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Here are two views on the Dolphins upcoming season. Would enjoy hearing the solid input of the posters from this site on this topic.
The Pessimistic View:
· The Dolphins haven’t proven anything yet. There are a ton of question marks about the team and they could easily finish 6-10 with the difficult schedule they are facing. Consider:
· Fiedler is still unproven. He has showed character, but he’s never yet put together a full season of consistent play, let alone healthy play!
· Seau may, in fact, be on his last legs and may well be unable to compete anymore. He may be no better than an aging running back.
· While talk is high on the WR corps, it is still just talk! Will they really have the explosiveness & quickness to make big plays and get significant separation from DB’s? The Dolphins haven’t had a guy who can get true separation since Irving Fryar. Will they be able to consistently pressure a defense? Not one has demonstrated this in their careers, despite the promise of Chris Chambers in his rookie year. The rest are graded as mid-level talent at best.
· The defense, long predicated on speed, is actually getting slower with Knight and Seau – and with Madison & Marion getting older. Madison himself has a lot to prove that last year was an aberration. Surtain’s surgery means a slower start this year. So, the DB’s may not be as strong as in the past. Last year’s defense on the road was toward the bottom of the league. It was not as good as it appeared on paper.
· The Injury toll may well be a huge factor this year. We’ve lost one of the best long-snapper’s in the league; Moore will likely contribute little to the D with his injury and may well struggle to contribute the entire year! Surtain will have no preseason. David Bowens will be a PUP candidate. Konrad will be out the rest of the preseason. Dixon is having an MRI on his ankle and could be out indefinitely. Fiedler, while having one good practice, may well be susceptible to further troubles. Even if one grants that the talent level has increased, just the injuries to date will result in depth problems and a slow start at several positions. Add to that, the fact that, percentage-wise, there will almost certainly be more injuries over the next 4 weeks. We are now down to two TE’s, if Battaglia retires, and one of those is a highly unproven rookie.
· Add to this, one significant injury to the right player, and the team could be in huge trouble (e.g., RW, Zach, Taylor or Bowens).
· The offensive line, while having a better year last year, was overpowered at times against the Bucs. Add to that the fact that Dixon is hurting and Jamie Nails may not be the player he was last year with his Achilles. There are still a lot of inconsistencies in Wade, Perry and Ruddy. Despite their success at times, at other times they couldn’t get the job done and even the coaches didn’t have confidence in them (as when they had the ball inside the 10 against New England last year).
· Essentially, a huge number of significant question-marks have to come through: The OL must remain healthy; the WR’s have to significantly improve and turn potential into reality; Fiedler must be both healthy and more consistent; Seau must prove it really was an injury that slowed him last year – so far he hasn’t; Knight must overcome his lack of speed; the rookie backups must come through and they must overcome injuries already. Essentially, almost everything the optimist can turn to (other than Ricky and a few defenders) is questionable potential rather than provenOn top of that, will a slow start cause the team to implode, given their high expectations – ala Don Shula’s last year?
The Optimistic View:
· The Bucs game was just a factor of our being rusty, not running RW, Fiedler being out, new players learning a new system, their first playing time at “game speed,†and the Bucs playing their second game to our first. Plus, the Dolphins have been notoriously slow starters in pre-season the past 5 years. In some ways, getting beat up a bit is a good thing – it seems to have woken up the starters and the coaches. A lot of good teams have gotten their clocks cleaned early in the season or preseason and gone on to have very good years (e.g., Tennessee last year; 49ers in 94 were massacred 40-8 by the Eagles – then won the SB).
· Even a slower Seau and a slower Knight are better than what Rodgers or Freeman were last year – which was non-existent – or, at best, just another body on the field!
· Zgonina will add to the pass rush inside at DT and Larry Chester is healthier than last year – so the DT’s should be much better. At DE, we should be just as good or better with Ogunleye really wanting to prove himself.
· The injuries so far are not that serious – The key starters will be back by the start of the season. Ed Perry’s is the worst and this kid from Houston has 4 weeks to get in a groove.
· Fiedler is primed to excel in his second year under Norv Turner’s offense. Brian Griese, despite a bit of rust in the TB game, will be a huge upgrade over Ray Lucas.
· The WR’s will also excel in their second year under Turner. Turner will have the ability to mix in more plays and the comfort level for the WR’s will be greatly increased. The WR position is also going to be much improved over the unit on the field at the end of last year (a rattled Chambers, plus McKnight who saw little action the 1st half of the season, and Dedric Ward). This year, we have a renewed and hungrier Chambers, Derrius Thompson on the verge of exploding onto the scene, a more confident McKnight, plus new, more competitive blood in Simmons, Tolver, Baker & Newson.
· RW comes to camp in the best shape of his life with tremendous confidence. He will impact the offense even more with his receiving skills being put to use by Turner. He is as good a weapon as any in the league – alongside Priest Holmes and Marshall Faulk.
· The OL is somewhat questionable, granted. But, the competition with McKinney in there, along with Whitley and Wade Smith is actually better than last year! Sure there’s a lack of experience with rookie backups – but the athleticism and potential for these guys is much better than in previous years.
· Special teams should be greatly improved as well with some aggressive and hungry youth added to the mix in Moore, Corey Jenkins and Charlie Rogers.
