More "Needs" Offense or Defense? | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

More "Needs" Offense or Defense?

SF Dolphin Fan said:
If the run is working stick with it, as an example. Sometimes I think McDaniel wants to be totally unpredictable. That's fine sometimes, but a boring, effective, predictable run game can add up to wins.

Honestly, I just don't think McDaniel trusts the short yardage run game. Maybe adding quality offensive linemen would change his thinking in that regard?
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see Michigan win national championship to further your point
 
Ikema said:
Forgive me for I am probably the worst CapGuy here, but how do you get the 16 million for extending Tua I know you must have a reason, I'm just curious-thanks in advance
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Sure, no problem. His current cap hit, based on his 2024 fifth-year option, is $23 million. If we gave him the same extension Jalen Hurts got, his first year cap hit would instead be $6 million. That’s a $17 million cap savings for 2024, but to be conservative, I made it $16 million since it’s unlikely his deal will be exactly the same as Hurts’s.
 
Marino2.0 said:
Sure, no problem. His current cap hit, based on his 2024 fifth-year option, is $23 million. If we gave him the same extension Jalen Hurts got, his first year cap hit would instead be $6 million. That’s a $17 million cap savings for 2024, but to be conservative, I made it $16 million since it’s unlikely his deal will be exactly the same as Hurts’s.
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That's pretty close...

I think we can use that as a default.
 
I'll default to my 2023 offseason perspective. I knew we'd score points but I didn't have high hopes for postseason success because the defensive personnel simply wasn't good enough.

I'll stick with that. It's unfortunate the marquee defenders got hurt late. The defense would have been exposed anyway. There would be greater clarity toward this question. When a regulator like Raekwon Davis is receiving high snap count you're not aspiring very high.

I don't know how anybody could watch Baltimore/Kansas City -- or look at their regular season stats -- and think we're in the same defensive category. Those teams bullied up front and eliminated open spaces in a flash.

IMO, there's not a heck of a lot of difference between offensive lines from one team to the next. I know I'm mostly alone there.But sample fan forums. Virtually every fan base complains about its offensive line. The 3 categories everybody whines about are officiating, injuries and offensive line. Check the offensive line rankings, where there is huge disagreement from one source to the next. And that was also true when I worked in a stats office 20 years ago. There were two outfits were considered parallel. The greatest variance was offensive line. Everybody was using different numbers and therefore conclusions.

As long as you're not inept at offensive line, you're sufficient. The college examples don't work, IMO. Those programs can invest heavily via targeted recruiting and it's considerably more of a run oriented sport. Heck, when I attended Michigan/Penn State a few months ago, Michigan didn't attempt one pass in the second half.

When was the last time the Dolphins had a linebacker? I know we've technically had some guys who are listed as such. And I can't remember the last time I saw an errant throw and had any confidence that one of our safeties would be there.
 
Offence is a bigger need but supposedly its a great draft to help our line so I hope we get a left tackle or JPJ at center in the first.
Trade down in the 2nd to get more picks later and hope we hit on a few.
 
I agree with many of the posts above. OL, DL, MLB are priorities now, especially with our cuts looming and lack of quality depth. The very close to priorities are TE and X WR.

Great article/thread by Stoobz breaks down how we can afford to do so. We will have to do that just to resign some of our 29 free agents. Limited draft picks hurt. The 1st we lost last year and the 3rd this year have been devastating and too harsh imo considering many teams tamper, and we never landed said people we tampered with.

Lastly, Devin White is very much like Jerome Baker. Prototype athlete is his plus, and that's about it. The 2 of them are very similar and we need skill and intellect over prototypes at MLB imo.
 
Awsi Dooger said:
I'll default to my 2023 offseason perspective. I knew we'd score points but I didn't have high hopes for postseason success because the defensive personnel simply wasn't good enough.

I'll stick with that. It's unfortunate the marquee defenders got hurt late. The defense would have been exposed anyway. There would be greater clarity toward this question. When a regulator like Raekwon Davis is receiving high snap count you're not aspiring very high.

I don't know how anybody could watch Baltimore/Kansas City -- or look at their regular season stats -- and think we're in the same defensive category. Those teams bullied up front and eliminated open spaces in a flash.

