FanHouse VonnieHolliday

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: The Brett Favre Fallout ended up with Chad Pennington coming to Miami. Good thing, because the Dolphins didn't have a quarterback on their roster. Well, technically they did ... but when you are having a three-man race to figure out who might be able to handle the job ... you have no QB. Pennington gives Miami what they need: an experienced, accurate passer. He's a winner, but not the kind of guy who makes those dynamic plays. Right now, they don't have great receivers, either, so a guy that can hit his target is key. Chad Henne may be the future ... but that's what we thought about John Beck last year. Heat Index: 4

Running backs: This is the biggest strength of this offense. During their 1-15 season last year, the fact that Ronnie Brown was having an outstanding season was lost on many people. Brown was worthy of a Pro Bowl spot before he tore his ACL in mid-season. All indications are that he's healed. Brown will share duties with Ricky Williams. Yep, he's back and he's bad! I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ricky has been a model teammate. He's basically lived at the Dolphins complex, is in supreme physical shape and could get back to his pre-retirement form. Of course, that is all the good. The bad is that your steadiest part of the team involves a guy with a major knee injury and another who is now 31, barely has played over the last several seasons, already has two strikes and is unreliable. At least he's not on the hippie lettuce anymore. Heat Index: 7

This seems like a fitting end to a one-win campaign. Dolphins' first-year head coach Cam Cameron suspended Keith Traylor for the season finale because the 340-pound defensive tackle can't play nicely with others. Specifically, Traylor got in a fight on the team plane after the Week 16 loss to the Patriots.

According to two sources, the fight was with offensive linemen Rex Hadnot and Vernon Carey. Traylor, 38, did not practice last week, and the team listed him on its injury report with an ankle ailment.

Cam Cameron met with Traylor on Monday, they argued, and the coach kicked him off the team, one of the sources said.

I don't know if this qualifies as "thugs and hoodlums"-type behavior, but Traylor's inability to keep his hands to himself and the fact that he's 38 could mean that his Dolphins career is over.

And although Cameron is neither a thug nor a hoodlum (if anything, Cameron's the anti-thug), he could be looking for work soon too.

According to the Sun-Sentinel's Ethan Skolnick, Miami kept Traylor on the roster for yesterday's game to avoid a public-relations problem and to keep Traylor from signing with another team. Teammate Vonnie Holliday stuck up for his soon-to-be former teammate:

Five former North Carolina Tar Heels will take the field tonight for the NFL's 2006 debut when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Miami Dolphins.

Miami will suit up two UNC defensive greats in defensive end Vonnie Holliday and linebacker Keith Newman.

Pittsburgh counters on the offensive side of the ball with running back Willie Parker and on special teams with mainstay kicker Jeff Reed and long snapper Greg Warren.

This should make for an interesting matchup when the Steelers have the ball. Will "Fast Willie" Parker be able to blow by his Tar Heel brethren who will be stalking him on defense, or will he be shut down by his veteran counterparts?

Either way, it will be nice to see the Heels so well represented in the season's opening game. And let's hope North Carolina's football recruits are taking note.