Non-emotional thread on how to improve the team

[Dolphindrew]

First off, thank you so much to the Dolphins for the thrill ride they gave us the past 18 weeks. I will never forget this season. They blew away my expectations and made football meaningful in the winter months to me for the first time in nearly a decade. Having said that, I think there are 2 main differences between Miami and a team like Baltimore.

1. We can't run between the tackles. I believe the problem is the 2 guards we have. I have no problem with the OT's, and I think Satele is serviceable. Due to the poor blocking we have at the guard position, we have to run trick plays almost every down to pick up yards on the ground. Yes, it worked on most weeks, but not against a top notch D it won't.

2. We must be able to apply pressure on the other teams QB with 4 guys. This team can't do it. Yes, Porter had a great year, but we were a very below average defensive line unit as it pertains to heat on the QB. Flacco had all day to throw Unless we rushed 6 guys, we may as well have given him a "5 mississippi" count, lol - just BAD.

So you upgrade at OG, and in my opinion, the problem with the pass rush, and the defense in general, stems to 2 players - Roth and Crowder. Sure, the team is better with Crowder than what's his name who backs him up, but he is a major, MAJOR downgrade from Thomas. Thomas puts a helmet on Flacco on the keeper for 6, and probalby on McClain on his TD. Crowder always over-commits. Maybe he'd be better as an OLB? As for Roth, I saw him miss tackle after tackle in the defensive backfield this year. The 2 of them had very few big plays in a 17 game season.

Other than that, I like how the secondary came together, and Ferguson is good in the middle. On offense, I am in the minority when I say I am extremely comfortable with Bess, Camarillo, Ginn, Fasano, Martin, Williams, Brown, Cobbs and yes Pennington. I believe with an upgraded OL, the whole shape of the offense will improve, and we can run the Wildcat when we HAVE the momentum, not to gain the momentum. I think it starts between the tackles in the offseason though.

Thanks for reading my long post. Whether you agree or not, it was a nice ride for all of us this year and I can't wait for next year.

 

[Dors156]

Our oline took a hit when Donald Thomas went down but also when Smiley went down. We have those two still playing, we would have seen better blocking. We do need a new Center out of all positions on that line.

Henne and Pennington need to battle out at TC next season. Pennington showed us how far he can lead a team and what he can do in the post season.

We need to clear something up about the Runningbacks because Ronnie Brown is the real deal and is getting severely robbed of carries.

Our draft must consist of building our Defense molding them similar to Baltimores. We need a LB,NT,CB,Safety.

 

[retarmyfinfan]

I agree. Both our starting guards went down for the season. Thomas seemed to come along fine but he is unproven, Smiley can't seem to make it through a whole season. We need Guard upgrade in a bad way. And better depth at tackle.

 

[pags77]

We need a true #1 stud receiver, one that puts a little fear in a defensive coordinators heart. That will draw double coverage and open up alot more holes for this offense.
Agreed, this O-line needs work if Thomas can stay healthy and becomes the stud everyone predicts him to be, you need a new center and a new guard to compete with Smiley.
How about a safety that can create some havoc. Love the way Hill brought this defensive secondary together, but he tackle like a girl and doesn't intercept many.
Linebackers, and more linebackers. Notice how good the Ravens are? They apply viscious hit after viscious hit making it tough on any offensive player.
Defensive lineman that can apply pressure also needed.

We have many holes, but what did you expect from a 1-15 team with no talent. It is a miracle we won the division this year, and now the expectations are high. In Parcells/ Ireland and Sparano I trust.

 

[13Dolfan87]

Good thread. The loss obviously hurts but this team made us all very proud to be Miami Dolphins fans once again. I'd like to see our lineup be something like this next season:

Offense basically the same except a big, tall WR (hopefully one with experience in the NFL) and a new center and right side of the line.

I hope they re-sign Bell on defense. I'd love to see the D-Line return (while working in the young guys), a whole new set of LBs to go with Porter (and maybe Ayodele for experience), a #1 CB and a safety to replace Hill.

 

[Sirspud]

I agree with a lot of things you said and I too am encouraged about a lot of the guy's on offense continuing to play a role. But after today I'm convinced more than ever that we still need one bona fide wide receiver. Bess and Camarillo are extremely dependable and quick, while Ginn has big play ability even if he only displays it sparingly. But our team needs its version of Derrick Mason- a guy who just knows the WR position in and out and who is always there for the QB even when the offense starts to fall apart.

 

[Aqua and Orange]

It's good that the fans are pinpointing a lot of the same positions to address. It's been a while since we've said anything other than "trade the whole damn team".

I think the O-linemen, defense, and WR depth were shaky at best this game, so expect those to be addressed in free agency/the draft.

 

[DolfanDaveInMI]

I think our guards are fine. We were playing with two backups in there today and it showed. When we have Smiley and Thomas back next year -- with Satele and one of the project guys behind them -- we'll be much better. But we do have problems on the line at center and right tackle. If Al Johnson gets healthy this summer, maybe he's the guy at center. Personally, I think we sign a starting right tackle in free agency (we won't pay Vernon Carey off this year) and then pick up a center and swing tackle in the draft.

On the d-line, we need more disruption from our ends. Roth's job in the 3-4 is to hold the edge and he did that well. Teams had much more success running to Porter's side. Our defense played better when Crowder was in but we really need more tackles from his spot. On the front seven, I would draft a nose tackle (although Soliai looks like he has finally figured things out) and a couple of linebackers.

The secondary played better as the season went on, but I think we'll draft a couple of guys back there. But we really need to upgrade our receivers. We have to get the possession/red-zone/lead receiver that Ernest Wilford was supposed to be, and another guy who can either be the kickoff threat or deep threat that Ted Ginn was supposed to be (maybe he can develop into one but he'll do neither as long as we try to make him both).

But those are fixable issues. We knew going into the season that our pool of talent was very shallow. The front office did a great job of churning the bottom of the roster, while the staff changed the culture and put guys in positions where they could be successful. With another offseason and some extra draft picks, we should be able to address the talent issues and be even more competitive next season. :hi5:

 

[VT Dolphan]

I think our guard situation is in pretty good shape. Smiley was having a pro-bowl caliber year before getting hurt and everything I heard about Donald Thomas made him seem like an absolute beast. I'm starting to believe that Satele isn't starting material, granted Haloti Ngata has made many men look like boys, but he seemed to be in the backfield all the time. I know there has been some talk about moving him to guard and having him compete with Thomas for the starting spot next year, I'd be all for that. Draft a strong mauler to play center and the interior of our line should be set.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with our receiving corps this year, but I think this game showed that we still have room for improvement in that area. Ginn showed some promise this year but still isn't a true number one. Bess and Camarillo are great possession receivers, but we still need a true number one. Granted the chance of finding one this draft is pretty damn slim, but we need to improve the depth at the very least.

I think our biggest need is another pass-rusher opposite Porter. As the season progressed our run defense stiffened, our secondary jelled and our pass rush...disappeared. Matt Roth is a pretty good run defender, but not an ideal pass rushing OLB for a 3-4. Charlie Anderson picked up his play towards the end of the year, but an upgrade is still needed. We all know that Channing Crowder is physically unable to sack a quarterback so our OLB's need to get pressure.

Unlike last year though, I think we're really in a good position to just draft the best player available. There really are no glaring weaknesses on this team once our injured players return.

 

[FinHopeful]

This is an excellent thread! There is an opportunity to upgrade every position on the offensive line except LT. We should never be satisfied, and I assure you that Parcells and Ireland will continue to upgrade the trenches. We got beat today in the trenches. I agree with DolfanDaveInATX that Vernon Carey expects a big payday. I do not see us paying it.

If Smiley comes back healthy, then I expect he will be the starting LG. I have not seen enough of Donald Thomas to know if he is a good player. It is important that there is legitimate competition for that RG spot. The best player wins. We need to have a competition at center. Satele has failed to date, but he deserves to be given a shot to improve his strength and skills. We need at least 4 new offensive linemen in camp to compete for the starting jobs. Churn the bottom of that roster.

We desperately need competition at the linebacker position. Joey Porter is safe, but there is room to improve every other starting linebacker postion. We need some competition at nose tackle. I would love it if we someone comes in and beats out Soliai. Clearly, there is room to improve the secondary. I do not think it is a priority, but there are plenty of upgrades available.

 

[NCFINFAN13]

We need at least 1 beast of an o-line man that can move the pile consistently. 1 NT that can clog the middle & 1 End that can pass rush. 1 shut down corner and a hitman safety.

I think Crowder needs to go. I like his spirit, but the guy makes tackles three yards past the LOS in stead of on the line or behind (I admit Zach spoiled me). We can't give offenses 3 yards per run everytime.

We're solid at rb and unless we have someone to good to be true fall to us either in the draft or in FA, I'm ok with our wr's, qb's and te's.

But we have to solidify our lines as a top priority IMO.