Let me say I appreciate all the feedback I get from the posts. You guys are the experts and I am an (EXTREME RANK) amateur. Its amazing to see some of the insights posted by some of you. I think we have some excellent upgrades, at least potentially over last year's team. In no particular order: 1) Production from a prototypical #1 WR. I love Jarvis, really like Stills, but their skills are not that of DeVante Parker and potentially what he brings. He's big, plays big at times, and has the ability to take over a defense. If he steps us his game, this offense is instantly much better. And not that this matters much, but could--at the bottom of the position, we have great potential with 4 guys that are competing for what could be one position. 2) Running back. Last year we started the season with Arian Foster and some unknown quantities behind him. This year we lead with a true stud in Jay Ajayi, and some intriguing options. Kenyon Drake is going to cause teams to change personnel. Damien Williams is also an established talent that is a legit playmaker. 3) Tight End. Last year, we didn't have the luxury of attacking from the TE position. We could throw to him if he was open, but we couldn't predicate defensive alignments or take advantage of mismatches. I think Julius Thomas (hard for me to call any other Fins player "JT" besides Jason Taylor) brings that option. When he's on the field, even if he lines up tight, we have the option to spread him to the slot and make defenses choose to cover him with a LB or put a S on him. I think Gase will have RT ready to make that read and know which play to call at the LOS. 4) Stability from STs. I think last year we were all intrigued by the ability of Jakeem Grant, but being a rookie handling kicks is always risky. If we just got the production from him without the negative plays (fumbles) it would make us better. I think he'll be more confident catching kicks which automatically makes him more reliable and more dangerous. 5) Interior OL. I think Steen will be much better from the experience, another year in the program, improved strength and conditioning (players usually improve on this from year 1 to year 2 as SOP). We also added Larsen. We are also taking extreme proactive steps to keep Pouncey healthy. That said, I don't think Steen is a lock to make the team...but if he doesn't, it means a better player than he was last year who started several games, won't even be good enough to make this roster. That, imo, is a very good thing. 6) Talent at LB. Last year we were so bad at LB, to be greatly improved all we need our LBs to do is not be a liability. If the guys can make the plays that come to them, that will be a huge upgrade over last year when only Alonso was reliable. If Misi can platoon a bit with Kwon until he's ready to take over (and Kwon may be ready when the season starts), I think we are massively upgraded. 7) DB improvement. At the beginning of last year, BMax was warm crap, Xman was a rookie, and Lippett was still learning a new position. Maxwell turned it around somewhat in the second half, Xavien is confident and has great ability, and Lippett showed last year he can play. We'll see if Tankersley can contribute. McCain seems dedicated to getting better. He came into the league with a penchant for big plays...sometimes those guys aren't always as fundamentally sound as they could be. Hopefully he's a bit better than last year. If he is, that is a nice upgrade. 8) Safety. I think last year Jones and Abdul Quddus were good. But both got hurt. We ended up last year not being good at all at S. With Nate Allen and Rashad healthy, with TJM coming in the second half of the season, with a few young studs (Hendy) potentially contributing, I like where this group is headed and the shape its in. 9) Better DE rotation. Last year, it took 4 or 5 games to get our best players on the field. Jason Jones and DeMario Williams never were very good. I think this year we have 4 very good ends in Wake, Branch, Hayes, and Harris. There's competition, depth, and some options on passing downs to kick a couple of those guys inside. 10) Intangibles of being in Y2G (Year two of Gase). There's stability, vision, and credibility that last year he didn't have. No one was sure he was the answer, esp not after starting 1-4 (and thank the Football Gods for the Browns FG kicker sucking, or it would have been 0-5). Most people in the organization and fans of the Fins believe this guy is the long term solution to head our franchise. Stability equals success...NE, Pittsburgh, GB, Seattle, et al. There is nothing guaranteed in life, much less in the NFL, and even more tenuous with our beloved Miami Dolphins. But I think these are ten sober reasons, realistically evaluated that bode well for us being optimistic. But since we never know...that's why we play the game.
