The Miami Dolphins finally selected a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft for the first time since 1983 (Dan Marino), taking Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill with the eighth overall pick.

As Commissioner Roger Goodell walked up to the podium at Radio City Music Hall and announced the selection last night, more than 20 members of DolfansNYC were captured by television cameras, cheering and chanting from the stands.

Check out the video below from NFL.com to see us singing the Dolphins fight song and showing our support for the aqua and orange in New York around the one-minute mark.

While Tannehill comes with a lot of questions marks – he incredibly started more games at wide receiver in college (30) than quarterback (20) and passed for 5,450 yards with 42 touchdowns and 21 interceptions – he also played under Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman for four years and has the size, arm strength and athleticism to become the franchise QB the team has long desired.

Asked about the inescapable Marino comparison, Tannehill called it “humbling” and said he’s looking forward to getting some tips from the Hall-of-Famer.

“He’s a legend and was a great quarterback for the Miami Dolphins franchise, and I’m excited to hopefully reach out to him and learn from him,” he said. “I don’t think I’m trying to fill his shoes – I’m my own player and I have a lot to learn and I’m excited to get started.”

We’ll have plenty more thoughts and analysis down the line, including whether Tannehill should be the opening day starter over Matt Moore, but for now, let’s all welcome the newest member of the Dolphins to South Beach.

Last night, newly-hired Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin participated in a teleconference call with the team’s season ticket members, and DolfansNYC had the opportunity to listen in on the interesting Q&A session.

During the 45-minute call, Philbin touched on a variety of topics, ranging from the team’s biggest needs in the upcoming Draft to his visions for the offense, openly asking the fans to have “faith and confidence” that he will deliver results in 2012.

*Philbin said he’s happy with three quarterbacks on the roster – Matt Moore, David Garrard and Pat Devlin – and praised Moore and Garrard for being proven, winning players. He did, however, note that the starting job is still a wide-open competition between all three QBs.

“We haven’t promised anyone anything,” he said, suggesting that the winner may be the player who learns the offense the quickest and exhibits the most comfort in the system.

*Regarding the Draft, in which the Dolphins have the 8th overall pick, Philbin disclosed the Dolphins are in final preparations and that the team’s biggest needs are at pass rusher and wide receiver (somewhat surprisingly, not QB).

“You can never have enough pass rushers,” he said. “Probably 30 teams out of the 32 are talking about acquiring pass rushers and guys that can put pressure on the quarterback.”

*As for Miami’s receivers, a topic which was understandably asked about several times during the call, Philbin reiterated he plans to develop the current corps on the roster — including Clyde Gates, Roberto Wallace, Julius Pruitt — but noted the Dolphins may still bring in a free agent.

*Phiblin hopes to take advantage of Reggie Bush‘s talent and versatility and use him at running back, as well as wide receiver, in different formations to create more mismatches for opposing defenses.

“With Reggie, we want to be multiple – we’re not just going to hand the ball to him,” he said.

*Philbin said while the West Coast Offense has a lot of unpredictability and that the ball will be spread around, the Wildcat is not a likely option.

*Philbin’s praised the coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, and revealed that the team will use a more collaborative approach in calling games.

“This is not going to be a one-man operation on any side of the ball,” he said.

*Philbin declined to predict whether the Dolphins will make the playoffs or his expected win-total, stating, “you’re never totally sure exactly what you have” with the roster.

“It’s a disservice, I think, to the guys that you coach to sit around here on April 3 and say, ‘We’re going to be a 7-9 team and that’s good enough, or 9-7,” he said. “We have a broader perspective at this point in time, but we’re excited about getting started, we’re optimistic.”

All in all, the head coach offered an intriguing inside look into the team’s plans and philosophy in the first of several calls that he, as well as owner Stephen Ross, will hold this offseason with Dolphins the season-ticket holders.

After striking out in their pursuit of Peyton Manning (never wanted to come to Miami), Matt Flynn (apparently low-balled by the front office) and Alex Smith (will likely now re-sign with San Francisco), the Dolphins turned to their fourth (fifth? sixth?) fall-back option: former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard.

A Pro Bowler in 2010, the 34-year-old was unexpectedly released prior to last season’s opener and missed the entire year with a herniated disc. He declined to sign with Miami last year when he couldn’t land a guaranteed contract, and his current one-year deal is, fittingly enough, fully non-guaranteed.

From 2007 to 2010, Garrard started 58 out of 64 games, completing 62.7 percent of his passes and sporting a respectable 71-to-41 touchdown-to-interception ratio. During the time-span, he also led all QBs with 1,109 rushing yards and tied for second in rushing scores (11). In 2007, Garrard led the Jaguars to an 11-5 record, throwing 18 TD passes and tying an NFL record with only three picks.

