Madden Franchise - Miami Dolphins Thread

[Dogphins]

MIAMI POUNDS PATRIOTS


The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots for the second time in 2 weeks,
sending the Pat spiraling out of the playoffs for the second straight season. Dolphins
RB Ronnie Brown was instrumental in the 37-7 win, rushing for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns.



Miami's defense also played well, restricting New England's Tom Brady to just 101 passing yards. The defense will
have their hands full next week when they travel to the RCA Dome to face Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

[Dogphins]

DESTINATION:
QUALCOMM STADIUM


Dolphins RE Jason Taylor celebrates after taking down QB Peyton Manning, as Miami stun
the Colts 34-27 at the RCA Dome. With RB Ronnie Brown producing another grand effort, with 175
rushing yards and 2 scores, the Dolphins will now head to San Diego to face the Chargers in the AFC Championship next week

[Brian Gumble]

This should be great game between San Diego and Miami.

[Dogphins]

BOUND FOR GLORY


The Miami Dolphins were propelled into Super Bowl XLII after WR Chris Chambers caught an 80 yard pass for a
touchdown with less than 20 seconds remaining to beat the Chargers 26-23 at Qualcomm Stadium. Miami will now face
the New Orleans Saints for a chance to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time since Super Bowl VIII.

[Dogphins]

2007 TEAM REVIEWS

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Record: 13-3 (1st AFC East) Playoffs: 3-1

W1: Won at New England 37-14
W2: Won at N.Y. Jets 33-25
W3: Beat N.Y. Giants 41-14
W4: Won at Buffalo 30-3
W5: Beat N.Y. Jets 28-14
W6: Beat Baltimore 14-11
W7: Bye
W8: Won at Pittsburgh 20-14
W9: Beat Cincinnati 40-35
W10: Lost at San Diego 17-33
W11: Beat Buffalo 52-7
W12: Lost at Dallas 27-34
W13: Won at Cleveland 41-7
W14: Lost to Indianapolis 34-37
W15: Beat Philadelphia 51-21
W16: Won at Washington 27-24
W17: Beat New England 31-18
----------------------------------------
AFC Wild Card: Beat New England 37-7
AFC Divisional: Won at Indianapolis 34-27
AFC Championship: Won at San Diego 26-23
Super Bowl XLII: Lost to New Orleans 31-35

Home: 7-1, Road: 6-2
Div: 6-0, Conf: 4-2, AFC: 3-1

TOTAL POINTS FOR: 523, ave= 32.7 ppg
TOTAL POINTS AGAINST: 311, ave= 19.4 ppg

OFFENCE

TOTAL YARDS: 8,142
TOTAL OFFENCE: 6,508 yards (PASSING: 3,585 yards; RUSHING: 2,923 yards)

PASSING: Daunte Culpepper: 174/347, 3,534 passing yards, 29 TD’s, 33 int’s, 50% completion, 74.5 passer rating, 220.8 yards per game, sacked 35 times (32 TD’s total, 38 int’s total)

RUSHING: Ronnie Brown: 387 att, 2,419 rushing yards, 17 TD’s, 6.2 ave, 151.1 yards per game, 132 broken tackles, 1,050 yards after 1st hit, 2 fumbles (26 rushing TD’s total)

RECEIVING: Randy McMichael (TE): 49 rec, 933 receiving yards, 8 TD’s, 19.0 ave, 58.3 yards per game, 280 yards after catch, 3 drops.
Kevin Curtis: 38 rec, 931 receiving yards, 9 TD’s, 24.5 ave, 58.1 yards per game, 156 yards after catch, 1 drop
Chris Chambers: 32 rec, 890 receiving yards, 8 TD’s, 27.8 ave, 55.6 yards per game, 188 yards after catch, 1 drop
(13 drops total)

BLOCKING: L.J. Shelton (LT): 123 pancakes, 4 sacks allowed

DEFENSE

TOTAL YARDS: 4,099 (PASSING: yards; RUSHING: yards)