IMO, there's not a heck of a lot of difference between offensive lines from one team to the next. I know I'm mostly alone there.But sample fan forums. Virtually every fan base complains about its offensive line. The 3 categories everybody whines about are officiating, injuries and offensive line. Check the offensive line rankings, where there is huge disagreement from one source to the next. And that was also true when I worked in a stats office 20 years ago. There were two outfits were considered parallel. The greatest variance was offensive line. Everybody was using different numbers and therefore conclusions.

As long as you're not inept at offensive line, you're sufficient. The college examples don't work, IMO. Those programs can invest heavily via targeted recruiting and it's considerably more of a run oriented sport. Heck, when I attended Michigan/Penn State a few months ago, Michigan didn't attempt one pass in the second half.

When was the last time the Dolphins had a linebacker? I know we've technically had some guys who are listed as such. And I can't remember the last time I saw an errant throw and had any confidence that one of our safeties would be there.
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Linebacker is definitely a weakness. It's not a strong draft for linebackers, unfortunately.

In free agency, I expect bargain hunting mostly. A lot will depend on the Wilkins decision. If Miami doesn't keep Wilkins, maybe a free agent linebacker is possible. I know others have mentioned Patrick Queen, but I think he'll be too expensive.

As to the draft, Mims is often around the Dolphins 21 pick. With Armstead talking retirement and breaking down in terms of injuries, a left tackle seems like an obvious choice early. Besides Mims, there are a few others who Miami could target.

Linebacker/pass rusher at 55 is probably a high possibility. Cooper, Wilson, Trotter are a few of the top guys. I don't think Cooper makes it to 55, the other two could.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
With free agency and the draft right around the corner, what side of the ball needs the most help?

Obviously, Miami has a challenge in front of them with so many potential free agents. What happens with Wilkins certainly will impact the offseason, draft etc.

The post by Stoobz on cap compliance is a great thread to read. My take is Miami could free up about $45 million. Not a lot if Wilkins eats up $20 million of that, with six million for draft picks. The team can structure contacts in a way to keep most of the major players together, though. Also referred to as credit card spending.

Anyway, there are obviously needs on both sides of the ball. Towards the end of the season, I thought the defense outplayed the offense. The O did get off to an incredible start.

Let's discuss needs.
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To state the obvious, what matters is what Mcd and staff think the needs are. I make that distinction because there are people who think TT needs replaced and waste posts arguing a point that has less than zero chance of happening.
That said, like most here, I think X is gone. Likely Ogbah and wilkins. Beyond that, there is a lot of debate. I don't think it's unrealistic to say OL is top priority, but that has some variables. (Nod to Ray, that's plural) Does TA retire? Will Williams be back? It's reasonable to say OG is a need unless Miami gets a solid OC and moves williams. So OC or OG. OTs are good - I'm expecting TA back. I expect Hunt stays.
TE? Fans don't know the opinion of the staff, but I think TE is a need. Need a power back unless Mcd sees Brooks as 'the guy.'
LB? Sadly, I think that's not a priority. Long is consistent. Baker has made it though a lot of changes as starter. I doubt that changes.
CB. This obviously depends on weaver, the DB coaches, and what they see in Cam. I expect Miami to do some shopping. safety is another position that will be given a lower priority.
OC, no not Offensive Center, but Offensive Coordinator. Need an actual replacement or a vet 'asst coach' who has the chops to confront Mcd and teach him how to call plays in game and use the whole play book. He has the talent. He needs to get out of his own way
 
About the OL... Now is a good time to start understanding that you don't need elite players there to have a good OL and you also can't afford to have bad players there... They want 10 slightly above average guys alot more than they want 3 great ones and the rest filled with practice squad players.

WR... Diversity in the draft, they can even wait for the later rounds here.

TE is something that could kill a handful of birds with 1 stone.

On D you pretty much need rookie contracts everywhere.
 
I know a lot of people want the Georgia tight end Bowers. There's a photo out there of him standing alongside Gronkowski. Yikes. Let's just say one looks like a specimen and the other reminds me of the annual competition to be the biggest dorkiest Yell Leader at USC.

Bowers does have huge hands. No question about that.
 
I think we have more needs on defense.

We need egde rushers since Phillips and Chubb are going to miss a significant portion of the season.

We also need help at LB, Baker is likely to be released, help at DB, X is going to be released and Cam Smith is an unknown, help at DT if Wilkins is not retained. We need help at safety since Elliott and Jones are FA's.

On offense we need to decide what to do with our interior OL, what free agents will we retain or let walk and how will we replace them.

Our offense also has a need for a 3rd pass catching option be that a WR or a TE and we could also use a more physical RB.
 
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