My thoughts on year 2 of rebuild!

"The_Dark_Knight wrote:

The reason for this is two fold...

Once upon a time during training camp, defenses trained hard...lots of hits and as a results, points scored we’re pretty low. Enter the union.

Now defense during training camp is literally a joke. Can’t start in pads until x, can’t use this tackle, can’t use that tackle. Now points are higher than they used to be.

Now enter this Covid season...with no preseason, defenses are way behind the power curve.

That’s why some of these offensive stats that some here post, need to have an asterisk by them

I agree 100 percent!I think Dak is on pace for 6700 yds.

"pumpdogs wrote:

I agree 100 percent!I think Dak is on pace for 6700 yds.

4500 of those yards will be garbage time yards while the other teams is playing prevent D.

Maybe the Cowboys should pay him $100 million per season /s

To Dark Knights point, now you can barely touch QB’s or guys going for the ball. Back in Marino’s day, you would get mauled as a QB or going over the middle or leaving your receiver out to dry.

"Dol-Fan Dupree wrote:

ummm, O.K.

The effort and score is a blunt realism. We are not in the same ball park atm period.

What I am going to say right now is not what I hope for, but what I am seeing. Flores isn't going to last. He was brought in to rebuild the defense and the team spent a buttload of money on that side of the ball and they suck even worse than last year. He's also hesitant to start Tua and since the D isn't going to help us win any games and we aren't going to the playoffs the way the D is underperforming, ownership is going to want to see Tua playing to gin up some enthusiasm for next season, when the owners can start making money from attendance again. If Flores doesn't start Tua by the halfway point, he's going to get pressure from the ownership and if he doesn't give into it, he's going to get fired.
I don't want this to happen because it's going to set us back a year and Flores deserves at least one more year to try to make his defensive system work, but there's very little patience in the NFL anymore.

"mlb1399 wrote:

To Dark Knights point, now you can barely touch QB’s or guys going for the ball. Back in Marino’s day, you would get mauled as a QB or going over the middle or leaving your receiver out to dry.

Marino?? Try going back to Griese and Staubach and Bradshaw. Quarterbacks were body slammed to the ground...receivers were held their route.

Once Marino came, the NFL just had to change the rules. Every quarterback had to be a Marino.

"The_Dark_Knight wrote:

Marino?? Try going back to Griese and Staubach and Bradshaw. Quarterbacks were body slammed to the ground...receivers were held their route.

Once Marino came, the NFL just had to change the rules. Every quarterback had to be a Marino.

The 85 bears are from the Marino era
Watch the highlights of the bears 85 season and count how many sacks that would pentalies today!
But yea I do get your point.

"pumpdogs wrote:

The 85 bears are from the Marino era
Watch the highlights of the bears 85 season and count how many sacks that would pentalies today!
But yea I do get your point.

I was just trying to illustrate how BRUTAL defenses truly were back in the 70's...when I grew up on football. Two teams you never wanted to play in the 70's were the Steelers and the Raiders. Their defenses didn't "tackle" you....they ASSAULTED you!

The league has gotten away from the pureness of the game if you will. Now granted, defenses don't need to be so brutal to the point they are injuring player week after week however, defenses have become so hamstrung anymore that games are becoming offensive scrimmages, which is a shame. The No-Name Defense, The Steel Curtain, The Fearsome Foursome, The Purple People Eaters, The Killer B's, The New York Sack Exchange...you'll never see defensive powerhouses again and it's a shame.

If the NFL hadn't handcuffed defenses put just as much emphasis on defensive performance as they have on offense, there wouldn't be the household quarterback names that there are today. If you were the modern day equivalent to a Staubach, Bradshaw, Marino, Elway, Montana...you would TRULY be something special. But alas, the NFL has turned into the WWE of football...every team has to have that STAR that shines and has rigged the game like Vince McMahon rigged wrestling.

When you consider that last year was all about losing games and building up the draft stock and that we're barely a few months beyond the 1st draft I don't thing changes are coming anytime soon in Miami. Flores is safe, particularly given Covid and the fact the season may not even make it to January if teams can't isolate themselves and protect players from testing positive.

You're going to see Tua at some point this year. You're going to see Byron Jones sometime too most likely. You're probably going to see the same upward trend in overall cohesion that you did last season.

The team presently has the #2 and #11 picks in the next draft and while those almost certainly won't be as high come April, you're still going to see 4 talented players added to the roster within the top-50 picks which is pretty awesome. Couple that with another offseason and hopefully a preseason next year and I think we'll see the team be more competitive.

My biggest disappointment this year has really been Ryan Fitzpatrick. I expected him to play better than he has. He's only given us 1 good game and in that game the team rallied and dominated their opponent. But if he continues to play like crap and Tua's not ready to take over, then you're going to see a bunch of sub-par performances that result in losses.