But again, he’s 34 and coming off major back surgery.

Through Garrard will reportedly have a chance to compete for the starting job with Matt Moore, the signing likely means the Dolphins will, finally, draft a QB in the first round, with Ryan Tannehill behind mentioned as the most likely possibility.

Perhaps just as importantly, Miami has a gaping hole to fill after the trade that sent WR Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears last week. The deal is more understandable now, given that details have emerged about Marshall’s inexcusable run-in with a woman in a nightclub, but with top-tier WRs Vincent Jackson (Bucs), Brandon Lloyd (Patriots), Mario Manningham (49ers) and Pierre Garcon (Redskins) headed elsewhere, it’s slim pickings on the free agent market. It’s unlikely the team could land restricted free agent Mike Wallace — especially since his Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Ryan Clark Tweeted that “no one” wants to play for the Dolphins, apparently because of GM Jeff Ireland (good times!) — leaving the likes of Brandon Edwards, Early Doucet and (brace yourself) Tedd Ginn, Jr. as the best players available.

Are you excited yet?

Perhaps we’ll know more about Jeff Ireland’s master plan within the next few days (hours?), but as it stands right now, the Dolphins have traded Pro Bowl WR Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears for two third-round picks. Miami, of course, gave up two second-round picks for the talented but controversial wideout two years ago.

It’s possible, albeit unlikely, that the move was done to clear salary cap space to sign Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Pierce Garcon, Dallas Clark, Marvin Harrison, Brandon Stokley, Qadry Ismail and every other past and present Indianapolis Colts pass-catcher who hopes to take his talents to South Beach.

If – at this point, let’s face it, when – Manning signs elsewhere, the Dolphins would conceivably turn their focus to Matt Flynn, as well as hopefully another top-tier WR to replace Marshall (as much as I like Davone Bess, Brian Hartline and Clyde Gates and all). And let’s not even think about what this team will look like if Miami strikes out there.

I’ll reserve further judgment until the dust settles, since as Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero reports, a team source said to “be patient” (possibly my two least favorite words).

Brandon 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.

Well this is it boys and girls… The end of another disappointing Dolphins season… but at least this year there are things to hope for. The team has played great of late and it looks like we have a pretty good running back in Reggie Bush. He is out for the Jets game but the future looks bright. If we can manage to get a QB and a new coach there is no telling what 2012 will bring for the Dolphins.  To start it off right we can help knock the Jets out of the play offs this weekend. No better way to start the year for a Dolphins fan in NYC. And if we lose to the Jets and the Redskins win it will go a long way to getting us a pretty good quarterback.

Anyway this week I know a lot of you will be tempted to stay in bed and crawl to your couch after a night of heavy drinking on NYE. With the game on TV it might make it hard for some folks to get to the bar. That’s why we are giving you a reason to leave your house for one more Sunday! We are going to say goodbye to the 2011 Dolphins in style!

We are going to have some sort of breakfast food waiting for you when you get to the bar. At the very least there will be bagels and Bloody Mary drink specials and we could have more stuff like eggs and bacon and delicious things to help you get rid of your damn hang over.

We are also going to be doing our last raffle of the year! We want to raise a little bit more money for charity so we are going to be getting rid of all the rest of the stuff that we have been holding on to.  Last night I went to Jay Fiedler’s 40th birthday party and he signed a couple items for me for the raffle. We also have a few Nat Moore autographs left over from the Nat More meet up. We also have some assorted things like a Jim Mandich t-shirt and some actual game day Dolphins socks! We might even have some Garo Yepremian signed stuff too. I have been told by one of Garo’s business partners that it’s in the mail but I am not sure if it’s gonna come in time.

No matter what we should have a great time on New Years Day and get to say goodbye to everyone for a while. But don’t worry, you won’t have to wait all off season to see everyone because we have some special events we are working on including a 1972 Dolphins reunion in North Jersey and of course our yearly draft party. Things are looking up! Go Dolphins!

Oh yeah and then there is this…

Michelle and I were lucky enough to attend the Raiders/Dolphins game at Sun Life Stadium last week. I was in Miami on business and Michelle was visiting her family. We got cheap tickets and got there early to tailgate. I got to meet up with the Deep End guys and met a bunch of local crazy Dolfans. Kyshawn from Dolfans NYC was there too and ended up sitting in the Deep End. Very cool. Next time I am in Miami I am gonna figure my way in there…

Anyway, I shot a roll of actual film at the game and I just got it developed. Check out real life 35mm film photographs of the amazing game below. RIP Jim Mandich.

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