· This team is as hungry for victory as its ever been.
The Pessimistic View:
· The Dolphins haven’t proven anything yet. There are a ton of question marks about the team and they could easily finish 6-10 with the difficult schedule they are facing. Consider:
· Fiedler is still unproven. He has showed character, but he’s never yet put together a full season of consistent play, let alone healthy play!
· Seau may, in fact, be on his last legs and may well be unable to compete anymore. He may be no better than an aging running back.
· While talk is high on the WR corps, it is still just talk! Will they really have the explosiveness & quickness to make big plays and get significant separation from DB’s? The Dolphins haven’t had a guy who can get true separation since Irving Fryar. Will they be able to consistently pressure a defense? Not one has demonstrated this in their careers, despite the promise of Chris Chambers in his rookie year. The rest are graded as mid-level talent at best.
· The defense, long predicated on speed, is actually getting slower with Knight and Seau – and with Madison & Marion getting older. Madison himself has a lot to prove that last year was an aberration. Surtain’s surgery means a slower start this year. So, the DB’s may not be as strong as in the past. Last year’s defense on the road was toward the bottom of the league. It was not as good as it appeared on paper.
· The Injury toll may well be a huge factor this year. We’ve lost one of the best long-snapper’s in the league; Moore will likely contribute little to the D with his injury and may well struggle to contribute the entire year! Surtain will have no preseason. David Bowens will be a PUP candidate. Konrad will be out the rest of the preseason. Dixon is having an MRI on his ankle and could be out indefinitely. Fiedler, while having one good practice, may well be susceptible to further troubles. Even if one grants that the talent level has increased, just the injuries to date will result in depth problems and a slow start at several positions. Add to that, the fact that, percentage-wise, there will almost certainly be more injuries over the next 4 weeks. We are now down to two TE’s, if Battaglia retires, and one of those is a highly unproven rookie.
· Add to this, one significant injury to the right player, and the team could be in huge trouble (e.g., RW, Zach, Taylor or Bowens).
· The offensive line, while having a better year last year, was overpowered at times against the Bucs. Add to that the fact that Dixon is hurting and Jamie Nails may not be the player he was last year with his Achilles. There are still a lot of inconsistencies in Wade, Perry and Ruddy. Despite their success at times, at other times they couldn’t get the job done and even the coaches didn’t have confidence in them (as when they had the ball inside the 10 against New England last year).
· Essentially, a huge number of significant question-marks have to come through: The OL must remain healthy; the WR’s have to significantly improve and turn potential into reality; Fiedler must be both healthy and more consistent; Seau must prove it really was an injury that slowed him last year – so far he hasn’t; Knight must overcome his lack of speed; the rookie backups must come through and they must overcome injuries already. Essentially, almost everything the optimist can turn to (other than Ricky and a few defenders) is questionable potential rather than provenOn top of that, will a slow start cause the team to implode, given their high expectations – ala Don Shula’s last year?
The Optimistic View:
· The Bucs game was just a factor of our being rusty, not running RW, Fiedler being out, new players learning a new system, their first playing time at “game speed,†and the Bucs playing their second game to our first. Plus, the Dolphins have been notoriously slow starters in pre-season the past 5 years. In some ways, getting beat up a bit is a good thing – it seems to have woken up the starters and the coaches. A lot of good teams have gotten their clocks cleaned early in the season or preseason and gone on to have very good years (e.g., Tennessee last year; 49ers in 94 were massacred 40-8 by the Eagles – then won the SB).
· Even a slower Seau and a slower Knight are better than what Rodgers or Freeman were last year – which was non-existent – or, at best, just another body on the field!
· Zgonina will add to the pass rush inside at DT and Larry Chester is healthier than last year – so the DT’s should be much better. At DE, we should be just as good or better with Ogunleye really wanting to prove himself.
· The injuries so far are not that serious – The key starters will be back by the start of the season. Ed Perry’s is the worst and this kid from Houston has 4 weeks to get in a groove.
· Fiedler is primed to excel in his second year under Norv Turner’s offense. Brian Griese, despite a bit of rust in the TB game, will be a huge upgrade over Ray Lucas.
· The WR’s will also excel in their second year under Turner. Turner will have the ability to mix in more plays and the comfort level for the WR’s will be greatly increased. The WR position is also going to be much improved over the unit on the field at the end of last year (a rattled Chambers, plus McKnight who saw little action the 1st half of the season, and Dedric Ward). This year, we have a renewed and hungrier Chambers, Derrius Thompson on the verge of exploding onto the scene, a more confident McKnight, plus new, more competitive blood in Simmons, Tolver, Baker & Newson.
· RW comes to camp in the best shape of his life with tremendous confidence. He will impact the offense even more with his receiving skills being put to use by Turner. He is as good a weapon as any in the league – alongside Priest Holmes and Marshall Faulk.
· The OL is somewhat questionable, granted. But, the competition with McKinney in there, along with Whitley and Wade Smith is actually better than last year! Sure there’s a lack of experience with rookie backups – but the athleticism and potential for these guys is much better than in previous years.
· Special teams should be greatly improved as well with some aggressive and hungry youth added to the mix in Moore, Corey Jenkins and Charlie Rogers.
· This team is as hungry for victory as its ever been.
