Asterisk aside, we may challenge for the AFC East

[Butterfrog 2.0]

Doesn't saying

" Do I think Tua would have been as good as Fitz behind our dumpster fire of an OL? Absolutley Not!"

mean that Tua is not a better QB then Fitz; at least under the conditions you brought forth?

Yes it does mean that... but I think very few QB's would have fared as well under those conditions. For example I've said here many times that Tannehill wouldnt have won us a single game had he still been our QB last year, but I dont think Fitz would have taken the Titans to the AFC championship game last year either. Fitz gunslinger mentality, toughness/grit, pocket awareness etc. made him the perfect stop gap for a team like we had. You dont want to rely on him to run a well oiled machine however or be a care taker type of QB.

 

[Ray R]

I think the majority of Adams teammates side with adams, best player on team getting screwed around by coach and front office when it comes to money...not a good look for that team and leadership...

now they got some nice assets but like I said, the players don’t care one bit about that..

I have Gase getting fired, I could show you quotes from when I went to camp for 7 days that match up to exactly what Adams said about Gase..The man is a fraud Imo..

There is nothing wrong with opinions as long as we don't confuse them with facts.

You can quote me on that! LOL

 

[The Beatles]

Barring injury/Covid, Bills are walking away with the division. And I don’t see it even being close.

 

[Digital]

I love the pre-season. After draft season it may be the best part of being a Dolphins fan.

It will shock me if the Patriots do not win the division. I've been saying for years that the secret sauce is Belichick, not Brady, and I expect Belichick to start proving that this year, regardless of whether Cam Newton plays well, poorly, or not at all. But, if one team does succeed in momentarily knocking Belichick's Patriot from its perch, my money is on the Buffalo Bills. IMHO, the Dolphins are _at least_ 1 year away from competing. To me it comes down to the lines. Our DL may be the worst in the division, and our OL definitely is the worst in the division. Unless both of those things change, we aren't winning the division.

 

[Digital]

There is nothing wrong with opinions as long as we don't confuse them with facts.

You can quote me on that! LOL

Great point @Ray R ! And, when you look at the Adams trade, the Jets clearly won that trade.

 

[Digital]

There's a QB out in the midwest that probably would have been a bit of an upgrade. But I agree.....Fitzpatrick was in a situation where his particular brand of recklessness could thrive. I would have no interest in him as the starting QB on a team was built for contending but he was perfect alongside the rest of the scrappy underdogs.

I am curious to see what Flores had in mind when he brought these defenders in and if they're capable of living up to expectations. With all the investment the defense should be much better but I can't visualize how the pieces fit. Godchaux as the nose in a base 3-4....is that going to work? Can Baker be stout enough as an ILB in a 3-4? Can Rowe and McCain/Parker/Jones/whoever is starting at safety come up and tackle these 250 lb tanks that play QB? I can see what is there in pass defense with nickle and dime sets but its the base that I struggle with. Flores does have a lot of toys to play with and I'm sure he has all sorts of ideas on how to use them.....will be interesting to see how it plays out on the field.

Good points. I'm not convinced about our DL at all outside of Kyle Van Noy and Christian Wilkerson, and Van Noy is a hybrid LB type. Lawson and Ogbah are upgrades ... but not elite. Baker is not assignment-sound, and even _if_ he ends up hitting the correct hole, he simply doesn't have the power to tackle well and is terrible playing the run. If our LB corps makes a breakthrough, it will be at the expense of Baker moving into a more situational role.

 

[Digital]

When you trade your best players for assets it sends the message to the players This year doesn’t count, current rostered players could care less about future draft picks, that’s for the GM and the fans.

Maybe. But I think the players also understand the ramifications of the salary cap and a player wanting to get paid. Nobody else on the roster is good enough to force their way off like Adams, so the players might just write that one off as an unusual case. Most of those guys are fighting for spots or fighting for their next contract anyway, so it may not make as big of a difference as we might think.

 

[Sirspud]

Barring injury/Covid, Bills are walking away with the division. And I don’t see it even being close.

The Bills have a middle schooler as a QB. I think the Bills will be very competitive in spite of that - they've won with marginal QB play several times in recent years. But laughable to act like it "won't be close".

 

[Sirspud]

I love the pre-season. After draft season it may be the best part of being a Dolphins fan.

It will shock me if the Patriots do not win the division. I've been saying for years that the secret sauce is Belichick, not Brady, and I expect Belichick to start proving that this year, regardless of whether Cam Newton plays well, poorly, or not at all. But, if one team does succeed in momentarily knocking Belichick's Patriot from its perch, my money is on the Buffalo Bills. IMHO, the Dolphins are _at least_ 1 year away from competing. To me it comes down to the lines. Our DL may be the worst in the division, and our OL definitely is the worst in the division. Unless both of those things change, we aren't winning the division.

I think the Pats will likely get at least marginal play from Newton, enough to get them to 10 wins or so. If he and the rest of the QB stable is a disaster I'm not sure the Pats will do great.

 

[foozool13]

Only way we win the division is Tua breaking out Russel Wilson Style. We’ll need a top 8 run game for that.

Hope it happens.

 

[Sirspud]

I feel that when you trade or release a prima-donna type player who may be good, the only reasonable conclusion that the players are likely to draw is "this team is serious and not messing around".

Anything else is probably just a fans fantasy.

The players on the Jets are well aware that many don't like Gase and he has already gotten fired for ripping one roster apart after he couldn't coach many of the talented players on the roster. I really don't imagine that move did Gase any favors on the Jets.

 

[chadproton]

Given the amount of roster turnover and coaching changes over the off season and the changes to camp, no preseason games I anticipate this team looking pretty ugly early on, similar to last year. Looking at our schedule I think it's not unreasonable to guess a record of 2-6 at the midpoint of the season. (Maybe we get to see Tua vs. Herbert in week 7?) There is probably better opportunity for wins in the back half of the schedule, especially if we see an upswing in team cohesion like we did last year.
Ready for a hot take? I predict that the Dolphins reaching 8 wins will turn on beating the Jets in back to back games.

 

[Krush]

It only takes desire to be better than average, you don't see names that cost plenty of money, but they have to build toward that marker, this team needs to start Tua right now to see what kind of adjustments that they will need for next year, or at the least alternate them to see what we do have as a team, Tua's injury was last November so if he's ready to play then put him out there, then if he needs more time put Fitzpatrick in there, but in no way you want 2 years of losing without the Rookie QB being the starter.

 

[Fin-Loco]

I think the Pats will likely get at least marginal play from Newton, enough to get them to 10 wins or so. If he and the rest of the QB stable is a disaster I'm not sure the Pats will do great.

I dispute that. Cam's had two throwing shoulder surgeries and a lisfranc surgery that now has a plate and screws holding his foot together. Recovery for an athlete alone from Lisfranc surgery is 50/50 and I would say even less for Cam's running style. Wait until the first time this happens...

 

[djphinfan]

Maybe. But I think the players also understand the ramifications of the salary cap and a player wanting to get paid. Nobody else on the roster is good enough to force their way off like Adams, so the players might just write that one off as an unusual case. Most of those guys are fighting for spots or fighting for their next contract anyway, so it may not make as big of a difference as we might think.

I think it’s a big deal, this was not a salary cap issue..Gase‘s seat is really hot..and from experience observing him, there’s no way out for him..Adams put him on blast for very valid reasons.