But this is a joke of a season given what all has transpired. No one in the NFL is playing defense at all and the Dolphins' veteran QB is underperforming.

I can understand those who have been frustrated or upset with the 1-3 start. I predicted a slow start thanks to the boatload of FAs and draft picks that we added. Especially with no preseason to evaluate and prepare. Don't forget we had two productive WRs opt out, which affected the entire unit. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic, especially because of the fight we've shown.

This was never going to be a quick rebuild. Next season's draft is going to be very productive. I believe with a year observation/experience, Tua's going to play well in 2021 and he's going to probably have at least one of the top offensive weapons in the draft to help him out. I'm no less excited about the team than I was five weeks ago and I'm surely not discouraged about our future.

"DolphinGreg wrote:

When you consider that last year was all about losing games and building up the draft stock and that we're barely a few months beyond the 1st draft I don't thing changes are coming anytime soon in Miami. Flores is safe, particularly given Covid and the fact the season may not even make it to January if teams can't isolate themselves and protect players from testing positive.

Yeah, that's not going to happen. They're going to complete the season and if some teams have to forfeit games, then they will. There's way too much money on the line for them not to finish the season. People were saying this crap back in April and I said then that they would play the games even if it was with no one in the stands. And they'll play them even if they have to isolate all the players for the last 8 weeks of the season and play every game in 3 or 4 selected stadiums round-robin.

"Rick 1966 wrote:

Yeah, that's not going to happen. They're going to complete the season and if some teams have to forfeit games, then they will. There's way too much money for them not to finish the season. People were saying this crap back in April and I said then that they would play the games even if it was with no one in the stands. And they'll play them even if they have to isolate all the players for the last 8 weeks of the season and play every game in 3 or 4 selected stadiums round-robin.

They have already talked about moving to a 12 week season.

"Rick 1966 wrote:

What I am going to say right now is not what I hope for, but what I am seeing. Flores isn't going to last. He was brought in to rebuild the defense and the team spent a buttload of money on that side of the ball and they suck even worse than last year. He's also hesitant to start Tua and since the D isn't going to help us win any games and we aren't going to the playoffs the way the D is underperforming, ownership is going to want to see Tua playing to gin up some enthusiasm for next season, when the owners can start making money from attendance again. If Flores doesn't start Tua by the halfway point, he's going to get pressure from the ownership and if he doesn't give into it, he's going to get fired.
I don't want this to happen because it's going to set us back a year and Flores deserves at least one more year to try to make his defensive system work, but there's very little patience in the NFL anymore.

y’all calling for Flores job already are crazy. 1) he’s barely had time to do his job 2) no other head coach worth a wooden nickel is going to accept a position for a team who jettisons coaches for little to no reason. 3) y’all forget the pain of last year so easily. 4) what’s starting Tua got to do with anything, COVID has this year all sorts of jacked... I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t finish the season....why not let tua sit and learn all year. Let this line gel, let everyone else catch up to the new schemes, allowing tua to have his best chance at success. Let him put some more time after the injury behind him.

I’m not one who has hope after this team has let me down so often, but there is no way in good conscience I could let Flores go with the body of work he’s given us so far. He at the very least deserves 3 years. With a chance to earn more as this season goes forward.

"Rick 1966 wrote:

Yeah, that's not going to happen. They're going to complete the season and if some teams have to forfeit games, then they will. There's way too much money on the line for them not to finish the season. People were saying this crap back in April and I said then that they would play the games even if it was with no one in the stands. And they'll play them even if they have to isolate all the players for the last 8 weeks of the season and play every game in 3 or 4 selected stadiums round-robin.

I agree...it's not a game-changer to have some teams play 16 games and others play 14. That's not what we want to see, of course, but if it has to happen then it's not ruining the season or anything. Besides, we can always delay the playoffs by 2 weeks to have make-up games in January if needed...I think that actually makes things more exciting.

I don't know if we'll get to full isolation. Some have predicted December will be really bad overall, but others expect COVID to have faded out by then. There's no way to make an educated guess since we're not scientists and we're not looking at the data. What I can tell you is that Australia and other countries opposite us in the world had their lowest flu seasons EVER in their winter, simply because folks have been wearing masks and distancing.

I think I saw Australia had like 150 cases total...when they usually have tens of thousands? And their COVID numbers rapidly declined as well. Maybe that means nothing...maybe that means everything...all I'm saying is don't believe the hype since it's all politically motivated. Whatever happens will happen and we'll still play football if there's any possible way to do so.

"plc001 wrote:

y’all calling for Flores job already are crazy.

Nobody is saying to fire Flores today- they're saying that he got a pass last year and he needs to produce enough this season to really give us some hope for next year. If we don't see that by week 17, then we're not going to be on his "bandwagon" going into next season and will start some conversations about change.

