Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has shown a willingness in the past to trample over his current coach’s feelings by flying across the country to try to woo a new coach to his team.

Ross did it last offseason when he hopped a flight to California to try to convince then-Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh to take Sparano’s place (even though, ahem, Sparano was still the coach of Ross’ organization).

It was embarrassing and a complete emasculation for Sparano, and it undermined his ability to be an effective leader in the organization. So, when, CBSSports.com’s Mike Freeman reported this week that the Dolphins have approached Bill Cowher about their coaching position (even though, once again, Sparano is still, ahem, the coach of Ross’ organization), it makes perfect sense.

But Ross, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, has denied going after the former Steelers coach.

"Not true,'' Ross said. "I'm not going to reach out to anyone while Tony (Sparano) is the coach. I hope he wins and stays the coach. Neither I nor anyone involved with me has contacted (Cowher), his agent or anyone around him."

Ross’ statement is laughable because of what occurred last year around the attempted hiring of Harbaugh. I believe Freeman's sources, but if Ross speaks the truth, his indignation that he never would go after another coach in that matter is ridiculous.

And when the Harbaugh wooing didn’t work, Ross then had some advice for Sparano. As Andy Benoit wrote in January:

There are a handful of NFL organizations that have been marred by meddling owners who inject their Joe Fan perspective into the team’s actual makeup. (Redskins fans know all about this.) But Dan Snyder, at least, has never been overtly public about his football opinions. And he’s never gone on radio to share the specifics of any advice he’s given to his head coach. Ross, whose background is in tax law and real estate, elaborated on the sage advice he gave to Sparano (who has over 25 years of coaching experience, including six years working with Bill Parcells).

“One great advantage in Florida as the Miami Dolphins, that other teams don’t have, and that’s we have the weather in August, September and October,” Ross said. “Our players are training in that weather, let’s take advantage of it. Let’s go with a hurry-up offense, let’s wear them down. We’ve never done that. This isn’t the north, where you want to just take it 4 yards and a cloud of dust. I think I look for a different brand. Seeing the Dolphins, how fans want to see them, how we win, we’re going downfield, the days of Dan Marino, the days we all want to go back to.”

Which was an awesome thing to say, considering Miami’s quarterback at the time, Chad Henne, isn’t exactly a Dan Marino clone.

OK, so we see that Ross is willing to fly cross-country to get what he wants, and when that doesn’t work, he’s willing to dole out advice to a long-time football man in Sparano. Why wouldn’t he go after Cowher after the way this disaster of a season has opened? Of course, he would.

For now, Cowher supposedly told his agent that he won’t agree to coach a team unless that team has a vacancy, and since it’s highly unlikely he would leave his TV gig in the middle of a season to take over the directionless Dolphins, a deal, if one is forthcoming, wouldn’t happen until after the season is complete.

When Sparano almost surely will be fired, and Ross can hire whomever he wants without having to humiliate Sparano to do so.

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The Giants might be favored by 10.5 points, but Brandon Marshall still has faith in 0-6 Dolphins' chances. (US PRESSWIRE)

Posted by Ryan Wilson

For not having won a game this season, the Dolphins sure are in the news a lot. After Sunday's inexplicable loss to the Broncos, Reggie Bush said what everybody was thinking: "this team stinks." That prompted teammate Yeremiah Bell to proclaim that Bush "stinks" before Bush could again reiterate the obvious: "I still stand by it, because there's nothing fun about 0-6."

The Dolphins travel to New Jersey to face the New York Giants this weekend and as you might expect, everybody expects them to lose. (Perhaps more embarrassing: only one out of five CBSSports.com experts thinks the Dolphins will cover the 10.5 point spread.)

Miami wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who promised to play like a monster against the Jets two weeks ago (if if the plan was to be a no-catching monster then mission accomplished), has issued a warning to those who still don't believe in Miami (pay no attention to the 0-6 record).

"To: Media When we win Sunday please don't say the Giants didn't take us serious."

As PFT's Mike Florio points out, Marshall says "when we win" not "if we win," and presumably he means it.

But you know what? Miami could pull off the upset Sunday. And before you say it, yes, the Dolphins could win if: an asteroid hits the Giants team bus, Eli Manning only throws passes left-handed, Ahmad Bradshaw moonwalks instead of runs through the hole, and Miami gets 12 downs instead of four, unlimited timeouts, and interceptions are considered incompletions.

But look at the Dolphins' schedule through the first nine weeks of the season. The Browns beat them by a point and under no circumstances should they have lost to the Broncos. A 2-4 record may not impress a lot of people, but it beats oh-for-'11. 

