Terrance McGee and Jabari Greer may not be spectacular, but with Ashton Youboty, William James, and first-round pick Leodis McKelvin, the Bills have a deep group of young corners who will push each other and hopefully raise the overall level of play.
Overall: The Bills have done what is necessary to get better where they had been weak. Mediocre teams become good, and then great by simply addressing key needs and not tinkering too much. The Bills will cause some problems in the AFC this season and will give powerhouses like New England, San Diego, and Jacksonville all they can handle.
They just aren't quite there yet. The Bills played an ugly 7-9 2007 campaign. 7-9 sounds about right again, but Buffalo will be in every game, and it wouldn't surprise me if they stole a few victories and turned into a 9-7 borderline playoff team.
Miami Dolphins (2007 Record 1-15)
Offense: Ugly. Some variation of that word is really the only way to express the 2007 Dolphins. To be fair, their best offensive player was lost for the season when Ronnie Brown tore his ACL after playing just seven games.
However, pessimists (or Jets fans) will point out Brown had 601 rushing yards (991 total) through Week Seven, well on his way to the Pro Bowl, and yet the Dolphins were 0-7.
Brown appears healthy, Ricky Williams may or may not be clean, and this running game will be the staple of Tony Sporano's team. Ronnie Brown could establish himself as an elite rusher this season, as the focus of this offense.
If he doesn't, no doubt part of the reason will be because the Dolphins have no quarterback. Josh McCown was slated to be the starter, but he has been marginal at best. Second-year QB John Beck has been underwhelming in minicamp, and rookie Chad Henne has been good enough to push Beck and McCown for playing time.
But when your team signs a quarterback who didn't play last season on a 4-12 team (and when he did he was putrid), you know you're in trouble at QB. Chad Pennington will right the ship to some degree, but he is not the answer in Miami, and bringing him in, I believe, was a mistake.
Earnest Wilford and Ted Ginn Jr. give the Dolphins excellent speed at wide receiver, but not much in the way of a true No. 1 target. Derrick Hagan has shown flashes of his talent, but still drops way too many.
Greg Camarillo was the hero in the Dolphins' only win, but certainly is not the next Wes Welker. That means whoever is under center will not have many options.
Luckily, the Dolphins' offensive line should see steady improvement. Jake Long would have been better suited to play right tackle, but there is no Dwight Freeney in the AFC East, so he should be fine at left tackle for now.
Also, rookie Shawn Murphy and second-year center Samson Satele are big, talented youngsters that will grow under the tutelage of Tony Sporano (which, for you HBO watchers, seems too close to suggesting Satele and Murphy will be made men by season's end).
Veterans Chris Liwienski and Vernon Carey round out a group that has the potential to be solid.
Defense: For the Dolphins to have a chance to win, the defense has to keep them in games. Some new faces on this defense should help sure up a once solid defensive group.
Jason Ferguson joins the defensive line from Dallas and should help anchor against the run.
Clemson rookie Phillip Merling will have Jason Taylor's shoes to fill, although I hope he sticks to cleats and not dancing shoes. Merling will not be the pass-rusher Taylor was, but he hustles and will get to the quarterback. More importantly, the former Clemson Tiger will be stout against the run.
I am concerned this team cannot generate enough pass-rush to help a weak secondary.
Speaking of that secondary, all four of the Dolphins' current starters started at least one game last season. That may or may not be a good thing for a team who couldn't stop anyone from passing the ball, something that doesn't bode well for a team in the same division as Tom Brady and Brett Favre.
The Allen's, Will and Jason, are solid, but aren't playmakers, while Yeremiah Bell (besides his parents not being able to spell Jeremiah) and Michael Lehan are average at best. They will need to get better if they want to win games in 2008.
The strength of the defense is the linebackers. Joey Porter's stats in '07 actually compared favorably with Adalius Thomas in New England, whom everyone raved about. He can still get after it and be an impact player. Channing Crowder possesses athletic raw talent in the middle, but has grown quickly.
Lastly, Reggie Torbor comes over from the Giants and has the versatility to play the run and the pass. They will need these three to supplement the pass-rush to protect the secondary.
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