The Great Dolphin Rebuild/Renaissance: Part 1

[Kingdom Come]

I am calling for a complete ,from the ground up, rebuild. One that will do more than bring new structure. The goal would be an inspiring new culture and completely new atmosphere around the team.

Is this even possible under current ownership?? Well, they say,"nothing is impossible." Maybe even new ownership. The rich are getting much,much richer these days. Perhaps Ross will get an offer he can't refuse.

Part 1: How will this team finish? What shape will they be in as far personnel going into the off season? How will the coaching staff look after this season?

The outlook is dismal. The schedule is a nightmare. The Dolphins faced a couple top ten defenses already this year; the result, shutouts.

The chance of this team getting a win against the Panthers or the Broncos is about the same chance we had against the Ravens and New Orleans.

The Buffalo matchup again appears problematic. and then there are the two top offenses in the AFC, the Cheifs and the Patriots.

If we don't get a win at home against the Bucs, it may be this teams last chance to get a victory.

Silver lining....draft position. There is one really BIG reason the Dolphins will probably be picking high next spring.

Out of 8-10 really bad football teams out there....Dolphins only play the Bucs. I spent over an hour researching this.
These other teams play each other. Several, I mean lots, of these matchups are going to occur before the end of the season.
We don't play the injury ravaged Texans or Colts, or the hapless 49ers,Giants, or Browns. The teams close to us in record do play these teams, and each other.

Some of the three win teams almost have to get more wins. The Bengals,Bears, and Broncos have defenses that can carry them in some games. Once Trubisky gets his bearings that team may win a few as well. I expect the Dolphins to lose to the Broncos. You have to score to have a chance of winning.

The Texans play both the 49ers and the Colts, and there many more such matchups.

There is a chance the Dolphins lose out. There is a very good chance the Dolphins have a five win season. I predict a five win season and the 6th pick in the 1st round of the 2018 draft.

I expect our team to again be humiliated against the Panthers defense. You can only expect so much from human beings. Motivation is probably going to be a problem going forward, and highly paid veterans with long term deals and guaranteed money won't want to risk injury if they can help it.

The Bucs may actually be stronger with Fitzpatrick than Winston. Fitz can hit TE's and RB's coming out of the backfield in stride. If he gets his timing on cue with Desean Jackson and Mike Evans our young CB's will be in for a long day.

If we lose to the Bucs, that might be it for the year.

Part 2: Cuts/Trades/Acquisitions

 

[Dolph N.Fan]

This season is already a wash. They’re not going anywhere with cutler or this O-line. And a total rebuild will never happen. Expect more of the same next season. Depressing.

 

[JPPT1974]

Yeah as the team has no offense at all. They win with defense carrying them. But no offense at all.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

The offense is basically a rebuild. Miami needs at least one guard, maybe two if Asiata cant' play. Pouncey looks done to me so there's a need at center. I might keep James, but he isn't the most physical player so maybe you're looking at three offensive lineman. An above average tight end would be nice and a running back is now near the top of the list.

Fortunately, Tannehill is coming back next year so that's a sizable upgrade.

The defense is closer, but it's problematic since the best players (Suh, Wake and Jones) are on the wrong side of 30.

I think this year is about seeing how the effort is with this team....in essence judging if the coaching staff is a keeper.

 

[SCLSU Mud Dogs]

And just like this same assessment during the offseason, your "part 2" is going to be an absolute cluster**** with a bunch of Madden-esque signings and trades.

 

[Kingdom Come]

Yeah as the team has no offense at all. They win with defense carrying them. But no offense at all.

Well of course. Nothing like I'm throwing out there will happen. I am writing this stuff to self medicate. The thing is, as wild as these scenarios are; in theory, such change could happen with a new regime and a new vision.

Case in point: The Philidelphia Eagles.

After Chip, they burned it all down with a vengeance rarely seen, and we helped!

They may win it all this year. In fact, if they stay relatively healthy, I think they have the best shot.

 

[Kingdom Come]

And just like this same assessment during the offseason, your "part 2" is going to be an absolute cluster**** with a bunch of Madden-esque signings and trades.