(Also: the Eagles are 2-4 and still considered a playoff team. Clearly, Philly's better than Miami but the point remains: a few fluke plays and unlucky bounces is the difference between 2-4 and the Dolphins' current predicament. Well, that and some suspect coaching, but you get the point.)

It's worth mentioning that in Week 5 the Seahawks came into MetLife Stadium and beat the Giants, 36-25 (and it wasn't even that close). This is the same Seahawks team, by the way, that managed three (!) points against the Browns last week.

So let's just say the Giants aren't mortal locks this week … but it's close. (Side note: we actually picked the Dolphins to win. No, seriously.)

The Miami Dolphins are still searching for their first win as they prepare to take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. NFL.com's Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz preview this matchup. Watch the game on CBS at 1 PM ET.

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Posted by Will Brinson & Ryan Wilson

In this week's Game of the Year, the Patriots head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. As you've no doubt heard by now, Tom Brady is 6-1 against the Steelers, his only loss coming during the 2004 regular season (three months later, he'd return to Heinz Field to beat Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game).

But Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is playing some of his best football of the season, and the defense is coming together despite key injuries among the front seven (James Harrison and Aaron Smith are out, Casey Hampton and James Farrior are banged up). So will this be the game that Pittsburgh finally gets the best of Brady and the Pats? Compounding matters: Bill Belichick is 12-3 coming off the bye week.

Other Week 8 topics: Are the Eagles still in "must win" territory? Are the Lions begging for an upset? Can Indy finally win? Is Miami really a sleeper team this week? And are you ready for some Tebowing?

And Paul Bessire of PredictionMachine.com drops by for his weekly visit to break down the best gambling options for this week.

Just hit the play button below to listen (and did we mention that you should subscribe to the podcast via iTunes?). If you can't listen to the podcast below, download it here. And if you'd like to keep working while listening in your browser, pop that puppy out in a new tab here.


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Whether it's Cowher or T.D., things can't get any worse in Miami. (US PRESSWIRE)

Posted by Ryan Wilson

Things that should surprise no one: the Dolphins would very much like to be in the Bill Cowher business in the near future.

"According to a source with knowledge of the situation," CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman wrote Tuesday, "intermediaries for the Miami Dolphins have contacted people close to Cowher about coaching the team."

This is what happens when you start the season 0-6. Never mind that owner Stephen Ross tried to get Jim Harbaugh to take the Miami job in the offseason only to have Harbaugh him end up with the 49ers (and worse: San Francisco is 5-1). And instead of firing Tony Sparano, Ross gave him a contract extension and brought him back.

But one way or the other, Sparano's tenure ends this season. The only question is when.

On Friday, sources told NFL Network's Albert Breer that Ross had been in contact with Cowher's agent about the Dolphins gig, but noted that "Cowher … told his agent and others concerned that he absolutely will not speak with any team that does not have a head coaching vacancy."

(This is basically what Freeman said earlier this week: "Now, everyone will deny this because no one wants to admit they are looking to fill a job that's already filled. In this case, the job of Tony Sparano. The Dolphins issued a statement to CBSSports.com declining comment.")

One solution: fire Sparano now and get down to the business of luring Cowher away from his NFL analyst job at CBS. One problem: Cowher has no plans to take a job during the season, though getting rid of Sparano now could give the Dolphins a head start on the recruitment process. (And let's be honest: Ross could name T.D. the interim coach and he couldn't do any worse than going winless.)

Last year, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Cowher said "I am not going to go back into coaching, just to go back into coaching. It has to be the right situation. And I don't know what the right situation consists of."

No idea if the Dolphins are the right situation. Part of that will likely depend on other job openings around the league and, of course, how much Ross is willing to shell out to get Cowher to South Beach.

The Miami Dolphins are still searching for their first win as they prepare to take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. NFL.com's Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz preview this matchup. Watch the game on CBS at 1 PM ET.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Even on a new team in a new city, Reggie Bush can’t stop making himself the center of controversy. So, when he said after the Dolphins got Tebowed on Sunday, “This team stinks,” some of the members of that team took offense.

As CBSSports.com’s Ryan Wilson wrote on Thursday, Miami cornerback Yeremiah Bell blasted Bush right away.

“He stinks,” Bell said. “That shouldn’t be said around this locker room. We know that we’re 0-6 and we’re not playing the best but at the same time there’s no need for that.”

With the chance to reconsider his choice of words, though, Bush didn’t back down on his original thoughts. The team does stink, Bush says, and like Bell says, so does he.

"I still stand by it, because there's nothing fun about 0-6," Bush said Thursday, via the Palm Beach Post. "And there's no room for sensitivity in this league. This is a man's game, we all signed on the dotted line. Whatever we've been doing is not good enough at this point."

Bell, meanwhile, tried to walk back his statement, saying he had been taken out of context*. He also thought Bush had been taken out of context as well. Bush disagreed.

