I dont agree with Joey being our guy at all. There are plenty of guys that can fill that spot. Who fills in for Jake Long if he gets injured? Or the entire offensive line for that matter? What about both of our safeties? Channing Crowder?

 

I think it shows you how much Star power we have on this team, these 5 guys getting hurt would hurt.

Jake Long..Ronnie Brown..Jason Taylor..Joey Porter..Ted Ginn..

 

Honestly I'd say it would be Jason Ferguson, Channing Crowder, or Jake Long.

Without Fergson or Crowder, our run defense would suffer. As much as some dislike Crowder, you have to admit we are much better with him than without him. Jake Long is a cornerstone to our offense line, he'd be a huge loss.

 

Chad Pennington. I know some of you will disagree, but I think this team would be lost without his leadership and mistake free football. I hope Henne is ready, but odds are against it.

 

Its Jake Long. With one of the top 2 or 3 LT's in the game any QB could rest a little easier knowing he's not likely to end up face down in the grass having just been smoked by some teams DE or OLB.

Id put Will Allen and Porter 2nd and 3rd at this point.

 

U lose more then a healthy strong ronnie brown if he gets hurt, you lose a whole formation that masks weaknesses, and completely changes the dynamics of a football game.

If Jason Plays like we think hes gonna play, with what his IQ can bring to this defense as a whole, I'll sacrifice Fergie for a combination of Starks and Solai. I understand, I do see him as important, because if hes not there, then we have a very inexperienced defensive line.. however, i just.cant rely on him as a crutch forever, and not moreso then what JT brings to the table.

 

I really disagree with sports illustrated. I think our biggest weaknesses are the OL (Long, Grove or Carey) and NT (Fergusen). The next group is W. Allen, CP or Ginn. Then Brown.

I wouldn't put Porter in our top 10 most indispensable.

 

Ferguson or Crowder would be a difficult problem to resolve for the Dolphins on defense if they went down
on offense: Pennington would be a tragedy & either Grove or Long would be a difficult obstacle to overcome
in order of importance:
1) Pennington
2) Ferguson
3) Long
4) Grove
5) Crowder

 

Id say its

1. Ferguson
2. Long
3. Penny
4. Brown
5. Porter/Taylor/Crowder(Losing any of our starting LBs is scary because our depth is unproven)

 

1. Long - Monster run blocker and good at pass blocking
2. Fergunson - I do not think the depth is good enough to be without him
3. Carey - I do not think the depth is good enough to be without him
4. Will Allen - Too much youth as depth. Big drop off without him in the starting line up
5. Ginn - He is the most consistant deep threat. Opens up the offense a lot.

Honorable mentions
Bess - the best posession, however Camarillo is still on the team and not that bad. There is also two rookies that may be able to pick up some slack

Brown - Most explosive runningback. However Cobbs and Williams are nothing to sneeze at and Lex may be able to provide some help as well

Penny - He is amazing. I will have faith in Henne

Porter - Wake, Anderson and Moses look like they may be able to pick up some slack and step up

JT - Same as Porter

Roth - Same as Porter and JT

Crowder - It was painful last year, however I am reading good things about Tobor.

Bell - Back up safties have been looking good in preseason

 

it is what it is: Pennington is the heart, soul & face of the Miami Dolphins.
he 's not only one of the top QB's in the NFL but our Captain-Player/Coach.
without him we are screwed.
better hope the Orca-5 is as good as I've been saying they are
or it could get very ugly on the turn of a down.
the Pennington Renaissance continues or we take a couple of steps backwards.

the #1 loss we could suffer & only loss we could not rise above in 2009: Chad Pennington

 

I'd say Jake Long we cant afford to lose.

 

think about it: Pennington

 

Henne?

Without Jake Long our line would crumble.

 

think again:yes:Henne is technically not ready to step up & could never replace the leadership of Pennington. We would take @ least two, maybe four or five steps backwards. We don't even know what Henne will actually do in a real game. He is as unproven as Beck & this #2 may be no better than Beck when the rubber meets the road. We just don't know. The longer Chad the Lesser spends as an understudy, the better for him & the team.
If we are to contend, we need a contender. Our team is in it's second year of rebuilding. think about it. Pennington is the New Miami Dolphins. I just hope the Offensive Line plays to expectation & he can lead the team through another magnificent season.

 

You're basically admitting that we have no idea what Henne would do. We could step back a little or a lot. If the OL was good though then we could protect him a bit with our running game. And short of CP dying he would still provide some leadership from the sidelines.

On the other hand we know that the step down from Long is huge. And it would cripple both our passing and running games. And ironically increase the odds that CP would get hurt.

So after thinking about it, I'd still say Long.

 

In the modern game (by which I mean since 1978 or so) the QB is by far the most important offensive player, and probably the most important player period. Young/non-statistically-minded fans could hardly believe that a team could run the ball eleven times for every pass it threw. But the Dolphins did that in the 1973 AFC championship (66 rushes, 6 passes, 27-10 victory over the Raiders).

That is completely impossible today. Passing is central to the offense in the modern game. So, the QB, who handles the ball every play and does almost all the passing, is critical. Therefore, if you are looking for someone you can't afford to lose, QB is the first place you look. Much more important than LT, though that's a very important position too.

That said, is there a huge dropoff from Pennington to Henne, at this point? Nobody really knows. Hopefully Pennington could contribute at least some of his smarts and leadership, which are the areas where he's really special, even if he was hurt.

The argument that Joey Porter is indispensable rests on a solid foundation. Pass rush is critical, and whoever is behind him is a big step down in that category. But let's face it, the NFL is a brutal place. Great players get hurt all the time, and they get replaced. Or as Clemenceau put it: the graveyards are full of indispensable men. Which is the same as saying that no one is indispensable.