2009 Miami Dolphins Position Grades: Inside Linebacker

I normally would not use tackle totals to grade a player, but in this case I believe they speak volumes. Playing a 3-4 defense, which is designed for the LBs to make the majority of the tackles, our starting four LBs had about 200 total tackles. Brian Cushing, the ROOKIE LB for the Texans had 132 tackles this season himself. Whats wrong with this picture? Our guys seemed old , unathletic, were poor tacklers and couldn't cover anybody's TE. I really believe we need new starters all the way around, or at least two or three.

I personally liked it better when we ran the 4-3 instead of the 3-4. It may be a slow building process, but it seems like we have been spinning our wheels for the past decade. We really have no "stand-out's", and quite frankly, that's getting pretty old. The other teams in the league must laugh at the Dolphins, because it's like a bunch of 'C' and 'D' quality players that add up to be about as good as a Division III college team. I know Zach Thomas may not have been the best linebacker to ever play the game, but he was pretty darn good and made a BUNCH of tackles. He was my favorite player, and we sure could use another one !

D- They were the biggest disappointment of all on the defense.