Everyone wants to blame Adam Gase.
Everyone wants to blame Ryan Tannehill.
What no one wants to do is realistically assess the football team and realize that the majority of
the players on the 2018 Miami Dolphins failed miserably. Our beloved legends. Our gritty youngsters. Our passionate veterans. Chances are, whether you were sporting his jersey throughout the season or not, your favorite player(s) failed us this year. In a year in which the team was expected to rely on the growth of their young talent mixed with the reassurance of their “proven” veterans, our Miami Dolphins disappointed all of us. Not only as patient patrons yearning for a successful season (after an optimistic end to the 2016 season and a mockery of a 2017 season), but as fans clamoring for a bright and sustainable future – something that would give us more than one playoff game a decade (we’ve played in 3 this century go figure). Whether it was living up to large contracts, lofty expectations or evolutionary growth, most of the Miami Dolphins this season either regressed or plateaued.
Bright Spots
Let’s start with something we can actually look forward to. Although most of this team stresses us
out on a weekly basis, there are actually some bright spots currently on the Dolphins roster. All of
these players are (currently) on their rookie contracts and are core players that are worth building
around. It would be harder to argue why these players aren’t the best within their position group
than to debate why they are. These are the players Miami got right….even when all they seem to do is
get it wrong:
Laremy Tunsil
Xavien Howard
Jerome Baker
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Davon Godchaux
Vincent Taylor
Jason Sanders
That is it. These are your bright spots. You have 7 of them.
These are your building blocks to the future. WE have two vital positions nailed down (cornerback
and left tackle), but this leaves plenty of concerns elsewhere. Not every team is going to have an
elite presence at every position, but elite teams have role players that handle their jobs well.
Neutral/Apathetic
These are the players we have a hard time forming a concrete opinion on. This isn’t because the cat
caught our tongue, it’s just that these players didn’t do anything to show that they’re a worthwhile
building block. Or, we know they’re worth building around, but their performance this year had us
thinking otherwise. You’re going to find a lot of players you like in this category. And while you can’t get rid of all of them, you can make a case for just about any of them. The only thing that’ll keep some of these players on the 2019 roster is their contract status (dead money vs salary cap hit).
Ja’Wuan James
Kenyan Drake
Raekwon McMillan
Bobby McCain
Reshad Jones
Danny Amendola
Kenny Stills
Kiko Alonso
Cameron Wake
Frank Gore
Akeem Spence
Walt Aikens
Matt Haack
T.J. McDonald
Durham Smythe
Kalen Ballage
Assuming all of these players are back for 2019, you can cross 14 “holes” off of your roster, but
with that being said, how confident are you in any of the players on this list? Combine their
performance this season with their contracts going into 2019 and you have to wonder if feeling
neutral about these players is actually giving them too much credit. There’s a good chance at least
half of these players are on a different roster next season.
So with 7 “bright spots” and 16 neutral possibilities, we have 23 players that the Dolphins can “rely
on” next season. A roster needs to hold 53 players. So what happened to the rest of the team?
Regression / Plateau
They fall into these next two categories. One is damning while the other has been a damnation for
this team. Before we get into this team’s lack of luck, we’ll get into this team’s lack of talent.
Below are the players that not only failed to contribute to the team’s 2018 season, they were a
detriment in the process:
Charles Harris
Jesse Davis
Robert Quinn
Stephone Anthony
Cordrea Tankersley
DeVante Parker
Ryan Tannehill
A bunch of promise that has led to a ton of disappointment: that’s your 2018 Dolphins season and your
Dolphins 21st century in nutshell. Thing is, all of that disappointment is wrapped tightly in hope,
promise, optimism and the opportunity for success; we just open it up to find that it’s (always) just
a facade.
Blue Tent Blues
All of that hope and promise had to originate from somewhere. It’s not like we blindly assumed this
team was going to be good this season. Our thoughts, hypothesis’ and playoff aspirations were
shattered along with the 13 lucky players that landed on injured-reserve this season but, these six players below did us in.
