Dolphins Sunday Talking Points: Final cuts were hard to predict

The Dolphins certainly sent a message to those players who made their 53-man roster Saturday: Nobody is safe. David Martin and Donald Thomas are proof of that, which is where we start our Sunday talking points. 1. The Martin and Thomas cuts prove the prognosticators were guessing. When the various experts have been putting together their projected 53-man roster the past few days, not a single one had either player going anywhere. The guess was that Martin would be kept ahead of John Nalbone and Thomas ahead of Cory Procter. Fact is, Martin hasn’t been able to get the same separation he had been getting before being lost for all of the 2009 season with an injury. And Procter’s versatility – he can play center and both guard positions – gave him the edge over Thomas, who had been working at both guard positions but apparently not getting the job done at either. 2. Give the Dolphin management credit for owning up to mistakes. Pat White and Patrick Turner proved to be two of the poorer draft-day decisions the Bill Parcells regime has made in its nearly three years on the job. A report surfaced last week claiming that Parcells was against the White pick all the way; if that’s so, it’s surprising he was overruled

when it was made. White’s passing struggles have been well-chronicled here over the past 14 months. Not much has been said about Turner, but there were whispers last year that the coaches were unhappy with his work ethic and route running. Once Marlon Moore and Roberto Wallace got up to speed on the offense, both passed Turner, who never did make a noticeable impact in a game. Will either catch on someplace else? Doubtful. White’s future could be in the CFL, where his small frame wouldn’t take such a pounding and his versatility would be a plus. With so many quality receivers out there – hey, T.J. Houshmandzadeh got cut by Seattle Saturday – it’s unlikely Turner will even get a look. 3. The Dolphins might want to think about pursuing Houshmandzadeh. Word is Minnesota is after him as insurance with Sidney Rice out the first half of the season and Percy Harvin still a question mark due to his headaches, but Miami can’t feel great about either Moore or Wallace being its fourth receiver at this point. Houshmandzadeh turns 33 later this month, so it’s a short-term experiment. But Chad Henne wouldn’t complain about having another experienced target in his passing game.

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Dolphins Sunday Talking Points: Final cuts were hard to predict

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