As of right now, today, I'm 100% team-Flores...even though I've seen some things that worry me. He has to have this year though to work thru the process and get our guys together on the same page. So I wouldn't say he "gets a pass" this year too....but I'm not going to be critical for another 6-8 weeks. I think that's where a lot are on this forum.

In regards to how the game has changed, it's basically the same way with basketball. Good physical, tough defense does not exist anymore and it's all based on offense and spacing. Not sure if there are less injuries because of it, but I think that was the idea behind it. Generally people think offense is more entertaining as well. I personally like defensive games, I like the physicality of it, but I can also appreciate a good shootout.
My year two take on the rebuild has actually been exactly what I expected. I'm not at all disappointed with the way things have gone. We have had a very tough schedule to start the season. I think a lot of people got all hyped about the end of last year, but we played either bad teams tanking for a pick, or playoff teams that were in chill mode (Eagles, Pats). It shouldn't be a surprise or a let down that this team is currently sitting at 1-3. Look at who we have played. New England can hang with anyone in the league and is probably a playoff team again this year, San Fran has a Super Bowl roster, Seattle with Wilson is easily a contender in the NFL, and the Buffalo Bills are my sleeper SB pick this year if they stay healthy. I mention the 49ers because that will be our 4th loss of the season. I'm prepared for this team to only win 5 or 6 games this year. In fact, upon looking at our schedule, I can see a 4-12 record for the year.
In short, I think the team plays hard, but until we find a cornerstone at the quarterback position, we're going to struggle. We have no dominant running back to lean on either, so it makes it even harder. If you're not going to have a Derrick Henry on your team, then you better have a great quarterback that can lead and also give you a chance to win every Sunday.

"plc001 wrote:

y’all calling for Flores job already are crazy..

Reading comprehension, dude. Right in the FIRST FREAKING SENTENCE even. I am not "calling for his job," I am saying his job is in danger.

"Rick 1966 wrote:

Reading comprehension, dude. Right in the FIRST FREAKING SENTENCE even. I am not "calling for his job," I am saying his job is in danger.

I don't think his job is in danger until next year.
Ross hates firing people, especially people he likes.

Yeah, I don't think Coach Flo is in danger or even on the warm seat yet. The team would be stupid to fire him when the process isn't even completed. I think by next year if the team isn't winning, we could start to see some Flores "hot takes", but it's way too early for this. I mean...That's pretty dramatic...Not as dramatic as Tua being a waste of a pick already, but...pretty bad.

"ExplosionsInDaSky wrote:

Yeah, I don't think Coach Flo is in danger or even on the warm seat yet. The team would be stupid to fire him when the process isn't even completed. I think by next year if the team isn't winning, we could start to see some Flores "hot takes", but it's way too early for this. I mean...That's pretty dramatic...Not as dramatic as Tua being a waste of a pick already, but...pretty bad.

I'm not a fan of Flores but even I think this year is way too soon to fire him. Hes been mediocre at best and at worst, i cant judge him entirely off being mediocre with a mediocre team where the parts are being replaced constantly.

"M1NDCRlME wrote:

4500 of those yards will be garbage time yards while the other teams is playing prevent D.

Maybe the Cowboys should pay him $100 million per season /s

Teams have always played prevent D!
The league just flat out sucks this year on the defensive side of the ball.
Well Dak sure not going to throw for 6700 yds now.

"pumpdogs wrote:

Teams have always played prevent D!
The league just flat out sucks this year on the defensive side of the ball.
Well Dak sure not going to throw for 6700 yds now.

The thing is, the first few weeks it really looked like defenses were just coming out and playing the most bland and vanilla schemes possible to prevent miscues and miscommunications on more complex plays.

I do feel like the last week or two a few teams are starting to come around defensively, finally.

I like what I’ve seen from Flores. He took the least talented team last year, beat the Pats when that game mattered and had them believing. This year we’re winning games now and have a chance at a decent record.

Next year I want to see playoffs. The cool thing is we have a very young roster, young guys are playing and contributing and we’re starting to see things we haven’t seen in a LONG time:
1. A good OL with depth. Didn’t even miss a step yesterday with Jackson out
2. Playmakers at RB and WR
3. A good TE that most people had given up on
4. FA actually earning their contracts
5. Good drafts

"mlb1399 wrote:

I like what I’ve seen from Flores. He took the least talented team last year, beat the Pats when that game mattered and had them believing. This year we’re winning games now and have a chance at a decent record.

Next year I want to see playoffs. The cool thing is we have a very young roster, young guys are playing and contributing and we’re starting to see things we haven’t seen in a LONG time:
1. A good OL with depth. Didn’t even miss a step yesterday with Jackson out
2. Playmakers at RB and WR
3. A good TE that most people had given up on
4. FA actually earning their contracts
5. Good drafts

Not sure I agree with RBs.Average at best.

A lot of you guys were ready to give up on Parker when all he needed was to get away from Gase. Be patient Grasshopper.