So if you don’t know already Alex, Michelle and I went to “Web Weekend” an event put on by the Miami Dolphins that gets all the people around the world who run Miami Dolphins websites together.  We get free tickets to the game, we get a sideline pass before the game, we get to meet the coach and we get to do question and answer sessions with others in the Dolphins organization.  This year we got to talk to coach Sparano, injured draft pick AJ Edds, former Phin Sam Madison and CEO Mike Dee.  We presented Mike Dee with $1000 dollars that we as a group raised for the Miami Dolphins Foundation. The Dolphins seemed very touched by the Donation so I wanted to thank you guys again for all the support. Thanks for buying t-shirts and raffle tickets and that sort of thing. It helped a lot.

Michelle is going to be putting a Web Weekend video together and I have a feeling Alex is going to have something to say about the experience but for now you should take a look at my pictures from the trip. I uploaded them all to my personal website so you are going to have to check it out over there. Go Dolphins!

Third and Long was probably the least crowded it has been all year, that is to say it was only kinda packed. The holiday weekend and the Bears drubbing thinned the heard a little bit but there was still a big crowd and we had as much fun as we have had all year. The Dolphins finally won a game convincingly and we had a blast.

Now usually I get these pictures up earlier than this and when we win I try to get them up right away but I was so busy because I had to go out of town.  Where did I go? Miami. I am working as a photographer covering the Art Basel art fair in Miami and then going to the Dolphins game on Sunday.  I will have more on that later but the important thing to know for this story is that I grabbed the wrong USB cord and I could not get the pictures from last Sunday off my camera.  After shooting Basel for two days I HAD to turn in pictures to my editors at the Village Voice and the Miami New Times.  At 5 am I went to Wallgreens and they didn’t have a USB cord so I went to CVS.  CVS didn’t have them either. I was sort of panicked. I needed to get images to them by the morning or I might not get paid. I was about to give up when I saw some Miami Dolphins bracelets on the counter and bought them.  The clerk at CVS was pretty much the only guy in the store at 5 am and he was big Dolphins fan. I talked to him about how much we hated the Jets for a while and the I came up with an idea. I would buy a scanner, get out the USB cord and return it.  He told me he would do me one better. He would open it, pull out the cord and let me take it with me and return it.  He told me since I was a Dolphins fan he would trust me.  I thanked him for saving my life and ran out to the car and grabbed my computer and transferred all the files in the store right there.  The guy saved my ass.  I gave him a Dolfans NYC wrist band and he told me he would come up to see the Dolphins play the Jets in NYC one year. He said he has always wanted to do it.  This all just goes to show you that you can always count on the kindness of Dolphins fans.

Sorry. It is 6:15 am and I have slept two hours since I got to Miami two days ago. I am not sure that story really made sense as I am nodding out as I write it, but I just wanted to share that story with you guys before I went to sleep.  Enjoy the pictures from Third & Long last Sunday below.  Click to open them in a new window so you can download them.  Go Dolphins!

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So this week we go to Oakland without Brandon Marshall and a quarterback question.  Fortunately for us Oakland can be run on and if we are going to have a good run game all year this has to be it.  Henne is probably going to get the start which is scary because Oakland has a decent pass rush and Henne will be in a knee brace.  On the other hand if Thigpen starts he is 1-11 as a starter but his one win came at Oakland.  I really have no idea what to expect from the game but I just hope it is a lot more fun than last week.

I also wanted to thank everyone who came out last week, we raised over $500 for The Miami Dolphins Foundation. It was a big success despite the game. This week at Third & Long we aren’t doing a raffle or anything but we do still have Dolfans NYC shirts for sale (although we are out of Mediums). All of the money still goes to charity minus random club expenses.

Speaking of the shirts… did you guys see Dan Marino with his? It’s a pretty good look…

Next week I am going to be in Miami for the Cleveland game and then we have the big trip to the Meadowlands for the Jets game so I won’t be at the bar for a few weeks so I hope to see everyone at Third & Long this week. No matter how badly the Dolphins play everyone still has a good time until the fat lady sings.

Go Dolphins!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I was having a Happy Thanksgiving until the Jets just scored in the Thursday night game against the Bengals…

Anyway, last Thursday the Dolphins played a game that I don’t think anyone wants to remember.  What I do want to remember is that Dolfans NYC threw a really fun party at Third & Long and raised over $500 for the Miami Dolphins Foundation. The bar was completely packed and up until the Dolphins actually took the field we were having a blast.  It sort of went down hill after that….

At least the week ended on a high note with us getting to meet Dan Marino…

Enjoy the photos of the party below and click the gallery to open them in a new window if you want to save any of the shots.  Go Dolphins.

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Last Sunday is a day that DolfansNYC will never forget.

Through the help of Michelle’s coworker, we had the opportunity to attend a live taping of CBS’ “NFL Today.” We stood behind the set as James Brown, Dan Marino, Bill Cowher, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason went through the highlights at halftime of the early afternoon games. Once the cameras were off, we walked onto the set and took a picture with the entire cast.

And then, we had the chance to meet our idol, the greatest quarterback in Miami Dolphins history.

