Hierarchy of Needs?

1. Competent QB play
2. Better pass coverage from LB unit.
3. Free Safety.
4. Production from the TE position.
5. Interior OL help.
6. RB help.

I personally strongly believe that point #1 will sort itself out this off-season, as Ryan Tannehill got the surgery he should have had back in 2016.

I am skeptical about points #2 and #3 working out, because it seems that the numbskulls who run the Miami Dolphins don't seem to get it through their thick, neanderthal-like skulls that having two strong safeties behind a linebacker corps that struggles in coverage is a recipe for defensive disaster. The fact that we haven't even tried running more dime defense with Maurice Smith, Reshad Jones, and TJ McDonald on the field even as our MLB situation churns into a dumpster fire is a stunning indictment of what a plodding, linear thinker we have as a defensive coordinator. That he is so obsessed with this interchangeable safety nonsense even when it clearly doesn't work has soured me very quickly on Matt Burke. I hope the Bears fire John Fox because I want him in here to run this defense yesterday.

Production at the TE position, this is simple enough. Julius Thomas stinks. Anthony Fasano is a guy that I hope we retain at a low salary because he is a good blocker and sometimes you need that 'lunch pail' TE, as NY8 describes him. But the production we're getting out of these two is dreadful, and even losing the very average Dion Sims was a huge blow to our passing game efficiency to tight ends.

Interior OL, I think we can all agree on that? We need to replace what we've got there. I like Jesse Davis a lot, but to me he looks like a guy best suited to take over the right tackle position. I'd like to see how he plays out the remaining seven games, but I was very impressed by him yesterday at RT. Meanwhile, Bushrod is awful, Larsen is ACCEPTABLE in pass protection, and Pouncey needs to have that salary dumped.

RB Help: Damien Williams is a nice receiver out of the backfield and has shown nice ability as a blitz pickup guy outside of a couple of games where he had his head up his ass. That said, handing him the football without a wide open running lane is asking for a two yard loss every time.

Basically, I have a lot of hope that our offensive woes can be corrected -- and I think they are actually being corrected right now before our eyes -- but I am a lot more skeptical about our defense. The guys running our defense simply don't get it.

Namor said:

After almost two decades,we are still trying to fix the same things....Good God!!!!...It's the same thing over and over......When does this turd sandwich of a merry go around get fixed????

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Not likely to be any time soon. At this point (at least for me), it feels silly to waste time watching this team. Not knocking anyone who does though, just my personal preference. It took a lot to get me to that point.

finomenal said:

Not likely to be any time soon. At this point (at least for me), it feels silly to waste time watching this team. Not knocking anyone who does though, just my personal preference. It took a lot to get me to that point.

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I'm with you,man...Yesterday was the first time since 1971,that I didn't watch or keep up with a Miami Dolphins game....checked the scores last night...Yep...same old Dolphins.
Back in 82,when the strike happened...That scab team we put together..had more heart and football I.Q. than I've seen from us,in the last several years.
I don't know what to do...I will not pull for another team,but it's insane to keep expecting something different from the Dolphins.

Dajesus said:

Grier can't get a free pass. He was the head of our scouting before GM from 2007-2015. Not a lot of gems in there Chris.

For the record I don't think any of the 5 things I said I want to happen will happen. That wasn't the title of the thread. Why I am so depressed about the Dolphins today has nothing to do with the Tampa game. I think the refs did us a favor. I am depressed because we are stock in limbo. We have to wait another year to find out what we already know, and then start a re-build in 2019. I am not starting a Ryan debate, but we know who he is. Gase has shown who he is. Tannebaum and Grier have wasted picks and money, so we know who they are. My biggest fear is we go 8-8 or another first round wild card debacle, and these idiots get another try.

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Unfortunately Tannenbaum won't get fired for a long time. He is in the fortunate position that there is no one ABOVE him that can get in the owner's ear and explain to him how bad Tbaum really is. Marino would be the only hope. While I actually like our owner, we are gonna be stuck until tbaum is gone or truly relinquishes all control of personnel.

Dajesus said:

What are you most hopeful Miami changes this offseason? Here is my list:

1. Mike Tannebaum and Chris Grier fired.

2. Draft QB in the first round.

3. Defensive scheme change/expierienced DC.

4. A real OC gets hired.

5. New Lg, C, RG,RT. Tunsil is the only one who deserves another season.

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1. Mike Tannebaum and Chris Grier fired.
Though a great idea, will not happen anytime soon.

2. Draft QB in the first round.
Using a 1st round for a backup, with so many needs would not be a good idea.

3. Defensive scheme change/expierienced DC.
Though I agree with you that we should have gotten a more experienced DC, we do now have to give Burke, at one point it was working, with another year, it could be even more consistent.


4. A real OC gets hired.
The Problem is not OC (Gase is the real OC), it's having a competent QB that you can count on (Tannehill hopefully), and finally fixing the O-line. Once this happens, you will find the Offense fixed.

5. New Lg, C, RG,RT. Tunsil is the only one who deserves another season.
We are not going to get an all new O-line, but some will be changed next year, hopefully for more competent linemen.

