Are Dolphins One Year Away?

[Nublar7]

They have the NFL preview magazines on the shelves already and I was reading Lindy's yesterday and they have us finishing 4th in the AFC East. They basically state we are starting over with a new coach, and a likely newly drafted rookie QB, whereas the other teams already have their systems in place. I can't argue with most of these magazines but I think we can surprise with our new offense and defense. :up: Can't wait for the season to start.

I have to ask, where does Lindy's see Buffalo at?

 

[Gophins75]

I think we have to go into every season thinking this could be our year. I don't like all the 2-3 years away talk. Like some of the posters have pointed out, it doesn't take that long to turn a franchise around with the right pieces in place.

 

[CedarPhin]

I have to ask, where does Lindy's see Buffalo at?

2nd place.

 

[Valandui]

2nd place.

This is probably accurate. The biggest reason the Bills fell off last year was the insane amount of injuries they had last season. It was almost like us in '07 in that respect. As much as I hate to mention this for obvious thread derailment purposes, the Jets had an internal collapse that is compounded by their new QB controversy. It's still likely that they finish ahead of us since their defense is still solid, but they are likely to become demoralized due to the offense's ineptness.

 

[Gonzo]

This is probably accurate. The biggest reason the Bills fell off last year was the insane amount of injuries they had last season. It was almost like us in '07 in that respect. As much as I hate to mention this for obvious thread derailment purposes, the Jets had an internal collapse that is compounded by their new QB controversy. It's still likely that they finish ahead of us since their defense is still solid, but they are likely to become demoralized due to the offense's ineptness.

That and the fact that their defense was atrocious. They did quite a bit to fix it immediately. As much as I despise them, I see no reason why they aren't legitimate contenders for #2 in the division.

 

[tcdrover]

I think they are wild card contenders right now.

I remember opening night last season. They were right with the Pats up until the end of that game.

Losing the first 7 games has to say something about the head coach. The dolphins were in most of the games that they lost. This team doesn't get respect from the national media and casual fans because all they do is look at box scores and highlights. If they can shore up the Safety, Corner and right tackle positions I think they can scrap it out with most teams.

 

[kloud_9]

This convo really pisses me off...how are we all these years away and most of that 0-7 start was strictly bad coaching?? How many games did we really get it handed to us this year? How many blown 4th quarter leads? This isn't the NBA where 1 mark anderson for instance changes everything..its about 1. Consistent qb play 2. Pressure the passer 3. Limit turnovers on offense and cause them on defense. I think we have all those things..I'm not drinking the "kool-aid" but I think you all will be surprised with this squad if this is a decent coaching staff. I see 9-11 wins and that's my honest opinion

---------- Post added at 10:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------

Super bowl champs aren't rewarded in the offseason (same for us) let's just wait and see.

 

[Dsteve]

the 49ers have/had way more talent than we do especially on defense. Justin Smith, patrick willis (we took ted gen jr over him) aldon smith (r) harlson, and signing carlos rogers who had a career year. The 49ers didn't turn it around over night either. it's been multiple years of good drafts and solid players. In reality they missed on some players too. crabtree and alex smith have been disappointing and it's hard to distinguish who's at fault since the 49ers have almost as little WR talent as we do.


We have an average defense at best. Our D can't hold up against playoffs teams because our secondary is weak. Young, inexperienced corners that aren't coming along fast enough, no safties....it's pretty bad and almost as big a hole as our oline. Slow overrated lbers. our only player that i'd say is more of an answer than a problem is cameron wake.

We have NOTHING on offense. Our best WR is prob the quarterback we drafted this year for gods sake. People can keep talking about 7th round WRs and practice squad bums but i wont belive it till i see it. I like Tannehill. I like Martin but the rest of our draft is suspect, especially on offense. Honestly if we win more than 5 games i'd be surprised.

 

[kloud_9]

the 49ers have/had way more talent than we do especially on defense. Justin Smith, patrick willis (we took ted gen jr over him) aldon smith (r) harlson, and signing carlos rogers who had a career year. The 49ers didn't turn it around over night either. it's been multiple years of good drafts and solid players. In reality they missed on some players too. crabtree and alex smith have been disappointing and it's hard to distinguish who's at fault since the 49ers have almost as little WR talent as we do.


We have an average defense at best. Our D can't hold up against playoffs teams because our secondary is weak. Young, inexperienced corners that aren't coming along fast enough, no safties....it's pretty bad and almost as big a hole as our oline. Slow overrated lbers. our only player that i'd say is more of an answer than a problem is cameron wake.

