Did we get better this Offseason !!!

[BenchFiedler]

This is in response to all the threads about the Dolphins did not improve during the offseason and they won't make the playoffs !!!

-When we acquired D. Culpepper, they predicted Miami and Carolina to the super bowl...Miami did not even make the playoffs..

-Last year they predicted Miami to win 4 to 5 games..We went 11-5...

-This year, we added Cameron Wake because we needed someone opposite Porter. We added Wilson (upgrade over Hill) and 2 CB's..The defense got younger and better.

-The offense was good last year except for the running game, we added Jake Grove to help. Donald Thomas and J Smiley should return to help boost the running game..I remember Ronnie Brown having a lot of success running on the left side (Long and Smiley), now he can also run on the right side (Carey and Thomas)
The receivers are good enough for this type of ball control offense. We have Fasano and Martin who I believe will put up big numbers...

So, how in the world did we get worst ??

 

[Butterfrog 2.0]

I don't think I've seen any posts or articles saying we got worse. Idk how anyone could even make that assesment as the team only lost 3 starters and two of them were because they upgraded at the position. The team also added youh/depth on both sides of the ball so again idk how anyone could say we didn't improve. I think most people are saying we will have a worse record though because of how tough our schedule is.

 

[GoonBoss]

This is in response to all the threads about the Dolphins did not improve during the offseason and they won't make the playoffs !!!

-When we acquired D. Culpepper, they predicted Miami and Carolina to the super bowl...Miami did not even make the playoffs..

-Last year they predicted Miami to win 4 to 5 games..We went 11-5...

-This year, we added Cameron Wake because we needed someone opposite Porter. We added Wilson (upgrade over Hill) and 2 CB's..The defense got younger and better.

-The offense was good last year except for the running game, we added Jake Grove to help. Donald Thomas and J Smiley should return to help boost the running game..I remember Ronnie Brown having a lot of success running on the left side (Long and Smiley), now he can also run on the right side (Carey and Thomas)
The receivers are good enough for this type of ball control offense. We have Fasano and Martin who I believe will put up big numbers...

So, how in the world did we get worst ??

"Worse" I think is what you are going for there. If not, I'm sorry.


We got better, but, the schedule on paper is harder this year. It's reasonable to assume we won't make the playoffs, I think, but, it's also reasonable to assume that we'll be right there in the hunt. I do not believe that the wildcard will come from the AFC East, so, we'll have to win the division to make the post season. Could it happen? Sure. It's just as likely it won't. Think what you will, rookies and unproven FAs are still question marks until they prove somthing on the field.

 

[ADavieDolphin]

actually most of ronnie's success came from the right side, granted some of that would have been Long/Carey stacked to the right in the Wildcat, but from base Offense, Ndukwe and Carey held it down better.. Suprisingly...

We did get better, i honestly expect a similar record, probaly 9-10 wins... hopefully good enough for the playoffs.. I'm happy as long as we're 9 wins+, which is very acheiveable.. Our 'hard' schedule is based off last year, and Sparano and I are not intimidated in the least.

Our fan's are worried about teams that will win WAY less games next year based on offseason moves..
TB, TEN, NYJ, BUF, ATL, SD, IND are all teams that did'nt improve drastically, and will probably lose more games, for different reasons..

We're still hungry, people still think we aren't for real, and this year will shut them all up again.. I doubt anyone will be thinkin we stinkin in 2010 after two straight playoff runs

 

[ckparrothead]

Well, for schnitzengiggle...here's the pessimistic view:

1. A rookie Vontae Davis is a poor substitute for Andre Goodman, and he will get burned. He will miss tackles, and Miami will give up big plays because of him. Sean Smith, who has only been playing CB for two years and in many ways still plays like a receiver covering receivers, has a whole lot to learn about the position and playing in zones before he can be trusted. Renaldo Hill was not perfect but he could be counted on to play safe and protect the deep portions of the field. In the Quarters defense, Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell will bite on play-fakes, leaving the corners on an island, and big plays will result.

2. The Wildcat is dead. The Ravens killed it. Pat White will not be ready to operate a real offense as a rookie and therefore will not be able to revive it.

3. Bonamego's special teams units were not that great last year and now Miami lost its kicking coach, stretching Bono even thinner.

4. Phil Merling, Kendall Langford and Randy Starks are all one-dimensional run stuffers and will not get better as pass rushers. Cameron Wake is a CFL player and will pass rush no better than Charlie Anderson did a year ago, and Joey Porter will not have the kind of year he had in 2008. Therefore, the pass rush will be even worse than in 2008 while the secondary becomes more inconsistent and unreliable because of the substitution of a biter for a safer player (Wilson for Hill) and the substitution of a rookie for a veteran (Davis for Goodman).

5. Jake Grove is overrated. He will not play appreciably better than Samson Satele. The entire interior OL is injury prone and Miami will be lucky if all three don't end the season on injured reserve (last year just two of the three did, but they subbed a durable Satele out for an injury prone Grove).