MOST TACKLES: Zach Thomas (MLB): 61 tackles (sack, 2 big hits, int, 10 deflected passes, 2 forced fumbles)
MOST SACKS: Vonnie Holliday (DT): 16 sacks (42 tackles, fumble recovery, TD)
MOST INTERCEPTIONS: Travares Tillman (SS): 8 interceptions (53 tackles, sack, 5 big hits, 6 deflected passes)
MOST DEFLECTED PASSES: Jason Allen (FS): 14 deflected passes (53 tackles, 2 big hits, 6 int’s)
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS: Travis Fisher (CB): 1 TD (37 tackles, sack, 5 big hits, 4 int’s, 7 deflected passes, forced fumble). Will Allen (CB): 1 TD (40 tackles, 5 int’s, 12 deflected passes). Vonnie Holliday (DT): 1 TD
OTHER DEFENSIVE NOTABLES:
Channing Crowder (ROLB): 47 tackles, 7 sacks, int, 3 deflected passes, forced fumble
Kevin Carter (LE): 38 tackles, 7 sacks
Barrett Ruud (MLB): 35 tackles, 4 big hits, int, 3 deflected passes, 2 forced fumbles, fumble recovery
Dhani Jones (LOLB): 33 tackles, 10 sacks, 2 big hits, int, 5 deflected passes, forced fumble
Travis Daniels (CB): 42 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 int’s, 8 deflected passes, 4 forced fumbles, fumble recovery

KICKING: Olindo Mare (K): 31/31 FG’s (100%), longest FG: 55 yards

PUNTING: Donnie Jones (P): 37 punts, 1,623 yards, 43.8 ave, 13 inside 20, 1,416 net yards, 38.2 net ave, longest punt: 54 yards

SPECIAL TEAMS: Travis Minor (KR/RB): 61 kick returns, 1,409 return yards, 23.0 ave, longest kick return: 48 yards. Doug Gabriel (PR/WR): 21 punt returns, 193 return yards, 9.1 ave, longest punt return: 22 yards

WHAT WENT RIGHT:

The Miami Dolphins had a brilliant season in 2007, which resulted in them making the Super Bowl for the first time since Super Bowl XIX in the 1984 season. The Dolphins had to get there the hard way, fighting through the wild card round right to the AFC Championship and on to the big dance. The ‘Fins had to win two playoff games on the road to get there, including games at the Colts and Chargers; two very tough teams. The Dolphins also had 9 Pro Bowl representatives, with 6 on offence and 3 on defense, while Miami went 6-0 within their division and a very good 7-1 record at home.

One person who had just an outstanding season would be RB Ronnie Brown, who remained healthy after going down with a season ending injury halfway through 2006 and had a career best season in 2007. Brown led all RB’s in the NFL, rushing for 2,419 yards and 17 touchdowns. Brown averaged 151.1 yards per game and was unstoppable in most of them. The Dolphins were also the best rushing team in the NFL, ranking 1st in yards (2,923) and equal 2nd in rushing TD’s (26). Total yards equalled 8,142, which is ranked 2nd in the league, and led the NFL in total offence with 6,508 yards. QB Daunte Culpepper had another solid season for the ‘Fins, completing 174/347 for 3,534 passing yards and 29 TD’s (32 in total, ranked 6th). Miami’s passing yards amounted to 3,585, which is ranked 5th in the league. Miami’s offence only lost 2 fumbles all season, ranked 2nd in the league.

TE Randy McMichael led receivers in yards, with 933. McMichael had 49 receptions and scored 8 touchdowns. In his first season with Miami, WR Kevin Curtis became a deep threat and a favourite for Culpepper. Curtis had 38 receptions for 931 receiving yards and 9 TD’s. WR Chris Chambers came in third with 890 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.

