And amid all these question marks stands Cameron Wake.
An exclamation point.
Cameron Wake!
Forget that he’s one of the longest tenured Dolphins. Forget that with consecutive Pro Bowl appearances he’s one of the team’s most accomplished players. He starts 2013 right about where he left off last year.
As Miami’s best player.
As one of the NFL’s best players.
That’s not one man’s opinion. The NFL Network in the offseason ranked the league’s top 100 players for 2013. Wake was the only Dolphins player making the cut. A panel of 481 NFL players submitted ballots to come up with the list, and Wake came in at No. 89.
Fans also voted, and they decided the players vastly underrated Wake, something that would get no argument from the defensive end.
“That’s one of those things that comes from the outside,” Wake says with a shrug. “I had a guy tell me about the top 100, but when you look at other studies, for example Pro Football Focus where they break down things and get a more holistic view of the game, I think that’s a more accurate tally of where I stand.
“And more important than that, I look at Coach Philbin and [defensive coordinator] Coach [Kevin] Coyle and [defensive line coach] Kacy Rodgers and ask them where they rank me. And they have trust and confidence in me. They think I’m one of the best out there.
“That’s where I continue to strive to be.”
