Imagine if your job was to come up with a marketing strategy for the 2009 Miami Dolphins. Simple, right? “Miami Dolphins: Defending AFC East Champions!” Done. But say your boss doesn’t think that’s enough. “There are eight division champions each year,” he says. “Who cares about the one Baltimore annihilated at home in the wild card round?”

You try to tell him that the rules are different for the Dolphins. They were a major underdog story. Their 10-win improvement tied the ’99 Colts for the best single-season turnaround in history. “That was last year,” he says. “Give me something fresh.”

What would you do? Fans aren’t going to pay big bucks just to see VP of Football Operations Bill Parcells sit up in a box. So how would you sell them on the Dolphin players? Come see the weak-armed but accurate Chad Pennington make smart reads and hit his check-down receivers! Actually, you probably wouldn’t mention Pennington’s weak arm. Just like you wouldn’t mention running back Ronnie Brown’s lack of elite speed. Or receiver Greg Camarillo’s knee operation. Wideout Ted Ginn Jr. made nice progress in his second season, but most of that was because he operated soundly within the confines of offensive coordinator Dan Henning’s system. That’s not exactly something you can fit on a billboard.

Pass-rushing linebacker Joey Porter is an accomplished player with a monstrous personality––too monstrous, in fact. Use extreme caution when shining a spotlight on him. Jason Taylor is back. Oh, but he’s now coming off the bench after having just one sack and zero dance competition victories as a Redskin. Where’s the marketing angle for this team?

Fortunately, the Dolphins’ new owner, Stephen Ross, is one of those shrewd businessmen who has a way of figuring these things out. Or, with a New York real estate-driven net worth of some $4.5 billion, he has a way of hiring someone who can figure these things out. To get people away from their HD big screens and into Land Shark Stadium (by the way, Land Shark Stadium: a Jimmy Buffett-influenced one-year naming lease with Budweiser), Ross decided that Dolphin Game Days will be an entertainment experience. You know, concerts, carnivals, restaurants…pretty much all the stuff you would find on South Beach.

Entertaining fans is smart because, let’s face it, the 11 Dolphins on the field probably won’t. This just isn’t a South Beach-type team. And it has nothing to do with the Dolphins’ lack of Cubans. This is a banal, old-fashioned Miami squad. It’s better suited for a town with harsh winters and a large warehouse district. There are no flashy, rock star players. No dazzling, gimmicky schematics (save maybe for that Wildcat that quarterbacks coach David Lee introduced last year…though can you really see a casual fan ooohing and aaahing over a direct snap to the running back?). Piece by piece, the Dolphins aren’t all that great.

And yet, this is a team capable of matching its 11-win performance of a year ago. Why? Because nine times out of ten, the Dolphins do football better than their opponent does football. Do football? What does that mean? For starters, it means the Dolphins are better managed and better coached. Being better managed is no surprise; with Parcells running the operations, you’re guaranteed to get quick, effective roster turnover the first few years (done), a big, physical defense (done), a few foundation-building draft classes (done, thus far) and a subtle winning mentality that, like porn, can’t be described but is easy to recognize (done).

The “better coached” part has been more surprising. Few people knew of former Cowboys offensive line instructor Tony Sparano before he got his first head coaching gig last season. But the 47-year-old from West Haven, CT got more out of his players on a weekly basis than anyone in the league. Justifiably, Sparano was voted NFL Coach of the Year. The Dolphin offense is pocked with limitations––lack of big-play ability in the passing game being the most noteworthy––and the numbers tend to show it. Last season, Miami ranked 12^th in yardage but 21^st in scoring. The defense, outside of maybe an aging Joey Porter, doesn’t have any lightning rod players who can conjure game-changing plays.

Yet, again, the Dolphins win. And not because of luck. Their league-high +17 turnover differential last season was a product of being patient and smart on both sides of the ball. Their lack of injuries stemmed from a “don’t let me catch you in the training room” culture that has defined Parcells teams. Watching Miami on film is a unique and rewarding experience. All 53 guys are perfectly comfortable in their highly-specialized roles. The flow of the game is always in the Dolphins’ favor. The game plan is regularly executed with precision, leading to individual offensive players operating in space and swarms of defensive players creating congestion.

Like a powerhouse North American chain restaurant, the Dolphins succeed not by having the best individual pieces, but by consistently doing the best job of putting all their pieces together. Of course, this season, everyone will be expecting that.

Offense

It’s hard to overstate what quarterback Chad Pennington means to this offense. The 10^th-year veteran embodies this Dolphin team. Pennington came to town late last summer having obvious athletic limitations (chiefly mobility and arm strength). Yet he managed to finish second in MVP voting after completing 67.4 percent of his passes, tossing 19 touchdowns versus just seven interceptions and throwing for a career-high 3,653 yards.