Yes, it's amazing. It is the first post of it's kind from this source. It's actually correct. What's ironic, is that Robert Downey Jr. would love these posts.

 

[hilslo]

This team is 4-4 and lost its starting QB in training camp. This isn't 2007. Good grief.

 

[miamiron]

What's ironic, is that Robert Downey Jr. would love these posts.

Which Robert Downey Jr...The drugged up one or the sober one?

 

[Digital]

Honestly, I feel like that's exactly what we've been doing for years. Every new coach does it in his first 3 seasons. Massive roster churn, accepting lesser players for the sake of scheme and culture. Out with guys like Dansby, Soliai, Incognito, Grimes, and Ajayi and in with better attitude young guys like Phillip Wheeler, Earl Mitchell, Anthony Steen, Byron Maxwell and Damien Williams. Our talent goes down, but it is always hailed as addition by subtraction because they remove distractions, because they fit the coaches scheme, because they build a better culture. Hey, winning WITH talent is hard enough in this league. Winning with LESS talent is extremely hard.

The only recent coach that I see do that consistently is Belichick. He brings in smart, technically sound players to perform the role player roles at a reasonably low salary. He brings in a few very talented guys for the hard spots and builds his team and scheme around the stars he can get. He only adds players who are 100% willing to fall in line, and because he has a steamrolling machine of wins and playoff appearances and Super Bowl appearances every 3rd year ... people toe the line.

But here is the litmus test. Every staff has a risk when they make an example by cutting a better player. The team knows exactly who is most talented. The message is always received. The staff banks on that being a motivator ... and if it's not, we fall further down the standings. So, the litmus test for a coach is wins.

Thus far Gase is doing exceedingly well. He is 10-6 in a rookie season far exceeding everyone's expectations. Colossal victory for his inaugural season getting us into the playoffs, despite injuries taking away over half of our "starters." In year two he has amazingly gotten this poorly performing team to 4-4 and still in playoff contention ... for now. He is facing a tremendous amount of adversity, with Tannehill's untimely injury, and Gase constantly trying to deflect media away from the OL's woes because of the dysfunctional OL coaching fiasco of which Gase was either unaware or took no action.

So it's now everyone's fault BUT the OL's. This keeps the media stories away from the fiasco, which is good, but it's hiding the base problem, that this OL is performing dreadfully, and that's the responsibility of the GM and ultimately coaches. When one guy doesn't perform, that's on him. When 5 of them don't perform, that's on the coaching staff, and yes, that does mean the head coach is a prime part of that.

I'm a huge Gase fan, but his preference for skill players has caused our offense to be a colossal flop this year. That is not acceptable. Too many resources have been poured into this offense. Too much time has passed from when Gase took over. Gase needs to fix the OL ... and yes, this is on him. Time to see how Gase responds, because he is being rightfully questioned. If we have OL woes again next year ... it may be mission critical for him. Ultimately, everyone is held accountable. Poor performing players, bad attitude players, bad habit coaches, and yes, underperforming coaches. Time for him to stop making excuses for the OL, and fix it. If not, it's on him.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Honestly, I feel like that's exactly what we've been doing for years. Every new coach does it in his first 3 seasons. Massive roster churn, accepting lesser players for the sake of scheme and culture. Out with guys like Dansby, Soliai, Incognito, Grimes, and Ajayi and in with better attitude young guys like Phillip Wheeler, Earl Mitchell, Anthony Steen, Byron Maxwell and Damien Williams. Our talent goes down, but it is always hailed as addition by subtraction because they remove distractions, because they fit the coaches scheme, because they build a better culture. Hey, winning WITH talent is hard enough in this league. Winning with LESS talent is extremely hard.

The only recent coach that I see do that consistently is Belichick. He brings in smart, technically sound players to perform the role player roles at a reasonably low salary. He brings in a few very talented guys for the hard spots and builds his team and scheme around the stars he can get. He only adds players who are 100% willing to fall in line, and because he has a steamrolling machine of wins and playoff appearances and Super Bowl appearances every 3rd year ... people toe the line.

