the game.

“Since Jay Cutler (with the Denver Broncos), I’ve had a few different quarterbacks, and being in the Pro Bowl, you have these elite quarterbacks you’re playing with,” he said. “It’s all them — they put (the ball) in the right spots and it’s easy for me to make the catch.”

It’s not that Marshall is factually wrong, since the five Dolphins QBs he’s played with were mostly mediocre. But Marshall didn’t exactly help matters, dropping 12 passes (officially) during 2011 season and making countless mistakes on the field. It should also be noted that Moore finished 12th in the NFL in Passer Rating, and that Marshall caught 59 passes for 901 yards and five TDs in Moore’s 12 starts.

It’s obvious that Marshall, as well as owner Stephen Ross and every Dolphins fan, want an upgrade at the QB position. But calling out his teammates on national television with a wide grin — especially since there’s still a chance that Moore could be back next season — isn’t the right time or place to make his point or help the organization in its search. Marshall’s acrobatic catches and record-setting numbers speak much louder than his words for any interested free agents.

Marshall also chose to praise former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano while referring to Joe Philbin simply as, “the new coach.” Make of that what you will.

“When you look at what Coach Sparano was able to do, the foundation was built. A lot of people don’t give him enough credit, but we have a solid locker room, high character guys and leadership there,” said Marshall when asked about the Dolphins’ future. “The new coach coming in, he’s inheriting a strong team.”

It’ll be interesting to see who that team will add to throw the ball to the never-outspoken MVP-winner.

Four Dolphins Named to Pro Bowl

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

We’re in the midst of that boring two-week stretch before anyone can bet on the Super Bowl, so we may as well talk about every football fan’s favorite game of the year – the Pro Bowl. Sure, plenty of undeserving players such as Derek Anderson, David Garrard, and Gus Frerotte have been selected in recent years and made the honor less prestigious, but it’s still a rare opportunity to highlight a few positives from the Dolphins’ season.

Dan Carpenter was a Pro Bowler in 2009. This year? Not so much.

Four Fins in all have been selected to the 2011 Pro Bowl – the most for the team since 2003 – offensive tackle Jake Long (who will not play due to injury), linebacker Cameron Wake, defensive end Randy Starks (replacement for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Brett Keisel), and long snapper John Denney.

It’s hardly a surprise that two Dolphins defensive linemen are making the trip to Honolulu, since Miami ranked sixth in total yards allowed per game (309.3) and 10th in sacks (39.0), while the long snapper is the only representative from the 30th–ranked offense.

Wake, the NFL’s sack leader (14.0) through 16 weeks, was dominant all year long , and should get some consideration for the Defensive Player of the Year.  NFL.com, however, list him on its “Which AFC player are you most surprised to see make the Pro Bowl?” poll, along with the league’s leading rusher (Arian Foster) and receiver (Brandon Lloyd).

Starks recorded 30 total tackles and to go along with 3.0 sacks, which was good for third on the team behind Wake and Koa Misi. For what it’s worth, Starks had 56 tackles and 7.0 sacks in 2009 and failed to make the Pro Bowl roster, so it appears that the NFL has gotten progressively worse.

With Denney as the long snapper, kicker Dan Carpenter has made 102 out of 103 extra point attempts and 76 of 94 field goals over the last three seasons (which would be higher if Carpenter wasn’t forced to attempt a ridiculous eight FGs over 50 yards last season).  I’m surprised team MVP, punter Brandon Fields, didn’t get any consideration while we’re at it.

The Pro Bowl will air on Sunday, January 30 at 7 p.m. EST on FOX.  Pretend that you’ll be watching.

The Super Bowl just can’t get here fast enough. Go Packers?

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