A few ramblings from a rank amateur and I know most of these insights are probably going to be wrong, but what the hell... Certain the defense is going to be much improved...top 10 is a good possibility. Uncertain the offense is going be good...bottom 10 is a good possibility. If the Dolphins keep Jordan Lucas and Walt Aikens for their versatility, but moreso for STs, I think Lippett's roster spot is at risk. Xavien, McCain, Cordrea, McTyer, Jones, TJ, Fitz...with Lucas and Aikens is 9 players. Do we ususally keep ten DBs? I've heard we might keep 4 TEs...I guess if we keep only 3 RBs and 2 QBs there would be room for a 10th DB. At TE if we keep Gesicki, Smythye, and Gray...then I guess we could make the roster work. No way, IMO, do we keep less than 6 WRs. I am looking forward to big things from the DEs...Harris and Branch are impressing, and they are not our two best DEs. I am also expecting better play from the Dline. We have some very young talent on that unit. Godchaux, Taylor and Harris seem like they are going to be a great foundation for many years. The DBs are young and very good. LBs are young...I think very good, but I am not sure. Offense is a different story. I don't know if Tannehill is a top 15 QB. If pressed, I would say no. But I am not anti RT, I am just "agnostic" when it comes to him. I have no idea. I don't know what we have in Laremy Tunsil...no idea. Sitton is good, but he's been in the league over 10 years...hes not the future, that we are certain. Can Asiata take over after this year? Is Kilgore an adquate C? No idea. I like Jesse Davis, but we have extremely small sample size. Is Jawuan James the answer at RT? Needless to say, if you're LT and QB aren't top ten, your offense is probably going to struggle. If the whole OLine is suspect, your offense is definitely not going to be any good. I am not saying they aren't any good, I just don't know that they are. Or, I should say, I am not at all confident that they are, like I am about the DE, CBs, and WRs. I like our RBs, I like the WRs, I like the TEs...but those are all luxuries. Much more vital to have an OLine and QB be elite...then you can get by with lesser skill players. Skill players won't make a difference if the QB and OL are below par. That leads us to coaching. I really want to like our coaches. If they are good...they are young and energetic and relatable...we could be a force in the AFC for a decade. If they are what at times they seem to be (in over their heads)...this could be the same ol Dolphins we've seen for some time. Right now, I choose to be optimistic. I choose to think RT is going to raise his level of play, our offensive line will be adequate, we'll run the ball, be able to utilize the speed on offense (that is considerable) to threaten teams deep, and this offense is going to surprise people. I choose to believe that the young LBs are going to be a bright spot...fast and hungry...and make a huge difference. Jason Sanders going to be confident and consistent. And we are going to go into week 17 with the division on the line. Being a rank amateur with no special skills (like nun-chucks or bow-hunting) can be blissful.
Thanks for the thoughts! IMO. no one really knows how things are going to go, so why not choose to be optimistic? Besides, all that I am hoping for at this point in the process is for our guys to have a really strong grasp of the system they are in (offense, defense, special teams) and truly understand what they are supposed to do. I believe that is essential because as the season wears on, if our guys know what they are doing now, they will only continue to get better as they play with each other more. What we are today should not be what we are at the end of the season. We have some decent talent. IMO, enough to make some noise. We just have to learn to play within ourselves and the system, and not beat ourselves with inconsistent play and stupid penalties.
Of the pros and concerns you discussed above the one thing I would like to comment on is the coaching. Being Dolphins fans, we’ve had more than our fair share of disappointing seasons over the years and with that disappointment naturally comes pessimism. But allow me to point this out. Adam Gase, a first year head coach took virtually the same identical 6-10 team he inherited and led them to a 10-6 season, making the playoffs. Also keep in mind that the last 3 games of that season he had his back-up quarterback at the helm and went 2-1 in those final 3 regular season games. Had Tannehill not been injured, not only would we have been vying for a first round playoff bye, it’s conceivable we could have won that wildcard game and at least made it to the divisional round. Gase knows how to win. He’s a winner and he’s going to win. Last season we were hamstrung with subpar quarterback play from Cutler, a mistake on the entire Dolphins organization. Most head coaches go through a sophomore slump. Last year was Gase’s. I actually like that no one is giving Miami a chance. It gives the players something to play for and prove everyone wrong.
I'll just add this nugget. With an average offensive line and the 34th ranked QB in the league last season, Drake had more yards from scrimmage than any other runner in the league down the stretch. That tells me if the line is just decent and RT plays horrible, Drake still has a shot at the rushing title this season. That alone changes a lot and it's assuming there's no improvement at all anywhere else on the offense. Likewise, if Tannehill plays like an average QB....15th ranked talent....then he's approximately twice as good as Cutler based on last season (since he was ranked 34th). I honestly don't see a formula where having Drake and RT in the huddle for 16 games doesn't result in 2+ wins over last year's 6-10 season....and I'm still assuming here that the line will have growing pains. If they really shape up this coming month then the jump can be a lot higher. Also, we swapped Landry for Amendola and Wilson, plus Grant is going to be more active in the offense. That looks like a net loss on paper but I think it's going to be a massive net gain due to the route tree Amendola will be running. Add in Gisecki and our offense seems pretty darn complete on paper- even if RT and the line are just average like 2017. The major difference for me though is the defense- we scored enough to win 9 ballgames last year if the D would have been average. Howard being healthy plus Fitz and McMillian change the whole dynamic of the D- plus Kiko has had an awesome camp being at his normal position. We don't even need to talk D-line because they've been dominant for awhile now, even without Suh. We have so much freaking speed now on both sides of the ball... I think the D can be scary good this year, and that means an average Tannehill and an average line could equate to 9 or 10 wins. However, Gase said this weekend that he expects their offensive line to be one of their biggest strengths. He said last year it was one of the biggest weaknesses. We all saw how dominant Tannehill was in his last 9 games played. Think about this- a 95 QBR passer, a top RB in the league, an elite defense and a solid offensive line? A good bit of that is already proven in bits and pieces from the past 2 seasons. Again, if everything clicks, I think we're talking a serious playoff run. If we're average on offense, I think we're in a wild card race. But even if RT starts a little shaky, this is a defense that will give you some time to figure things out. This is the most excited I've been for a season in decades folks. How's that song go? "And when you say Miami, you're talking...."
I don't believe Tannehill needs to up his play. I think Tannehill has played pretty steadily, regardless of what was around him, and what is needed is other parts of the offense to do their jobs. Oline needs to block, receivers need to run the correct routes. It all starts with the oline, like it seemingly has for the last 10 years or so.
Nice! It's early yet, and yes I am captain obvious in saying that pre-snap penalties are an issue (again). Guys are NOT doing their jobs. I am moving that, and consistency (in the good way), to the top of my list of where we need to improve if we are going to make any noise this year. Otherwise, the better teams are going to eek out wins against us while we beat ourselves with stupid ****. Note: watching Gase's press conference from earlier today. He knows guys need to be more consistent. His personality isn't like Shula's, so I am not sure what he can do without changing who he is.
Well every training camp and preseason are riddled with pre-snap penalties. Even early in the season most teams are still suffering from pre-snap penalties
I liked the grouping detail and the fact that you presented support rationales for each group. I don't agree with all of them, but that is just a difference of opinion. I hope you re-present this post after the seasons over with specific information on how accurate the rationales turned out to be with a follow up of what the future may hold for each of the groups you have addressed. I would find that kind of review very interesting because you broke the expected performance down to related groups, and those groups performances can then be quantified and evaluated meaningfully.
I hear ya, but this can't be us this year. Time for us to get our **** together and quit making excuses.