But here is the litmus test. Every staff has a risk when they make an example by cutting a better player. The team knows exactly who is most talented. The message is always received. The staff banks on that being a motivator ... and if it's not, we fall further down the standings. So, the litmus test for a coach is wins.

Thus far Gase is doing exceedingly well. He is 10-6 in a rookie season far exceeding everyone's expectations. Colossal victory for his inaugural season getting us into the playoffs, despite injuries taking away over half of our "starters." In year two he has amazingly gotten this poorly performing team to 4-4 and still in playoff contention ... for now. He is facing a tremendous amount of adversity, with Tannehill's untimely injury, and Gase constantly trying to deflect media away from the OL's woes because of the dysfunctional OL coaching fiasco of which Gase was either unaware or took no action.

So it's now everyone's fault BUT the OL's. This keeps the media stories away from the fiasco, which is good, but it's hiding the base problem, that this OL is performing dreadfully, and that's the responsibility of the GM and ultimately coaches. When one guy doesn't perform, that's on him. When 5 of them don't perform, that's on the coaching staff, and yes, that does mean the head coach is a prime part of that.

I'm a huge Gase fan, but his preference for skill players has caused our offense to be a colossal flop this year. That is not acceptable. Too many resources have been poured into this offense. Too much time has passed from when Gase took over. Gase needs to fix the OL ... and yes, this is on him. Time to see how Gase responds, because he is being rightfully questioned. If we have OL woes again next year ... it may be mission critical for him. Ultimately, everyone is held accountable. Poor performing players, bad attitude players, bad habit coaches, and yes, underperforming coaches. Time for him to stop making excuses for the OL, and fix it. If not, it's on him.

The Dolphins have a lot of needs, but a fix of the offensive line with the return of Ryan Tannehill and contending for the super bowl may not be out of the question.

By fix, I mean top half of the league. Everything starts on the offensive line. Gase's playcalling looks bad this year because the offensive line isn't doing it's job. Ajayi looked bad because he had no room to run. I know I'm preaching to the choir here.

The good news, and what continues to make me optimistic, is the strides the team made in one year on defense. That same effort now needs to be made on the offensive line.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

I am calling for a complete ,from the ground up, rebuild. One that will do more than bring new structure. The goal would be an inspiring new culture and completely new atmosphere around the team.

Is this even possible under current ownership?? Well, they say,"nothing is impossible." Maybe even new ownership. The rich are getting much,much richer these days. Perhaps Ross will get an offer he can't refuse.

Part 1: How will this team finish? What shape will they be in as far personnel going into the off season? How will the coaching staff look after this season?

The outlook is dismal. The schedule is a nightmare. The Dolphins faced a couple top ten defenses already this year; the result, shutouts.

The chance of this team getting a win against the Panthers or the Broncos is about the same chance we had against the Ravens and New Orleans.

The Buffalo matchup again appears problematic. and then there are the two top offenses in the AFC, the Cheifs and the Patriots.

If we don't get a win at home against the Bucs, it may be this teams last chance to get a victory.

Silver lining....draft position. There is one really BIG reason the Dolphins will probably be picking high next spring.

Out of 8-10 really bad football teams out there....Dolphins only play the Bucs. I spent over an hour researching this.
These other teams play each other. Several, I mean lots, of these matchups are going to occur before the end of the season.
We don't play the injury ravaged Texans or Colts, or the hapless 49ers,Giants, or Browns. The teams close to us in record do play these teams, and each other.

Some of the three win teams almost have to get more wins. The Bengals,Bears, and Broncos have defenses that can carry them in some games. Once Trubisky gets his bearings that team may win a few as well. I expect the Dolphins to lose to the Broncos. You have to score to have a chance of winning.

The Texans play both the 49ers and the Colts, and there many more such matchups.

There is a chance the Dolphins lose out. There is a very good chance the Dolphins have a five win season. I predict a five win season and the 6th pick in the 1st round of the 2018 draft.