Nice post. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I feel confident that we could go 12-4 this season. Parker sounds like he's going to have a beast year. Ajayi seems pumped and Tannehill is still pissed about the injury so he's going to play like he's on fire. Key issues from last year were G, Secondary and LB. We addressed all of those and saw our injured leaders recover from their injury. If we can avoid the injury bug, I think we could be in the thick of things throughout the playoffs.
Good positive post. Just remember this year we will have injurys again hopefully in positions of depth. Also I'm not ready to call this team a big step up. I'm still worried we have a very thin OLINE and unproven lb safety core with a. Ew defensive coordinator. pouncy shouldn't be counted on for more than 8 games anymore. I get it try. It to be so negative at training camp so I'll just say while on paper we look to be better let's hope all you said comes true!
No doubt we have improved in all areas, but the offensive line right now is a wash, and a wash means bad news AND it's the most critical part of this team. Let's hope I am wrong
I will say this and I have said it before: This has to be one of the most anticipated seasons in over 20 years. We may not have a more talented team than this, because of free agency and injury. If luck can shine on us, and avoid injuries to Parker, Thomas and Pouncey, the sky is the limit on this team. We can afford and will have injuries, but we can't have the same thing that happened last year. We have suffered way too long and way too much. We are turning the corner from bad drafts, trades and coaching. We are 18 years past Dan Marino. We are 40 years I think from a Super Bowl victory and 32 from the last appearance. This is personal now for me. I wouldn't lie, I think about it all the time. It may sound crazy, but my chips are all in. It's the only way I know how.
IMO our main weaknesses last year were all three levels of the D and the interior OL. I believe we are better in those four areas. The two new Des, the two new LBs, Tank and after 8 games T-Mac along with hopefully health of Howard should provide substantial improvement on the D. On the interior OL the improvement is less striking but at a minimum we clearly have better depth. We were better after game 5 as the guys we jettisoned were singlehandedly destroying a high percentage of plays. Even then most of our run success came from outside zones rather than interior runs. Even Tunsil struggled in the second half of the season after a hot start. He rarely provided any plus blocking on the interior after the first half. When Pouncey was healthy we actually had a couple of games of good interior blocking, but even if he does't last I see Larsen as a significant upgrade to our depth at C. Bushrod should be better just being healthy and Ubrik and Steen should benefit from a second year in the system(or Larsen who is competent at G if Pouncey is healthy). As n aside, on the exterior I felt James struggled until the last quarter when the light seemed to come on so he should be better than what he was for most of last year. Tunis's natural position is T. I expect he'll be an upgrade over what we got from Albert at the end of the season. So I expect our OL to be better across the board over what we had for most of last season.
lol.... I was 13 days old. I was born January 1, 1974 and the game was played January 13, 1974. I don't remember a thing. haha
Their Super Bowl losses to the Redskins and 49ers are bad memories. Mainly because I thought for sure they'd be back many more times to come and never were. I was 9 and 11, respectively, for those games and I remember them well. The 49er game was especially traumatizing. lol
I wrote a post on this years ago, about when you have a lot of "if's", well that translates into "iffy". What you can't count on is all your "if's" coming to fruition, "if" so and so progresses, "if" so and so progresses, "if" so and so progresses, "if" so and so still has it, "if" so and so's move to X works out, "if" so and so can produce at that level again, "if" these so and so's can contribute immediately, "if" so and so is a good coach, "if" all these so and so's can stay healthy. So if 60% of these "if's" come to fruition will it be enough? Could be, but that depends on WHICH 60% comes to fruition. It could also be a higher %, I'm just picking what I consider to be on the low end of what's likely, because I'm a staunch believer in "hope for the best, plan for the worst", which is what keeps my optimism guarded this year. Everything isn't going to work out, it never does, it's just a matter of waiting and seeing, there will be surprises too, good and bad, the good thing is that it's all about to start unfolding for us, TC and PS is coming up. Before you know it there will be Dolphin football to watch, and prior to the start of the season we'll all have a better idea of what to expect, so enjoy TC and PS, it's that special time of hope for every team, for die hards like us anyway, and maybe for us this year, the RIGHT things will work for us to get back to the playoffs, and this time actually make a little noise!
