Chuck Willie
Active Roster
I know the feeling around the team is mostly disappointment right now. Rightfully so, a lot of us thought the playoffs were imminent this season and barring a small miracle, that won't be happening. When I look back at this lost season, I realize our date was sealed last season when Ross made a public endorsement of Joe Philbin after the Vikings victory. I heard the stories about Joe Philbin finally letting his walls down and bonding with his players for the first time during his tenure with the team. Those stories combined with the acquisition of Ndamukong Suh and what I thought was a pretty solid draft had me feeling like this was our year.... I couldn't have been more wrong.
We failed to address some big holes on the roster: the offensive line and the anemic LB corps. Maybe it was the homer in me, but I thought the strengths of our team would mask the weaknesses. Needless to say that didn't happen. I think the biggest thing we lacked this year was direction and true leadership.
Stephen Ross and Tannenbaum need to hit a home run with this Head Coach acquisition because our hopes for next season and beyond depend on it. They need to be very thorough before making a decision and make sure they get the right guy. I don't know how many more mediocre seasons I can take. The thing about us as an organization is we make splash signings that build buzz and optimism around the team. Im hoping that as an organization we make moves that pay off on the football field and not necessarily in the tabloids.
Assuming the right hire is made at head coach, that leaves is looking at the football side of things. What are our biggest strengths, what are our biggest weaknesses?
Offense: I like the nucleus of talent we have on this side of the ball. Assuming we resign Lamar Miller, I think we are pretty much set when it comes to skill positions. I like the potential that Ajayi and Miller have as a 1,2 punch. Obviously the biggest hole is the offensive line. We lack talent on the line and we lack depth. Getting the OL has to be a top priority and I think we need to make a strong push to sign Brandon Brooks this off-season. There are a lot of other guys that can be had for depth but we need to put a concerted effort into dominating in the trenches. I got one would like to see us transition more into a run heavy offense. We have a great contrast of lighting and thunder at the RB position, we need a coach who's going to make it a priority to run the damn ball. I think we can all agree that the finesse thing failed miserably. Tannehill doesn t need to be back there throwing the ball fifty times a game - that's not hisblane. The right coaching staff and upgraded OL and commitment to running the football will go a long way for us....
Defense: This is a little more difficult because our back seven is down right ugly. No way around it. We have a stud back at safety in Reshad Jones, a pretty good linebacker in Jelani Jenkins, a CB who's a solid number two but seems to be fading in Brent Grimes and a serviceable LB in Misi. We have a lot of work to do on this side of the ball. Some guys we need to target in free agency: Janoris Jenkins CB, Brandon Marshall LB, Eric Berry S and a lot of guys we could use for depth. Id like to see us make a run at JPP to bolster the pass rush as well. We need to draft defense in the draft and we need immediate contributions. Id like us to go Hargraeves/Jaylon Smith in the first round and BPA at LB/CB depending on who we draft in the first. I think we need to double down at CB. How bout moving Brice McCain back to his natural position in the slot? Because he failed miserably as a boundary defender. I like what I've seen out of Bobby McCain as far as determination - I think with reps he can turn out to be a solid player for us. I want Lippett to get some run for the remainder of the season to see what we have there. If we draft right and hit on some draft picks there's no reason we can't be a lot better on both sides of the ball.
Crazy things happen in the NFL. Sometimes teams that were awful the year before rise from the ashes and wind up being solid teams, looks at the NYJ, Vikings, Falcons etc... Its not all doom and gloom my fellow Dolfans but it's going to take a calculated mind making decisions for us. First task is finding the right Coach to lead this team and together he and the GM need to get on the same page, have a vision and make it happen.
We failed to address some big holes on the roster: the offensive line and the anemic LB corps. Maybe it was the homer in me, but I thought the strengths of our team would mask the weaknesses. Needless to say that didn't happen. I think the biggest thing we lacked this year was direction and true leadership.
Stephen Ross and Tannenbaum need to hit a home run with this Head Coach acquisition because our hopes for next season and beyond depend on it. They need to be very thorough before making a decision and make sure they get the right guy. I don't know how many more mediocre seasons I can take. The thing about us as an organization is we make splash signings that build buzz and optimism around the team. Im hoping that as an organization we make moves that pay off on the football field and not necessarily in the tabloids.
Assuming the right hire is made at head coach, that leaves is looking at the football side of things. What are our biggest strengths, what are our biggest weaknesses?
Offense: I like the nucleus of talent we have on this side of the ball. Assuming we resign Lamar Miller, I think we are pretty much set when it comes to skill positions. I like the potential that Ajayi and Miller have as a 1,2 punch. Obviously the biggest hole is the offensive line. We lack talent on the line and we lack depth. Getting the OL has to be a top priority and I think we need to make a strong push to sign Brandon Brooks this off-season. There are a lot of other guys that can be had for depth but we need to put a concerted effort into dominating in the trenches. I got one would like to see us transition more into a run heavy offense. We have a great contrast of lighting and thunder at the RB position, we need a coach who's going to make it a priority to run the damn ball. I think we can all agree that the finesse thing failed miserably. Tannehill doesn t need to be back there throwing the ball fifty times a game - that's not hisblane. The right coaching staff and upgraded OL and commitment to running the football will go a long way for us....
Defense: This is a little more difficult because our back seven is down right ugly. No way around it. We have a stud back at safety in Reshad Jones, a pretty good linebacker in Jelani Jenkins, a CB who's a solid number two but seems to be fading in Brent Grimes and a serviceable LB in Misi. We have a lot of work to do on this side of the ball. Some guys we need to target in free agency: Janoris Jenkins CB, Brandon Marshall LB, Eric Berry S and a lot of guys we could use for depth. Id like to see us make a run at JPP to bolster the pass rush as well. We need to draft defense in the draft and we need immediate contributions. Id like us to go Hargraeves/Jaylon Smith in the first round and BPA at LB/CB depending on who we draft in the first. I think we need to double down at CB. How bout moving Brice McCain back to his natural position in the slot? Because he failed miserably as a boundary defender. I like what I've seen out of Bobby McCain as far as determination - I think with reps he can turn out to be a solid player for us. I want Lippett to get some run for the remainder of the season to see what we have there. If we draft right and hit on some draft picks there's no reason we can't be a lot better on both sides of the ball.
Crazy things happen in the NFL. Sometimes teams that were awful the year before rise from the ashes and wind up being solid teams, looks at the NYJ, Vikings, Falcons etc... Its not all doom and gloom my fellow Dolfans but it's going to take a calculated mind making decisions for us. First task is finding the right Coach to lead this team and together he and the GM need to get on the same page, have a vision and make it happen.
