2022 Defense vs 2023 Defense (Without Ramsey)

[Danny]

On paper it looks like the defense should be better. Fangio was a great addition and some of the players already mentioned here but once again it'll come down to being able to stay healthy. We're off to a bad start in that department with Ramsey getting hurt. If nobody else gets hurt then I like our chances so I'm hoping for the best but is not realistic to think that Ramsey will be our only injury.

as far as the offense, we all know that Tua staying healthy for the full season is the biggest key but we need the OL to stay mostly healthy as well.

 

[Kyndig]

I think a lot of the defenses success is going to stem from the other side of the ball. Is the oline going to be able to keep Tua upright so he can sustain long scoring drives? Keeping our defense off the field and fresh.

Yeah, for sure. More commitment to the running game, and taking the seams and underneath routes when the deep stuff is being sat upon, more play action, etc. Will all add up to a more efficient offense as opposed to famine or feast, and one that will be able to chew up more clock and stay in possession longer.

 

[Kyndig]

Fangio being the DC makes this year's defense way better than last year regardless of losing Ramsey. He is a huge upgrade over Boyer.

-Fangio major upgrade
-Chubb will be better in this system
-Wilkins in contract year
-Kohu in second year will be better than last year
-Cameron Smith looks to be a solid player already
-Brandon Jones back
-X’s groin being healed, a healthy X should be better
-Ogbah back fully healthy hopefully he stays that way
-Raekwon Davis needs to prove himself for a new contract
-Deshon Elliot nice depth piece at safety
-Javon Holland will excel in this scheme
-David Long is a nice ILB piece
-Mitchell Agude looks like a gem found in the trash heap

We have more quality depth everywhere on defense, and Jalen Ramsey should return at some point in December which will be most welcome as we should be trying to finish out the season strongly and working on making a deep post season run.

This defense is much better than last years and we will finish in the top 10 if not the top 5.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

There’s no question Ramsey going down is a massive loss for our defense. All we can do now is hopefully he’ll be able to return by December.



We were a very competitive team most of last season when Tua was healthy even with a bad defense. So as long as our offense stays healthy this season, I don’t see why we can’t be competitive again this season even without Ramsey.



Is our current defense without Ramsey as bad as last year’s defense tho?



I personally think it’s a much more improved unit even without Ramsey as long as they can stay fairly healthy. We added a good amount of pieces to our defense outside of Ramsey in the offseason plus we’ll have several key defenders back from season ending injuries.







Let me start with the key defenders returning from an injury….



Emmanuel Ogbah

Brandon Jones

Nik Needham (Hopefully)

Trill Williams



Just having those guys back alone will be huge for our defense this season. That’s 3 players returning to our secondary that was destroyed by injuries last season which is massive. Plus Ogbah returning provides nice depth and a solid rotational player for our D-Line.





I also believe we added some nice pieces for our defense in free agency as well.



David Long is a HUGE upgrade at LB for us. Obviously he has injury issues as well but hopefully he can stay fairly healthy with us. We’ll see a massive improvement at LB this season when Long is on the field.



We also added a nice depth piece for our secondary and pass rush with DeShon Elliott and Malik Reed.

Elliott is an experienced starter that’s known for his strong tackling ability. Expect him to get a good amount of snaps even with Jones returning.

Malik Reed has been an inconsistent player so far in his career but he’s still fairly young and has played well before. Reed’s best season happened to be under Vic Fangio too.



Drafting Cam Smith in the 2nd round is most definitely a great pick now. He’s obviously unproven but he’s obviously talented and has enough potential to get drafted in the 2nd round so hopefully he can produce some as a rookie.





We also need to factor in the young defenders who are already good potentially taking another step as well. Like Wilkins, Phillips, Holland, and Kader….





And last but not least…. Replacing Josh a Boyer with Vic Fangio.



We were all extremely hype when Miami hired Vic Fangio during the offseason and expected our defense to improve with just that move alone. That happened before the Ramsey trade too.

Josh Boyer was awful. He was a Flores wannabe that was just trying to run the same defense with an injury plagued secondary.

Now we don’t have to worry about a clown coaching our defense up anymore since we added one of the top defensive minds in football….





So it’s not like we only added Ramsey to our defense. We added a good amount of players to our defense whether or not they’re starters or just depth pieces. I strongly feel our defense will be much more improved this season even without Ramsey as long as they don’t get destroyed with the injury bug.



Thoughts?

Agree mostly, but I have a couple of small observations.
I was not a Boyer fan and love getting VF. That said, it would be hard for any DC to have all the losses in the secondary and not play more conservatively. I'll give Boyer that and say he isn't as bad as the D performed last year. But, that's as far as I'll go. Still didn't see him as able to run a good D with a playoff team.
Trill, KK, Cam . . . yeah, KK looked good and I expect a better KK this season. But there's no guarantee. and I'll have to see Cam and Trill in action before I place much faith in either.
Given all that, I agree. A better D this fall. And, as I said elsewhere, with all the weaknesses of last year's D, they kept games close. A D god enough to prevent one more score and Miami would have won at least 3 more. IMO,the D is that much better and has to be with this year's opponents.

