Better Or Worse? | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Better Or Worse?

Manning said:
At this point I’m happy with serviceable starters on the line. It’s the same sht every year. The Oline is always the last priority and the biggest weakness year in year out
Click to expand...
one more side point on the OL. it would be nice if on third and short if we could just reliably stuff it down the opponents throats and make first downs, as opposed to all of the finesse stuff. maybe chris brooks can help here, i liked what i saw out of him. big and runs hard. then the play calling needs to adjust too. but we also need an ol that is physical enough to reliably get straightforward push. i also cannot figure out why we can't sneak the ball. only team in the history of the NFL that couldn't seem to do it. tua is short, but he is not small. looking at him, i bet he is pushing 210-220lbs, which might put him in the upper half of nfl QBs. and his legs are thick. i would assume he is actually pretty strong. so were they just afraid of getting tua hurt? qb sneak does not seem like a high risk play health wise, i have never seen a QB get hurt doing this. brady was a total softie, but unstoppable on the QB sneak. gotta be nice to be philadelphia, 3rd and 3 seems to be an automatic first down for them, because 1 or 2 sneaks a guarantee to do it. this is something else i am curious about re brewer - he is a good run blocker because of his ability to move. but no idea if it translates on the shorter and straightforward non zone blocking stuff. net/net hopefully better on the third and short next year, including the play calling.
 
On paper we got worse, no doubt what so ever. However we were really banged up last year. It is hard to say. We also have a new DC. The thing that is scary to me is players like Poyer, who was very good but saw a significant drop off last year and has had some injury issues in the past. Due to our salary cap issues, we are having to be smart and selective. We are gambling these players can stay healthy and return to form. Hopefully we can stay more healthy than last year!
 
phinsforlife said:
I think they emerged from round one of free agency in OK shape. Still work to do in the trenches, which matters, especially against better teams and in the playoffs. But so far, they seem to be in a decent spot, and still the draft and potentially more FA moves to come if cash frees up. Thoughts on below as to where we stand as of right now?

Linebacker: I think better. Lost Baker, added Jordyn Brooks and Antony Walker. Walker could be a sneaky good pickup. Issue with him is injury, but at this price, good risk/reward.

TE: Better. Smith is a nice addition, fits well into the offense, and they lost nobody, so this is a straight out net plus.

CB: Better. Fuller was a nice pickup (I hope). Xavien Howard had degraded to a mediocre football player and is also an injury risk. Still unsigned also, tells you what the rest of the NFL thinks of him. Plus a chance Cam Smith plays and emerges with the new DC. PS Iggy just got signed by the Commanders. Suckers!!!!!

WR: I guess somewhat worse, but in an immaterial sense. Lost Ced Wilson, net/added nobody (Berrios was here last year), but it doesn't matter. Still need to pick up a better #3, so at the end of the day they may upgrade here. Also will Tyreek get restructured or extended? Side note, I worry about extending Tyreek, he seems like a powder keg. Every other day we seem to be reading about him being on the verge of getting into real trouble. Another story out today.

DT: Worse. Lost Wilkins and Davis, added a bunch of scrubs. Thankfully it is a less critical position in the modern NFL. Yes they will be more rotational, but still we lost a horse and replaced him with a bunch of pony's.

OL: Worse. Lost Hunt and Williams, added Brewer, who is questionable as a pass blocker. Work to do here as lost two, added one, who in expectation is not as good as either of the guys they lost.

Safety: Slightly worse. Lost Elliot and Brandon Jones. Added Poyer. Although I am tempted to call this an upgrade because of Rachel Bush, we lost two and added one. Poyer seems to be an average football player now and somewhat of an injury risk. The offset is his experience, so if he stays healthy, there is a chance for him to have a really good year paired with Holland. But for the time being, have to say slightly worse given the two for one.

Edge: Slightly worse. Lost Van Ginkel, added Barrett. I think this was their biggest goof of FA, because Van Ginkel remains under-rated, and we lost him on a pretty cheap deal, which also would have kept him here for a few years. Dolphins are in a tough spot here because Chubb and Phillips will come back, so cannot devote too much more in the way of resources to edge. I suspect they pick up one more older vet on the cheap. Having said that, the sun-sentinel is out today claiming both Chubb and Phillips could be close to ready for the season opener, which is really good news and would take a lot of pressure off: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/0...oth-could-be-100-healthy-for-dolphins-opener/

QB: TBD. This is more of a question of what they do with Tua's deal.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on most points. I strongly disagree at EDGE.
 
