Thoughts on the Dolphins to date?

[Gonzo]

The first two picks should be O-Line.It wouldnt hurt my feelings if the first 3 picks were OL. Its doesnt matter how many good TE's,WR's or RB's the fish have if the O-Line is not fixed big time.HavingTannehill running for his life every play is what will kill the Fins season again, not the need for another TE or WR. The fins have nothing on the right side and poor depth. They cant count on Dallas Thomas becoming a good starter. It would be nice if Thomas did a 180 from last year, but the fish cant count on it.

If our GM needs to use the top three (or even two) picks to fix the line, which will inevitably require reaching, then we need a new GM.


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[z926538]

Even when I'm not optimistic, I'm still hopeful.

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing." -- The Shawshank Redemption.

I agree. I can be hopeful and still understand that it is likely we will continue to be mediocre.

 

[Spesh]

I'm gonna say it again. We lost two games each of the last two years due to missed make-able field goals. If we had a good/very good kicker we would of make the playoffs last year. Nobody want's to spend a second thinking about improving your kicker but everyone wants to put Tannehill under a microscope. We need to get a consistent/good kicker or we will continue to lose the close ones. I've been patient with Philbin and a supporter but if we lose one game this year due to our kicker missing a field goal that is made 95% of the time and miss the playoffs because of "that game" I'm done with him. You should learn after losing 4 games in your 2 years due to missed make-able field goals.

Had the Colts not "lost" a touchdown due to a ticky tack penalty, we would be 7-9. Had the Steelers receiver stepped a quarter of a inch towards the field, we would have been 6-10. Had our punt not been so excellent and had Cam Wake not made a borderline historical play against the Bengals, we would have been 5-11. The logic of "we would have won if only for ____" cuts both ways. We were 8-8 because we played like an 8-8 team. The best way to avoid relying on a questionable kicker is by scoring touchdowns instead of letting the game get down to the wire. We failed at that, thus we deserved every single one of those losses.

Anyways, how are things with this team? My verdict: very average.

The only real definitive improvement we made to our offense was Brandon Albert. He wasnt the best signing we could have made and he could be dealing with a chronic injury, who knows when that will flare up. As well, our offensive line couldnt be fixed by a single signing. I too am not ready to throw away Dallas Thomas(or Sam Brenner for that matter) but im not expecting much from him. I just cant. Our line was historically awful last year, so any signing looks like an improvement, but i dont see how this unit is better than our 2012 group. And even on a team that lacked talent that line was considered a weakness. With the Bears, Lions, Chiefs, Broncos, Jets, and even the Packers on the schedule next year we are going to have some serious issues.

Our run game didnt improve as much as everyone thinks. We had a below average group last year and we will run out with an average group this year. Thats not going to make the difference people think it will, especially in today's pass first league. And if our line continues to struggle(and i dont see anyway it doesnt) then our run game is shot. Moreno isnt the type that will take over games on his own. He wont carry the offense nor will he make the line look better then it is. Hes a product of Denver's success. For what its worth, i like his potential contributions to the passing game. But without John Fox(who always seemed to maintain a focus on his running backs) riding his ass im concerned he might slip into old habits such as fumbling. Overall i think the signing was largely a push. For every improvement Moreno brings to the table he brings a potential flaw.

I dont see much of a change on defense. Like Gonzo, i believe our safety situation was a lateral move...if Delmas(who i actually like as a player) can stay healthy. Our linebackers are still crap. Our corners have big question marks, and Finnegan(an atrocious signing) at best will be this years version of Richard Marshall.
I love what we did with our defensive line. I was all about bringing back Starks and i applauded the Mitchell signing. Cheaper/younger then Soliai and is better suited for the scheme we run then his previous role. I hope Jordan and even Vernon improve as they gain experience. All of that said, our defensive line has been a strength for years and hasnt been able to carry this team.

Like HoneyB, im concerned with our coaches. Philbin didnt show me much last season. The growth i was expecting not only failed to manifest, but he showed an alarmed Tony Sparano streak of stubbornness and lack of flexibility. Even in the offseason the choices hes made have been borderline appalling. He apparently fought to keep Sherman? He took weeks to fire Jim Turner? Then successfully convinced our owner to keep paying Turner? Hes talked about benching Tannehill for Matt Moore? The **** is all of that? Absolutely absurd.
Whatever you think of the Incognito saga, Jim Turner deserved to be fired for our awful line play. I admit he didnt have much to work with, but we had a historically terrible line last season that consistently lost us games. And the unit he trotted out the year before wasnt all that great either. It was time to hold him accountable. This franchise lives or dies on Ryan Tannehill. Period. Throwing in Matt Moore accomplishes nothing, he isnt a franchise quarterback and he wont win us a Superbowl. All those reports did was undercut Tannehill and let him know our coach doesnt have complete faith in him. And i wont even get into Mike Sherman.

If Tannehill plays well and our line even somewhat improves, we should be in the hunt for 9 wins. Maybe 10. Perhaps that will be good enough to sneak us into the playoffs. But that says more about the current state of the AFC than it does about the state of this franchise. Even if we do sneak in, we will be slapped down quickly. And if we suffer any "real" injuries(as all teams inevitably do) then we are screwed.
Youll notice i didnt talk about the draft. Thats because we cant rely on rookies to carry this team. Best case scenario, we look at the long term picture and draft some weapons for Tannehill(receivers usually take a year to develop). Worst case scenario, we obsess over yesterdays problems and ignore talented players to plug away at last seasons "needs". That simply wont help us much for this coming season and will damn us in the long term. Hopefully, Hickey knows better and makes some shrewd moves so we can start turning this thing around in 2015. But for now, we are an average team. We are tough to beat but not good enough to consistently win.

 

[EFWilson]

If the GM watches the film from last year, he will draft as many OL as he can. That was some of the worst OL work Ive ever seen.