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Fox Sports: Miami Dolphins 2014 preview

Daytona Fin

Daytona Fin

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Miami Dolphins 2014 preview: Retooled offensive line crucial to success
Three Questions
Tannehill got a good look at the Miami sky during his sophomore season, as he was sacked a franchise-record 58 times. Sure, the bullying scandal and related games missed by starters didn't help things, but the line wasn't good from Week 1.
Management at least addressed this major deficiency in the offseason by bringing in Albert, a former first-round pick, and Smith via free agency and adding James out of the University of Tennessee. With second-year guy Dallas Thomas apparently much improved, it looked like center Mike Pouncey would theoretically be surrounded by upgrades on either side of him heading into the 2014 campaign.
Then came the bad news in mid-June that Pouncey would likely miss the first few games of the season following hip surgery, leaving the team scrambling at center heading into training camp. Backups Sam Brenner and Nate Garner are capable, but Pouncey was a Pro Bowler last season and his presence as the leadership voice of the offensive line will undoubtedly be missed, especially with the opening two games being division contests against New England and Buffalo.
The quandary for management: Do they spend some money and sign a high-end free agent like former Dolphin Samson Satele or ex-Bengal Kyle Cook but risk them being a waste of cash if Pouncey comes back early? Or do they wait and see how Pouncey progresses and potentially miss out on those guys? With the signing this week of veteran Daryn Colledge, it appears the Dolphins are willing to sit and wait for the time being, but there's still plenty of time for panic to set in.
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Pretty good assessment, IMO, and very fair. Thanks Daytona.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
 
The real reason Daytona was checking out FOX sports were he found this article


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:chuckle:
 
No I can not Buddy :brewskis:




I liked this part of the article

REASON FOR OPTIMISM
While the offense might have struggled last season, the defense didn't. Yes, the loss of standout defensive tackle Paul Soliai might sting a little, especially considering how much trouble the team had stopping the run in 2013 (124.9 yards a game, 24th in the league), but the Dolphins were eighth in points allowed last season (20.9 per game) and have the chance to be even better this season.
The cream of the Dolphins defense is defensive end, where Wake and Vernon combined for 18.5 sacks in 2013. The reserves are also useful, as Derrick Shelby showed potential in limited action, and Jordan is clearly stronger and injury-free entering his sophomore season.
With newly re-signed Brent Grimes anchoring down one corner, the much-improved Jamar Taylor a potential breakout candidate on the other side of the field, along with the addition of veterans Louis Delmas and Cortland Finnegan, the secondary is also a very capable unit.
Linebacker, meanwhile, was a position of concern last season thanks to the underwhelming 2013 performances from free agent additions Philip Wheeler and Dannell Ellerbe. To try and remedy that situation, Koa Misi has been moved to the middle to try and get the most out of his solid overall play and instincts.
If Misi shores up the middle and the offense improves enough to keep the defense off the field a little more than last season, watch out.
 
"The Dolphins will only go as far as the offensive line can take them. It's as simple as that"

they got that one right
 
The offensive line will suck again this season. We will have at least 1 rookie starter at least 1 journeyman starter. Whoever takes over for Pouncey will be a downgrade from last season. Then we are relying on Nate Garner, Dallas Thomas and whatever other scrubs that helped us do nothing when the season was on the line last year. Brandon Albert is a good player but he is only good for 12 games a year as he continues to age. And as far as the defense goes HA what a joke. We couldn't stop the run last season and will continue to have the same problem this season. The Defense may have been 8th in points scored but when the team needed the defense to come up big like in the Carolina game where were they? When other teams needed to score they did. Every time the offense actually put some points on the board the Defense almost always let the other team right back in the game. Gonna be another long season for us Dolphin fans. I hope im wrong but this is the feeling I get with this team. We have a chance to be decent however I feel like the chances of Miami sucking again are really high. Year after year I find hope in players and believe in them and year after year I am wrong. I don't believe in this team and until they prove they can win and be good I will not believe in them.
 
CONVIGLIONUS said:
The offensive line will suck again this season. We will have at least 1 rookie starter at least 1 journeyman starter. Whoever takes over for Pouncey will be a downgrade from last season. Then we are relying on Nate Garner, Dallas Thomas and whatever other scrubs that helped us do nothing when the season was on the line last year. Brandon Albert is a good player but he is only good for 12 games a year as he continues to age. And as far as the defense goes HA what a joke. We couldn't stop the run last season and will continue to have the same problem this season. The Defense may have been 8th in points scored but when the team needed the defense to come up big like in the Carolina game where were they? When other teams needed to score they did. Every time the offense actually put some points on the board the Defense almost always let the other team right back in the game. Gonna be another long season for us Dolphin fans. I hope im wrong but this is the feeling I get with this team. We have a chance to be decent however I feel like the chances of Miami sucking again are really high. Year after year I find hope in players and believe in them and year after year I am wrong. I don't believe in this team and until they prove they can win and be good I will not believe in them.
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Not to mention our schedule is brutal. I have had is pegged at 6-10 before the Pouncey injury. Now Imo we're lucky if we get to that.
 
CONVIGLIONUS said:
The offensive line will suck again this season. We will have at least 1 rookie starter at least 1 journeyman starter. Whoever takes over for Pouncey will be a downgrade from last season. Then we are relying on Nate Garner, Dallas Thomas and whatever other scrubs that helped us do nothing when the season was on the line last year. Brandon Albert is a good player but he is only good for 12 games a year as he continues to age. And as far as the defense goes HA what a joke. We couldn't stop the run last season and will continue to have the same problem this season. The Defense may have been 8th in points scored but when the team needed the defense to come up big like in the Carolina game where were they? When other teams needed to score they did. Every time the offense actually put some points on the board the Defense almost always let the other team right back in the game. Gonna be another long season for us Dolphin fans. I hope im wrong but this is the feeling I get with this team. We have a chance to be decent however I feel like the chances of Miami sucking again are really high. Year after year I find hope in players and believe in them and year after year I am wrong. I don't believe in this team and until they prove they can win and be good I will not believe in them.
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very true
 
rent this space said:
yeah, except the guy from Fox Sports said it, not anyone here
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I know but saying how things are. Amazing how good a prospect that James became once we drafted him. Before that all u hear was don't overdraft based on need. There was no uprising touting James as a guy that we should pick. It seems people just convinced themselves
 
dlockz said:
I know but saying how things are. Amazing how good a prospect that James became once we drafted him. Before that all u hear was don't overdraft based on need. There was no uprising touting James as a guy that we should pick. It seems people just convinced themselves
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its true, Dolphins fans are sometimes prejudice towards Dolphins players and most aren't knowledgable on all prospects.
One place that was talking highly of James before draft was the Dolphins' front office. They announced they felt he was a 1st round talent two weeks beforehand.
 
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