Dolphins’ Units That Will Improve, Drop-Off or Stay the Same?

[DZimmer000]

Let’s hear your take on what units you expect to get better, stay the same or get worse compared to last year.

QB’s - Improve - Tua should make a solid jump this year. I actually liked Jacoby Brissett when he was in New England. I expect Big improvement this year from this unit.

RB’s - Same - Obviously not a big infusion of talent into this room. I expect them to stay the same as last year….Maybe a slight improvement due to a possibly better OL.

WR‘s - Improve - Will Fuller, Waddle, Parker etc…. I expect a lot of improvement here. Finally some guys that can actually separate.

TE’s - Same - This is a tough unit to call. I like Gesicki and I hope he continues his upward trajectory…. But I’m not sure how the rest of that room will grow. Throw in the rookie Hunter Long and maybe they’re better?

OL - Improve - I like Eichenberg at RT. moving Hunt inside. Kindley back at guard. This unit will be improved. The problem is…..It’s gonna take a few games for these guys to gel in my opinion. I see the real improvement after week 8 or so.

DL - Same - I see the DL getting better on the pass rush (I’m warming up to the Phillips pick), But I don’t think they’ll be as good as last year against the run. So….I’ll call this staying the same.

LB’s - Drop Off - KVN wasn’t a world beater last year…But he was a leader. The defense wasn’t the same without him on the field. I hope Van Ginkle fills his shoes better than I think he will. As for McKinney, he’s a down hill thumper….But he’s not a 3 down backer. Also, Baker needs to take the next step this year.

DB’s - Improve - As tough as it will be (this was a good unit last year), I expect this to be a top 3 unit in the NFL this year. Holland should bring great safety play. I expect better play from Byron Jones and of course another good year from X. I expect there will be a no fly zone over Hard Rock Stadium this year.

ST’s - Same - Sanders is money. Hard to get better than last year. Parlardy is average. I expect our coverage units to be good again.

All totaled, I expect an 11 win year from this team.

 

[greasyObnoxious]

agreed on the offense and the DL.

with the addition of McKinney and Phillips and increased playing time from AVG, i'm actually expecting an improvement from the LBs. KVN was beginning to lose a step last season.

secondary i'm going to have to say drop off for the simple fact that i don't see the same amount of turnovers. that masked a lot.

 

[dol-phan007]

I will agree with your assessment with the exception of RB. Basically the same RB group but with the improvements on the O-line and the WR group being able to stretch the field, RB performance will be a major improvement. The opposing defenses will no longer be able to stack the box without leaving one our speedsters running free.

 

[j-off-her-doll]

Agree with most all of this, but here are my contentions:

Disagree with the assessment of LB and McKinney. Said it before, but McKinney is the closest thing to D. Hightower outside of D. Hightower. He's never played in a scheme that accentuates his strengths so well.

Also see AVG continuing to improve, because he plays the game with good attention to detail, and he's a high-end athlete - a significantly better athlete than Van Noy has ever been.

Don't think the DL will take a significant hit vs the run. As a rookie, Phillips might not set the edge as well as Lawson, but Wilkins and Davis should continue to get stronger and process quicker. Assuming you're right, though, McKinney should offset that, and even if he doesn't, pass rush > run D.

 

[PHINANALYST]

It would be hard not to project improvement across the board between additions from FA + the draft ... in addition to a full offseason for the rookies from LAST year.

Outside of QB, we have improved EVERY position group on the roster .... and TUA, himself, SHOULD be vastly improved.

Will that translate to more wins ... not sure, but AM confident we will be BETTER ...

We actually have a challenging schedule, and see us between 10-7 and 7-10, which sounds like a big varianice, but really isn’t ... 10-7; 9-8; 8-9; and 7-10 ....

 

[Danny]

As far as the RB's, having the O-line playing better will help but really having speed/playmakers outside will help a lot. the defense will need to back off from the LOS so the O-line won't have to block 8 and 9 med on the box al the time like they had to do last year.

 

[SCOTTY]

Not sure how anyone can't think every unit will be better this year. Just the impact of an actual offseason. Add in draft and FA. Yes, every unit, the entire team will be better. Well at least that's what I believe.

 

[Mach2]

It would be hard not to project improvement across the board between additions from FA + the draft ... in addition to a full offseason for the rookies from LAST year.