*Though, when a dude says about a teammate, “He stinks!” in which other context can he possibly speaking?

"What else would I mean?" Bush said. "I do stink. We all stink. When it comes to 0-6, everybody stinks. We've all, in some way, shape or form have not been good enough, and that's what I meant with those comments.

"I don't care if it's the front-desk secretary -- she ain't doing a good enough job.”

The front-desk secretary could not be reached for comment, but I imagine he or she would say, “Bush? Well, he kinda sucks.”

More from Bush: "It's time for a little gut check. Do we want to continue to lose games and kind of be the laughingstock of the league for the rest of the year? Or do we want to turn this thing around?"

Honestly, laughingstock seems to be working pretty well (or, at least, providing good fodder for us NFL bloggers). I say, stick with that.

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Reggie Bush says the Dolphins 'stink,' upsets teammates in the process. (US PRESSWIRE)

Posted by Ryan Wilson

It happens every season: a team gets off to a slow start, the frustration builds before reaching a tipping point, and people getting fired, traded or released is invariably preceded by back-stabbing and finger-pointing. Which brings us to the 2011 Dolphins.

At 0-6 they're one of the league's sorriest teams, most recently victimized by the Tim Tebow's Blinding Awesomeness (it didn't help that Miami was in the wrong defense on the game's decisive play).

After Sunday's loss, there was plenty of blame to go around. Reggie Bush, who was traded to Miami before the season, spoke frankly.

“It’s just embarrassing, I don’t know any other way to explain it,” he said. “It’s an embarrassing loss. Had no business losing that game. We were up 15 points with what, five minutes left to go? And we couldn’t win it? It’s disgusting. Right now, this team stinks.”

Bush isn't wrong. It's that he probably shouldn't articulate those thoughts publicly. Team unity and whatnot. On Wednesday, Dolphins safety Yeremiah Bell had some thoughts on Bush.

Via Examiner.com's Jeremiah Thermidor:

“He stinks,” Bell said emphatically after being asked what he thought of the comments by Bush. “That shouldn’t be said around this locker room. We know that we’re 0-6 and we’re not playing the best but at the same time there’s no need for that.” 

The man makes a point, but the damage has been done. Thermidor writes that Bush's remarks have divided the locker room.

“I just think he said it because he was mad like everybody else was,” McDaniel said. “But I would’ve never said anything like that.”

Linebacker Kevin Burnett, meanwhile, thinks Bush is onto something.

“You are what you put on tape, you are what the numbers say you are and right now we stink,” he said. “If you’re scared to admit the truth, you’ll never amount to anything. So I’m definitely man enough to say we’re not doing things effectively and efficiently.”

Burnett, who earlier this month challenged a beat reporter to "put on some pads, homeboy" after said reporter wrote "Kevin Burnett -- He hasn’t done a single thing worth mentioning in the first three games of 2011, and this defense has gone from good to bad very quickly," can now admit that he's part of the problem.

“I did include myself in that equation (of stinking),” he told Thermidor. “We turn over the football, we don’t get off the field on third downs and we allow big plays so that’s the equivalent of stinking. I mean, it is what it is.”

And what it is is a winless 2011, a lame-duck coach and a feature back who has managed to do less in Miami than he did in New Orleans.

Maybe the Dolphins should've signed Darren Sproles. Not only is he having a better season than Bush, he keeps to himself.

The Miami Dolphins are still searching for their first win as they prepare to take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. NFL.com's Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz preview this matchup. Watch the game on CBS at 1 PM ET.

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Posted by Eye on Football Analyst Andy Benoit



Giants vs. Dolphins
One of the more confounding issues with the Dolphins this season has been the decline of their pass-rush. After recording 39 sacks in 2010 (tied for 10th best in the NFL) Miami entered last week’s game against Denver with just eight. They wound up recording seven sacks in the game, but that was in part because of Tim Tebow’s inability to make quick reads or get the ball out.

The Giants’ reshuffled offensive line has been hit or miss in pass protection thus far (more “hit” than “miss”). At Arizona in Week 4, their brilliant protection practically won the game. But the next week it waffled against Seattle’s underrated D-line (Chris Clemons rather enjoyed facing left tackle Will Beatty).

The Dolphins have one of the game’s best all-around edge-rushers in Cameron Wake, the reigning AFC sack leader. His leverage and tenacity give him strength that’s much better than his size indicates. Wake has been oddly quiet in non-two minute situations this season, though he abused Denver’s somewhat lumbering right tackle, Orlando Franklin, last week.

Giants right tackle Kareem McKenzie is more polished than Franklin but has slower feet. He’ll need help. On the other side, Miami may have an under-the-radar pass-rushing talent in Jared Odrick, who somewhat resembles a thicker Jason Taylor.

