Who has surprised you the most this year? | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Who has surprised you the most this year?

Digital

Digital

Starter
Club Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2008
Messages
11,484
Reaction score
14,704
While the end of the season is going to have a lot of drama and we'll have meaningful things to talk about, I wanted to take a beat and ask, through the first 3 quartiles of the season, which player has surprised you the most? We have a lot of candidates. Off the top of my head, some obvious choices might be:

Xavien Howard -- 8 INT's with time to increase that number, having a career year
Kyle Van Noy -- Took a while to get his stats rolling, but his leadership has really amped up this defense to a new level
Emmanuel Ogbah -- For a team seriously lacking pass rushers, he has not only provided good pass rush, but also forced 2 fumbles
Mike Gesicki -- Quite a long ways away from people whinging about wanting to take some other TE, he is now blossoming into one of the best TE's in the game
Adam Shaheen -- With the Bears fans laughing at us for taking him, he appears to be an absolute steal, and we can now see why he was nicknamed "Baby Gronk" ... but let's be real, Rob Gronkowski was truly one of a kind
Austin Jackson -- Sure, he's a 1st round LT pick, but the kid was the youngest OL in the draft, coming off a season where he had missed a previous offseason because he gave a bone-marrow transplant to his sister .... I mean this type of story is the stuff of legends
Solomon Kindley -- Big beefy Georgia kid who almost everyone put as our 3rd best rookie OL and almost nobody expected to be good, but he started immediately and has been a very good rookie OG from UGA
DeVante Parker -- Backing up a career year with .... wait for it ... another career year despite a tumultuous WR room shuffling injured and Covid-sitting WR's and learning to take passes from two QB's (one righty and one lefty!) and consistently dominating like a true #1 does ... oh yeah, and staying healthy for a second year in a row
Sanders -- WTH?!?!?!?!?!? Why is a kicker on this list???? Who the heck ever considers a special teamer who doesn't score TD's???? This guy isn't even in the Pro-Bowl, no reason to even learn is first name ... wait ... what? Hasn't missed a single kick ........ well I guess that's not too bad


Sure, people will always want to add Tua and Byron Jones, but IMHO, a lot was expected of Tua, and while I am quite happy he has proven healthy, I don't see him as our most surprising player. Byron Jones has been as good as advertised and an excellent addition to the team ... but again, not surprising, just a relief he was as good as advertised. IMHO, the Jones who has surprised has been Brandon Jones, who quietly has provided a LOT of solid play for a young safety.

If I had to pick one, I wouldn't pick Xavien Howard or Mike Gesicki, simply becasue I've been tooting their horns since we drafted them, and their ascension to the heights of the league does not surprise me, in fact I predicted this success. I also predicted good seasons for Kyle Van Noy and Solomon Kindley, so for me, those are out. I always knew Parker had it in him too, so while somewhat surprising, he's out for me because it was always just a matter of health IMHO.

If I'm honest, the guy who surprised me the most is not our biggest impact guy. The guy who surprised me the most so far has been Adam Shaheen, who looks like the guy in the draft highlight reel when he came out, not the disappointing guy who missed so much time with the Bears.

Who has surprised you most this year? And why?
 
Last edited:
Kindley: I never expect a great deal from rookie linemen as so many crash and burn in their first year (ahem... Andrew Thomas), but Kindley was pretty good from the drop and despite fighting through a foot injury that has sapped his already limited mobility, he has performed VERY well.
With all of the grief that the Guard position has given us over the past decade, finding a guy like this in the 4th round is a gift.
 
Of all on your list, I'm going to say, Ogbah has surprised me the most. Not because he isn't talented, but because, his production has been; unexpected.

I loved him in college and thought he'd be a good player. Now as a Dolphin and working with this coaching staff, he's developed into a very good starting DE.
 
