Miami Dolphins: Parcells Stepping Aside, Injuries and Moves Suggest Trouble

Miami Dolphin fans, the team from South Florida, the team with so many lofty expectations, your team and mine, is in trouble.

I know that many of you will pass this article off as another "doom and gloom" prophecy, but if you take a good hard look at the troubling news that has surrounded the Dolphins, especially in the last week, there are precious few positive conclusions you can draw with plenty of scary propositions for the aqua and orange.

Now with the breaking news that Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells has turned over full football control of the Miami Dolphins to GM Jeff Ireland there has to be more concern than ever about the immediate and not too distant future of the team.

I am not suggesting that Miami loses to Buffalo this Sunday. They might, but Buffalo is a pretty bad football team by most accounts.

I think uncertainty over the result is a more prevailing natural emotion than dreading an expected loss. Still, this is a crucial game for a Miami unit that has been notorious for getting off to slow starts and follows the Bills with a three week stretch of games against the Vikings, Jets and Patriots.

Turn to the next slide for the reasons to be anxious.

1. Jake Long

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MIAMI - AUGUST 22: Offensive lineman Jake Long #77 of the Miami Dolphins drops back to block against the Carolina Panthers during a pre-season game at Land Shark Stadium on August 22, 2009 in Miami, Florida. The Dolphins defeated the Panthers 27-17. (Ph

In case you hadn't heard, the franchise left tackle is injured. In the last preseason game against Dallas, Long had the back of his left knee rolled over.

Instead of questioning whether he should have been in the meaningless game in the first place, time is far better spent on dealing with the severity of Long's injury and back-up options.

Except for the fact that we don't know how significantly Long is injured because the team is not required to release its injury report until Wednesday.

There was a tweet today from Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel that quotes Richie Incognito as suggesting that Long would play.

The problem is that we don't know and the lasting visual right now is Long wearing a knee brace and pedaling on the exercise bike instead of practicing on Tuesday.

If Long is unavailable the back-up options are just disturbing. The expectation is that right tackle Vernon Carey would move to left tackle, except that Carey has been battling nagging injuries all camp.

The right tackle would then become someone called Lydon Murtha or Jeremy Parnell. No offense to Murtha or Parnell, who might become legitimate NFL players one day, but this is quarterback Chad Henne's blindside we are talking about protecting.

2. Vontae Davis

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NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 20: Justin Gage #12 of the Tennessee Titans catches a touchdown pass in the first half behind Vontae Davis #21 of the Miami Dolphins at LP Field on December 20, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

No one thought twice about Vontae Davis skipping the preseason finale against Dallas. He was reportedly seen in street clothes looking comfortable.

Then came word that he was limping badly after Tuesday's practice.

There are a few indispensable players on this roster: Jake Long, Brandon Marshall, Karlos Dansby and Davis are the first names that come to mind.

3. Jason Allen Is a Starting Cornerback

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MIAMI - AUGUST 27: Wide receiver Roddy White #84 (R) of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates a touchdown pass against cornerback Jason Allen #32 of the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on August 27, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images

Further complicating Vontae Davis' status is the news over the weekend that Jason Allen has replaced Sean Smith as the team's other starting cornerback.

Not Will Allen.

He was put on injured reserve this weekend, ending his season, after he was supposed to return to the Dolphins in a couple of weeks.

No, the Dolphins are starting Jason Allen, who is affectionately known in league circles as Randy Moss' primary resume builder. According to Coach Sparano, Allen "has shown steady improvement" in camp. 

We'll see what happens when Buffalo wide receiver Lee Evans runs a vertical route.

If Davis can't play, you could be looking at Jason Allen and recent acquisition Bennie Sapp as Miami's starting cornerbacks.  

4.Channing Crowder and The Ripple Effect Of Injuries

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ORCHARD PARK, NY - NOVEMBER 29: Ryan Fitzpatrick #14 of the Buffalo Bills is pressured by Channing Crowder #52 of the Miami Dolphins at Ralph Wilson Stadium on November 29, 2009 in Orchard Park, New York. Buffalo won 31-14. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty

Much like Davis and Long, we don't have a firm status on linebacker Channing Crowder's availability for Sunday's game.

Unlike Davis and Long, I'd bet that Crowder won't play.

It seems apparent that Crowder is one of those players that just can't stay healthy. When he suffered a LisFranc injury last season, most people just assumed that he would return this season.

I didn't. Crowder was already playing on bad knees which is like a ticking time bomb for an NFL player.

The bottom line is that I think Crowder's wheels have just come off so to speak and the Dolphins are just holding out hope that he can contribute some way and somehow at a desperately thin position.

How thin you might ask?

The Dolphins released Charlie Anderson and signed former Parcells' first round draft pick Bobby Carpenter. The same linebacker who was a bust in Dallas because of a reported aversion to contact (isn't that what the NFL is based on?), and who was released by St. Louis over the weekend.

The move capped a weekend where the Dolphins churned the bottom of the roster as if it had the plague.

In addition to the necessary cuts for Miami to get down to the 53-player roster, and placing Will Allen on the IR, the Dolphins sent veterans Corey Procter, Marques Douglas, and Charles Grant packing and replaced them with...

Parnell, offensive lineman Joe Reitz, and defensive ends Clifton Geathers and Robert Rose. Haven't heard of them? You are not alone.

So the Dolphins got younger, but did they get better?

5. Bill Parcells Just Stepped Aside

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DAVIE, FL - JUNE 06: Executive Vice President of Football Operations Bill Parcells watches practice on during Miami Dolphins Mini Camp on June 6, 2008 at the Dolphins practice facility in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

If Bill Parcells was really confident about the Miami Dolphins' prospects this season, do you think he would have stepped aside? As much as I would like to believe so, I doubt it.

The perception by the media and much of the fan base will be that Parcells is abandoning Miami before turning the squad into a perennial winner, which was the supposed goal of him taking the job.

There is an existing proverb that says "Loose lips sink ships". Well, the proverb might be revised in Miami to "Parcells jumps sinking ship causing loose lips". 

In other words, without the Big Tuna in charge, I wonder openly if Sparano and Ireland will have as much control over the team's voices inside or outside of the locker room.

By turning over control to Jeff Ireland now, Parcells has placed all of the pressure for success firmly on coach Tony Sparano and Ireland.

If they fail, it will be much easier for owner Steven Ross to fire them then it would be to get rid of Parcells.

Maybe Sparano and new czar Ireland are the right combination to lead this team to the promised land, but they probably won't get much of a grace period to prove themselves without "Papa Parcells".

In summary, this week has been a nightmare for Dolphin fans, let's hope we all wake up in Buffalo.