Ravens vs. Cardinals
The Ravens offense owes everyone a good performance after ruining one of our 17 precious Monday night games. They should be able to get on track against a Cardinals defense that has struggled to generate a consistent pass-rush despite aggressive blitzes from new coordinator Ray Horton.

The intrigue is on the other side of the ball. Roughly two months after the trade and $20-million-plus investment in Kevin Kolb, some Cardinal fans are actually wondering if the 27-year-old quarterback should be benched. That’s the kind of ridiculous thinking that those who don’t actually contribute any skin in the game can get away with. Ken Whisenhunt knows that he’d never get another coaching job if he were to bench Kolb for John Skelton.

Kolb hasn’t been great, but he’s hardly the problem. Arizona’s “non-Fitzgerald” receivers have not been able to get open. General manager Rod Graves may deserve some heat for letting Steve Breaston get away this past offseason, though Graves’ logic was understandable at the time. Third-round rookie Andre Roberts showed intriguing potential as a speedy slasher last season.

Roberts looked like a future starter, and he cost a fraction of what Breaston would have cost. So Graves banked on him. Roberts has responded by failing to reach 40 yards receiving in every game this season. The good-looking prospect prior to Roberts, Early Doucet, has been equally ineffective.

Teams can sometimes get away with having only one quality wide receiver, but not if their offensive tackles stink. And there’s no denying that Levi Brown and Brandon Keith – two heavy-footed lumberers with inconsistent technique – stink.

So far Kolb has been awful when throwing off-balance. It’s doubtful he’ll get to be on balance much against a staunch Ravens D.

Bills vs. Redskins
Don’t pick the Redskins this week. It’s a matter of principle, if nothing else. No team should have expectations placed on it after making a change at quarterback and losing its top wide receiver, running back, tight end, left tackle and left guard in a two-week span. This will look like a preseason version of the Redskins. How will they cope?

It helps that Mike Shanahan’s system runs more fluidly with John Beck than it does with Rex Grossman. Beck is smoother reading the field and much better at play-action rollouts and bootlegs than Grossman. Accuracy is a bit of a concern, however. As for the other injuries and replacement ...

RB Tim Hightower (knee – out for season) had found his niche in this zone-run scheme, but he’ll be missed most in the passing game. Ryan Torain is a decent upright power-runner with a spring in his step, but he can’t stick pass-rushers the way Hightower could.

WR Santana Moss (hand – out 5-7 weeks) was Washington’s only creator on offense. He could generate his own space and turn an underneath catch into a 60-yard scamper. Either Niles Paul or Anthony Armstrong will replace him. Both have flashed at times, but neither is completely trustworthy. And, unlike with Moss, defenses won’t have to even ponder the possibility of double coverage.

TE Chris Cooley (finger, knee – out for season) was trending down and losing his role to Fred Davis prior to get hurting. Davis can fill Cooley’s receiving shoes. But the Redskins are now down a good in-line blocker in the run game. With Cooley and Davis, Washington had the benefit of balancing its formation with a viable pass-catching tight end on each side. This often compelled defenses to stay in basic front seven looks. New backup tight end Logan Paulsen won’t command that kind of respect.

LT Trent Williams (high ankle sprain – out 0-4 weeks) has missed most of the last two games. Pretty easy to identify the impact of his absence: backup Sean Locklear is experienced but much slower than Williams all-around.

LG Kory Lichtensteiger (knee – out for season) was one of the unheralded heroes for this team down the stretch last year and prior to going down in Week 6. Center Will Montgomery moved one spot to the left to fill Lichtensteiger’s void. Montgomery is interchangeable that way, but his replacement in the middle, Erik Cook, a seventh-round pick in ’10, was a noticeable downgrade coming off the bench. He had issues snapping the ball and was overwhelmed by defensive tackle Mike Peterson on a few plays. The Redskins can only hope those were Cook’s jitters working themselves out.

So who will win? Check our NFL expert picks for all Week 8 games. 

Follow @Andy_Benoit on Twitter or contact him at Andy.Benoit-at-NFLTouchdown.com.

Posted by Will Brinson



"Have the Broncos found their messiah? Or is Tim Tebow just another false football prophet?"

Yes, those are the hard questions in life folks. Thankfully, Next Media Animation gave Tebow the old Taiwanese animation treatment.

It's pretty classic too, what with the Dolphin getting stabbed by a trident (Brick Tamland approves!) and whatnot. Although there are a couple inconsistencies. One, Tebow's right-handed in the animation video and two, it looks like Josh McDaniels (not John Fox) clipping Tebow's angel wings while relegating him to third string.

Other than that, though, it's comedy gold.



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