Let’s begin here: winning football starts with winning match-ups. To do that, you need talented, quality people. An 8-8 record, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] place in the division, and an express ticket to the offseason tells us the Dolphins didn’t have enough of them.
And, in my opinion, that was the biggest issue with the 2013 Miami Dolphins. After more than $200 million in new contracts, with over $100 million in guaranteed money, and an unprecedented haul of high draft picks, the Dolphins STILL couldn’t win enough match-ups and, consequently, couldn’t realize more than a one game improvement.
On offense, the Dolphins got what they DIDN’T pay for: a ramshackle offensive line that couldn’t protect the quarterback (setting a new team record for sacks) and couldn’t generate a running game. This retarded the growth of QB Ryan Tannehill, who is supposed to be the team’s most important asset. It also proved ruinous to any offensive continuity the team hoped to generate. The Dolphins ranked among the worst in the NFL in Total Offense and Points per Game at the end of the regular season.
Remember this: nothing on offense, no matter the scheme, works well if you don’t have a good offensive line. And these Dolphins didn’t. It’s likely that 80% of this unit will have to be rebuilt in the offseason.
Defensively, a once stellar run deterrent was compromised by expensive personnel decisions at linebacker which simply didn’t pan out. They finished 24[SUP]th[/SUP] in the NFL in total yards allowed, though a stout redzone group managed to keep the team in the top 10 in fewest points allowed. LB play remains a persistent inconsistency on this team several years running.
Even special teams regressed! Kicker Caleb Sturgis was not an upgrade over the departed Dan Carpenter, and return teams were statistically worse versus 2012 in just about every category. In 78 kick and punt returns, the Dolphins weren’t able to generate a single TD (versus two last season).
Forget the transaction level analysis. That’s a distraction. Reality is the sum of the moves because the NFL is a bottom line business. And ANY GM that has one winning season in six years with two different head coaches, and several offensive and defensive coordinators, is just not moving the franchise forward.
Add to it the off-the-field embarrassments, and the situation is really a lot worse. The Dez Bryant matter was appalling enough, something that wouldn’t be tolerated in ANY properly run business. But this season’s Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito situation cannot be forgiven. Yes, it would be unfair to lay all of the blame for that squarely on Jeff Ireland, but he was the one who brought both men, and their known baggage, into the organization: two time bombs ready to go off. When Philbin wanted to get rid of Incognito, Ireland refused. And Martin isn’t even a good player…another wasted second round pick.
It says here that no coach can be successful when the GM is constantly stuffing the roster with stiffs and troublemakers; a one step forward, one step back exercise.
Enough is enough. Jeff Ireland needs to go.
