Miami Dolphins In Depth

Don't be surprised if Tannehill starts Friday

If the distance between third-string quarterback Ryan Tannehill and and second-stringer Matt Moore was small last week, as coach Joe Philbin said Friday, it seems much smaller today. In fact, it can be argued the two are tied in the battle to become the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback.

And while Tannehill seems to be climbing, Moore seems to be fading.

Both players took first-team snaps in practice today. I was not there. But The Miami Herald's Adam Beasley tracked the practice and reports Tannehill had the better day.

Beyond that, coach Joe Philbin did not rule out starting Tannehill against Carolina Friday night in the second preseason game.

Beyond that, Philbin also made the point he would like to pick a starter for the regular-season opener by the time the Dolphins play their third preseason game.

"Our plan all along was to get all three of those quarterbacks reps with the first group in the preseason," Philbin said referencing Tannehill, Moore and injured David Garrard. "We haven't quite crossed that bridge yet. We'll figure all that out as the week progresses."

Asked if Tannehill would get a chance to start in the preseason, Philbin responded ...

"In one of these games we'll definitely try it, yeah, sure."

Here's the deal: Moore already started a game. If this competition is going to be completely fair, Tannehill needs to show what he can do with Miami's starting group and against a starting defense to give the coaches an apples-to-apples comparison.

So it makes sense for the Dolphins to start Tannehill Friday -- keeping in mind he cannot drop off the table in practice the next four days to earn that distinction. That would be the fair way to draw the comparison. Moore versus starters one week. Tannehill versus starters the next week. Moore coming in as a backup one week after Tannehill came in as a backup.

Philbin does not want to publicly commit to a starter yet because he sees what we see. He sees his rookie advancing and his veterans falling off -- Garrard because of the knee injury and Moore because, well, I don't know why.

The problem is the Dolphins don't have a lot of time to make a decision if they are going to keep to their original plans. The team wanted to know who would be the starting quarterback after Friday's outcome.

"I've stated in the past that in an ideal situation when you have a quarterback competition in training camp, you'd probably like to have your starter named after your second preseason game," Philbin said. "The plan right now would be that our starters would play their most snaps against Atlanta (in the third preseason game). That would lead you to believe if things were right you would have your starter by then."

But if Tannehill and Moore -- oh so close to one another -- cannot separate, then what?

"I'm going to look at film and evaluate the position," the coach said. "I'm going to do the best thing for the football team to win games. I can stand up here and say I do believe that will be the scenario that unfolds, however, it may not. So we're going to have to be flexible and do the best thing for the team and make the decision when the time comes."

One more thing: The depth chart that will come out Monday will not be the final word on which quarterback starts for Miami Friday. It may be a snapshot of the competition on Monday. But Philbin says this is perhaps the preseason's most important practice week. A lot of things can happen. A lot of things can change.

So the first-team QB on Monday might not be the starter Friday. Come to think of it, last week, the first-team quarterback on Monday did not start the game Friday.

 

Police report: Johnson doesn't give a (bleep) about career

Chad Johnson has officially bonded out of jail at this hour but the details of the Saturday arrest that has his Dolphins career hanging by a thread are coming out via the police report.

According to the report, Johnson and his wife Evelyn Lozada returned from shopping around 7:10 p.m. Saturday. When Lozada was taking grocieries out of the trun of the car she "located a Walgreen's receipt in the vehicle's trunk for a box of condoms."

"The two then sat inside of their black smart car that was parked in the driveway directly in front of the house. They began talking about the sales receipt and their marriage. As they were talking Johnson became upset and without Lozada's permission grabbed her and head-butted her on the forehead causing a laceration. Johnson began screaming and Lozada attempted to calm Johnson down. He began screaming, "I don't give a (expletived deleted)! I don't give a (expletive deleted) about my career!"

"Lozada then fled on foot to a neighbor's house to get away from Johnson."

The police report goes on to say that Johnson claimed it was Lozada who head-butted him rather than the other way around. Johnson, the police report said, had no visible marks or bruises. Lozada, the report says, has a laceration approximately three-inches long.

Interestingly, Lozada told police she wished to press charges and signed an affidavit of complaint stating as much. That was before she was transported to a hospital. At the hospital, Lozada was treated, photos of her injury were taken, and a sworn statement was taped.

So much for the idea she won't be cooperating with the prosecution.

Johnson's behavior puts Philbin, Dolphins on trial

Chad Johnson was arrested on a misdeameanor domestic violence charge Saturday when police said he head-butted his wife Evelyn Lozada. And while the wife's cooperation and various legal wranglings will determine if Johnson will ever go on trial for the charge, the episode does guarantee one trial immediately.

Today, the Dolphins and their new coach are on trial.

This is not a trial of law or justice. This one will be a trial to see if Dolphins coach Joe Philbin means what he says and whether his words can be believed or not.

You see, the irony of Johnson's arrest is that it comes in the same week when Philbin already warned the player that he had to meet a certain standard of conduct to remain on the team.

Philbin was displeased that Johnson conducted what I have termed the most bizarre press conference in Dolphins history -- complete with multiple F-bombs, painted nails, talk of porn, and other ridiculousness.

That led Philbin to have a private heart-to-heart with Johnson. Except as the Dolphins are the subject of this summer's Hard Knocks series on HBO, the private conversation was captured in all its apparent lengthy discomfort for national cable airing.

And later, Philbin told Hard Knocks that unless Johnson fell into line he was in jeopardy of losing his job.

And then Philbin made the point to the rest of the media that he promised club owner Stephen Ross to run the organization in a certain way and that if people became an embarrassment for the organization, they wouldn't be part of the program.

Remember all that?

Philbin's words:

"Everybody's different," he said. "We want to let guys be themselves. However, we think everybody has an obligation to get on board with the program. I told Mr. Ross we were going to have men that represented themselves in the right way on and off the field. And that's important to me. It's important to our staff. I believe it's important to our owner that we do things the right way."

The "right way" has so far eluded Johnson. He's embarrassed the coach with that press conference. And now he's embarrassed himself and the organization by getting arrested. And for hitting a woman, no less.

And so the trial begins. No, not Johnson's trial, but Philbin's.

Is the coach going to keep Johnson on the team? Is he going to let this slide? Or is he going to cut the player on the spot. As early as today?

I'm certain Philbin can say he's going to wait to let the legal issue work itself out and hide behind the idea that Johnson will likely not be prosecuted -- this is a guess because usually spouses decline to cooperate with authorities and the issue disappears. Also, this is Johnson's apparent first offense in the local judicial system.

So the Dolphins can simply kinda sorta look the other way and let this thing blow over and keep Johnson. They've done it before, indeed many teams get away with this tact all the time. Guys beat up their wives or girlfriends and the teams separate themselves from the issue in the name of letting the law handle the matter. Then high-priced attorneys make the matter go away and the athlete keeps his job because the team is able to say it won't punish the athlete when the legal system didn't.

Happens all the time.

So Philbin and the Dolphins can probably go this route as many organizations and coaches often do to save face.

Or ...

Is the coach going to prove that his words are not just lip service? Is the coach going to actually do what he has said -- which is to weed out the idiots? Is Philbin going to cut Johnson for sullying the name of the Dolphins on multiple occasions in a one-week span?

Such a move would send a strong message. It would tell the rest of the locker room that coach isn't going to put up with this kind of behavior, particularly if you're barely hanging on as it is. It would send the message to fans and media that Philbin can be believed when he says something because put to the test, he did what he said he'd do.

So today could be a telling day.

Joe Philbin and the Dolphins have a choice. They are on trial. Chad Johnson's behavior put them there.

Now we watch for a verdict.

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