FanHouse JoeyPorter

It's not quite the harbinger of doom of, say, Joey Porter taking one in the backside just before the 2003 season, or Big Ben helmetlessly head-butting asphalt four months after winning Super Bowl XL, but if the Steelers' tank in 2009 I'm blaming Troy Polamalu.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
Team who invented the Wildcat formation! Cue all sorts of zeal from the dramatic broadcasters. Of course, the formation has actually been around for decades, we just hadn't seen a ton of usage in the NFL until the Dolphins seemed to perfect it -- peaking with Ronnie Brown's ridiculous game against the Patriots.

The Dolphins have a careful quarterback, two solid runners, a good, young receiving corps, and have added a great all-around athlete via draft. It might be tough to predict who is going to consistency amass yardage, but we know one thing: They are going to be fun to watch.

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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.

James Harrison and DeMarcus Ware couldn't have had more dissimilar starts to their careers. Harrison was an undrafted free agent who played in NFL Europe and toiled away on the Ravens' and Steelers' practice squads; Ware has been a starter since the Cowboys drafted him 11th overall in 2005.

Both linebackers have been to multiple Pro Bowls, and Harrison was named the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. And on Monday, he got a shiny, new deal out of it. Originally set to make just over $1 million next season, the Steelers renegotiated his contract to pay him more in line with his talents: six years, $51.2 million, $20 million guaranteed.

Apparently, the Buccaneers were considering the prospects of making a run at Jason Taylor before the Redskins released him. And now that he's a free man, word on the street is that Tampa Bay will make a concerted effort to sign the 34-year-old "Dancing With the Stars" ... star.

Via the Tampa Tribune:

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.

The 2008 Ravens exceeded everybody's expectations, including their own, I'd imagine. After winning just five times a year ago, Brian Billick was canned, and the front office wasted little time in their search for the next franchise quarterback. Hello, Joe Flacco.

So while the offense -- for the first time since coming to Baltimore last decade -- is headed in the right direction, the defense could be totally revamped next season. And that's a disconcerting thought since they're the unit primarily responsible for this organization's success.

I'll admit it: I'm shocked. James Harrison has been named the NFL's 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. I certainly thought he deserved to be in the conversation, and since I'm a Steelers fan, I'm obviously happy for him. But I also fully expect the Ed Reed and DeMarcus Ware supporters to make a spirited case for why their guy got hosed.

Fair enough.

It's hard to dispute Reed's ability to blow your mind on a weekly basis, but he got off to a slow start (only one pick in the first 10 games, which, when you consider that he wasn't supposed to be playing -- maybe ever again -- is impressive in its own right), but the eight interceptions over the final six weeks of the season puts him in the mix. That he had a lot to do with the Ravens' making it to the postseason further strengthens his case.

Ware, on the other hand, recorded 20 sacks, but the Cowboys, like the rest of us, watched the playoffs from the couch last weekend. I know, I know, playing on a team not coached by Wade Phillips doesn't automatically disqualify you for Player of the Year, but there's no way Ware gets it over Harrison or Reed, two guys still playing.

Stay on top of all the postseason action with FanHouse's NFL playoff coverage.

When the Ravens faced the Dolphins in Week 7, both teams were 2-3 and coming off forgettable 2007 seasons. I'm pretty sure nobody had Baltimore finishing the year 9-2 or Miami winning the division. Yet 11 weeks later, here we are.

The Ravens won 27-13 back in October in what has now become a familiar formula: run, run, play-action; matriculate the ball down the field; control the clock; and let the defense take care of the rest.

Pretty much everybody likes the Ravens tomorrow, partly because of their suffocating defense, and also because the Dolphins haven't beaten anybody outside the AFC East. Of their 10 non-divisional games, Miami was an impressive 7-3, but the teams they beat combined for a 36-76 record. So, yeah, there are some skeptics. The Ravens, on the other hand, smoked the Eagles, Redskins and Cowboys, and played the Steelers well enough to win. Twice.

Now the question becomes: can Miami concoct variations of the Wildcat that will work against Baltimore's defense? And when running a conventional offense, will Chad Pennington be able to play up to his MVP candidate form against the Ray Lewis All-Stars?