Well I guess it's official. Tannehill must be out for the year.
Cutler is someone who Gase has proven he can work with, knows the system, and can get us through this year. IMHO, he was probably the best option out there because there was no great option.
I guess this is when we figure out who is a real Dolphins fan and who just wants to play Owner/GM/Coach in Madden. It was never "our" decision, it was always up to Gase and the front office. If we trust in Gase, and I do, then we will get behind Cutler and wish him the best, even if our expectations are somewhat lower.
There is no denying that Cutler has some arm talent. He also has done well under Gase. If nothing else, his style should work particularly well with DeVante Parker--a big target who adjusts to the ball very well, Jarvis Landry--who catches everything, and Julius Thomas--a seam threat with size and a large wingspan.
Last year we played some teams close that should have blown us away, such as games at Seattle and at New England. We won some games with very little offense, such as at LA (Rams). We will likely be a hot and cold team this year ... but there are still a lot of reasons for hope. Outside of the QB, our offense has improved with the maturation of Parker and Ajayi. Hopefully, we'll have Pouncey back. We added a big seam threat TE in Julius Thomas and a great run blocking TE in Fasano, who should keep things tight in the locker room.
On Defense our LB corps was abysmal, but now joining our only good LB, Kiko, are a veteran Timmons and a very talented rookie in McMillan. We should be more organized, much better vs. the run, and overall harder to exploit. Our secondary should be considerably better with a healthy Reshad Jones. Add to that, 2 more veteran safeties, we should have 2 real safeties for just about every game, as opposed to having 1 real safety for about 10 games and 0 real safeties for the other 6. That allows Michael Thomas to compete at the Nickel. Also, adding Alteraun Verner heats up that nickel competition considerably. Then with Maxwell able to heal fully, getting the system, and having a year of adjustments to scheme, team and city, we should get more consistently good play from him. Having Xavien Howard healthy is huge. Lippett continues to hone his craft. And adding the rookie Tankersley gives us a bit more depth if we have another season of devastating injuries. Along the DL, we have a fully healthy Wake from the start, so that's an improvement. We have a developing Branch, who was won the starting job last year. We added William Hayes who is a terrific run stuffer and also a solid pass rusher, who will definitely help. We lost a DT, Earl Mitchell, but we gained a pass rushing end in Charles Harris. Its hard not to see this defense being significantly improved.
So, even losing Tannehill, I suspect we will be projected to be the 2nd place finishers in the AFC East. Both Cutler and Moore are gunslingers. This isn't the year we will win the Super Bowl, so we might as well enjoy the roller coaster ride. We might as well embrace it now, because this season will include both ...
The thrill of victory ....
and the agony of defeat.