My positions of interest: 1. Qb 2. OL 3. LB 4. DB - esp nickel 5. run defense I think last year, except for #1, we all had concerns. Those concerns held through the year. Have we improved this year and will it result to a better start and maybe a better record.
we did not have Timmons, Hayes and Jones last year...this year we do. those are upgrades compared to what we had playing there last year.. Kiko played with one arm for like 5 games...there is an upgrade.. pouncey is back.. downgrade at guard compared to tunsil.. Bushrod seems much more healthy.. 2nd year in systems is always better than the first..play speed. corner situation is up in the air..but max..X..and Verner combined are better than our top 3 from last year I think
Sure, we didn't know Jay Ajayi would be as good as he is. We have a healthy Reshad Jones for awhile at least. And DVP looks like he could be for real.
I think that all depends on Cutler. If he can run this offense as good or better than Tannehill did last year, then yes. If he's rusty or remains a turnover machine even back under Gase, no way.
Too many unknowns and also a hard schedule. Honestly 80% depends on how Cutler performs. The rest on how our OL holds up and our back 7 on defense gives me concerns. If Cutler does at least a decent job I think theres a chance we could at least be wildcard contenders. If I were to guess I'd say we are roughly the same team as last year, which did go to one playoff game with a back up QB.
It ALL simply depends on how many wins we get ? boy that was an easy question We are better but thats not and should not be a big revelation for the bar was not that high to begin with..... We now could be a step up from mediocre in which we show a bit more consistency (that be nice) and not depend so much on luck (last Years playoff illusion of being good ). Cutler could help a lot instead of depending on another year of class and fingers crossed that Ryan T. graduates and gets his Real QB diploma. But think were moving in the right direction at a pace I thought could have been a little faster, but at least its forward (I think) and thats somewhat up lifting....Be nice when the actual season is more exciting and interesting than the off season....
Other than QB, I would say we're significantly better. I see much better starters and depth at OL and LB. Verner gives us a decent second option at slot that we didn't have last year. The only downgrade for me is at S where I'm not sure we've overcome the loss of Q. I was worried about DL but I think Phillips is at least a little better and I trust our depth as much or more than I did last year at this time. Beyond that it will depend on internal development. I expect most players to be better year two in any system b/c they'll think less and make fewer mistakes. But I see a few players who seem far better through the preseason than they were a year ago in Ajayi, Parker, Grant and X. (Lippet was there too prior to his injury). I think those guys have game changing potential. Whether our record improves or not will depend on a million different factors (injuries, bounces, weather, etc.), but our team is clearly improved.
