A little confidence?

[canesandbhoys]

I actually kind of like the strategy Parcells and the boys are instituting. Start inside (Lineman, Running Game, Solid Quarterbacks), and then get the flashy players. Maybe we target a Crabtree out of Texas Tech next draft. I also like the pickups outside of the draft, like Fasano, Smiley, Wilford, Torbor and Davone Bess.

I think some people may not like it, not trusting management passing on "sure picks" but a solid core is a necessity for a team coming off of a 1-15 season, and this core has the potential to be something this team can rely on for many seasons.

 

[NWFLJoe]

I agree but keep in mind it's not likely to be an overnight fix.

Before last year, since the NFL went to a 16-game season in 1978, seven other teams lost 15 games. The average number of years after the 1-15 season for the teams to get back to the playoffs was 3.9. Only two of the seven managed a winning record the following season and just three were in the playoffs in two years.

Of course, the Wild Cards could accelerate the process but historically, it takes several years to right a ship that's listing 15 degrees to port...

http://www.realfootball365.com/index.php/articles/dolphins/11159

 

[wlblakeman]

Then again, we're not exactly a standard 1-15 team, either. Not to be too much of a homer, but I refuse to believe that we were actually that bad. After all, we lost 6 games by 3 points. Even if we get a break on half of those, we're 4-12, not 1-15. That's still good for second worst, but I digress.

I think that level of ineptitude was forced on us by a lot of factors. New coach (who was a nice guy but in way over his head) who brought a new system and "his" guys as coaches. Diron Reynolds? WHO? Players who probably quit on the team before the season ended. Questionable play calling. A devastating rash of injuries. Ill-advised releases of key veterans (not just the stars, but the grunts on special teams). They all played a part in us ending up 1-15. But look at last year's roster...if most everyone had stayed healthy and Cam had made just a couple of more "right" calls...do you truly believe that we would have tanked? I think closer to 6-10 than 1-15.

It's all moot now, anyway. The roster's been overhauled, there's yet another system in place and the team has to learn how to gel with all the new personnel. We'll see. I don't think we'll make the playoffs for a year or two, but I don't think we're all that bad off, either. This team got young and the coaches are in place to make sure that the players are hungry. You either want to play, or you're out. That's a pretty good motivator...

 

[NWFLJoe]

that level of ineptitude was forced on us by a lot of factors.

No team gets to 1-15 without a whole lot of bad breaks. With the possible exception of the 1980 Saints who were merely continuing a legacy of suckage, the other 1-15 teams caught a whole lot of bad breaks.

With regard to the roster turnover, more than half (44, or 53%) of the players on the Dolphins current 83-man roster are new this year. By contrast, just 29 of the Patriots 80 players (36%) are new in 2008. A successful team keeps its players, an unsuccessful team jettisons theirs. More on the roster composition in tomorrow's column.