1) Ogbah - I didn’t see him doing this well
2) Both Safeties - I wasn’t confident in them at all. Surprised to say the least.
3) OL - Though not perfect. But they have improved from last year with some nice additions in draft and free agency.
4) Draft picks- all have contributed pretty nicely and still developing.
5) Flores- you can see he is getting better each game.
 
dolfan91 said:
Of all on your list, I'm going to say, Ogbah has surprised me the most. Not because he isn't talented, but because, his production has been; unexpected.

I loved him in college and thought he'd be a good player. Now as a Dolphin and working with this coaching staff, he's developed into a very good starting DE.
Click to expand...
I can see that. I thought he'd be good... I didn't expect this many sacks.
 
I would say Ogbah.

While I expected him to be a solid addition if healthy, I didn't expect him to be as dominant as he has been.

Some of it has been scheme, but he has shown consistency and more importantly a bit of relentless dog.
 
Last edited:
Digital said:
While the end of the season is going to have a lot of drama and we'll have meaningful things to talk about, I wanted to take a beat and ask, through the first 3 quartiles of the season, which player has surprised you the most? We have a lot of candidates. Off the top of my head, some obvious choices might be:

Xavien Howard -- 7 INT's with time to increase that number, having a career year
Kyle Van Noy -- Took a while to get his stats rolling, but his leadership has really amped up this defense to a new level
Emmanuel Ogbah -- For a team seriously lacking pass rushers, he has not only provided good pass rush, but also forced 2 fumbles
Mike Gesicki -- Quite a long ways away from people whinging about wanting to take some other TE, he is now blossoming into one of the best TE's in the game
Adam Shaheen -- With the Bears fans laughing at us for taking him, he appears to be an absolute steal, and we can now see why he was nicknamed "Baby Gronk" ... but let's be real, Rob Gronkowski was truly one of a kind
Austin Jackson -- Sure, he's a 1st round LT pick, but the kid was the youngest OL in the draft, coming off a season where he had missed a previous offseason because he gave a bone-marrow transplant to his sister .... I mean this type of story is the stuff of legends
Solomon Kindley -- Big beefy Georgia kid who almost everyone put as our 3rd best rookie OL and almost nobody expected to be good, but he started immediately and has been a very good rookie OG from UGA
DeVante Parker -- Backing up a career year with .... wait for it ... another career year despite a tumultuous WR room shuffling injured and Covid-sitting WR's and learning to take passes from two QB's (one righty and one lefty!) and consistently dominating like a true #1 does ... oh yeah, and staying healthy for a second year in a row
Sanders -- WTH?!?!?!?!?!? Why is a kicker on this list???? Who the heck ever considers a special teamer who doesn't score TD's???? This guy isn't even in the Pro-Bowl, no reason to even learn is first name ... wait ... what? Hasn't missed a single kick ........ well I guess that's not too bad


Sure, people will always want to add Tua and Byron Jones, but IMHO, a lot was expected of Tua, and while I am quite happy he has proven healthy, I don't see him as our most surprising player. Byron Jones has been as good as advertised and an excellent addition to the team ... but again, not surprising, just a relief he was as good as advertised. IMHO, the Jones who has surprised has been Brandon Jones, who quietly has provided a LOT of solid play for a young safety.

If I had to pick one, I wouldn't pick Xavien Howard or Mike Gesicki, simply becasue I've been tooting their horns since we drafted them, and their ascension to the heights of the league does not surprise me, in fact I predicted this success. I also predicted good seasons for Kyle Van Noy and Solomon Kindley, so for me, those are out. I always knew Parker had it in him too, so while somewhat surprising, he's out for me because it was always just a matter of health IMHO.

If I'm honest, the guy who surprised me the most is not our biggest impact guy. The guy who surprised me the most so far has been Adam Shaheen, who looks like the guy in the draft highlight reel when he came out, not the disappointing guy who missed so much time with the Bears.

Who has surprised you most this year? And why?
Click to expand...
Psst ... X has 8 picks, not 7

#AndCounting
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom