Dolphins hire Capers

Dom Capers agreed to a one-year deal to become a "special assistant" to Nick Saban. The former Houston Texans coach was also head coach of the Carolina Panthers when the Panthers reached the NFC championship game in 1996. It is still unknown how Capers will fit in the coaching hierarchy, but coach Saban is expected to address the media on the topic today.

Mularkey is new offensive coordinator

Former Buffalo Bills coach Mike Mularkey is the new Dolphins offensive coordinator, taking over for departed Scott Linehan. Mularkey resigned from the Bills after disagreements with Bills management and being forced to fire four assistant coaches. Before joining the Bills, Mularkey was the offensive coordinator for the Steelers.

Conference championships

My woeful record last week isn't going to stop me from making predictions about this week's conference championship games! However, for those of you who are in a betting mood, you may want to bet against the teams I pick. :-)

The AFC championship is almost a toss up. Talent-wise, the Broncos and Steelers match up about evenly. However, given Denver's home field advantage, I'll pick the Broncos in a close game.

In theory, the NFC championship shouldn't be as close. Seattle has been the superior team all season, and with DeShaun Foster out, Carolina will have to depend on Steve Smith even more. The problem is, Seattle knows that, and I'm sure they will defend Smith better than Chicago did.

So I'm picking Denver and Seattle in the Super Bowl, which likely means a Pittsburgh-Carolina Super Bowl in a couple of weeks.

Good thing I don't make predictions for a living

3 of my 4 predictions for the divisional championship games turned out to be wrong. Bleah!

I'm happiest to be wrong about the Denver-New England game. Thank goodness the Patriots are out of the playoffs! I'm saddest about the Pittsburgh-Indianapolis game. I wanted Peyton Manning to win it all this year. It'd be a shame for him to end up as the second greatest quarterback (behind Dan Marino, of course) to have never won a Super Bowl.

Now that the team I liked the most in the playoffs (Colts) and the team I hated the most (Patriots) are both out, I pretty much have no interest in this year's playoffs anymore.

Divisional playoffs

Here are my 2 cents on the divisional playoffs this weekend.

In the NFC, I expect the two favorites (Seattle and Chicago) to win. Seattle could wind up beating Washington rather handily because, frankly, I don't think the Redskins are that good. The Chicago-Carolina game should be closer because Chicago's defense will keep it a low scoring game, but the Bears' offense isn't powerful enough to pile on the points.

In the AFC, the Broncos-Patriots game features the two teams that the Dolphins beat to start and end the season. Even with the Broncos having an extra week's rest, I expect the Patriots to avenge their loss to them earlier this season and be the only away team to win a divisional playoff game. In the other AFC contest, a rested Colts team should defeat the Steelers.

Dolphins are third best team since 1979

According to ESPN, the Dolphins have the third best record since 1979, with 253 wins and 170 losses for a winning percentage of .598. This trails only San Francisco (.615) and Denver (.610). However, the Dolphins are also among the 19 teams who have not won a Super Bowl in that time frame.

On the one hand, the overall record is comforting, especially after 2004's disaster season. Yet it's hard to believe that teams like Tampa Bay and Baltimore have won a Super Bowl in the last 26 years while the Dolphins haven't.

Playoffs start without Dolphins

In recent years, this has been a depressing time because the NFL playoffs are getting into full swing, but the Dolphins aren't in it. Instead of getting more excited during the run to the Super Bowl, I start to lose interest in football because there's no team that I have a vested interest in. If I had to root for anyone, it would be whoever plays the Patriots in the playoffs. The last thing I need is yet another championship for New England.

Dolphins to draft #16

The NFL announced the order of the draft yesterday, and the Dolphins will pick 16th. The Texans (2-14) have the top pick in the draft. The draft will be held April 29-30.

Dolphins end season with win over Patriots, 28-26

Yes, the New England Patriots rested some of their starters, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that the Dolphins ended the season with six straight wins, their longest winning streak in 13 years. The Dolphins beat the Patriots 28-26 behind Ricky Williams, who rushed 28 times for 108 yards and a touchdown. Ronnie Brown added 21 yards on 8 carries. Gus Frerotte completed 22 of 35 passes for 239 yards and one touchdown.

The Dolphins finish the season at 9-7 but just fail to make the playoffs.