Miami Dolphins Overstocked at Outside Linebacker

Dolphins' President Bill Parcells has built some great defenses over his career and all those defenses have had one commonality. They all featured one main pass-rush specialist. 

He had two teams that featured two or more players with double-digit sacks. One of those teams was the 1986 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.

All three times Parcells went to the Super Bowl, his teams had a second pass rusher emerge on the opposite side. 

In 1986 and 1990, the Giants had Lawrence Taylor on the right and Leonard Marshall on the left.  Taylor got the all the attention, but Marshall recorded 64.5 sacks and made two Pro Bowls under Parcells. 

In 1996, New England had Chris Slade and Willie McGinest.

The 2008 Dolphins followed a similar defensive philosophy. Joey Porter led the team with 17.5 sacks while Matt Roth finished second with five. 

This year Jason Taylor returns, but can he and Porter co-exist? 

During the 2007 season, Taylor was the pass-rushing specialist. Porter moved out of his natural position to strong-side linebacker and struggled in one of his worst seasons as a professional.  

Taylor failed to live up to his 2006 Defensive Player of the Year award and the Dolphins finished 1-15. 

Now their roles are reversed.  If Taylor is to fit into this defense it will most likely be on third down situations. 

This defense needs a big physical linebacker opposite Porter to help slow down the running game.  Roth is better suited for that roll.  He showed a lot of progress over the 2008 season after making the switch from defensive end. 

Charlie Anderson will make the roster because of his special teams play. His 12 tackles in 2008 were third on the team. He also filled in nicely as Roth’s backup. This year he could push for more playing time and his flexibility makes him very valuable to this roster. 

After two excellent years in the Canadian Football League, Cameron Wake signed with Miami. He brings speed and pass-rushing skills but needs to re-adjust to the outside linebacker spot. He played linebacker Penn State but went undrafted.

As a defensive end in the CFL, Wake won back to back Defensive Player of the Year awards. 

Tearrius George is another former CFL player trying to prove he belongs in the NFL.  He spent one year with the Calgary Stampeders as a defensive tackle.  His 33 tackles and eight sacks got him a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.  After being cut he spent some time with the New Orleans Saints.

Quentin Moses was last year’s project linebacker.  After a successful college career as a defensive end, he has not found a place in the NFL.  He was active for 12 games last season and did not stand out. 

This year there may not be a roster spot for him with Wake looking to be the new pet project of defensive coordinator of Paul Pasqualoni.

During organized team activities, Erik Walden was working as an outside linebacker. Last year he was used mostly as a reserve and on special teams, but like Moses, his days could be numbered. 

If the Dolphins are going to repeat as AFC East champions, they will need another pass rusher to emerge.