It’s the yardage that’s most surprising. The Dolphins don’t have primetime receivers. Third-year pro Ted Ginn Jr. has improved his awareness and learned to utilize his acceleration as an NFL route runner, but overall, he’s still more fit as a second option. If that’s the case, then, technically, undrafted fourth-year pro Greg Camarillo would be the first option––which just doesn’t seem right. Camarillo’s not a bad starter. Assuming he recovers from a torn ACL suffered last November (at the time, Camarillo was the team’s leading receiver and on pace for over 1,000 yards), he can produce as a reliable, courageous target inside. But he doesn’t have the straight-line speed or willowy athleticism to be a big-time No. 1.

Fortunately, Dan Henning’s passing game isn’t dependent on No. 1 type receivers. And a savvy quarterback like Pennington––who, by the way, must stay sharp if he’s to keep his job from young prototype pocket passer Chad Henne––can lead a drive without referring to a go-to receiver. In fact, Pennington will have more reasons to widely distribute the ball in 2009. There’s no reason shifty, lightning-quick second-year slot receiver Davone Bess won’t be better. If he’s not, than fourth-round rookie Brian Hartline––an Ohio State product who offers similar skills as the 5’10” Bess, only in a 6’2” frame––could snatch the slot job.

Additionally, the Dolphins expect contributions from athletic second-year wideout Brandon London; should London fail, Miami can turn to third-round rookie Patrick Turner, a classic Parcells possession receiver. None of these receivers are gilded options, but with six of them, odds are the Dolphins will find someone who can produce. Helping them produce is the fact that Henning’s system rarely puts burdensome demands on the passing game. Most of the routes wind up in the short areas outside the numbers.

Dolphins love to put two tight ends on the field, which means, even though he’s technically behind Anthony Fasano, David Martin, should he choose to, could probably introduce himself to people as the starting tight end of the Miami Dolphins. With soft hands and serviceable run-blocking technique, Martin’s good enough to fill that role. But he doesn’t quite have Fasano’s combination of finesse and strength.

The Dolphins also make use of their tight ends in the run game (this, by the way, mitigates the impact of solid lead-blocking fullback Lousaka Polite). It’s a run game that’s expected to improve upon its ’08 ranking of 11. Ronnie Brown, now fully recovered from his 2007 ACL surgery, is playing in the final year of his $35 million rookie contract. Brown does not have the sleekest wheels, but his blend of power and acceleration is augmented by his vision and timing.

Brown is aided by backup Ricky Williams who, at 32, wants to play two more seasons. (He’s apparently giving everyone plenty of advanced notice this time after the abruptness of his first retirement…you know…rubbed some people the wrong way.) Williams doesn’t have his old burst, but that isn’t to say he’s not a serviceable force. He gained 659 yards on the ground last season (Brown gained 915), though this year, don’t be surprised if some of those numbers fall into the lap of third-string runner Patrick Cobbs.

It wouldn’t be good analysis to talk about Miami’s run game and not give fair due to the effectiveness of the Wildcat formation. The Dolphins averaged 6.1 yards per carry out of the Wildcat last year, nearly two yards better than their yards per carry out of regular sets. Part of this can be attributed to Brown’s keen eye for setting up blocks. Another part of it can be attributed to the effectiveness of offensive tackle Jake Long when overloading to the right side.

Though it has promptly flooded into the mainstream, the Wildcat isn’t leaving Miami anytime soon. The Dolphins used their second-round draft pick on scrambling West Virginia quarterback Pat White. Some believe White can one day be a quality NFL dropback passer. Perhaps. But for now, he’ll be a situational option passer.

It should be noted that Long, and the rest of Miami’s offensive line, are about more than just dominating on overload formations. Long, in fact, is already one of the better left tackles in the NFL. He gets out of his stance extremely well and, like most ex-Michigan Wolverines, shows excellent technique. He also has good feet, which are a boon to the ground game given that his running mate, left guard Justin Smiley, is tremendous on the move.

Long and Smiley can provide Pro Bowl-level blocking on the left side, though in order to do so, they’ll need center Jake Grove to be the consistent presence that the Dolphins are guaranteeing him $14.5 million over the next three years to be. Grove should bring more power inside than Samson Satele did, but it’s a little concerning that the Fins have no proven backup here. Injuries have caused Grove to miss 26 games in his five-year career.

The right side of the line is somewhat iffy. Mammoth tackle Vernon Carey is fine, but guard Brandon Frye is as green as a Coral Gables lawn. Frye is only starting because Donald Thomas tore a pectoral muscle during the offseason. Thomas also missed all of last season with a Lisfranc fracture; Ike Ndukwe shared fill-in snaps with Andy Alleman. Neither youngster, however, played particularly well.

