NFL Draft Preview: Miami Dolphins

Let me introduce you to my longtime friend Brett White, a lifelong Miami Dolphins fan and as willing to share his own irrreverent opinion as anyone. Brett will break down the AFC East for us as we approach the NFL Draft on April 28.

Brett White, locked and loaded:

Listen to these words carefully: Daunte Culpepper will have a second surgery on his maligned knee.

Here's what will happen: Dolphins want Chief Trent Green for a 6th rounder. KC wants 2nd or 3rd. Dolphins will succumb somewhat and offer a 4th and get him. This will help the Chiefs replace their 4th round pick they lost. Dolphins will sign T. Green and release Culpepper. If they do not land Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn at the current number nine pick they will go after a QB later in the draft- say Michigan State's Drew Stanton- since they lost out on Drew Brees in 2006 (whoops).

My projection for the Dolphins is Penn State OT Levi Brown (that's Offensive Tackle not Occupational Therapist) with their first round pick and then pick a QB and a DT/ CB with their two 2nd round picks. Levi Brown is a starter from year one - let him play. I expect the Trent Green announcement to happen sooner rather than later- I originally expected a draft day type deal.

Daunte Culpepper to be released? Let's be honest. Daunte has not looked too swell since being injured. Now I am not saying that his comeback will go as poorly as the 80's technotronic band "A Flock of Seagulls"; but why wait around? If they are even showing interest in Trent Green it speaks volumes.

And you cannot keep both. Releasing Daunte will allow Trent Green to be the starter for a season or two while they groom their QB of the future say John Beck of BYU or Drew Stanton of Michigan State.

If Levi Brown goes prior to the Dolphins #9 pick- look for them to take Michigan DT Allan Branch. They will undoubtedly shore up offensive line or get younger on defense in the first round.

Next Up: The rest of AFC East and how the Patriots this offseason were busier than Don Imus' PR expert.

Senior Bowl Review by Fantasy College Blitz

Finally we have dried out from the trip to Mobile, Alabama this weekend and the FCB crew has finished up their water-logged reviews of the offensive skill positions (Jason Hill TD catch below).

It took me a while to type mine since both Drew and Daniel forcefully restrained me when I wantted to ask Colorado kicking sensation Mason Crosby

"No one questions your accuracy, but many are worried about your leg strength in the pro game - how do you respond to your detractors?"

Who knew sarcasm could hurt so much?

No more adieu...here are the links and excerpts at Fantasy College Blitz.

• Poor Chris Leak. After finally silencing critics with his tour-de-force in the National Championship Game, he got stuck behind an underwhelming South offensive line in the Senior Bowl....Quarterbacks by Daniel Freer
• For Lorenzo Booker, I can see a career similar to Kevin Faulk of the Patriots...Running Backs by Drew Smith
• I find it hard to believe Aundrae Allison will not be a productive #2 and/or punt returner on the big stage....Wide Receivers by Vince Mullins

Stay tuned throughout the spring as we continue to break down the NFL Draft offensive skill positions.

Fantasy College Blitz at the Senior Bowl

Our road trip to Mobile no doubt mimicked the journey many of these elite college football players' careers have taken to the 2007 Senior Bowl.

The exciting highs and the gut wrenching lows at the penultimate level of competition culminate at this all-star event...Not really-the trip in my Urban Assault Vehicle paled in comparison. There is a whole lotta nothin' between Tallahassee and Mobile on I-10 so you better sync up the iPod before this trip.

Weather conditions look poor for quality foootball-light rain should make ball handling difficult. Of course, right after I type that the North goes 34 yards on a double reverse to the North's Jason Hill.

Stories will follow here and at Fantasy College Blitz - Daniel will review QB and K, Drew grabs the RB, and I will break down the WR and TE

To the Senior Bowl

I say that before I leave since I do not know the state of broadband access in Mobile, Alabama...

