How Important Is Nose Tackle at NFL? Miami Dolphins' Draft Preview

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

I have been an observer of defensive schemes since Dan Marino lost his only Super Bowl against a well-trained 49ers' defense.

So I got astonished of the level of defensive units like 2000 Baltimore Ravens, followed shortly by 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers have tradition of building great defenses too.

But my hopes still reside on having such kind of defense in my beloved Miami Dolphins. Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain were part of one of the biggest defenses that I could remember.

Those days were hard to see in the complete absence of any offensive support, and after a year of new philosophies, showing offensive creativity and rebuilding a team coming from disaster, there is time to analyze if this team is ready to repeat winning the AFC East title or how much of a step back 2009 will be.

So trying to understand the reality of our offense, I found our o-line is upgraded, the receiving corps are young and need to prove their worth and we can add a tested WR after draft, in case we can't get a taller, faster rookie receiver.

That must give us some extra points during 2009, expecting Chad Pennington won't play the way he did vs. Baltimore.

Then I focused on defense and saw fragile areas everywhere. Secondary is the most obvious, with a complete lack of quality and facing two times each AFC East superstar receivers Randy Moss and T.O.

This looks more dangerous than handling nitroglycerin. The current argument from the coaching staff is that an effective pass rush may ease coverage task.

Then I hear alarms and noticed how fragile we are on pass rush with an upcoming schedule including: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills (twice), Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots (twice), New York Jets (twice), New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans.

On 2008, Joey Porter was a defensive monster with 17.5 sacks, but after him Matt Roth added five sacks as second QB hunter, and the rest put very discrete numbers, so adding a stronger, faster OLB can help a lot, and there are several options for addressing the spot.

Recently added Cameron Wake was a CFL superstar who may become the next big thing. Also there can be excellent options at the 25th pick on draft like USC's Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews or Ohio State's James Laurinaitis, whoever can serve as pass rusher featuring Joey Porter.

Our last option is to add former Dolphin star Jason Taylor, who at 34 may help for a year or two as a 3-4 OLB. The side effect can be slowing the development of younger players.

But returning to the point of a 2009 schedule including almost every serious contender, being deep is a must. So trying to understand draft priorities, here's a quick list of the state of Miami

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