2. Miami Dolphins
This is the second year in Jimmy Johnson's three-year plan
to get the Dolphins into the 1999 Super Bowl, which will be
played in
... Miami, naturally. The first year? Johnson finished 8-8
despite losing Dan Marino for three games and most of a
fourth, and despite inheriting a team that had overspent on
signing bonuses and had almost no room to maneuver under
the salary
cap.
Johnson loaded up on draft choices, which has always been
his style. "I like young players," he says.
"They stay healthy, and they only get better as the
year goes on." Half a dozen of his 12 draft picks
became starters in '96. Some achieved surprising
success. Middle linebacker Zach Thomas was voted team MVP,
only the second time in the past 14 years that Marino
didn't win the honor. The tailback, fullback and third-down
back were all rookies, and Karim Abdul-Jabbar became the
first Dolphin to run
for 1,000 yards in a season since Delvin Williams did it in
'78.
Going into Year 2, Johnson knew his secondary needed help.
Last season Miami ranked 24th against the pass; Dallas
burned the Dolphins for 359 yards in the air, and New
England for 409. So the big-money, free-agent pickup was
former Seahawks cornerback
Corey Harris, and for insurance, Johnson grabbed a former
Cowboy, free safety George Teague. The rest of the defense?
Youth and speed would take care of
that.
Then there's Marino. "The reality of it is I'm
35," he says. "There's a chance I can play until
I'm 40, there's a chance this may be my last year." So
far there's no sign that he's about to hit the wall, but
who knows when or how the end will come? It
came for Jim Kelly in Buffalo last year, leaving only Marino
and John Elway from the Great Quarterback Class of '83. A
sturdy running game will prolong Marino's career. So will a
big-league line, and Miami's is above average. Of course
you can't have too
many good receivers, either. Fred Barnett appears to be
back from a knee injury that sidelined him for the first
six games last year. O.J. McDuffie is one of the NFL's
unsung clutch receivers; 50 of his team-leading 74 catches
went for first downs, and
23 of those came on third-down plays. (Only Jacksonville's
Jimmy Smith had more.)
In the first round of the draft, Johnson selected Yatil
Green, who looked like the most serious long-ball threat
since the Duper-Clayton era. But in the first week of
training camp, Green tore ligaments in his knee and was
lost for the year. That seemed
to start an injury epidemic. Kirby Dar Dar, the
"flier" on the punt- and kick-coverage units, was
lost with a torn knee ligament on July 14. Four days later
Larry Izzo, the wedge buster, tore his Achilles tendon.
Then in the second preseason game,
Thomas went down with a cracked left fibula while covering a
kickoff; he is questionable for the
opener.
That's the bad news. The good news is that Johnson
continues to fill out his roster with youth. Two draft-day
trades increased Miami's haul to 14 picks, including
sleepers such as Stanford wideout Brian Manning, a
sixth-round pick who looked terrific in
camp. All told, 13 rookies and first-year players made the
53-man roster. You can't question Johnson's record of
finding and developing green talent.
Youthful exuberance abounds, plus, of course, a fair share
of wackos. Tight end Ed Perry, a sixth-rounder from James
Madison, collects rubber bands. His goal is to own his own
barber shop. He gives teammates haircuts for eight dollars.
Linebacker Mike
Crawford, a sixth-rounder from Nevada, is a skydiver. During
camp he announced that he would be tough to get rid of.
"If they cut me, I'll stay on as a janitor," he
says. "I ain't leaving this
place."
As much as Johnson likes a roster loaded with youth and
fire, even he admits that there are limits. "One guy
had a real low test score," he once said, "so we
decided to go back and check the interviews. In one of them
he said he was raised by
wolves."
Yes, the AFC East is loaded with wild animals. But
Johnson's crew should have no problem holding its
own.
—Paul Zimmerman
SCHEDULE
SKINNY
The Dolphins' 1997 opponents went 121-135 in '96, and
there's only one potential cold-weather game on
tap: at New England on Nov. 23. But that game against the
Patriots comes on the heels of a Monday nighter at home
against Buffalo and will be followed
by a trip to Oakland. In the final game of the regular
season, the division title could be on the line when the
Patriots visit Pro Player Stadium for another Monday night
date.
STRENGTH OF
SCHEDULE
NFL rank: 25 (tie)
Opponents' 1996 winning percentage:
.473
Games against playoff teams:
7
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