Outside of QB, we have improved EVERY position group on the roster .... and TUA, himself, SHOULD be vastly improved.

Will that translate to more wins ... not sure, but AM confident we will be BETTER ...

We actually have a challenging schedule, and see us between 10-7 and 7-10, which sounds like a big varianice, but really isn’t ... 10-7; 9-8; 8-9; and 7-10 ....

If we are below .500, and really below 10 wins, something went horribly wrong.

Either we were decimated with injuries, or TT crapped the bed big time.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

Let’s hear your take on what units you expect to get better, stay the same or get worse compared to last year.

QB’s - Improve - Tua should make a solid jump this year. I actually liked Jacoby Brissett when he was in New England. I expect Big improvement this year from this unit.

RB’s - Same - Obviously not a big infusion of talent into this room. I expect them to stay the same as last year….Maybe a slight improvement due to a possibly better OL.

WR‘s - Improve - Will Fuller, Waddle, Parker etc…. I expect a lot of improvement here. Finally some guys that can actually separate.

TE’s - Same - This is a tough unit to call. I like Gesicki and I hope he continues his upward trajectory…. But I’m not sure how the rest of that room will grow. Throw in the rookie Hunter Long and maybe they’re better?

OL - Improve - I like Eichenberg at RT. moving Hunt inside. Kindley back at guard. This unit will be improved. The problem is…..It’s gonna take a few games for these guys to gel in my opinion. I see the real improvement after week 8 or so.

DL - Same - I see the DL getting better on the pass rush (I’m warming up to the Phillips pick), But I don’t think they’ll be as good as last year against the run. So….I’ll call this staying the same.

LB’s - Drop Off - KVN wasn’t a world beater last year…But he was a leader. The defense wasn’t the same without him on the field. I hope Van Ginkle fills his shoes better than I think he will. As for McKinney, he’s a down hill thumper….But he’s not a 3 down backer. Also, Baker needs to take the next step this year.

DB’s - Improve - As tough as it will be (this was a good unit last year), I expect this to be a top 3 unit in the NFL this year. Holland should bring great safety play. I expect better play from Byron Jones and of course another good year from X. I expect there will be a no fly zone over Hard Rock Stadium this year.

ST’s - Same - Sanders is money. Hard to get better than last year. Parlardy is average. I expect our coverage units to be good again.

All totaled, I expect an 11 win year from this team.

Just a couple of tweaks. As far as 'better, worse, same,' I'm going with TALENT and not production - production is extremely difficult to predict. Second, I'm going on the last 8-9 games, after the new guys settle in.
I see no 'worse' units. The only disagreements we have are DL, which I think will improve. and LB which I'll call 'same.'

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

I believe the biggest improvement will be at wide receiver. From this vantage point, Miami went from bottom third in the league to top third in the league.

The addition of Fuller and Waddle will be felt across the roster. Gaskin faced eight man fronts in 23 percent of his carries last year. That number might be close to 0 this year. Teams have to respect that kind of speed.

I like your list, but I think the defensive line will be better with the addition of Phillips.

Special teams will be hard to duplicate, especially the year Sanders had.

 

[Josh Allen]

It simply depends on Tua... Buffalo for years had solid rosters to even really good rosters. No qb so it doesn't matter. Tua's nuts need to drop

 

[Marino420TD]

Arguably, everything should improve except maybe RB. Unless some of the rookies and/or Tua disappoint.

 

[rafael]

IMO the LBs will improve. AVG was a better player than Van Noy last year. And I expect that McKinney will bring similar leadership to what Va Noy brought. In fact, I don't have a single unit I expect to drop off. I think some will improve more than others, but I don't see any as worse than last year.

 

[Feverdream]

Maybe I'm an optimist, but in general... I expect every unit on the team to be, at least, a little better with the exception of the kicking game where I doubt if Sanders can do it twice in a row, and I believe that Palardy is a slight downgrade.

 

[Dan13Forever]

Maybe I'm an optimist, but in general... I expect every unit on the team to be, at least, a little better with the exception of the kicking game where I doubt if Sanders can do it twice in a row, and I believe that Palardy is a slight downgrade.

Agreed. With new signees and picks, I don't see any drop off. All units should improve except LB, it stays the same.