FanHouse Andre Goodman

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Give Josh McDaniels this much: He's willing to make an impression. Before he's even coached so much as one regular season game, he's assured that he will either be remembered as a bold, brilliant leader who won because he had the courage of his convictions, or as an abject failure whose hiring set the franchise back by years because he had the courage of his convictions. Some of that has to do with Jay Cutler's career trajectory, but McDaniels needs to win and he needs to win quickly.

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

A year ago, the Dolphins were coming off a 1-15 record and had locked up Jake Long with the first-overall pick a week before the 2008 draft. Now, one year into Bill Parcells' Reclamation Project, Miami is 11-5, defending AFC East champs, and hold the 25th selection in Saturday's draft.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer

When the New York Jets tossed Chad Pennington aside in favor of Brett Favre, the Miami Dolphins were happy to pick up the 32-year-old veteran and put him under center.

They were rewarded with a quarterback that finished second in the league's MVP voting, as the team completed one of the most improbable one-year turnarounds in NFL history, claiming the AFC East title one year after a forgettable 1-15 season.

Now that the weather has become more of a factor during the final third of the season, we don't hear so much about the Patriots blowing out opponents. The elements make it damn near impossible.

But New England's opponent later today, the Miami Dolphins, had the misfortune of facing the best team in football back in October -- in Miami -- and were summarily steamrolled 49-28. A beatdown that included five first-half touchdown passes courtesy of Tom Brady. Shockingly, not everybody in the Dolphins organization was psyched about New England hanging 48:

Guard Chris Liwienski said several Dolphins were upset and felt disrespected when the Patriots passed with a 42-7 lead in their first meeting. But, countered cornerback Andre' Goodman, "If they're running up the score, that just tells us how bad we are.''

Andre' Goodman should win some kind of award for brutal honesty. He's right, of course. I'm not crazy about the Pats throwing when they're up by five touchdowns, or going for it on fourth downs twice in the fourth quarter, but unlike high school -- or even college -- these guys are professionals. Plus, with the salary cap, the NFL is all about parity (Lions fans might disagree). If you get your ass handed to you ... well, it's on you.