It was a little intimidating when my fiancée, Michelle, introduced me to her first crush. I felt like I needed to challenge Dan Marino to a throwing contest to win over her affections. Luckily, I thought better of it and excitedly shook his hand. After all, the man looks like he could still hit open receivers 50 yards down the field with his cannon arm.

“Is this for me? Can I keep this?” asked Marino after we gave him a DolfansNYC t-shirt. He thanked us for the gift, posed for a picture, and autographed our football, jersey, and photo.

As Igor said afterwards, it was an epic day.

With a short week and injuries to both Chad Pennigton and Chad Henne, Tyler Thigpen is in line to make his first start as a Miami Dolphin.

It’s probably safe to assume that most Fins fans don’t know all that much about the team’s newest quarterback.  He’s been the third-stringer behind Pennington, Henne, and (sigh) Pat White ever since he was acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs in September 2009, and had throw only one touchdown and three interceptions for Miami prior to last week.  In his most extensive game action to date, he threw two costly picks in a winnable game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 of 2009.

A mistake-prone QB going up against the Chicago Bears’ fourth-ranked defense that’s tied for the NFL lead with 14 interceptions on the season isn’t exactly a recipe for success, but that doesn’t mean that Thigpen can’t get the job done.

In 2008, Thigpen wasn’t just good in his final ten games for the Chiefs (we’ll conveniently ignore his first career start) — he was one of the best QBs in the NFL.  No seriously, take a look at these numbers from Weeks 7 through 17 of that season.

Only five perennial Pro-Bowlers and a QB playing with Randy Moss and Wes Welker at his disposal found the enzone more times.  The aggressive Thigpen threw the eighth-most TDs — three fewer than Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers — rushed for 386 yards and three more scores, and even caught a 37-yard TD pass.  Of course, the second-year player made his share of errors, and Kansas City lost 10 of the 11 games he started (though six of those contests were decided by seven points or less).  The spectacular numbers apparenty weren’t good enough for the Chiefs, who opted to trade for the marginally-better Matt Cassel and keep the legendary Brodie Croyle as the backup QB.

Last week, I speculated that Thigpen would get an extended look towards the end of the season to see if he can be the Dolphins latest QB of the future.  Miami hung on to him during the offseason despite getting plenty of offers, and instead cut ties with White, a 2009 second-round pick.  Don’t be surprised if the underrated Thigpen seizes the opportunity and establishes an immediate rapport with Brandon Marshall on Thursday night. 

At the very least, let’s hope he can make it through the game — I really don’t want to have to write anything positive about Patrick Ramsey.

So last Sunday was a great win and I think we had a lot of fun at the club. We finally had a game we could enjoy because we actually got up on them and could relax for almost a quarter. Unforutunately the injury news was grim and watching the Jets steal an overtime victory made the taste of the win a little bitter. The Jets keep winning games they should not win and it is insanely frustrating.  Chad Pennington is done for the year and we are going to be sending a severely banged up team into battle against a pretty decent Chicago Bears. I have a ton of friends from Chicago so I am hoping we can win to shut these guys the fuck up. I have a feeling some of them are going to show up at Third and Long but I’ll make them sit by the door…

I will make the announcement tomorrow or Wednesday but we have some surprises in store for you guys on Thursday. It will be a big party and we will be raising money for charity and hooking you guys up in the process so get excited for Thursday night football.

And let the football gods shine on Tyler Thigpen. Enjoy the photos from Sunday and double click the slideshow below if you want to save any of the photos.

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So what can I say? Last week was a disaster and I spent over $200 to attend the game in person. I watched it with a bunch of great DolfansNYC members that responded after I sent out a message last week so I am thankful for that, but being embarrassed at the game was not something I will soon forget. We got beaten in all three phases of the game and even the security guards were making fun of us. It was bad… but not as bad as the Dolphins.

Personally I cannot understand how we could not stop them from running running back dump off after running back dump off. At some point you would think Mike Nolan would have had someone mirror Rice after we got burned.  I have no idea what happened after we have been playing such good defense of late.
On special teams how could we possibly leave a gunner open and allow a punter to complete a damn pass? It was the only time all game we had forced them to punt and we blew it.

And our offense? Now that was something. After a fantastic drive to open the game we decided that we wouldn’t run the ball again. Dan Henning called one of the worst games of his career. We were empty back field half the game. We through something like 50 times and we didn’t start running play action until we were down by 16 with 2 minutes to go.

And the Dolphins solution to this? Bench Chad Henne. To me this is absurd. Henne missed an easy touchdown and he three 3 interceptions, but honestly two of those weren’t even his fault. Evidently he has 7 interceptions on the year that haven’t been his fault.  That is absurd. With the 8 would be INT’s that our defense has dropped we are talking about a -15 turnover margin caused by drops and miscues.  This team has a lot of problems but in my mind the answer is not benching Chad Henne.

That being said, I do think Chad Pennington can come in and lead this team. Henning’s horrible offense is built for Pennington and I think Marshall is going to love him.  Marshall and Bess are both the type of players you can dump short passes off to and Pennington is just the type of guy to throw to him. I think it will turn this team around.

