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| | Friday, August 11 Dolphins: Diving into a new era | |||||||||||||||
| By Mark Cannizzaro Special to ESPN.com The leftover taste in the hooked mouths of the Miami Dolphins is not good. The last time they were on the field for real was the 62-7 thrashing at the hands of the Jaguars in the AFC wild-card game last January. Since that ugly moment, Jimmy Johnson stepped down and Dan Marino retired. So a new era is beginning in Miami, where Dave Wannstedt is now the boss and either Damon Huard or Jay Fiedler is the starting quarterback.
In this case, it's men in the spotlight -- Huard and Fiedler. Huard, playing in place of Marino at times last season, led the Dolphins to a 5-1 record in games in which he played most of the minutes. Fiedler, even less proven than the inexperienced Huard, is known as an accurate passer who'd spelled Mark Brunell in Jacksonville. One of the two must emerge in training camp and preseason and become the leader of the offense. Key position battle While you could make an argument for quarterback being the key battle, in this case we'll look at running back, where Miami has been trying for years to find a consistent featured back with no luck. J.J. Johnson rushed for 558 yards and a modest 3.7-yard average in an injury-plagued rookie season. With the troubled Cecil Collins gone, in an effort to hedge their bet on Johnson, the Dolphins signed veterans Thurman Thomas and Lamar Smith, and they hope speedy Autry Denson can become a third-down threat. They must make an improvement from the 90.8 average rushing yards per game and 3.3 average from a year ago. Biggest adjustment Life with Marino and Johnson, who often feuded, was difficult at times. With Wannstedt in charge and some rules relaxed a bit, this could be a plus for Miami. Wannstedt, a classy gentleman in a business where there are some questionable characters, does have a lot to prove considering his 41-57 record as the Bears head coach. Rookie report The Dolphins, who didn't have a first-round pick, chose Mississippi tackle Todd Wade in the second round. He's expected to compete for the starting right tackle spot. In the third round, they picked Colorado defensive back Ben Kelly, who could be an immediate contributor on special teams as a return man and in the nickel defense.
| ALSO SEE Bills: It's Johnson's job, for now Colts: Taking the next step Patriots: It's Belichick's team Jets: Plenty of room to Groh AUDIO/VIDEO   Mike Golic says that the pressure is on Damon Huard to replace Dan Marino.RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   Thurman Thomas has received a warm reception in Miami.wav: 205 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||||||||||||
