By: Adam Silverstein

July 2, 2009

By madcanad18
PhinsCENTRAL Moderator

Week 15: at Tennessee Titans (Sun. Dec. 20 – 1:00 p.m.)
Dolphins’ defense squares off against Titans’ rushing attack

Tennessee Titans 2008 season facts and stats:
Record: 13-3; Division: 1st in AFC South
Offense: 23.4 pts/g (T-14th in NFL); 313.6 yds/g (21st in NFL)
Defense: 14.6 pts/g (2nd); 293.6 yds/g (7th)
Turnovers: 31 takeaways (T-3), 17 giveaways (T-3), +14 differential (2nd)

2008 Summary: The Titans were the class of the AFC for the regular season, garnering a 13-3 record and earning the top seed going into the playoffs; this despite the off-field distraction that Vince Young became early in the season. The Titans’ success was predicated on the duel rushing threat of Chris Johnson and LenDale White, who rushed for 1,228 and 773 yards, respectively. The Titans were also stout on defense, finishing second in the league in pts/g, and causing the third-most turnovers, thanks in part to a secondary that intercepted 20 passes.

The Titans, however, were unable to sustain this success in the playoffs after running into the Baltimore Ravens. This offseason, the Titans lost mammoth defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to the Washington Redskins. The Titans will fill that gap with Sen’Derrick Marks of Auburn whom they drafted in the second round. The Titans also attempted to fill a void in their lackluster receiving corps by drafting Kenny Britt from Rutgers in the first round.

How the Dolphins can win: To beat the Titans, the Dolphins need to do two things well. On offense they need to protect the football. The Titans secondary is dangerous: Chris Hope intercepted four passes, Michael Griffin nabbed seven and Cortland Finnegan took five of his own. Pennington needs to be smart with the football; fortunately, that is what he does best.

On defense, the Dolphins have to stuff Johnson and White and put the pressure on Collins. Kerry Collins is a decent veteran QB, but he is nothing too special. If the Dolphins’ defense can contain the two halfbacks, they should be able to contain Collins. Sounds kind of like the game plan for the Colts and several other teams on the list, right? That should be an indication of how tough the Dolphins’ schedule is and how important it will be every week for them to execute their game plan.

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By: Adam Silverstein

July 2, 2009

MIAMI GARDENS (PhinsCENTRAL) -- A day after signing third-round pick wide receiver Patrick Turner to a four-year, $2.464 million contract with a $714,000 signing bonus, the Miami Dolphins have come to terms with seventh-round pick linebacker J.D. Folsom.

Out of Weber St. University, Folsom will compete for a roster spot at inside linebacker, backing up veteran starters Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele. Folsom's contract is a four-year, $1.8 million deal with a $62,000 signing bonus according to Adam Caplan of Scout.com.

The Dolphins now have four of their nine 2009 draft picks under contract with exactly a month to go before the beginning of training camp.

Discuss the signing of LB J.D. Folsom in the forums!