The Top (Bottom) 10 List

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The Top (Bottom) 10 List

QB: Fiedler, Lucas, Rosenfels

RB: Williams, Konrad, Minor, Edwards

WR: Chambers, Gadsden, Ward, McKnight

TE: McMichael, Weaver, Perry

OL: Dixon, Nails, Ruddy, Perry, Wade, Searcy, Spriggs, McKinney

DL: Taylor, Bowens, Chester, Ogunleye, Haley, Williams, Burnett, Bowens

LB: Thomas, Rodgers, Greenwood, Hendricks

DB: Madison, Surtain, Marion, Freeman, Fletcher

K/P: Mare, Royals

LB: Galyon (+), Russell

DB: Wooden (+), Gamble, Lowe

K/P: -----------

Questionable (6)

DL: Taylor, Grant

LB: Symonette (+)

DB: Green (+), McGarrahan

K/P: -----------

DB: Donaldson (-)

K/P: -----------

Little/No Chance (6)

K/P: -----------

*Note: Attached to these roster chances is the assumption that every player currently off IR will open the season healthy. Right now, only DE David Bowens is expected to miss the season opener.

Assuming my 41 "locks" and 8 "probables" make the squad, lets look at the final 10 vying for four roster spots:

1) DT Henry Taylor. In a 3-way battle between Taylor, Ernest Grant, and Dario Romero, all I can say about this guy is that he "doesn’t suck the most!". It’s a photo finish, but Taylor should have the inside edge on the 4th DT spot. Odds: Questionable (+)

2) LB Joshua Symonette. For reasons that I will never understand, Dave Wannstedt wants to keep 7 LB’s on the roster. However, it should be noted that those reports may prove to be inaccurate when the final cuts are made. Of all the training camp bodies, Symonette has been the most active. Odds: Questionable (+)

3) CB Ray Green. This 6-3, 195 pound special teamer will be difficult to let go, especially with Omare Lowe still missing in action. Odds: Questionable (+)

4) FB Obamefi Ayanbadejo. Until Thursday night, this former Raven served as nothing more than a reminder to Rob Konrad and Deon Dyer. After racking up 63 total yards in the fourth quarter against the Bears, he may have won himself a roster spot in the process. Odds: Questionable

5) S Scott McGarrahan. The return of Trent Gamble has McGarrahan skating on this ice. This guy has always been a special teams star and may be too valuable to just let go. Odds: Questionable

6) DT Ernest Grant. I’ve never been a big fan of Grant’s. He gets very little penetration on passing downs and fails to use leverage to his advantage against the run; he’s just big. Odds: Questionable

7) WR Jeff Ogden. I see absolutely no benefit of having Jeff Ogden on the roster. Albert Johnson has outperformed him as a PR and WR. If Robert Baker was cut in favor of this guy, something is wrong. Odds: Doubtful (+)

8) CB Cedric Donaldson. A guy that hasn’t stood out, yet has been consistent in the second half of games. Odds: Doubtful

9) DT Dario Romero. A prime example of why fourth-quarter pre-season football is so depressing. Romero was making a late push for the #4 DT spot before getting flattened against the Bears. Odds: Doubtful

10) OT Greg Jerman. He had a chance to make the roster when Searcy was reported out for the season. He still has a shot at beating out Troy Andrew for the ninth and OL spot, but that’s unlikely. Odds: Doubtful

QB: Fiedler, Lucas, Rosenfels

RB: Williams, Konrad, Minor, Edwards, Dyer

WR: Chambers, Gadsden, Ward, McKnight, Johnson

TE: McMichael, Weaver, Perry

OL: Dixon, Nails, Ruddy, Perry, Wade, Searcy, Spriggs, McKinney, Andrew

DL: Taylor, Bowens, Chester, Ogunleye, Williams, Haley, Burnett, Bowens, H. Taylor

LB: Thomas, Rodgers, Greenwood, Hendricks, Russell, Galyon, Symonette

CB: Madison, Surtain, Fletcher, Lowe, Green

S: Marion, Freeman, Wooden, Gamble, McGarrahan

K/P: Mare, Royals

Practice Squad: RB Leonard Henry, WR Sam Simmons, OT Greg Jerman, DT Dario Romero, CB Cedric Donaldson.