 

[DOLFANMIKE]

The biggest change for the positive will be Fangio. He's one of the best DC's in the NFL.

 

[Ray R]

Yeah, for sure. More commitment to the running game, and taking the seams and underneath routes when the deep stuff is being sat upon, more play action, etc. Will all add up to a more efficient offense as opposed to famine or feast, and one that will be able to chew up more clock and stay in possession longer.

I agree and more.

I feel we are now going to be a well-balanced team offensively and defensively. Each side will "feed" off the others improved performance.

The Front Office deserves a lot of credit for achieving this through improvements to the coaching staff, particularly over the last two years, along with a fairly disciplined approach to bringing in players via FA, the draft and some remarkable trades.

 

[Ray R]

-Fangio major upgrade
-Chubb will be better in this system
-Wilkins in contract year
-Kohu in second year will be better than last year
-Cameron Smith looks to be a solid player already
-Brandon Jones back
-X’s groin being healed, a healthy X should be better
-Ogbah back fully healthy hopefully he stays that way
-Raekwon Davis needs to prove himself for a new contract
-Deshon Elliot nice depth piece at safety
-Javon Holland will excel in this scheme
-David Long is a nice ILB piece
-Mitchell Agude looks like a gem found in the trash heap

We have more quality depth everywhere on defense, and Jalen Ramsey should return at some point in December which will be most welcome as we should be trying to finish out the season strongly and working on making a deep post season run.

This defense is much better than last years and we will finish in the top 10 if not the top 5.

But, but, but that leaves nothing for posters to complain about. - LOL
Yeah, I know, but I just can't help setting baits. - LOL

 

[Ray R]

Agree mostly, but I have a couple of small observations.
I was not a Boyer fan and love getting VF. That said, it would be hard for any DC to have all the losses in the secondary and not play more conservatively. I'll give Boyer that and say he isn't as bad as the D performed last year. But, that's as far as I'll go. Still didn't see him as able to run a good D with a playoff team.
Trill, KK, Cam . . . yeah, KK looked good and I expect a better KK this season. But there's no guarantee. and I'll have to see Cam and Trill in action before I place much faith in either.
Given all that, I agree. A better D this fall. And, as I said elsewhere, with all the weaknesses of last year's D, they kept games close. A D god enough to prevent one more score and Miami would have won at least 3 more. IMO,the D is that much better and has to be with this year's opponents.

A well thought out and presented post.
I would love to see more like this!

 

[lurking]

But, but, but that leaves nothing for posters to complain about. - LOL
Yeah, I know, but I just can't help setting baits. - LOL

In my best Asian voice, “you are masturbaiter”

 

[bradmcnutt13]

Aside from a season ending injury, it would be hard for Ogbah, Chubb, X, Jones or Needham (either due to injury or just poor play) to contribute less than they did last year so I see nothing but upside there. Holland is due for a bounce back year and Phillips and Wilkins keep getting better. Hopefully the much underappreciated Kader Kohou continues his surprising outstanding play. We'll have to wait and see what Smith will provide.

 

[Fred Bear]

Aside from a season ending injury, it would be hard for Ogbah, Chubb, X, Jones or Needham (either due to injury or just poor play) to contribute less than they did last year so I see nothing but upside there. Holland is due for a bounce back year and Phillips and Wilkins keep getting better. Hopefully the much underappreciated Kader Kohou continues his surprising outstanding play. We'll have to wait and see what Smith will provide.

I agree

 

[Feverdream]

I think that... in general... the posters who are most prone to panicking are the posters who chase names rather than performance. The same posters who always want to sign every FA who are rumoured to be available.

I think that a lot of them underestimate scheme, health, and the general tendency for young players to improve each year. The guys most prone to yelling that one of our own is 'trash' when they are merely league average... the guys who want to cut a player after a down year or an injury.

Am I happy that Ramsey went down? Of course not, but there are so many factors that go into a season. Hell... the fact that Smith is probably going to see meaningful snaps early may make him a better player late in the year when we'll REALLY need him.

So... these brothers are excitable... prone to panic... human, I suppose.

 

[djphinfan]

Absolutely agree. I’m honestly shocked Ingram is still a free agent. He played well for us

He doesn’t take care of his body very well from what I’ve seen so another year doesn’t bode well

 

[djphinfan]

The biggest question now is who’s gonna be the starting outside corner

The battle is between Cam smith, kader, perhaps trill.

 

[bradmcnutt13]

The biggest question now is who’s gonna be the starting outside corner

The battle is between Cam smith, kader, perhaps trill.

Probably depends somewhat on who can cover the slot if Needham isn't available. If Kader has to as he has demonstrated he can, that rules him out.