TE is clearly better with only additions and no subtractions. Every other position group is TBD whether CB and LB where we think we may be better or DL and Edge where we think we may be worse. OL is simply incomplete so can't judge yet at all there.

What is not debatable is that our financial cap situation is much better now and going into 2025 and beyond and that our 2025 draft capital is improved. Factor those two items into the personnel items and I'm pretty pleased so far.
 
GatorFin73 said:
TE is clearly better with only additions and no subtractions. Every other position group is TBD whether CB and LB where we think we may be better or DL and Edge where we think we may be worse. OL is simply incomplete so can't judge yet at all there.

What is not debatable is that our financial cap situation is much better now and going into 2025 and beyond and that our 2025 draft capital is improved. Factor those two items into the personnel items and I'm pretty pleased so far.
Click to expand...
@GatorFin73 are you thirsty?

scale;webp=auto;jpeg_quality=60;progressive.jpg
 
GatorFin73 said:
TE is clearly better with only additions and no subtractions. Every other position group is TBD whether CB and LB where we think we may be better or DL and Edge where we think we may be worse. OL is simply incomplete so can't judge yet at all there.

What is not debatable is that our financial cap situation is much better now and going into 2025 and beyond and that our 2025 draft capital is improved. Factor those two items into the personnel items and I'm pretty pleased so far.
Click to expand...
yup. if they re-do tua, will be interesting how they structure it and how 2025 looks....
 
Fuller is the heavy, heavy favorite to replace Xavien Howard as Miami’s starting cornerback opposite Ramsey. Here’s how the metrics compare for Fuller and Howard the past two seasons, per PFF’s numbers: ▪ Fuller in 2022: An 84.5 passer rating against; 40 completions in 72 targets for 604 yards, which is 15.1 per reception; four touchdowns allowed and three interceptions. (He returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns, off Davis Mills and Dak Prescott.) ▪ Howard in 2022: A 114.6 passer rating against; 58 completions in 87 targets for 910 yards, which is 15.7 yards per reception; six touchdowns allowed and two interceptions. ▪ Fuller in 2023: A 101.9 passer rating in his coverage area; 49 completions in 73 targets for 488 yards, which is 10.0 per catch; six touchdowns allowed and two interceptions. He started the first 15 games last season and missed the final two due to knee soreness. ▪ Howard in 2023: An 86.7 passer rating in his coverage area; with 44 completions in 71 targets for 502 yards, which is an 11.4 average per reception; two touchdowns allowed and one interception. He missed five games last season due to injuries, playing Miami’s playoff loss in Kansas City. Bottom line: Fuller was the much better player in 2022. Last season, they allowed comparable numbers in receptions, targets and yards. Fuller allowed fewer yards per catch, but Fuller permitted four more touchdowns than Howard, which accounts for the 15-point disparity in their passer rating. And PFF gave Fuller a much higher grade last season (seventh among all cornerbacks) than Howard (who was 98th) because his coverage was tighter (according to their tracking) and he was far better against the run in PFF’s evaluation. “Fuller is an absolute steal for the Dolphins,” PFF’s Ryan Smith said. “He was our seventh-ranked corner in the league last year (83.1 grade) and has ranked among the top-15 cornerbacks in each of the last three seasons (while playing 1,000+ snaps each year). My favorite move of free agency thus far.” Keep in mind that Fuller will be 29 next season; Howard turns 31 in July. Fuller is coming off a four-year, $40 million deal with Washington.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article286742850.html#storylink=cpy
 
Im looking at our current depth chart and do not see River Cracraft? I searched his name and get no info. I dont see why we wouldnt have him resigned already unless he is holding out.
Anyone have any info?
 
MDK said:
Im looking at our current depth chart and do not see River Cracraft? I searched his name and get no info. I dont see why we wouldnt have him resigned already unless he is holding out.
Anyone have any info?
Click to expand...
Not resigned. Yet. Hopefully they can do better. A bit redundant w berrios too
 
  • Like
Reactions: MDK
The problem is you win and lose games in the trenches and Miami, at least currently, has downgraded on both lines.

The Dolphins have proven to be a good team over the last few seasons, but not good enough to beat the more physical teams. That starts in the trenches.

But, the offseason isn't over. I think considering what Miami has lost, Grier has pivoted and done pretty well.

The draft is also still to come.
 
sounds like they are still working on #3 receiver, although this may be better solved in the draft at this point:
 
  • Like
Reactions: MDK
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom