Good points all, although I'm higher on Torbor than CK is apparently.
Additionally, everybody is playing a new system, dont' underestimate that. The rookies obviously are transitioning to the NFL and we're purging the roster again. Even the guys that survived the purge last year will have an entirely new sytem. Instead of a finesse offense, we're running a power game. Instead of a 4-3 we're running a 34. The list is very long, but at a minimum, nobody will feel familiar. Sure, Jason Ferguson, Akin Ayodele have worked with this crew before, but not these teammates, and not in this heat.
We're still an ugly duckling along the DLine with a mixture of system misfits like Holiday and Roth, or yough players like Wright and Soliai, or just plain rookies in Langford and Merling. Plus we added 2 new veterans who are expected to be instant-leaders. Sporadic is the best we can hope for along the DLine. Just too many variables.
As CK mentioned, we're young along the offensive line, and we have a young and raw WR, and new TE and WR to integrate, plus we have 3 newish QB's none of which is very seasoned. Plus, we're changing the entire focus of the offense from one that scores points to one that controls the ball and clock. With that major restriction, we're going to see less opportunities to score, so we'd better be efficient. Not to mention that our QB's aren't ready for prime time, regardless of which one starts or finishes the season.
Our LB corp is completely overhauled, and nobody will play next to the anyone they really know in the LB line. We have a lot of learning and jelling to do there, but we should be OK.
Our Secondary is very fragile and not long on talent. At best we have a better-than-average secondary, but I don't think we'll ever be healthy enough to say that. Realistically, we'll have one of the worst secondaries in the NFL as losing players like Bell, Will Allen, Hill, etc. are huge problems because we have no depth. In this league you need 4 CB's, and we have 1 good one in Will Allen, and that's about it. Everyone else is mediocre at best. So, we'll need a savage pass rush to cover for our weak secondary.
Our pass rush hinges on players getting the 34 and the play of JT and Porter. Porter showed me something at the end of last season, but at his age injuries are always a concern. JT may not even be in Miami for most of the season depending upon whether we trade him or not. After those two, we seriously lack pass rushers, which will further exacerbate our problematic secondary.
No, we're not going to be good next year, but that's OK. What we need is for our players to learn the systems and grow as players. We're essentially playing for 2009 and if we get more than 5 wins that'll be a bonus.
