Eric Green Hits the Unemployment Line

When I mentioned in the preview of the Jags game that whoever made Troy "No Hands" Williamson look good was facing a demotion, I never dreamed that they may also be out of a job. But that is precisely what happened. Only two days after making one of the worst wide receivers in the league look like an all-pro, Eric Green was sent to the unemployment line.

The move is surprising in the sense Green was one of the bigger free agent acquisitions that the Dolphins made this year and they were so quick to dismiss him. Contrast that with last year's handling of Ernest Wilford whom they brought on to start at wide receiver and barely played a snap all year. In Wilford's case, it was evident he wouldn't be a big contributor to the team early on, however, he stuck anyway. Perhaps the investment in Wilford was simply too large to afford cutting him. Not so with Green, who was unceremoniously released following a single poor showing in the preseason.

The timing is curious. Why the hurry to cut a player at a position with seemingly so little depth? In my opinion, it was a move to send a message. Green played a terrible game against Jacksonville, allowing Williamson to make several big gains. Even the much-maligned Jason Allen performed better than him. With this move, Sparano sent every under-performing player on the squad an alarming message...

"Eric Green sleeps with the fish?"

Indeed.

HIGHLIGHTS: Jacksonville Jaguars @ Miami Dolphins Preseason Week 1

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Fins Bits: Jaguars @ Dolphins

The first faux game of the season is in the books and the Dolphins have a lot of work ahead of them. Even though they did have some success on the field and came away with a much coveted W, there was still plenty of slop on the field - and I'm not just talking about the pig pen formerly known as the Marlin's infield.

I will have some more in depth analysis later in the week, but for now, these little nuggets will have to suffice.

Quick Hits:

• Remember when I said that whoever made Troy "No Hands" Williamson look good during this game would be facing a demotion? Vontae, I'm looking at you... Good thing there are still three more faux games to redeem yourself. Unfortunately, VD2 isn't around any more to help you.
  

• Ricky was looking like Rikki-Tikki-Tavi out there slithering through defenders. Yoga does a body good.

• I have a feeling that millions of Dolphins fans will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following the aural assault that will be unleashed upon them throughout the season... Fins to the left, Fins to the right... Its been ONE game and I am almost going mad with this tune bouncing around my cranium. Throw in an auto-tuned version of one of the hokiest songs of all time, and its enough to drive any sane man absolutely bat**** crazy.

• Fear the Reaper... and the Redzone too. The Dolphins killed a few impressive drives with stupidity, miscues, and missed opportunities. You know Sparano won't stand for this kind of crap in such a crucial situation. Look for a ton of redzone work as they prepare for the Panthers next Saturday.
  

• Sean Smith, Mr. Fantastic. My pick for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Ya, it is probably the homer in me talking, but this guy looks good. He looked like the intended receiver during his picturesque pick in the endzone. One thing is for sure - he has put a super-sized stranglehold on the starting cornerback spot opposite Will Allen. It will take some pretty crummy performances going forward for him to lose it now.

• Chris Williams looked Looney Tunes out there on special teams. Roadrunner. Speedy Gonzalez. Take your pick. Anything but Pepe Le Pew - well, maybe in the first quarter, but he got it going pretty smoothly after a few hiccups there. Kid's got wheels. But does he have enough to stick on as WR given the competition? Which brings me to...

• The wide receiver competition is going to resemble an all-out MMA brawl pretty soon as guys near the bottom half begin to scramble for their lives. There will probably only be 5 spots for receivers on this roster. Ted Ginn, Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo should be safe. But that leaves Patrick Turner, Brian Hartline, Chris Williams and Brandon London battling out for the last two spots. That's some tough competition as each of them has been showing a lot of promise throughout camp and during the Jags game.

• Ernest Wilford goes to... the Endzone? Yes, it happened. Your eyes did not deceive you. Bad news? ITS FARKING PRESEASON! Don't expect this to save his job...
  

• Not bad, Chad Henne. He put together some nice little drives in there, although he did make his share of dumb plays too. But overall, he looked a lot more poised, even by preseason standards, than some of the turds the Dolphins have trotted out there in years past.

• Pat White needs to bulk up. While he is as quick as a cat, he is as scrawny as one too. Like Mr. Bigglesworth of Austin Powers' fame scrawny... He will have to add a few pounds of muscle to that frame if he ever hopes to become a viable NFL quarterback.

Overall, it was a decent first showing from the defending AFC East champs. Now, they must work on cleaning up some of their sloppy penalties and improve upon the strides they made in this game for their next faux matchup against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday.

