FanHouse Jason Allen

Joey Porter is known for flapping his gums. He used to be known for his ability to get to the quarterback, but after the Steelers released him after the 2006 season, he's basically been relegated to on-field cheerleading duty (which, for $32 million, isn't a bad gig).

Whatever his role, Porter knows better than most that fans can be brutal. He understands how things work since, you know, he's usually instigating some verbal confrontation. But in the wake of the Vince Young weirdness, J. Peezy tells the Miami Herald that "you hear some of the worst things" from angry fans.

This one might have topped them all. Two months after [Porter was shot in the butt], which occurred outside a Denver bar when Porter was with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was preparing to play the Seahawks in Seattle when an opposing fan approached him.

'The guy says to me, `I wish somebody would have shot you in the back instead!' '' Porter recalled. ``And I'm pretty sure he was serious.''

Porter is a confident person and has been known to dish out harsh comments of his own, so he believes he's very capable of handling any criticisms that come with his high-profile job.

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

I would love to meet these "Dolphins officials" to ask if they were drunk or high when they made these comments. Via the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson, anonymous source maestro:

Some Dolphins officials believe their safeties are better than Dallas'. Among the best battles in camp: Jason Allen (first-team snaps in May/June), Renaldo Hill (expects to be 100 percent after surgery to an anterior cruciate ligament) and former Falcons starter Chris Crocker vying to start opposite Yeremiah Bell. ''Jason has a lot of speed and I like what I see, as much as you can like in shorts and a T-shirt,'' secondary coach Todd Bowles said.

Also worth finding out: are these "officials" part of the coaching staff/scouting department, or do they work in the ticket office/accounting/anywhere but coaching staff or scouting department? I'm going with the latter.

In any event, assuming somebody actually believes this to be true, I suspect it all comes down to the Cowboys' Roy Williams. The guy has been crucified this offseason for, well, not being very good. Still, Ken Hamlin had an impressive season (so much so that Dallas wants to keep him around for a while), Pat Watkins continues to develop, and Anthony Henry could eventually move to safety, which would only upgrade the unit.

Okay, so I think we've established that there are no quick fixes for this 2007 Dolphins outfit. Which means that it's going to take time to turn things around in Miami. One way -- and the way preferred by Kansas City fan favorite, Herm Edwards -- is through the draft. The other option is to load up on high-priced free agents. That strategy has been a resounding success in Washington.

Clearly, some mix of the two roster-building methods is the best way to build a team, and the New England Patriots would be the most obvious example. So who might the Dolphins target this off-season? Well, according to the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero, the team should have roughly $25 million in cap space, and he writes that the defense could use an infusion of veteran playmakers.

Topping the free-agent wish list: Colts' safety Bob Sanders, followed by Pats cornerback Asante Samuel. Salguero thinks Sanders could be good for Jason Allen's development, and Samuel would be the team's first "lock-down cornerback" since Patrick Surtain and Sam Madison were in their primes. On the defensive line, Salguero shoots for the moon with Albert Haynesworth.

In addition to the indignity that goes along with starting the season 0-8, Dolphins players also hear about it from everybody once they leave their day jobs.

'I hear it all the time. Almost every day,'' said cornerback Travis Daniels, who went to high school at Hollywood South Broward and so has more friends, family and general familiarity around South Florida than most Dolphins.

''It's from everybody. They don't consider your feelings. They just get straight up on you,'' Daniels said. Although he admitted, 'Nothing is too cold. Everything's pretty much like, `When are y'all going to win a game? What's the problem?' Stuff like that. Nothing you take to heart.''

Defensive end Matt Roth admits to not leaving the house much, but when he has the occasion so see people he knows, it's invariably met with some form of: "C'mon, man, what's wrong with you guys?!' '' Nice.

Safety Jason Allen gets all philosophical: ''I can't let the next person dictate what I can or can't do...' Well, except for Nick Saban, of course.

Good news, though: today could be the day. The Dolphins host the Bills and this might be their next-to-last chance to eke out a win (Miami hosts the Jets in three weeks). Unfortunately, the Bills are on a three-game winning streak and are in second place in the division, so it might be a bit premature to bust out the bubbly just yet. But that'll make the December 2 Jets matchup all the more intriguing. And by "intriguing" I mean, "positioning yourself for a run at the first-overall pick next April."

Despite some relatively good news, this has to be a bit worrisome:

Serious questions remain about first-rounder Jason Allen, who held out 10 days, didn't get defensive snaps until November and contributed modestly at safety (13 tackles, one interception). The hope is that his move to cornerback allows him to play more instinctively and not think as much. But he's behind Will Allen, Andre Goodman, Travis Daniels.

To be fair, Allen did have a lot thrown at him as a rookie. The Steelers' safety Troy Polamalu -- now considered one of the best in the league -- looked lost for most of his rookie season and he was learning only one position.

And Allen makes a similar admission: "''Last year, I was a little uncomfortable at safety having a holdout. I was playing catch-up the whole year. I feel a lot more comfortable now. This year, a lot of things are more simplified. It's time for me to bloom.''

That's good because after Will Allen, there wasn't much consistently at cornerback last season. And even if Jason succeeds, there's the question of who will play safety. According to SportingNews.com, "Yeremiah Bell appears to be a rising star, but the club fears he is injury-prone." They even go so far as to suggest the team should draft LaRon Landry if he's still on the board. I wouldn't suggest that (and neither would Armando Salguero), but there should be plenty of chances to find a safety later in the draft.

I was watching the NFL Network's "Path to the Draft" earlier this week and the conversation turned to the cornerback position. The hosts listed the Dolphins as in the market for secondary help, even as early as the first round.

In my uninformed opinion, I don't see this happening, and at this point I expect the club to either trade up and make at run at Brady Quinn or stay put and bolster the offensive line. Also, it reminded me that Miami drafted Jason Allen with last year's first-round pick.

Allen played both cornerback and safety at Tennessee and before a hip injury ended his senior season, he was considered the nation's best free safety. Concerns about his recovery caused some NFL teams to drop him from their draft boards, but like Daunte Culpepper, the club took a chance on Allen -- despite the medical concerns -- in the middle of the first round.

For the most part, his rookie season was a dud, but it had nothing to do with his hip. Instead, then-head coach Nick Saban had Allen playing both cornerback and safety ... as a rookie. And not surprisingly, it stunted his development. In an interview with WQAM, general manager Randy Mueller said Allen will play both positions in 2007 too.

The transition should be much easier for a player who has a year in the league -- and in the same defensive scheme -- but you have to wonder how much better Allen would be if he was able to concentrate on just one position as a rookie. (Although, I'm guessing Allen's 10-day holdout didn't help his progress either.) Luckily, owner Wayne Huizenga won't tolerate such insubordination this year ... or so he says.