Miami faired quite well on defense, yet did not have the strongest defense in the league. Miami’s 32 interceptions of opposing QB’s is ranked 9th in the league, while they allowed 4,099 total yards (ranked 7th). Miami gave up 311 points on the season, an average of 19.4 ppg and is ranked equal 10th. MLB Zach Thomas had the most tackles for the year with 61. Thomas also had 10 deflected passes and 2 forced fumbles, while team-mate DT Vonnie Holliday had 16 sacks as well as his 42 tackles. SS Travares Tillman had a great season with the ‘Fins, earning a spot in the Pro Bowl, finishing with 53 tackles, 6 deflected passes and 8 interceptions, while FS Jason Allen also made the Pro Bowl with 53 tackles, 14 deflected passes and 6 picks. Other defenders to have solid seasons include ROLB Channing Crowder, LOLB Dhani Jones and LE Kevin Carter.

WHAT WENT WRONG:

Obviously the 35-31 Super Bowl loss to New Orleans would be so heartbreaking for the ‘Fins. They came so close and fought hard to get there. However they are on the right track and just need to fill a few holes during the off-season and return in 2008.

The Dolphins’ 38 interceptions total was quite high and is ranked equal 28th in the league. Miami’s giveaways equalled 40, again quite high and ranked 22nd in the NFL. The turnover differential equalled -6 (ranked equal 24th in the NFL) with Miami only having 34 takeaways (ranked 20th). Miami’s 2 fumble recoveries is ranked dead last in the league, while the defense did not have that many sacks throughout the season, 53 to be exact and that is ranked 15th in the league.

WR Chris Chambers did not have as much of a productive season as he did in ’06. In 2007, Chambers had 890 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns, but was fairly quiet in the middle part of the season. There was no Miami receiver who went over 1,000 yards receiving. He was quite inconsistent throughout the season and was held well by Saints CB Mike McKenzie in the Super Bowl, to the extent where Chambers had no influence whatsoever.

2007 EARNINGS

TOTAL EARNINGS: $177.60M
MINUS NFL SHARED REVENUE: $118.15M
FINAL TOTAL: $59.45M ($38.75M in ticket sales)

TOTAL EXPENSES: $145.05M
NET INCOME: $32.55M

PRO BOWL REPRESENTATIVES: Daunte Culpepper (QB), Ronnie Brown (RB), Randy McMichael (TE), L.J. Shelton (LT), Rex Hadnot (RG), Vonnie Holliday (DT), Travares Tillman (SS), Jason Allen (FS), Lawrence Vickers (FB)

PLAYERS OUT OF CONTRACT:

Dante Wesley (CB): 75 OVR, $2.00M, 28 years old
Zach Thomas (MLB): 97 OVR, $28.0M, 33 years old
David Bowens (RE): 75 OVR, $1.38M, 30 years old
Deke Cooper (FS): 82 OVR, $1.75M, 29 years old
Damion Lewis (DT): 82 OVR, $3.90M, 29 years old
Gerald Sensabaugh (SS): 77 OVR, $1.20M, 24 years old
Seth McKinney (Ce): 80 OVR, $5.00M, 28 years old
Donnie Jones (P): 79 OVR, $690k, 27 years old
Olindo Mare (K): 99 OVR, $10.1M, 34 years old
Kay-Jay Harris (RB): 69 OVR, $540k, 28 years old
Rex Hadnot (RG): 92 OVR, $1.55M, 25 years old

WHAT THEY NEED FOR 2008:

1. Depth to WR Core – The ‘Fins played with only 4 WR’s in ‘07. It placed great pressure on the 2 main receivers (Chambers and Curtis), so look for Miami to add another receiver in the off-season.
2. Out of Contract players – Miami has a lot to think about with MLB Zach Thomas. Out of contract, 33 years old and will be asking for $30M+ for his next contract. Barrett Ruud is waiting in the wings, so it’s a tough decision to make.

TEAMS SCHEDULED TO PLAY IN 2008:

New England (twice), Buffalo (twice), N.Y. Jets (twice), Seattle, San Francisco, Arizona, St. Louis, San Diego, Oakland, Kansas City, Denver, Cincinnati and Indianapolis