That in itself is part of the problem. Playoff teams don't end up playing 9 out of 11 games to the bone the way we do. Playoff teams go out there and show they're capable of BEATING opponents, like we did against Cleveland. When you're playing all these close games, most of the time how often you finish in those games is going to approximate a coin flip. There can be exceptions, such as Indianapolis last year or New England back in their Super Bowl winning days. But they're few and far between, IMO.
We need a coach with some fire. Head coach or an assistant would do. Someone to fire up the troops like Ray Lewis used to do.
I was thinking about every position and I agree... maybe a corner if the rookies cant step up and Patterson continues to need vagisil, but ya... Just an oline. Thats actually impressive for how hated Ireland is (you would think we were the Jaguars with how much peeps hate him)... I'm still on the fence about him I guess.
Jags fired their GM in the offseason because the team sucked, clearly we should have done the same. Hell since 2009 even the Jags were able to crack 8 wins at least once. From 09-12 they won 22 games, we only won 27, so it ain't much difference between the two teams.
As everyone else has said an oline that can passblock AND runblock, a RB who can actually break a tackle or too and with more vision and conviction. Finally a Head Coach who can actually fire up the team to get the best out of them and make the necessary adjustments plus an offensive coordinator who knows how to play to his teams strengths and doesn't call WR screens all day and moves away from anything that seems to be working well. Maybe even a linebacker who's aggressive, can shed blocks, get into the backfield and tackle like a beast
we don't have a stellar defense at least not the secondary d line is the only strength on defense. we have to stop giving up 24 plus points in the second half. we need A Competent general manager , a coach who isn't clueless , dumb asses to stop playing like dumb asses . we need two playmakers at running back and tight end .
Patience. And I think I'm crazy for saying it, but with all that has gone on with this team this season, the fact that they are still in the playoff hunt is a minor miracle. 2 starting offensive linemen are gone. Pouncey gets hurt and misses some time. Backups on the offensive line get hurt and then their backups get hurt. Running game has been very inconsistent. Partial RB fault, partial Oline fault. QB is still raw. Brand new WR that is having troubles with his QB and vice versa. Locker room scandal. GM on the hot seat. Coaching staff that continually shoots itself in the foot. Honestly? If 2 of those things were corrected weeks ago, Miami is in much better shape. The 3-0 start got everyone's hopes up when in actuality, this was not a 3-0 team. Maybe I am crazy, but as frustrating as it is, many teams would have thrown in the towel and headed for the Draft with the amount of nonsense this team has dealt with.
Miami's free agent spending spree I think falsely elevated most people's expectations, but you know what. When you decide to spend that kind of money in free agency and then do not appear to be any better than you were in the previous year, you essentially set yourself up for failure. Had Jeff decided not to spend in free agency and stick with the plan of building through the draft, he could have probably bought himself some time. Instead, I think Jeff went into free agency thinking he could make a quick fix happen and change the public perception of himself. So, the criticism comes with the territory.
Ok when it comes to head coach, we don't need Alvin Mack from The Program or some other Cheerleader in Chief. We need a guy that prepares the team to play every Sunday. We have been in every game except for the second half of the Saints game so essentially Philbin is doing his job. What is getting us is the lack of assimilation of our free agent signings, five critical losses to the offense and a lack of ability at two critical positions (offensive line and running back). If these aforementioned weren't issues, we would not be debating ad nauseam about a coaching error here or there that cost 3 points. If we return everybody (which is a possibility), I see further assimilation of our free agents, further development of our young players (QB included), upgrades to the backfield and a complete retooling of the offensive line. All considered, the 2014 Dolphins should be appreciably better than the 2013 Dolphins. We do actually have a pretty young roster which one would think would have tempered expectations.
I would say playoff teams do exactly that. It's SB teams that play like Seattle is playing. We are a a playoff team at this point. We are not a SB team.
This isn't anything revolutionary, but the biggest thing lacking from this team IMO is a couple of the type of playmakers that can create chunk yardage and score from anywhere on the field. How many plays have we had like Clay's TD against SD or Wallace's TD against Carolina? These kind of plays need to happen more often, much more YAC. That's why so many here were on board for a player like Tavon Austin last draft. I know Wallace was supposed to be this kind of player but it hasn't happened consistently for all the reasons that have been discussed. Having a similar player on defense wouldn't hurt either, but we have a player to possibly grow into the impact player role in Jordan. Rashad Jones teased us with this last year, but has not delivered this year.
PPG = 27, 24, 23, 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 17, 17, 16. Average 22 PPG. The team needs to get that average up into at least the mid twenties. I believe the average points against is 24 PPG. That could improve too.
This. I believe Tannehill can be a minimum top 15 QB in this league. Improving the O-line improves the entire team. QB play, RB play, WR production. Hell, even defense as the offense sustains longer drives. Big upgrades at the RB position are not necessary, IMHO. Miller can be good enough with capable line play.