A few passing thoughts:

* Ray Lucas’ play this pre-season has replicated what I’ve always said about him. He’s not going to win a QB competition in practice, but he has a certain confidence about himself when the lights come on.

* Ricky Williams is the real deal. It’s the just a question of whether or not we have the players in front of him to block.

* Two players you aren’t hearing enough about: WR Oronde Gadsden and P Mark Royals. I didn’t have high hopes for them heading into these exhibition games, but they’ve looked pretty darn good.

* Going from Gary Stevens and Kippy Brown to Norv Turner is like going from a sailboat to the Titanic. His playcalling has been great and it should get even better.

* DE Adewale Ogunleye is the real deal. Rob Johnson behind a 3rd string Bucs OL may have been an invitation for a breakout performance, but beating James "Big Cat" Williams and Bernard Robertson for two sacks and a FF is something to be said. This is no geek off the street. This was an emerging star at Indiana before an injury threatened his career. Can O-Gun finally replace Trace Armstrong? I actually believe he could be better because he could give the Dolphins another 3-down DE capable of a double-diget sack season. Jim Bates, love him or hate him, relies on his front four to pressure the QB; this year, he may get his wish.

* The Dolphins really should scour the free agent market for another CB. Fletcher is doing okay, but the defense is one injury away from putting Ray Green or Omare Lowe on the field in 60% of the time. A few names to keep your eye on after Sunday: Jimmy Hitchcock, Ken Irvin, Rodney Heath, Danion Sidney, Terrance Shaw, Pat Dennis, Donovon Greer.

* You can whine and complain about what you’ve seen thus far in pre-season, but two bright spots go by the names Ogunleye and McMichael. They are now entrenched at RE and TE, two positions that appeared to be in dire straights a month ago.

* Thought I see a multitude of reasons that we can go all the way this season, I’m looking at two things that could cause our ultimate demise: the trenches and the expectations. I am not impressed with the interiors of our offensive and defensive lines and I wonder how this team will react to adversity in a season where anything less than a Super Bowl is a disappointment.