I and the Fantasy College Blitz crew begin our trek early Friday to the finest college football all-star game in existence, the Senior Bowl at Ladd Peebles Stadium, televised on the NFL Network at 3 pm on Saturday January 27.

Media Relations czar Vic Knight was kind enough to recognize the journalistic merit of our work and issued us press passes for the game. The following is a list of the players I can't wait to interview.

Utah's Eric Weddle, who played just about every position including the now trendy again single wing .

Colorado's kicker Mason Crosby, who I believe is already one of the top ten kickers ever (just to note, I said the same thing about Steve McNair as a QB before the draft. And also basketball D-list star Shawn Bradley. My record is mixed at best).

Oregon State TE Joe Newton, a 6-8 physical specimen who came back strongly from a broken leg and who should be an immediate impact in the NFL.

Rutgers RB Brian Leonard, who may be tired of the Mike Alstott comparisons but aside from Brandon Jacobs there are not a lot of 250-pound guys who can shake it and bake it while running strong too. Of course you know he has upside (slo-mo begins at 2:03)...

Catch you from Mobile.

Colt Brennan will run and shoot at Hawai'i in 2007

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports that Colt Brennan will return to Hawaii for his senior year as he continues to assault the NCAA record book.The relevant quotes:

Brennan was advised by the NFL that he is a likely second round pick in the April 28-29 draft in New York. He is generally rated the third best quarterback available in the draft, behind JaMarcus Russell of Louisiana State and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame.

His accuracy as a passer is unquestioned, but at 6-feet-3 and 200 pounds, Brennan is not as big as some of the other top pro quarterback prospects. But many other smaller quarterbacks, such as Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Marc Bulger of the St. Louis Rams, enjoy success in the NFL...

Dozens of teammates stood outside of the Stan Sheriff Center minutes before Brennan's news conference today. Slotback Mike Washington held a homemade sign that said "1 more year ... or" on one side and "we fly for Ty" on the other, referring to Tyler Graunke, who is next in line to quarterback the Warriors.

Those who possess the first pick in next year's fantasy drafts exhaled a sigh of relief with this news, especially Benny in our league.

Early prediction - with the return of FOUR possible NFL wide receivers (Bess, Grice-Mullin, Rivers, Sample), gotta expect 5000 yards again and 50 TDs - did I mention serious Heisman consideration? My position has always been he is much more talented that the robot Timmy Chang.

Stay classy, Colt.

Drat! The off-season begins

My posting will definitely slow down over the next few months - I do not get to hyped about recruiting (fool's errand to project a 17 year old's maturation - see Rambo, Ken-Yon) plus there are others who do it full time like the excellent Rivals.com.

I am working on an article that breaks down the Charlie Weis mystique, but when sharing notes with colleagues they all say I come off like a hater - not at all my intention as I just don't see the results under Weis that were any different than under Ty Willingham, except for actually scoring points.

Here are some projects I am working on over the next couple months for you:

Senior Bowl - All the FCB crew will be in Mobile the last weekend of January, gathering interviews and soaking up some football in the winter. Just saw that the 2006 National Champion Florida Gators will be represented by quarterback Chris Leak, wide receiver Dallas Baker, linebacker Earl Everett and defensive lineman Ray McDonald in 2007 contest.

NFL Draft - a natural extension of this site to project how some stars will do at the next level. I will be mirroring those posts to Blog Critic and also Yardbarker, a couple of interesting webb communities

Fantasy College Blitz - We have some management changes to deal with as we continue to build out the best fantasy college football website in existence. Next year will have more of a DIY - blog feel to it since we had so much enjoyment with the interactivity of the Forum in 2006.

We are also evaluating whether to continue a subscription model or an ad-supported model of business as we go into Year Three. I have to say the story of ArmChairGM.com fetching a $2 million price inspired us to review our subscription model, so Drew, Daniel and I are getting ready for our "winter meeting" in Mobile.

That is it for now - stay in touch!