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Are we 3 players away?

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by dirtylandry, Mar 20, 2017.

  1. dirtylandry

    dirtylandry Well-Known Member

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    Assuming we sign Zach Brown, are we a G, DT and a DE end away from seriously challenging NE?


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  2. Dorfdad

    Dorfdad Well-Known Member

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    No IMHO No. New England isn't going to be beaten until either Brady or Bill go. Too much knowledge and the combination of them two is lethal for AFC-EAST
     
  3. danmarino

    danmarino Tua is H1M! Club Member

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    Challenging them? Yes. Hell, we've been a challenge for them most of the last 15 years.

    Serious contender for AFCE Champion? Not yet. As long as BB is coaching and cheating, and even if Brady retires, no one in the AFCE will overtake them.
     
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  4. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    A lot depends on how good Gase really is. If Gase turns out to be a top-notch coach, then yeah we're 3 players away. If not, then we'll need a LOT more top-notch players to challenge NE.

    This upcoming season will be telling.. two playoff berths in a row after all those crappy seasons would suggest it's most likely skill not luck.
     
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  5. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    Yes.
     
  6. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    I disagree.


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  7. dirtylandry

    dirtylandry Well-Known Member

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    Here is my reason. A better run defense and a little more pressure allows this offense to play more


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  8. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    I disagree with your disagreement
     
  9. phins18

    phins18 Active Member

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    Lol 3 great players, maybe. As of right now we are not close. And not just because the Pats are going to be absurdly good next year. Some of you are in for a wake up call with this team next year when we play a not absurdly easy schedule.
     
  10. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    You think it will take less than 3?
     
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  11. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    That is what everyone said last season
     
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  12. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    Thing about "better run defense" for this franchise is that the talent on paper doesn't seem to translate well to the field.

    Remember in 2015 when we signed Suh and almost everyone thought he'd improve our run defense (measured by yards allowed per game) from 9th worst in both 2013 and 2014? Yup.. we went DOWN to a tie for 4th worst in 2015 and then capped it off with the 3rd worst run defense in 2016!!

    So theoretically yeah we should see some improvement (hard to get worse anyway!), but until I see it on the field I'm NOT going to assume our run defense will be even average in 2017. It's probably coaching once again. We have a good HC but I'm not yet convinced we have the right DC.
     
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  13. Vinny Fins

    Vinny Fins Feisty Brooklyn dolfan ️‍

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    to me:

    Division Titles mean ****. Win a playoff game and get yourself 60 minutes for the AFC title, then we are a contender.

    Can we do that with Brown and the right moves at the draft? Maybe.

    Depends on several things.

    How do the Raiders replace Murray?
    How do the steelers replace Timmons?
    Who is QB for the texans?

    Do the chiefs upgrade?

    We can easily be a top 4 AFC team if things break our way here, but a lot remains to be seen.
     
  14. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    More or less so.
     
  15. tirty8

    tirty8 Well-Known Member

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    I think that we are 3 away from being a solid playoff team. NE got soooo much better this offseason. They will probably repeat. I think that there are certain areas where we need to get deeper. When thinking about the success of a season, you gotta ask yourself, what would happen if player X got hurt? There are certain positions that an injury would be scary. Just think what would happen if Tunsil blew out his ACL in training camp.
     
  16. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    Dude, we're not signing Tebow so get over it.
     
  17. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I think that it depends on "three players away" from what?

    I think that, without question, should the team stay mostly healthy, then they could, after the draft, have the look of a 12-win team, in a vacuum. There could be a serious case to be made that they would challenge for the division title in many NFL divisions, were they not in the AFC East. But there's the problem - overcoming the league's premier franchise within your own division. One thats on an unprecidented string of unbroken success, while at the same time being clouded by as much dirty business as any team in memory at the same time. There are young people in college today who were toddlers the last time the Patriots had a losing season.

    That all being said, I'm not going to judge the 2017 Dolphins based on what the New England Patriots do. If we win 12 games, but they win 14, it doesn't make us a worse team. However, should we not win the division and get a home game, then we're likely reliant on the luck of the draw, and who/where we play, as to whether we have a chance to win in the playoffs.

    Our arrow is up, but as others have said, there's unfortunately a ceiling on our success as long as the Patriots are who they have been.
     
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  18. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Depth. Depth. Depth.

    Guys will go down next year. The question will be who steps up.

    What NE has is an ability to win with backups and no-namers. Miami need to get to the point where - via both scheme, talent development and savvy FO work, they can maximise all their players.

    It's not even worth saying that Miami hasn't had a history of doing that - except in a limited way last year.

    I was amazed about how well the OL held up last year after injuries started to hit. If Gase and his team can start to get better and better play out of the entire roster then that will be a major step in continued success. Drafting and trading well will also be a huge part in that.

    So here's to hoping!

    TLDR on the OP - No, I don't think we're 3 away, but I think we might be heading in the right direction.
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2017
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  19. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    Remember, I've always been the optimist here so go easy on the backlash, but I'd say that we are already a serious challenge for New England. We've split with them three of the last four years and Tannehill played lights out in New England during that first game second half. While I do love Moore, that was probably my biggest disappointment of the whole season- not getting Tannehill vs Belichick round two. Our D was so beat up by week 17 though it's amazing we won anything down the stretch.

    But still, to figure out if we are a "serious challenge", just pop in the film from that first game in the 4th quarter. Don't watch the game itself...just pause it every time it focuses on Belichick. It's one of the only times I've ever seen the man genuinely scared and not talking to assistants- he knew we were a serious challenge and crapping his pants over it.

    However, this season I think we're pretty close to having the Pat's number IF we can tighten down the middle of the field. Those easy run yards are what breaks us but I think that's a fairly simple FA/draft fix....maybe we don't get all the pieces but I think we get enough not to be one of the worst run-d's in football. And I really believe that's all we need to be very competitive against NE.

    Now, if the question is if we're a better team, the answer is clearly no. For "seriously challenge them" though, I think we are going to be very close to that mark in 2017.
     
  20. The_Dark_Knight

    The_Dark_Knight Defender of the Truth

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    Um, think about what you just said...and it's the drum I've been beating for years....

    If Adam Gase is a top notch coach then we're 3 players away, but if he isn't....

    Well, if he isn't we're a top notch coach away from challenging NE, regardless of who we have on the roster.
     

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