Let us not forget...

[Themajster]

I think some people on the board are getting a little too caught up in the "lack of experience or talent" in our defense this year. I'm not saying we are lacking, but that seems to be a topic that arises quite frequently. What are we going to do with our secondary? What about our rookie LB's? In the past our defense has had a pretty simple setup and has depended on the skills of our defensive players. IE Our all-pro secondary for the last few years, JT, ZT, Seau, etc. This year our defense will be extremely different scheme wise. We're worried about the lack of talent in our secondary, or the inexperience of some of our new LB's, but Saban will have a plan for all this. He will base our defense on what we can do best. That's one of the main things he has stated since he's been here. Just like the way Bellicheck had a rookie corner who wasn't that great covering TO in the superbowl, or the way that half of their defense went down with injuries at the beginning of 2003, but they still managed to win games and win the superbowl. That's the kind of thing Saban will bring to our defense. It's no longer about how many pro-bowl corners we have, or having the best looking DE tandum in the league. I know I'm somewhat stating the obvious to a lot of people, but there are some that still believe we will fail unless we have a defense full of pro-bowlers. I believe at the beginning of 2003 8 of our starters were pro-bowlers at some point of their career excluding Chester, Greenwood, and Ogunleye (who then went to the pro-bowl after that season). If we have guys that are able to play Saban will make it work.

 

[FinsDontGiveIn]

Good stuff, I totally agree. History has shown the Dolphins can't be kept down long. One thing I would like to add is the unpredictability factor. Teams won't expect a lot of things the fins will throw at them and that will benefit them especially early in the season. I also see this team playing with a ton of emotion. That mixture could make for some exciting results.

 

[first&goal]

I think some people on the board are getting a little too caught up in the "lack of experience or talent" in our defense this year. I'm not saying we are lacking, but that seems to be a topic that arises quite frequently. What are we going to do with our secondary? What about our rookie LB's? In the past our defense has had a pretty simple setup and has depended on the skills of our defensive players. IE Our all-pro secondary for the last few years, JT, ZT, Seau, etc. This year our defense will be extremely different scheme wise. We're worried about the lack of talent in our secondary, or the inexperience of some of our new LB's, but Saban will have a plan for all this. He will base our defense on what we can do best. That's one of the main things he has stated since he's been here. Just like the way Bellicheck had a rookie corner who wasn't that great covering TO in the superbowl, or the way that half of their defense went down with injuries at the beginning of 2003, but they still managed to win games and win the superbowl. That's the kind of thing Saban will bring to our defense. It's no longer about how many pro-bowl corners we have, or having the best looking DE tandum in the league. I know I'm somewhat stating the obvious to a lot of people, but there are some that still believe we will fail unless we have a defense full of pro-bowlers. I believe at the beginning of 2003 8 of our starters were pro-bowlers at some point of their career excluding Chester, Greenwood, and Ogunleye (who then went to the pro-bowl after that season). If we have guys that are able to play Saban will make it work.

Well said, I totally agree with you!