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A Few Bright Spots

royalshank

royalshank

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A potpourri of positive things I’d like to see carry into next year (no particular order):

1. Brandon Bolden - what a pickup he turned out to be both on ST and in the run game. Guy can do it all and hope he’s on the roster next year w Drake and Ballage.

2. Frank Gore - was better than expected though I thought we didn’t quite get the balance in touches right between he and Drake when both were healthy. I would like him back in a spot role. If he has a hot hand, ride him. Short yardage, feed him, etc.

3. Tunsil - really developed into a tier 1 lineman this year. Good for him. Need him to anchor that left side for a decade.

4. Grant - a KO and PR for TD + showed he can play WR. Very exciting player who I hope comes back 100%.

5. Same as above for Albert Wilson - he was better than I expected and was an upgrade over Landry for half the price.

6. Jason Sanders - 18-20 on FGs. Nice rookie campaign.

7. Vincent Taylor - developing player and could get even better.

8. X - great season. Not quite a “shut down” corner yet but damn close and a big play guy. Lock him up.

9. Return TDs - we had 5; 2 on ST courtesy of Grant and 3 on D (Baker, Minkah and Jones). That’s a lot on a team that only scored 33 on offense.

10. Jerome Baker - not perfect but flashed some good playmaking ability and I think will be part of the solution going forward.

11. McMillan - was down on him but he came on as the season wore on. Hopefully this trend continues into next year.

12. Minkah - made that awesome stop at the goal line on 4th down in week 1 and you just knew he was a player. Did not like him on the boundary as he was often late getting his head around but he shouldn’t have been playing there anyway. Everywhere else he played he was excellent. I hope it’s he and Jones next year manning the backfield of the defense.

13. Woodard - that kid looks like he has some pash rushing chops. Looking forward to seeing him back in camp next year. Need a young DE to come out of no where and produce for us.

14. Special teams - mostly excellent all year. Don’t think we gave up a return TD, had a lot of missed kicks against us, didn’t miss many kicks and took 2 to the house. Punting was erratic but when Haack was on he was on.

15. Beating NE - that play will keep me smiling until next year, especially if it winds up costing NE a home game in the playoffs.

In spite of the ugly situation that is what it is at the moment, this team is more talented than it seems (a lot of injuries and poor coaching IMO). Put away the annointing oil as Parcels that prick would say (as it relates to Buffalo and NY) and the Pats dynasty is in its final throes. Never know what can happen next year.

Happy New Year!
 
Going 4-2 in the division was a positive. If anything saves Gase's job that could be it.

At the very least I think we'll see new offensive and defensive coordinators. At most a total overhaul.
 
SF Dolphin Fan said:
Going 4-2 in the division was a positive. If anything saves Gase's job that could be it.

At the very least I think we'll see new offensive and defensive coordinators. At most a total overhaul.
Click to expand...
Good one. 4-2 in the division was a very good accomplishment.
 
Good thread. Special teams stand out to me. Amazing how dominant we were in so many games. Even today we dictated the second quarter largely by keeping Buffalo pinned deep.

Sanders has such perfect mechanics it is scary.

Dolphins punters under Rizzi always seem to wilt later in the season and become more erratic. I've never been able to explain it. Maybe he needs to back off on them later in the year. Sometimes they recover the following year and sometimes it carries over.

BTW, the announcers today did a poor job in failing to emphasize the severe wind blowing left to right on the screen. I saw it early via the flags blowing wildly at the top rim of the stadium. I've made so many man to man wagers on field goals I guess I automatically check that type of thing. When Housska lined up for that 42 yard field goal I sensed it wouldn't be a cinch, given the strength of the wind. Very, very rare to see an NFL kicker come up short from that range.

Punt were also impacted greatly.

Then the Dolphins didn't seem to have any urgency at all to begin the third quarter, even though we owned the wind advantage again, just like the second quarter. Once we fell behind 21-14 despite owning the wind, it seemed exceptionally unlikely that we could rally.

I also think finding Swanson off the street was a positive.
 
Extremely difficult to think about bright spots (particularly if we hear tomorrow that Gase is coming back).

I’d say Xavien Howard, but I’d have to temper that with him missing critical late-season games.

Tunsil’s improvement in his second season at LT was a positive. But he’s a man on an island on incompetence.

Enjoyed watching Wilson & Grant early in the season....but it didn’t extend past “early in the season”.

Minkah & Baker look like solid additions. I wish Minkah could have played FS all season, instead of being used as a Swiss Army knife.

That’s about all I can come up with. There are so many negatives. DeVante Parker confirming that he sucks really hurts. To me, Frank Gore was a huge negative. There is no upside to having a 35-year old veteran leading your running game. Kenny Stills was a massive disappointment. Gesicki looks like he’s impersonating a professional football player....poorly. I don’t understand how he tested so well at the combine. He looks completely unathletic. Sitton and Amendola....terrible acquisitions. Each and every DE on the roster. The Reshad Jones controversy. Ted Larsen and Jesse Davis. The stuffed bear Ted would have been preferable at LG.

The coaching staff...I won’t even bother.
 
I think if we can overhaul the d - line, shore up the o-line and add depth at both, get a corner opposite X, we aren't going to be far off.

It is the coaches that need changing. Burke is obviously gone and I really believe Gase needs to go too, afterall Burke was here this season due to Gase.

Gase has got some big decisions badly wrong, including 3rd downs!!

I will be fair though, he did change the attitude from last season and he got the Landry situation spot on.

But, I still think he has to go.
 
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