ch19079 said:
ill start with the Defense.
your D line is improved ovre last season. but you filled the gaps with old players who are, IMO, past their prime. can they do what they did in the past?? thats a good question. J. Taylor is a very good player. Roth is a ROOKIE so he will be sharing playing time. and wont be getting 8 sacks.
so improved, but not dominant.
Good analysis: Our DL is a mixed bag,,JT is still 29-30, D. Bowens is 27-28, Chester is ?, not that old..Traylor is the oldest..I think we all agree T. Bo will retire. Now we've brought in Carter, Holiday, early 30's and we still have Romero..mid 20's and Roth. What will keep them good this year is rotation..None of our older players have to carry the DL, that will add to their life expectancy. :D and keep them fresh thoughout the year barring injury.
the LBs are solid. (aging, but still the backbone of your D. and probubly a probowler in there next season)
You mean the starters are old except Spragan, but the backups are all young and good as proven last year..i.e., Moore, Pope, Corey, Ayanbadejo, add to that Crowder, and you have a talented backup group. As you said, the backbone of his D right now.
the secondary is a weakness IMO. madison is not in the same class as surtain. howard, while not to bad, is not in the same class as madison. so its weaker than previous years. the safeties are a problem also. Tillman is not good enough to start. and the SS is a good tackler but weak in pass coverage. the Bills have a SS like that. we use him alot, but hes NOT the starter. i sure dont want him in there on a passing down. :shakeno: yalls Passing D is alot weaker than last seasons.
I totally agree here, with the exception, and I'm hoping here, that Y. Bell stays heathy and starts at FS..if he does and T. Jones plays SS, then I'll feel better about our secondary. The injury to Poole really placed stress on this D secondary. I'd prefer Tillman as depth. But that's me, I don't see what's going on on the field right now, so this is quess on all our parts.
now the Offense:
the O-Line is improved, not that it was dificult to improve on last years performance, but still improved. there are still a few problems at C and OT, but its not THAT bad. so thats improved.
Agree
RB, imiproved on the basis that Brown is expected to run well. but again, players dont usually have probowl seasons their rookie year. and i wont even mention Ricky as part of your O, till he takes a snap in a game. will he even make it through camp??
with the additions of Brown, L. Gordon--because we really didn't have him last year, and Kay Jay..we should have a pretty talented group, and if Ricky comes back, that's gravy on a good group already.
TE is set, but you dont want to see the backup AT ALL. still very good.
D. Lee is better than you think, he should show a lot of improvement this year, but Mcmicheals gets all the reps, so he progressing at a slower pace.
WR is just a huge question mark. Chambers is the #1, and will play very well like he always does. Booker is getting older, but can still cetch. and we all have no way of knowing what boston will do after injury and lack of steroids. but ill say you got a good recieving core, but that brings me to the QB.
The only real question mark is will Boston stay healthy..the rest of the corps is from last year, and prove given an opportunity they can play..from Chambers to Booker to Thompson. Newson is good, but got hurt early. Welsh is special teams and Gilmore has great speed.
the QB is a weakness. even with a 3 WR and 1 TE set, he wont be as productive as many want him to be. he might be better than last season, but not by much. he will get alot of blame for the losses.
Disagree, AJ and Gus are dependable if not servicable...AJ played behind one the worst OL's imaginable last year and I don't think had the confidence to go back and play..he dropped and prayed. His errant throws are testimonies to the lack of time, trying to make a play that backfires, but as the OL improved, so did AJ's play, his last 2 starts, no int's.
overall:
Rushing D: improved but we wont know by how much till they play.
Passing D: MUCH weaker. i bet you see alot more blitzing from Seau and Spargan.
Passing O: slightly improved
Rushing O: improved
this is not the best Dolphin D we have seen the past few years, and its also not the best Dolphins team that weve seen teh past few years.
i dont think the fins will make the playoffs and will be at the bottom of the AFC east again this season. and finish 7-9
Rushing D: Very improved
Passing D: Mixed..better rushers overall, questions in secondary.
Pasing O: No one knows right now. New system, new calls, comfort level wil be slow to come..the OL is the main source of questions, not the receivers or the arms of the QB's.
The D is not the best Dophins D in the last couple of years, but I think the O is much better, and that's hoping the OL improves, they're younger, stronger and faster, thanks to speilman. Hopefully and somewhat unfortunately we may be a better team because we gave up a little D to get some O. Maybe this balancing act actually helps us be a better team with less talent on D.
Ricky seriously looks like the Land O' Lakes girl in your sig.