We have NOTHING on offense. Our best WR is prob the quarterback we drafted this year for gods sake. People can keep talking about 7th round WRs and practice squad bums but i wont belive it till i see it. I like Tannehill. I like Martin but the rest of our draft is suspect, especially on offense. Honestly if we win more than 5 games i'd be surprised.

that's what they all say...this team is worlds better than that team and so on and so on...point is,if singeltary were still there they would have won 7 games max and you would probably say we are the better team. Coaching matters...let's give this man a chance..we started rebuilding after the cam Cameron debacle. We are a much better team now.stop selling your squad short.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I think that we are at least 2-3 years away from being competitive and I'll tell you why.

#1 I think that we made a big mistake by drafting Tannehill. I never liked him, I think he has limited upside and he played very small in big games/ situations. Again, I hope I'm wrong but I think we were much better off trading down for Weeden (who I have always liked better) and picking up another 2nd rounder.
#2 It was a big mistake to trade Marshall (particularly for the compensation). He's still young and when he has a real QB/ offensive coordinator he is a top 8-10 WR in football. He's a dominant player, and I think it was very irresponsible to ship him off, especially since without him our receiving corps might be the worst in the league.
#3 Our offensive backfield is extremely overrated by people on this board. Daniel Thomas has done absolutely nothing to impress anybody, Lamar Miller is a rookie, and Reggie Bush just is not a reliable every down back. He's a great role player fit for a team with a good passing game, but he's only had one pretty good rushing year in his entire career. We'll see what happens this year when he starts seeing a lot more 8 man fronts because defenses no longer have to respect any of our players on the outside, or our passing attack in general.
#4 QB is still a tremendous question mark.
#5 We were among the worst in the league at pass D (especially against tight ends) last year and that will probably continue because we still have no safeties.
#6 I have no idea how our front 7 is going to react to playing in a 4-3. I actually have a lot of faith in Wake, as well as our DT corps (which is very good) but our LB corps outside of Dansby is extremely underwhelming. I don't think Dansby is that great anyway.

So, like I said, I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see a whole lot of short term hope for this team. We have a lot of talent at both defensive and offensive tackle, and Cam Wake is still a beast. That being said, we are "meh" at best almost everywhere else.

I'm basing a lot of my optimism on Joe Philibin and Ryan Tannehill. I love the Green Bay model and the fact that they can develop players, specifically quarterbacks. Matt Flynn looked fantastic in that system and Tannehill has a ton more talent than Flynn. I liked Brandon Marshall, but I think he had to go and at least Miami got a few picks for him. He's one of those guys you love on the field, but never know what he's going to do off the field. This season to me is about giving young players a shot, seeing where they are and what we have, and then making the right moves in the offseason to get to that next level.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

This is probably accurate. The biggest reason the Bills fell off last year was the insane amount of injuries they had last season. It was almost like us in '07 in that respect. As much as I hate to mention this for obvious thread derailment purposes, the Jets had an internal collapse that is compounded by their new QB controversy. It's still likely that they finish ahead of us since their defense is still solid, but they are likely to become demoralized due to the offense's ineptness.

True. I think 2nd place is realistic for Buffalo. This season I really see Miami and New York battling it out for last place, maybe with 5-6 wins apiece. What's the name of that girl by the way?

 

[insomnia411]

I'm basing a lot of my optimism on Joe Philibin and Ryan Tannehill. I love the Green Bay model and the fact that they can develop players, specifically quarterbacks. Matt Flynn looked fantastic in that system and Tannehill has a ton more talent than Flynn. I liked Brandon Marshall, but I think he had to go and at least Miami got a few picks for him. He's one of those guys you love on the field, but never know what he's going to do off the field. This season to me is about giving young players a shot, seeing where they are and what we have, and then making the right moves in the offseason to get to that next level.

I can't put any real faith in a rookie head coach and a rookie QB that I didn't like very much in college.

 

[Dsteve]

that's what they all say...this team is worlds better than that team and so on and so on...point is,if singeltary were still there they would have won 7 games max and you would probably say we are the better team. Coaching matters...let's give this man a chance..we started rebuilding after the cam Cameron debacle. We are a much better team now.stop selling your squad short.

The 49ers were WAY WAY WAY better than the dolphins talent-wise. I think the biggest impact on that team from their coach was the quarterback play but it's not like Alex Smith isn't talented. I'd take him over the bum matt moore any day of the week and twice on sundays.

 

[ROADRUNNER]

We cant allways be a year away, we can win now.............

 

[Valandui]

True. I think 2nd place is realistic for Buffalo. This season I really see Miami and New York battling it out for last place, maybe with 5-6 wins apiece. What's the name of that girl by the way?

Her name is Shay Maria.