I expect our team to again be humiliated against the Panthers defense. You can only expect so much from human beings. Motivation is probably going to be a problem going forward, and highly paid veterans with long term deals and guaranteed money won't want to risk injury if they can help it.

The Bucs may actually be stronger with Fitzpatrick than Winston. Fitz can hit TE's and RB's coming out of the backfield in stride. If he gets his timing on cue with Desean Jackson and Mike Evans our young CB's will be in for a long day.

If we lose to the Bucs, that might be it for the year.

Part 2: Cuts/Trades/Acquisitions

Haven't read all three parts, but I'll say this. I try to stay within what I see as reality. I try not to post on theory or individual/group wishes. Wish that as background, there will be no rebuild, 'tear it down, and start over,' no do-overs. Ross will remain owner, Tbaum/Grier will return (particularly after what we've seen of this year's draft), Gase/Burke will return (particularly after the injuries this year), and most players will return. Tannehill will return unless injury updates turn pessimistic.

I'm certain the FO/Gase do NOT see DVP or Tunsil or Howard as busts. Getting rid of ST aces won't happen. No amount of wishing will change that.

I do expect changes. OGs (as everyone seems to agree), OC wouldn't surprise me. TE wouldn't surprise me. I don't see Grant returning if his play doesn't increase significantly. I'd like a FS, but doubt we see it. Even with those, what does Gase et al think of Asiata, Brendel, Smith, and 2-3 others? I have no idea.

Outside of those points, yeah, changes may be made. It may be fun to wish, or to vent frustration, but this team has talent and potential talent. Upgrading 4-5 positions would improve this team dramatically. Rebuild? I don't see that as realistic.

 

[Digital]

The Dolphins have a lot of needs, but a fix of the offensive line with the return of Ryan Tannehill and contending for the super bowl may not be out of the question.

By fix, I mean top half of the league. Everything starts on the offensive line. Gase's playcalling looks bad this year because the offensive line isn't doing it's job. Ajayi looked bad because he had no room to run. I know I'm preaching to the choir here.

The good news, and what continues to make me optimistic, is the strides the team made in one year on defense. That same effort now needs to be made on the offensive line.

The defense is accumulating new talent. While guys like Cam Wake and Reshad Jones are getting older, we still have plenty of guys in their prime like Suh and Kiko, and we're adding young talent like McMillan, Harris, Howard and Tankersley. Our defense is building.

On offense, with Tannehill, Landry, Parker and Stills we have a nucleus of skilled players. I would have felt a lot better about it if we still had Ajayi, but he's gone now, so we will find a way to fill that hole eventually. With Tunsil we have a guy who can and likely will be the answer at LT, despite his uneven performances so far this year. But, we definitely need 4 new OL, at least 1 new TE and 1 new RB. There are still many things that need to be done. But I agree, we have some good pieces upon which to build.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

The defense is accumulating new talent. While guys like Cam Wake and Reshad Jones are getting older, we still have plenty of guys in their prime like Suh and Kiko, and we're adding young talent like McMillan, Harris, Howard and Tankersley. Our defense is building.

On offense, with Tannehill, Landry, Parker and Stills we have a nucleus of skilled players. I would have felt a lot better about it if we still had Ajayi, but he's gone now, so we will find a way to fill that hole eventually. With Tunsil we have a guy who can and likely will be the answer at LT, despite his uneven performances so far this year. But, we definitely need 4 new OL, at least 1 new TE and 1 new RB. There are still many things that need to be done. But I agree, we have some good pieces upon which to build.

Four new offensive linemen is the big issue, especially considering the teams' track record at the position. My hope is that Asiata is one starter. The team will likely have to find one starter in free agency and two in the draft.

I'm still reeling from the Ajayi trade. He was my son's favorite player and we loved to see him running in the opening field and breaking tackles. I wonder if Ajayi would still be here if the offensive line was doing a better job. That said, maybe he was limited with his lack of success in the pass game. Still, now that's a significant need.

Gase has managed in the past without star running backs so I think there's a lot of ways the team can go there. The draft is possible, even in round one, if someone like Guice happens to somehow be on the board.

 

[Snoop]

You're right, blow it up.