Good question, and probably thread worthy in itself. Hmm...No...I'm not completely happy with the 09 Dolphins, we should have beaten at least one of those elite teams but failed to do so. Overall I'm happy with them, a couple of issues with the lack of consistency on the Oline, the slow start for Secondary, Sparano somewhat botching end of half decisions twice. I'm more than happy with the 09 phins on: 1. Vontae and Smith starting at Cb, they have played better than I thought they even could. 2. Ricky W's play 3. JT having a resurgence 4. Stealing Cameron Wake, 8 teams bid on him, he signed with us, been a long time since we could say that about a FA signing who panned out. 5. Chad Henne, even if he cannot hear the silent snap count.. 6. Special Teams finally straightened out, sheesh two years of pure hell waiting for that to happen. 7. Gibril moving himself out from "the Gerbil" back to Gibril Wilson. All in all, plenty to be happy about, the things to be unhappy about have remedies already on the roster except for Wr and Te.
I'm just disappointed in the way they went about addressing the WR position. Drafting some obvious #2 or #3 WR's in the 3rd and 4th rounds was pretty much just a wasted effort and wasted picks. We didn't need more complimentary receivers....we needed a serious play maker. Either pay the price to get one or address another position. And when the trading deadline came around, we should have been hearing how aggressively they were looking for a top WR or TE. Instead, we hear they're happy with what they got. Don't you wish women were that easy to make happy? Chad Henne with 5 games under his belt and little help from his targets, looks like the future. You get him some better weapons so that he can actually take advantage of the opportunities that our running game provides and we'll be averaging 35 a game. That kid is tough as nails and carrying a cannon.......For the first time in ages, I not only look forward to watching our QB play, I'm actually excited and feel confident that we have a guy to build the team around. Getting him some more talented targets should be our top priority.
I tried to give a reasonably detailed response, but after submitting it, I was told it was lost and to contact an AM. The jist of it was........ No nose tackle that is healthy Linebackers suck safeties will be ok with the development of the young one No #1 catching the ball No ginn returning punts No Bess hanging on to passes etc.
The team can survive Ted Ginn being Ted Ginn, DBess's slump is ill timed as can be, he is the safety valve, he has to make the catches and he just is not making them consistently.
LBs, LBs, LBs ... not sure if Roth or Wake is going to be the answer at OLB, but JT and JP are not .... CC is 'ok', but not the primary .... we needed and still need an upgrade there .... WR, WR, WR ... Hartline and CAM are keepers ... but need a dominant WR to offset and create opportunities actually, all the rest i can live with ....
overall pretty happy. need to add the final pieces OLB, ILB, WR, TE and upgrade our depth at some other positions (NT, OL, S, ) Coaching overall is good but could be improved. WR, ILB, OLB Coaches have to be reevaluated this year and we need to decide whether we keep them or not Henning and Pasqualoni can be brilliant at times and ******ed at other times. Cant see us getting rid of them yet so have my fingers crossed Overall we are right there on pace too have a team that can compete for the super bowl next year. we probably will need one more year to actually make it in but we should compete next year. Hopefully we find our playmaking ILB, pass rushing OLB and playmaking money WR as well as a Tight End who can run the seam and can be counted on to exploit the middle of the field
Alot depends on what they think of Wake and Roth, I like our Oline depth but Te is an issue. DC Pasqualoni is a sore spot for me, to me we were not ready to play defense early in the season. Hold on Adamp, that really depends on Chad Henne's development, we go as far as Henne takes us this season imho. Game #8, the team has formed, warts and all, Oline is too inconsistent, Defense runs hot and cold, ST has been a pleasant surprise, this late in the season we sort of have our hand solidified. Two Games in 5 days is a real test of a 3-5 team, we make it to .500 we are in a good place, a split and we are not making the playoffs.
I guess I'll be a broken record on here. You stated we need to upgrade our depth at NT. We probably wont have our NT next year. Our depth sucks ala Sundays running up the gut show. We basically have a 35 year old hurt NT and zero depth. NT has to be a major concern in the offseason.
Unfortunately, Solai looked pretty average out there last Sunday. On one play he seemed to have nothing left and just literally collapsed to the grown in front of his man. I don't see him ever being much more than depth. On defense, NT is just as big a need as any next year.
soliai tweaked his ankle early on in the game and toughed out the rest of the game on a bum ankle. considering the ankle he did a good job. he's been good this year. cant judge him off a game where he played on aa bum ankle
I'm OK with it so far considering some of the teams we've faced, however, I wish they'd have addressed the ILB and WR's in the off season - I'm not convinced with Crowder and was wishing for a big go to receiver. Personally I don't like the WC but you gotta do what you gotta do..