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Fins Watch: 3 Things to Keep an Eye On Vs. Jaguars Preseason Week 1

As the Dolphins take the field for the first time in 7 months and 13 days (Hmm, any significance in those numbers, superstitious fans?), there are several story lines and positions worth monitoring as they gear up for the for-real games starting September 10th in Atlanta.

#1: Which player will rise up to claim the starting cornerback position opposite Will Allen?

Head Coach Tony Sparano has made it no secret that the "So You Think You Can Start?" sweepstakes is about to make its television debut and features a battle between highly-drafted rookies Vontae Davis, Sean Smith and veteran free agent acquisition Eric Green.

Unlike a largely scripted reality TV show, this competition will be won simply by the man who makes the most plays on the field and in camp during the next several weeks. The competition begins in earnest tomorrow night when each player will be given the opportunity to show their wares against opponents in a live game situation for the first time.

Outside of veteran Torry Holt, the Jags don't have many receiving weapons, unless you consider Troy "No Hands" Williamson a receiving threat, which this video surely proves otherwise. So this should not be much of a test for the trio of CB contestants.

If any of them allow for a big play by catch-challenged Williamson, they will face humiliation at the hands of a despondent British has-been on the judging panel. Wait, wrong show. They will feel the wrath of someone much more fearsome - Coach Tony Sparano. And likely a demotion as well.

#2: Is there depth at Nose Tackle?

In my opinion, this position holds the key to the entire season. If Jason Ferguson can remain healthy and effective, the defensive unit should be able to improve from last year's largely impressive performance to become one of the league's best. However, if anything should happen to Big Ferg, and no man is able to fill his massive shoes, the Dolphins defense could turn into leaky spaghetti strainer overnight.

The only insurance policy that the Dolphins really have on the dogged old vet is one of the last remaining artifacts of the Cam Cameron regime - Paul Soliai. At 6'4 and weighing in at an impressive 355 lbs., Soliai has the build necessary to man the keystone position on the defense. However, throughout his career in Miami, Soliai has remained an enigmatic presence. The coaches tend to break into song, performing a stirring rendition of Katy Perry's "Hot n' Cold", whenever they speak about the Samoan defensive tackle. He's hot and he's cold, he's up and he's down, he's in and he's out. If Soliai had wondrous cleavage like Ms. Perry, I might be more forgiving of his inconsistent performance, but alas he does not.

In addition to Soliai, the Dolphins hope that Randy Starks might be able to help fill the important role. Unfortunately, large sports utility vehicles filled to capacity with scantidly clad women are not eligible to assist him on the field of play.

Look for Soliai and Starks to get plenty of work tomorrow and throughout the preseason as the Dolphins will try to save the elder Ferguson for the regular season.

#3: The future of the Phins on display

Monday night might be our first real glimpse at the future of the Miami Dolphins - 2010 and beyond. Perhaps there is no more important piece of that promising future than one Chad Henne. Sparano has stated several times that Henne will receive quite a bit of work during the preseason in order to see how he handles things such as halftime adjustments and other dramatic scenarios that arise during an entire NFL game. Henne will receive plenty of work with the first team offense, allowing Dolphins fans to get their first real look at the offense of the future.

In addition to Chad Henne, the Dolphins faithful might also catch a sneak peak of Wildcat 2.0 or the WildPat / WhiteCat offense. It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins coaching staff will tip their hand during the preseason on how they might utilize their multi-purpose player, but the fans and media will be craving some kind of White Wildcat action. Even if he doesn't make his debut in the Dolphins' signature offensive set on Monday, White will see plenty of action at QB where he will likely play during the entire 4th quarter.

There will be a variety of rookies and young players making major contributions versus the Jaguars. It will be our first real look at players we all hope will become stars and major contributors for the Dolphins in the next few years. With exciting new players like Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, Pat Turner, and Cameron Wake to look out for, this should be quite an entertaining game for those hoping to see what the future has in store for the Miami Dolphins. Who knows, maybe VD2 might even make an appearance...

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So which player are you most looking forward to seeing in the Dolphins' first preseason game?

Out of the Office Until Tuesday

Fins FTW is shutting down for a few days as I have to travel up north to Big Sky Country to attend a wedding and visit with family. I won't be able to update the blog from up there. I still might be tweeting from my mobile if time permits.

Check out Tin's Fins blog for some great camp reporting.

I know this puts a kink in my training camp reporting, but I promise to have some great new content for you guys next week. I will really be ramping it up for the preseason and the start of the season.

For now, I will leave you with a word from the Miami Dolphins...