I don't disagree about iffy. But really, the only "Ifs" I spoke of were: IF DeVante Parker steps up, and IF our LBs can make plays. The Safety situation is a push. The rest: Running back position is clearly better, TE clearly better, Stability on STs is a very high pct, Depth at OL clearly better, CB talent/situation--clearly better, DE Rotation--huge upgrade, imo. And would would anyone doubt that Gase is in a more powerful and better position at this point than he was a year ago? Who knows what will happen. Anything can and sometimes anything does. But, clearly this team has addressed many if not most of our biggest pressing needs from last year and has improved in those areas.
The other thing is that our team (coaches & players) know the offense this year from Game 1. Also, and this is weird for us considering the past decade or so, but we have to start thinking some players will actually improve as our staff has the ability to develop players. They proved it last year.
Well you're making a lot of assumptions on whats "better", because they haven't been proven, RB isn't better, it's the same, TE? That remains to be seen, depth at Oline? not sure about that, because I think the starters may be worse, Albert and Tunsil was a good combo, now it's Tunsil and ?, and CB is yet to be determined and DE? yet to be determined, heck, that was supposed to have been fixed last year. Gase is in the same position, I'm not really worried about him, but who is Burke? Is he any good? All he's been so far is a LB coach, so yet to be determined. Some is more likely of course, but some stuff will work while others don't, we just have to hope that the RIGHT things work out, we could have 90% of the stuff work, but the 10% that doesn't is Pouncy and Tunsil injuries? That could derail the whole season, but if the RIGHT 50% works out we could win the division. I'm just hoping that the RIGHT things break our way, and I'm just looking for steady improvement, we could end up 9-7 but still be a much improved team, progress is what we need, a thing that has not stuck in Miami for a long time.
Yes, but we were 10-6 with that wash and one of the most disappointing defenses in the league. It should not be mandatory to score 30 to win every single week but that's what we were doing sown the stretch. If the defense is truly better, Tannehill takes an additional step in leadership and the line is about the same, I don't think it's anywhere near the problem some make it out to be.
RB is better...I would say much better. Ajayi is far better right now that Arian Foster was last year. Does anyone seriously think Drake won't be better this year than last? D Williams is the same, but the coaches now know exactly how to use the talent they have. TE...my point is that we couldn't/didn't attack the defense with the TE last year. We didnt' have a TE that any defense was worried about matching up with. Interior OL, I think we are better. Tunsil was a rookie playing G...and Albert was at best inconsistent last year. We lined up with an injured FA rookie starting at C. He is healthy now, and benefits from having last year under his belt. And he might not even be good enough to make the 53. CB...did you have any confidence at all that Lippett could play last year? I don't remember if I did, but I do now. We can't ever be certain about rookies, but Xavien played well, albeit injured. This year, both are proven and have another year of experience. Barring crazy circumstances, I can't imagine how the CBs, like the RBs, aren't MUCH improved. DE...Wake went in to last year as a part timer. Jason Jones and Mario Williams were not good. Having Wake, Branch, and Hayes is a much better threesome. Everyone who has seen camp has said Harris has looked as good as anyone could expect in rookie evaluations. Of course that means little, other than the alternative of him looking lost out there in shorts and shells. Good Head Coaches lose coordinators. We'll see how he plays out, but most of what I hear about Gase from those who have an opinion that is far more informed than mine seem to think he's the "real deal". He came to this job as young unknown, faced crazy adversity, and put the ship on the right trajectory. Hey brother...great points and I have enjoyed the banter. Can't wait to be discussing real Fins football. I know we both hope for the best! Go Fins!
No buddy. I was born in '74. Last superbowl we won was in '72. I'm in the same SS Suberbowl Drought boat you are.
Let's all hope for the best. Problem is even IF everything goes right and we are a much improved team over the last 10 years we still have the Patriots to deal with. First in the division and than again in playoffs should we make it. 31 other teams have failed to crack that team save the Giants. Are we going to improve that much? Or biggest hope to win the division is brady goes down IMHO. The pats got significantly better this offseason as well. GOD I hate the Pats!!!!