	Moved \| home The Top (Bottom) 10 List Updated 08/31/02 Locks (41) QB: Fiedler, Lucas, Rosenfels RB: Williams, Konrad, Minor, Edwards WR: Chambers, Gadsden, Ward, McKnight TE: McMichael, Weaver, Perry OL: Dixon, Nails, Ruddy, Perry, Wade, Searcy, Spriggs, McKinney DL: Taylor, Bowens, Chester, Ogunleye, Haley, Williams, Burnett, Bowens LB: Thomas, Rodgers, Greenwood, Hendricks DB: Madison, Surtain, Marion, Freeman, Fletcher K/P: Mare, Royals Probable (8) QB: ----------- RB: Dyer WR: Johnson (+) TE: ----------- OL: Andrew DL: ----------- LB: Galyon (+), Russell DB: Wooden (+), Gamble, Lowe K/P: ----------- Questionable (6) QB: ----------- RB: Ayanbadejo WR: ----------- TE: ----------- OL: ----------- DL: Taylor, Grant LB: Symonette (+) DB: Green (+), McGarrahan K/P: ----------- Doubtful (4) QB: ----------- RB: ----------- WR: Ogden (+) TE: ----------- OL: Jerman DL: Romero LB: ----------- DB: Donaldson (-) K/P: ----------- Little/No Chance (6) QB: ----------- RB: Henry WR: ----------- TE: Draper OL: Pierce DL: Kelly LB: ----------- DB: Moore K/P: ----------- Note: Attached to these roster chances is the assumption that every player currently off IR will open the season healthy. Right now, only DE David Bowens is expected to miss the season opener. Assuming my 41 "locks" and 8 "probables" make the squad, lets look at the final 10 vying for four roster spots:* 1) DT Henry Taylor. In a 3-way battle between Taylor, Ernest Grant, and Dario Romero, all I can say about this guy is that he "doesn’t suck the most!". It’s a photo finish, but Taylor should have the inside edge on the 4th DT spot. Odds: Questionable (+) 2) LB Joshua Symonette. For reasons that I will never understand, Dave Wannstedt wants to keep 7 LB’s on the roster. However, it should be noted that those reports may prove to be inaccurate when the final cuts are made. Of all the training camp bodies, Symonette has been the most active. Odds: Questionable (+) 3) CB Ray Green. This 6-3, 195 pound special teamer will be difficult to let go, especially with Omare Lowe still missing in action. Odds: Questionable (+) 4) FB Obamefi Ayanbadejo. Until Thursday night, this former Raven served as nothing more than a reminder to Rob Konrad and Deon Dyer. After racking up 63 total yards in the fourth quarter against the Bears, he may have won himself a roster spot in the process. Odds: Questionable 5) S Scott McGarrahan. The return of Trent Gamble has McGarrahan skating on this ice. This guy has always been a special teams star and may be too valuable to just let go. Odds: Questionable 6) DT Ernest Grant. I’ve never been a big fan of Grant’s. He gets very little penetration on passing downs and fails to use leverage to his advantage against the run; he’s just big. Odds: Questionable 7) WR Jeff Ogden. I see absolutely no benefit of having Jeff Ogden on the roster. Albert Johnson has outperformed him as a PR and WR. If Robert Baker was cut in favor of this guy, something is wrong. Odds: Doubtful (+) 8) CB Cedric Donaldson. A guy that hasn’t stood out, yet has been consistent in the second half of games. Odds: Doubtful 9) DT Dario Romero. A prime example of why fourth-quarter pre-season football is so depressing. Romero was making a late push for the #4 DT spot before getting flattened against the Bears. Odds: Doubtful 10) OT Greg Jerman. He had a chance to make the roster when Searcy was reported out for the season. He still has a shot at beating out Troy Andrew for the ninth and OL spot, but that’s unlikely. Odds: Doubtful The Final 53: QB: Fiedler, Lucas, Rosenfels RB: Williams, Konrad, Minor, Edwards, Dyer WR: Chambers, Gadsden, Ward, McKnight, Johnson TE: McMichael, Weaver, Perry OL: Dixon, Nails, Ruddy, Perry, Wade, Searcy, Spriggs, McKinney, Andrew DL: Taylor, Bowens, Chester, Ogunleye, Williams, Haley, Burnett, Bowens, H. Taylor LB: Thomas, Rodgers, Greenwood, Hendricks, Russell, Galyon, Symonette CB: Madison, Surtain, Fletcher, Lowe, Green S: Marion, Freeman, Wooden, Gamble, McGarrahan K/P: Mare, Royals Practice Squad: RB Leonard Henry, WR Sam Simmons, OT Greg Jerman, DT Dario Romero, CB Cedric Donaldson. A few passing thoughts: * Ray Lucas’ play this pre-season has replicated what I’ve always said about him. He’s not going to win a QB competition in practice, but he has a certain confidence about himself when the lights come on. * Ricky Williams is the real deal. It’s the just a question of whether or not we have the players in front of him to block. * Two players you aren’t hearing enough about: WR Oronde Gadsden and P Mark Royals. I didn’t have high hopes for them heading into these exhibition games, but they’ve looked pretty darn good. * Going from Gary Stevens and Kippy Brown to Norv Turner is like going from a sailboat to the Titanic. His playcalling has been great and it should get even better. * DE Adewale Ogunleye is the real deal. Rob Johnson behind a 3rd string Bucs OL may have been an invitation for a breakout performance, but beating James "Big Cat" Williams and Bernard Robertson for two sacks and a FF is something to be said. This is no geek off the street. This was an emerging star at Indiana before an injury threatened his career. Can O-Gun finally replace Trace Armstrong? I actually believe he could be better because he could give the Dolphins another 3-down DE capable of a double-diget sack season. Jim Bates, love him or hate him, relies on his front four to pressure the QB; this year, he may get his wish. * The Dolphins really should scour the free agent market for another CB. Fletcher is doing okay, but the defense is one injury away from putting Ray Green or Omare Lowe on the field in 60% of the time. A few names to keep your eye on after Sunday: Jimmy Hitchcock, Ken Irvin, Rodney Heath, Danion Sidney, Terrance Shaw, Pat Dennis, Donovon Greer. * You can whine and complain about what you’ve seen thus far in pre-season, but two bright spots go by the names Ogunleye and McMichael. They are now entrenched at RE and TE, two positions that appeared to be in dire straights a month ago. * Thought I see a multitude of reasons that we can go all the way this season, I’m looking at two things that could cause our ultimate demise: the trenches and the expectations. I am not impressed with the interiors of our offensive and defensive lines and I wonder how this team will react to adversity in a season where anything less than a Super Bowl is a disappointment.