2009 Expert NFL Picks Preview: Miami Dolphins

The 2008 version of the Miami Dolphins was a remarkable story of a complete turnaround. They went from 1-15 the previous season to 11-5 in 2008. This marks the most drastic regular season turnaround of all time and it was unbelievable to say the least.

If you would have asked any football fan in the world prior to last season if the Dolphins would make the playoffs they would have laughed uncontrollably at you. However, with the help of Bill Parcells decision making, they did just that.

Can the Dolphins continue the improvement and move up into the ranks of an elite team this season? If you're looking for free NFL preseason picks, expect the Dolphins to contend with the Patriots for the top spot in the AFC East.

The Good News:

The good news is that they left most of what was a winning combination intact.

They brought back long-time Dolphin Jason Taylor to play linebacker and they still have Joey Porter in the fold. Pennington was a great game-managing quarterback last year and he should be no different this year. He's still the NFL's all time leader in passing accuracy and that will be the same as always.

Last year, the Dolphins helped make the Wildcat offense cool in the NFL. While it had been popular in college, no NFL teams had run it consistently. It was very successful for the Dolphins and that was with Ronnie Brown running the formation most of the time.

The Dolphins found a way to improve upon this formula by drafting someone who could run and pass in Pat White. They claim that he will be able to revolutionize the position. If so, this could add a huge dimension to the Phins offense.

Getting Jason Taylor back will help on defense as well. He's still a solid player and he'll feel more comfortable being back in Miami. They also added a great young corner in Vontae Davis out of Illinois. He should help a solid secondary become even better.

Overall, the defense is looking good and should only get better as they go.

The Bad News:

They still don't have a legitimate No.1 receiver on the team. It would really help out the development of Pat White at the Wildcat position if he had some reliable wide receivers to throw to. Tedd Ginn Jr. is still fast and talented, but he is yet to develop into a consistent receiver. Hopefully he can justify his draft position this year and start to put up some catches and yards. There were several options out there in free agency and the draft that they passed on that could have really helped the offense.

Outlook:

If you're looking for free NFL picks, expect the Dolphins to be about like last year. They will probably win 10 or 11 games and possibly make the playoffs. However, they're probably not going to go deep into the playoffs just yet. They're pretty solid all the way around, but they're not great at anything just yet. Expect them to finish second in the division behind the Patriots.

Make sure you check out Vernon Croy's Expert NFL Picks this season.