ten biggest concerns in 2009: 1) missing pieces to the puzzle: WR, ILB, TE, NT (to be addressed in the next draft & free agency or is there a sleeper we can develop?) 2) resigning Williams & Brown 3) establishing Pat White in the WildCat 4) Henne making his bones this year (we need a FranhiseQB, seasoned & ready to play in 2010) 5) development of Wake, Soliai & Murtha (RT/H-Back) 6) Pat Turner, what does he bring to the table? 7) development of the defensive backfield rookies: Davis, Smith & Clemons 8) development of a legitimate & consistent threat on special teams as a return specialist 9) Roth, Moses & McDaniel? (how & where to play them, what to do?) 10) improving second half play calling (offensive & defensive coaching)
the biggest concerns (disappointments) for me so far are: 1) Bad clock management 2) Questionable playcalling 3) No pass rush I think with some better playcalling our recievers wouldn't look so bad, it's like we rarely put them in position to succeeed. With some consistent pressure on defense I think our secondary would be killer. They just can't cover for 5, 6, 7 seconds every snap.
like to see Pennington return in a mentor/coaching capacity for this team. Henne would be well served with him on the sideline to consult during games
The biggest disappointment so far this season has to be the lack of WR play. I don't have any trust in them. I know for the most part Camrillo can be counted on but besides that it's so hit and miss. And secondly the fact that we have no pass rush. We did it go? All I heard was the excitement of Porter and Taylor and have yet to see anything come of it.
There is plenty to be happy about with our team. I"m really happy with a lot of areas. I still feel were moving in the right direction. However the one thing lacking on this team that has cost us multiple games has been the lack of a... 2 minute offense. Some better wideouts, a more seasoned Henne and more practice at it should solve it, i just don't see it being solved this year. But the lack of a 2 minute offense and being able to move the ball downfield when we need to has clearly made our record what it is today.
Lack of a big play WR or TE, contrary to popular beliee you need that big play guy and no they are not all divas. Does Andre Johnson ever complain or talk too much? Is Larry Fitzgerald a cancer? Hines Ward, Driver, Jackson and Royal all keep their mouths shut and produce.
time, a play maker or two & some more experience to develop our rookies not so bad for a year two team looks good to me We will Contend in 2010
We need some WRs who not only make catches of the easy passes and hang onto them but who are also good enough to make the tough catches that dont hit them in the hands and they have to make plays for. A receiver who can make clutch and difficult catches would go a long way in solving our receiver questions. If Ginn could catch every thing thrown to him or at least most of everything thrown to him would make him a threat rather than a liability.
actually, i believe that the FO WILL get some FAs this offseason ... why, because everyone can see that we are on the cusp, and only a few players away. OLB, is Merriman in waiting ... ILB, possibilities: D. Ryans (HOU), B. Ruud (TB), D. Johnson (KC), K. Morrison (OAK), T. Howard (OAK), T. Davis (CAR), A. Kampman (GB) WR, possibilities: V. Jackson, B. Marshall, C Henry, S. Breaston ... we will sign some FAs next year ..... so we can make a run at a SB ....
I can think of 10 reasons why we have to worry about our team.... 1. WC is not getting it done. White was drafted (quite loftily, I might add) just to add an element, that it hasn't...is it White or is it something else. 2. We can't consistently run the ball. 3. We can't consistently give Henne enough time to pass the ball. Pass protection is essential, but with the opposition stacking the box against the run, too many times we simply have more defenders than offensive players (Yeah, I almost typed offenders instead, but thought that might be too cheesy). It also probably has something to do with Henne and his development. That's to be expected, but he does need to improve. 4. As a side effect, the WR can't get open due to lack of time for plays to develop. This could be the OL or it could be a lack of run game, allowing D's to ignore the pass and overwhelm the OL and the QB...either way, it's not happening...We may have issues with our WRs, but can we say with any certainty that the issue is with them or the lack of a run game ?? 5. Defensively, we can't stop anyone when it counts. When it has to be done, we aren't getting the job done. We sometimes have good pressure on the passers, sometimes not. We sometimes have good coverage, sometimes not. 6. We can't cover anyone in the middle of the field. Our ILBs and Ss are not getting job done. Forget consistently or not...just not getting it done. 7. The rookie CBs are having some issues, but that is to be expected. Probably the only 'bright' spot of the team right now, but their still rookies and have made some mistakes... 8. The punt return teams are atrocious. Bess may or may not be the best return guy, but he's getting hit within a few yards nearly every time. 9. Our KO return team has improved some since Ginn was re-installed there. But is it enough ?? (Ok, yeah, it was enough against the jests, but there's still a question. Prior to the 2nd jests game, they weren't getting it done either...) 10. KO and P coverage teams are slightly worse than pedestrian. They get their stops in, but too many times extra yardage is being made because of poor angles or losing lane responsibility. The issues we're facing are personnel acquisition, coaching and players simply not getting their jobs done. You can't simply pinpoint one area that needs improvement.
