It was 1972 when the Miami Dolphins set multiple records and became possibly the best team in professional soccer history. They completed the perfect first season by winning 14 regular games, two playoff games, and Super Bowl VII. They were also victorious in Super Bowl VIII, although for the next two to three decades they would never again taste the glory of the Super Bowl. This season, the Miami Dolphins hope to make their 39th season (43rd overall) their most successful yet. There have already been changes in management (as this is Bill Parcells’ first season as executive vice president of soccer operations, Jeff Ireland as general manager, and Tony Sparano as head coach. This is not surprising, considering that in 2007 the Dolphins had the worst record in the league with a 1-15 win-loss record.
On the bright side, this won the Dolphins’ top pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Will the Miami Dolphins succeed? It’s time to take a look at the draft picks to see how deep these dolphins hope to swim this season. The Dolphins had been negotiating with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long since before the draft happened. It took him a while to sign, but on April 22 the team finally secured him with a $ 57.75 million, five-year, $ 30 million guaranteed contract. They also assured Long that they would take him first in the draft. (It’s all about pride, man!)
In addition to Long, the Dolphins scored other notable signings. There was defensive end Phillip Merling of Clemson, QB Chad Henne of Michigan, defensive end Kendall Langford of Hampton, guard Shawn Murphy of Utah, running back Jalen Parmele of Toledo, guard Donald Thomas of Connecticut, defensive end. Lionel Dotson from Arizona and running. back Lex Hilliard from Montana.
So far, deals have been signed with four other draft picks: Jalen Parmele, Lex Hilliard, Lionel Dotson and Donald Thomas. After the draft, the team signed 18 undrafted free agents, including Scorpio Babers, Davone Bess, Titus Brown, Michael Byrne, Dan Carpenter, Jayson Foster, Dan Gore, Daren Heerspink, Aaron Lane, Selwyn Lymon, Matthew Mulligan, Kelly Poppinga , Marcel Reece. , Kory Robertson, Keith Saunders, Matt Spanos, Anthony Toribio and Justin Wynn. However, time passes quickly when millions of dollars are at stake and when millions of Miami fans are restless. The Dolphins have already released Aaron Lane and Marcel Reece, in fact they didn’t even last a week playing for the worst team of 2007.
Fan reaction to the Dolphins has ranged from critical to mixed. No one disputes that Jake Long was a good signing and that most of the draft picks were sensitive and desperately needed to restructure the Dolphins. However, when it comes to predicting victory, experts still believe the Dolphins need to rebuild over time. Plus, they are in danger of losing Jason Taylor, who is juggling his NFL career with an acting job and is also demanding to be traded. Even Miami’s biggest fans admit that without Taylor the team’s success in 2008 will be a long shot. However, the 2008 Miami Dolphins are preparing to play hard, eager to recapture the glory days of the 70s.