Defense

Watching the Dolphin defense is not unlike watching the scores of Chinese drummers during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies: everyone is on the same page and understands their role. And they’re very specific roles, too. The Dolphins almost have two front sevens: one for running downs and one for passing downs. The only players who work on both downs are inside linebacker Channing Crowder and weakside linebacker Joey Porter.

Crowder is a fine player but doesn’t pack the punch of an elite stopper. He takes a tad long to get off blocks and, possibly per orders of coordinator Paul Pasqualoni, he doesn’t take a lot of chances. That said, Parcells was wise to sign the fifth-year pro to a three-year contract extension.

Porter could actually see fewer snaps in 2009, which would be beneficial to his 32-year-old body. In his 10^th season last year, Porter disproved his copious naysayers (this writer included) by leading the AFC with 17.5 sacks. However, 11.5 of those sacks came in the first eight games; down the stretch, Porter looked a half-step slower and somewhat less creative.

To rectify this, the Dolphins brought back future Hall of Famer Jason Taylor. They also signed CFL two-time Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Wake, a former Penn State linebacker who posted a stunning 39 sacks in ’07-’08 for the Columbia Lions. Wake may not get snaps ahead of Taylor, but he could beat out the athletic but disconcertingly average Charlie Anderson.

None of the aforementioned outside ‘backers are big-time run defenders, which is why the Dolphins need to re-sign strongside linebacker Matt Roth after this season. Roth is excellent in high-traffic areas and gets in the backfield on a fairly regular basis. Miami’s other run-defending linebacker is inside man Akin Ayodele, a well-sized veteran who understands the scheme. Most of the run defense hinges on the three big bodies up front.

Nose tackle Jason Ferguson headlines the group––at least for one more season. Ferguson, another contract-year veteran, turns 35 at the end of November. He still commands double teams on every run play, which is significant because the same cannot be said for his backup and supposed understudy Paul Soliai.

Second-year pros Kendall Langford (third-rounder from Hampton) and Phillip Merling (second-rounder from Clemson) will handle the defensive end positions. Langford is phenomenal in terms of getting off blocks and exploding into the point of contact. He came from a smaller school than Merling but blossomed quicker. Merling, however, could be the better player in the long-haul. It makes perfect sense to move him ahead of sluggish former starter Randy Starks.

Miami will likely play Jason Taylor and Joey Porter at defensive end on third downs, with Merling and Starks (or possibly backup end Tony McDaniel) working inside. A potent pass-rush will obviously aid the secondary, which is important considering it ranked 25^th a year ago and could feature two rookies at corner. First-round pick Vontae Davis, a physical yet, some would say, temperamental 5’11”, 203-pound rock, is expected to start opposite steady veteran Will Allen. Lanky second-round corner Sean Smith––6’3”, 214––could vie for a nickel job (he’d likely work outside as opposed to in the slot). The Dolphins like Smith’s speed for his size, though he’s fairly new to the cornerback position and needs to hone his technique. If he is unable to earn immediate playing time, either feisty former Cardinal Eric Green (a better tackler than ballhawk) or incumbent backup Nathan Jones (an agile ex-Cowboy) will play in nickel.

Free safety Gibril Wilson is best known for his run defense, though Miami hopes his speed can infuse more big plays in pass defense. In whatever form, Wilson will be more dynamic than last year’s conservative starter, Renaldo Hill (now a Bronco). Most likely, Wilson won’t be needed in the box as long as strong safety Yeremiah Bell continues to perform near a Pro Bowl-level.

Special Teams

Miami’s coverage units must improve. It’s likely they will, given this is a modestly deeper team. In the kicking game, Dan Carpenter was a solid 21/25 on field goals in his first year, including an NFL rookie record 14/14 during one stretch. Punter Brandon Fields netted just 35.5 yards per boot, though some blame goes to a coverage unit that surrendered 13.1 yards per return.

Imagine how lustily Dolphin fans would have booed Cam Cameron on Draft Day ’07 if they knew then that Ted Ginn Jr. wouldn’t even be able to hold onto the punt return job. Those duties have gone to Davone Bess, though Miami should maybe consider giving the much faster Ginn another shot. Then again, Ginn, as the primary kick returner, averaged an underwhelming 20.5 yards per return last season.

Miami Dolphins Bottom Line

It will be hard for a team with of this mundane talent level to top its 11-5 mark of a year ago. Chad Pennington can’t guide this offense much better than he did in ’08. The young defense will improve moderately, but probably not enough to push through January. Tony Sparano is a fantastic coach in just about every sense, though in order to advance in the playoffs, he needs more playmakers.

Predicted: 2nd AFC East