Of course it will probably be the end of Henne in Miami and Pennington will get injured again or just get too old for this and we will have to start all over again trying to find a new guy when I wasn’t ready to give up on Henne.
And lastly the idea to bench Sean Smith for Jason Allen has turned out even worse than planned. Not only did we have some serious coverage issues with Allen in the game but after he got re demoted evidently he started complaining and asking to be released. So now he is playing for Houston and old man Al Harris is having to learn Mike Nolan’s defense.  I don’t exactly see a 35 year old man being a core four special teamer do you?

Anyway, I am going to stop bitching about this team. I love them and I really think they are going to win a bunch of games in a row starting with the Titans.  Yes, the Titans are coming off a bye but Vince Young is still banged up and Moss could just cause havoc in Tennessee. I really think we are due to win one at home and then our schedule gets a lot easier from here on out. If we can go 6 and 2 maybe we are back in this and I think Pennington if he stays healthy might just be the guy to take us back to the playoffs… but we are going to need some luck.

So, I hope to see everyone out at Third and Long this week. We need a big crowd to keep everyone in this. I don’t want to see the place start to thin out because we have lost a few games.  I know the die hards will be in the back with me, but we need to keep that place packed.

Next Thursday we are going to do some special event for the Thursday night game against the Bears… so put that on your calendar and get excited.

See you guys Sunday. Go Dolphins!

Like most Dolphins fans, I was surprised (somewhat pleasantly) by Coach Tony Sparano’s announcement that quarterback Chad Pennington will start over Chad Henne going forward.

A little over a year ago, when Miami started 0-3 and Pennington averaged only 138 passing yards per contest while committing four turnovers, the fans wanted him benched in favor of the up-and-coming Henne.  21 games later, there’s a growing sense of excitement about Pennington’s return to the field as a 4-4 team clings to its fading Playoff hopes.

According to beat writer Omar Kelly, the coaching staff felt that “Henne had become extremely predictable,” leading to decreased confidence in locker room.  Henne made too many bad decisions and committed far too many costly turnovers, throwing four interceptions without a single touchdown pass in Miami’s last two games.  Whether he’s still the Dolphins QB of the future remains to be seen, but it’s certainly not inconceivable that Tyler Thigpen will get an extended look later this year or during the offseason.

Offensive coordinator Dan Henning’s play calling has certainly raised a lot of valid questions, since his system has been more tailored to Pennington’s “water pistol” arm all along.  Henne averaged 6.9 yards per pass attempt and 10.8 yards per completion his season, both of which are below Pennington’s career averages.  After three surgeries on his throwing shoulder, Pennington doesn’t have the arm strength to throw deep passes, but then again, Henne has only two completions of over 40 yards in eight games.

One factor that can’t be understated is Pennington’s accuracy, which is miles ahead of Henne’s.  Pennington holds the highest completion percentage (66.1%) in NFL history among players with at least 1,000 pass attempts, and led the NFL in that category during his last full season in 2008 (67.4%).  He has the 12th-best career Passer Rating (90.1), and ranked second in the league behind Phillip Rivers two years ago.  While Henne has thrown four more INTs than TDs, Pennington has nearly twice as many scores as picks over 11 years (though it should be noted that he threw four costly INTs against the Ravens in Miami’s last Playoff game).

It’ll be interesting to see how the 34-year-old fares against the Tennessee Titans defense, which has given up the 10th most passing yards but leads the league with 3.3 sacks per game.   If Pennington improbably leads Miami back into the postseason, he deserves to win an unprecedented third Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Normally I take today to post pictures from the last Dolfans NYC meet up, but since I was at the game in Baltimore getting embarrassed by my team I don’t have club pictures to post. Instead I am going to post some questions I have for Dan Henning. Tomorrow is his media availability day and I have some questions for the guy. The press loves Henning because he is so charming when he talks to them, but they rarely get to the bottom of what the fuck he is doing out there. Today I woke up to find out that Henne was benched, which I think is a terrible idea. The real culprit behind this mediocrity is Dan Henning. He is the guy who needs to be benched.

• Why the hell do you go empty backfield on third and short all the time?
• Why have you stopped giving Polite the ball on 3rd and 1? I know he missed ONE 3rd and 1, but thats one out of 25.
• Why do you not keep handing the ball to the running back who is actually gaining yards?
• Why did it take you twice as long as we did to realize the Wild Cat isn’t working anymore?
• Why during the Baltimore game did you have a 10 play drive without handing off once?
• Why down 16 points with 3 minutes to go did you start running play action?

Seriously, our offense is garbage not because of Henne, but because of Henning. He is putting our players in a position to fail. Pennington might fare better than Henne, but it won’t be because he is a better quarterback. It will be because he is experienced enough and smart enough to play within this horrible system that Henning has created.  Everyone gives Henning all this credit for the brilliance of the Wild Cat, but that was all David Lee.  Let’s put David Lee in charge and send Henning to the nursing home.

What questions would you have for Henne if you were at his press conference tomorrow?