I don't want to see us waste another first rounder on an O-lineman, seen that, done that too many times already with nothing to show for it. Round 1 picks on a team with very few playmakers needs to be for a playmaker, a game changer
1. QB , no more important position in all of sports
2. Pass Rusher
3. LB or Secondary Player that can create turnovers

Interior lineman can be had in later rounds or in free agency as long as your organization grades talent well.....and we suck at that too, I know.

Ha ha all 5 highly unlikely

1) Fix the offensive line
2) Get a front four that can consistently pressure the QB.
3) Get LB who are not completely one-dimensional

Your offense will not be successful without #1.
Your defense will not be successful without #2 and #3.
This is not a difficult formula. Yet, somehow the Dolphins cannot make this happen.

The Goat said:

1) Fix the offensive line
2) Get a front four that can consistently pressure the QB.
3) Get LB who are not completely one-dimensional

Your offense will not be successful without #1.
Your defense will not be successful without #2 and #3.
This is not a difficult formula. Yet, somehow the Dolphins cannot make this happen.

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Not unreasonable, and certainly do-able imo.

#1 can be fixed with the right Oline coach and a G or C in the draft.

#2 I think it actually closer than we all think. Yes, Cam is losing a step, but we are developing a few rookies here that I have high hopes for. Godchaux is exceeding expectations, I think he is a stud next year. Harris is a project, but I think next year he will start to shine (he needs more reps as the season draws to a close here)

#3 is the real project. We need to get a few linebackers that can cover in today's NFL. Enough of these "thumpers" everyone wants. They are too damn slow and get eaten alive in the passing game.

The game is won in the trenches and this is what you want to focus on.

The good news is we can do all this in addition to drafting a QB early, as long as Tbaum doesnt trade the damn farm away.

The Goat said:

1) Fix the offensive line
2) Get a front four that can consistently pressure the QB.
3) Get LB who are not completely one-dimensional

Your offense will not be successful without #1.
Your defense will not be successful without #2 and #3.
This is not a difficult formula. Yet, somehow the Dolphins cannot make this happen.

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I'm not certain what I'm seeing on D. Wake and Suh have been VERY quite in the pass rush. Phillips and Godchaux(?) showed flashes early, but not much lately. Branch is invisible. Harris has shown some pass rush recently, but he's just one. My point? Miami has some pass rushers, but recently look pedestrian. Don't know if that's scheme, bumps, bruises, whatever, but there is too much pass rush talent to be nonexistent.

fansinceGWilson said:

I'm not certain what I'm seeing on D. Wake and Suh have been VERY quite in the pass rush. Phillips and Godchaux(?) showed flashes early, but not much lately. Branch is invisible. Harris has shown some pass rush recently, but he's just one. My point? Miami has some pass rushers, but recently look pedestrian. Don't know if that's scheme, bumps, bruises, whatever, but there is too much pass rush talent to be nonexistent.

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Wake is just old. Branch just got his $. Why I am hopefully is that we have a few rookies on the line. You have to understand, it takes at least a year to get these guys developed, and seeing anything out of them at this point is really just icing.

I liked Hayes alot, but he has disappeared on us lately. That said, he was brought in to help against the run.

As long as Suh is healthy our line will be better next year.

All that said, none of it matters if our secondary cant hold coverage for 3 seconds.

Dajesus said:

What are you most hopeful Miami changes this offseason? Here is my list:

1. Mike Tannebaum and Chris Grier fired.

2. Draft QB in the first round.

3. Defensive scheme change/expierienced DC.

4. A real OC gets hired.

5. New Lg, C, RG,RT. Tunsil is the only one who deserves another season.

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non of this will happin --#1 no change #2 will not happin #3 dc for only 1 yr no change #4 the head coach is the oc that will not change #5 no chance --too much dedicated to 1 unit -------lets be real ---- tenny will be the qb - moore will be #2 --- if we get a pick from 5-10 we will trade down pick up another 2nd and poss 4th ---- i can see round (1) def line (#2a) ol center or guard ( 2b) linebacker (3) te (4a) ol (4b ) rb (4c) lb --the rest will not matter----that is what i see is going to go down !!!!!!!!!!! --fins up

SkapePhin said:

I don't think ANY of those will happen. Some should, but they won't.

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Agree. None of these happen. Hey does the o-line (some of it) get a pass considering they were coached by a guy high on cocaine all camp through week 8 or whatever?

I would say our biggest needs are guard, rb, & te. This is good because in theory, these positions are interchangeable. We don’t need all pros at every position. We just need players to be serviceable at the very least.

Top priority has to be the offensive line. The blocking is putrid. It seems that most plays get blown up or called back for holding. A guard and a center would be nice.

Next priority is linebacker imo, specifically one that can move well and cover in space. Our linebackers constantly look lost in coverage, or they just get burned. The mid range passes destroy us.

If we can actually get significant improvement with those two units, I think this team can compete for a playoff spot.

I don't think it's a good idea to fire Gase. I've been frustrated with his decisions this year too, but he has little to work with. He got the most out of several back ups last year. And I've actually liked the past two drafts more then any others in recent memory. Gase is at least trying to set a tone and create a culture here. Maybe several of our starters aren't buying in, but I'd rather get rid of them and give Gase some time to try to create a culture rather than keep the lazy and dumb players and then have them start from scratch with a new coach and scheme yet again.