Jakeem Grant
Albert Wilson
William Hayes
Daniel Kilgore
Josh Sitton
MarQueis Gray
Miami made a habit out of placing players on injured-reserve, with 13 players on IR as of Week 17.
While this group of players couldn’t play, the next group of players were able to participate
throughout the entire season, they were just invisible while on the field.
Did Not Show Up
While these players may have “produced” more than others on this list, between the assets and empty
hope, these players were invisible in the eyes of Dolphins fans; only to be seen when scorned:
Mike Gesicki
Andre Branch
Miscellaneous Players
These players participated for Miami this season, though that never should have happened. They were
part of the 2018 season, but were never part of the plan. I’d say I blame (or exonerate) these
players, but it’s hard to express emotion towards them when they never should have been relied upon
in the first place.
Brock Osweiler
Torry McTyer
Brandon Bolden
Senorise Perry
Ted Larsen
Travis Swanson
These are the reasons why the 2018 Miami Dolphins failed. It’s not (solely) because of Adam Gase.
It’s not (solely) because of Ryan Tannehill. These two people were just part of the problem that was
the 2018 season. We fully expected the Dolphins to evolve and instead they regressed…mightily. The
hope is that 2018 is a fluke. Problem is, how do you explain an entire century of ineptitude?
You can't.
It can't be explained. There is no true answer to it all. Will it ever be fixed is the question. I doubt it but, hope for it happen as all of you do too one of these years in the future. We have been cursed since 1999 its that simple. With only 3 playoff appearances in this decade and 1 playoff win. In this next coming week. Some of the answers we'll let us know how 2019 is going to go. I hate to say this: But Mr. Ross needs to die he is 79, find a new owner as he has ****ed up this franchise sine Huizenga gave it to him. Its sad to say but, he is not going to sell. He has invested too much money into the Stadium and Organization. But, for 2019 he needs to do what is right for the fans who invest their lives watching their favorite team. Make it better for us not for you sir. Its time.
Everyone wants to blame Ryan Tannehill.
What no one wants to do is realistically assess the football team and realize that the majority of
the players on the 2018 Miami Dolphins failed miserably. Our beloved legends. Our gritty youngsters. Our passionate veterans. Chances are, whether you were sporting his jersey throughout the season or not, your favorite player(s) failed us this year. In a year in which the team was expected to rely on the growth of their young talent mixed with the reassurance of their “proven” veterans, our Miami Dolphins disappointed all of us. Not only as patient patrons yearning for a successful season (after an optimistic end to the 2016 season and a mockery of a 2017 season), but as fans clamoring for a bright and sustainable future – something that would give us more than one playoff game a decade (we’ve played in 3 this century go figure). Whether it was living up to large contracts, lofty expectations or evolutionary growth, most of the Miami Dolphins this season either regressed or plateaued.
Bright Spots
Let’s start with something we can actually look forward to. Although most of this team stresses us
out on a weekly basis, there are actually some bright spots currently on the Dolphins roster. All of
these players are (currently) on their rookie contracts and are core players that are worth building
around. It would be harder to argue why these players aren’t the best within their position group
than to debate why they are. These are the players Miami got right….even when all they seem to do is
get it wrong:
Laremy Tunsil
Xavien Howard
Jerome Baker
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Davon Godchaux
Vincent Taylor
Jason Sanders
That is it. These are your bright spots. You have 7 of them.
These are your building blocks to the future. WE have two vital positions nailed down (cornerback
and left tackle), but this leaves plenty of concerns elsewhere. Not every team is going to have an
elite presence at every position, but elite teams have role players that handle their jobs well.
Neutral/Apathetic
These are the players we have a hard time forming a concrete opinion on. This isn’t because the cat
caught our tongue, it’s just that these players didn’t do anything to show that they’re a worthwhile
building block. Or, we know they’re worth building around, but their performance this year had us
thinking otherwise. You’re going to find a lot of players you like in this category. And while you can’t get rid of all of them, you can make a case for just about any of them. The only thing that’ll keep some of these players on the 2019 roster is their contract status (dead money vs salary cap hit).
Ja’Wuan James
Kenyan Drake
Raekwon McMillan
Bobby McCain
Reshad Jones
Danny Amendola
Kenny Stills
Kiko Alonso
Cameron Wake
Frank Gore
Akeem Spence
Walt Aikens
Matt Haack
T.J. McDonald
Durham Smythe
Kalen Ballage
Assuming all of these players are back for 2019, you can cross 14 “holes” off of your roster, but
with that being said, how confident are you in any of the players on this list? Combine their
performance this season with their contracts going into 2019 and you have to wonder if feeling
neutral about these players is actually giving them too much credit. There’s a good chance at least
half of these players are on a different roster next season.
So with 7 “bright spots” and 16 neutral possibilities, we have 23 players that the Dolphins can “rely
on” next season. A roster needs to hold 53 players. So what happened to the rest of the team?
Regression / Plateau
They fall into these next two categories. One is damning while the other has been a damnation for
this team. Before we get into this team’s lack of luck, we’ll get into this team’s lack of talent.
Below are the players that not only failed to contribute to the team’s 2018 season, they were a
detriment in the process:
Charles Harris
Jesse Davis
Robert Quinn
Stephone Anthony
Cordrea Tankersley
DeVante Parker
Ryan Tannehill
A bunch of promise that has led to a ton of disappointment: that’s your 2018 Dolphins season and your
Dolphins 21st century in nutshell. Thing is, all of that disappointment is wrapped tightly in hope,
promise, optimism and the opportunity for success; we just open it up to find that it’s (always) just
a facade.
Blue Tent Blues
All of that hope and promise had to originate from somewhere. It’s not like we blindly assumed this
team was going to be good this season. Our thoughts, hypothesis’ and playoff aspirations were
shattered along with the 13 lucky players that landed on injured-reserve this season but, these six players below did us in.
Jakeem Grant
Albert Wilson
William Hayes
Daniel Kilgore
Josh Sitton
MarQueis Gray
Miami made a habit out of placing players on injured-reserve, with 13 players on IR as of Week 17.
While this group of players couldn’t play, the next group of players were able to participate
throughout the entire season, they were just invisible while on the field.
Did Not Show Up
While these players may have “produced” more than others on this list, between the assets and empty
hope, these players were invisible in the eyes of Dolphins fans; only to be seen when scorned:
Mike Gesicki
Andre Branch
Miscellaneous Players
These players participated for Miami this season, though that never should have happened. They were
part of the 2018 season, but were never part of the plan. I’d say I blame (or exonerate) these
players, but it’s hard to express emotion towards them when they never should have been relied upon
in the first place.
Brock Osweiler
Torry McTyer
Brandon Bolden
Senorise Perry
Ted Larsen
Travis Swanson
These are the reasons why the 2018 Miami Dolphins failed. It’s not (solely) because of Adam Gase.
It’s not (solely) because of Ryan Tannehill. These two people were just part of the problem that was
the 2018 season. We fully expected the Dolphins to evolve and instead they regressed…mightily. The
hope is that 2018 is a fluke. Problem is, how do you explain an entire century of ineptitude?
You can't.
It can't be explained. There is no true answer to it all. Will it ever be fixed is the question. I doubt it but, hope for it happen as all of you do too one of these years in the future. We have been cursed since 1999 its that simple. With only 3 playoff appearances in this decade and 1 playoff win. In this next coming week. Some of the answers we'll let us know how 2019 is going to go. I hate to say this: But Mr. Ross needs to die he is 79, find a new owner as he has ****ed up this franchise sine Huizenga gave it to him. Its sad to say but, he is not going to sell. He has invested too much money into the Stadium and Organization. But, for 2019 he needs to do what is right for the fans who invest their lives watching their favorite team. Make it better for us not for you sir. Its time.