7. Miami's new OL coach is unproven and may be inept, forcing Tony Sparano to focus too much time on that area to carry his water for him, and taking away from his ability to focus on other areas of the team.

8. Ted Ginn may have plateaued. This could be as good as he is going to be and he may always be inconsistent. Greg Camarillo's knee will not allow him to play as well as a year ago, and Davone Bess is not a physically compelling player. Patrick Turner is another Ernest Wilford, he can't play STs and therefore will have trouble seeing the field not unlike Wilford a year ago. Brian Hartline is just a special teams player and depth, about as good as Brandon London a year ago. The receivers unit is not upgraded and may actually be downgraded due to Camarillo's knee.

9. Chad Pennington never stays healthy and performing at a high level two seasons in a row. At some point the Dolphins will have to rely on the unproven second year man, Chad Henne.

10. The schedule will be twice as difficult as it was a year ago.

 

[Pinkboy]

What people forget when they start these threads is that most teams think they got better.. Let's just look at our division.. All of the Jets, Pats and Bills got better.

The Pats added 3 guys to their D through the draft with Chung, Butler, Brace etc, and added some O-lineman like Vollmer etc), and added w/ some people in UFA.. The Bills added who in my opinion is the best guard and best center in the draft in Levitre and Wood. And added Aaron Maybin (they have desperately needed a pass rusher since forever)..

The Jets added a coach who knows how to play defense, and added pieces to it.. And they already have one of the best O-lines in the league to control the ball (just listen to KC Joyner's assessment when he ran the metrics of the Jets O-line). And they added a strong RB in the 3rd round who they are very high on... . Every Jets fan, every Pats fan, and every Bills fan thinks their teams got better too.

 

[Sirspud]

I wouldn't say we've gotten worse at all, I've been quite happy with the way we've maintained our core group of players and added some young talent to help out. But I don't think I'm being pessimistic when I say that I believe we played over our heads last year. We had some sloppy games against some bad teams, narrowly eeking out victories against teams like the Raiders. While we did play well against a lot of good teams, we're going to have a harder schedule not playing the weakest division in football for four games and that means less room for error.

Also, we're going to be the team that the others in the division are focusing on. We surprised by unveiling things like the wildcat, as well as having Pennington play practically perfect football. There won't be those same surprises this year.

 

[Hargitt01]

Well, for schnitzengiggle...here's the pessimistic view:

1. A rookie Vontae Davis is a poor substitute for Andre Goodman, and he will get burned. He will miss tackles, and Miami will give up big plays because of him. Sean Smith, who has only been playing CB for two years and in many ways still plays like a receiver covering receivers, has a whole lot to learn about the position and playing in zones before he can be trusted. Renaldo Hill was not perfect but he could be counted on to play safe and protect the deep portions of the field. In the Quarters defense, Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell will bite on play-fakes, leaving the corners on an island, and big plays will result.

2. The Wildcat is dead. The Ravens killed it. Pat White will not be ready to operate a real offense as a rookie and therefore will not be able to revive it.

3. Bonamego's special teams units were not that great last year and now Miami lost its kicking coach, stretching Bono even thinner.

4. Phil Merling, Kendall Langford and Randy Starks are all one-dimensional run stuffers and will not get better as pass rushers. Cameron Wake is a CFL player and will pass rush no better than Charlie Anderson did a year ago, and Joey Porter will not have the kind of year he had in 2008. Therefore, the pass rush will be even worse than in 2008 while the secondary becomes more inconsistent and unreliable because of the substitution of a biter for a safer player (Wilson for Hill) and the substitution of a rookie for a veteran (Davis for Goodman).

5. Jake Grove is overrated. He will not play appreciably better than Samson Satele. The entire interior OL is injury prone and Miami will be lucky if all three don't end the season on injured reserve (last year just two of the three did, but they subbed a durable Satele out for an injury prone Grove).

7. Miami's new OL coach is unproven and may be inept, forcing Tony Sparano to focus too much time on that area to carry his water for him, and taking away from his ability to focus on other areas of the team.

8. Ted Ginn may have plateaued. This could be as good as he is going to be and he may always be inconsistent. Greg Camarillo's knee will not allow him to play as well as a year ago, and Davone Bess is not a physically compelling player. Patrick Turner is another Ernest Wilford, he can't play STs and therefore will have trouble seeing the field not unlike Wilford a year ago. Brian Hartline is just a special teams player and depth, about as good as Brandon London a year ago. The receivers unit is not upgraded and may actually be downgraded due to Camarillo's knee.

9. Chad Pennington never stays healthy and performing at a high level two seasons in a row. At some point the Dolphins will have to rely on the unproven second year man, Chad Henne.

10. The schedule will be twice as difficult as it was a year ago.

I guess that's one way to look at it. :boohoo: