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LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
by Matthew Kent
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2016
by Matthew Kent
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Lots of talk about the improvements the Dolphins have made, but only predicts a 6-10 record. Wow, Philbin and Sporano had better records as coach. The only people left to dump are Tannehill and Tannenbaum (Ross can't fire himself, and no other decent QBs are available. ).. With an O-line that will most likely no better than last year's o-line, Mike Tannenbaum and Dawn Aponte's 's heads would be on the chopping block as 6-10 showed no improvement over the lame team of last year. I wonder if Marc Anthony, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Serena and Venus Williams, and Fergie would ever allow that to happen to their team.... -
Upgrades? I don't think we know if these are upgradea or not. Almost every aquisition has an injury issue or is coming off a sub par season. If they don't pan out then what do we have? Also remember we lost three star performers. So yeah that along with a new unproven coach makes 6- 10 real possible.Comment
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Three star performers? Miller yes, Brent Grimes was a shadow of what he used to be, I watched him picking himself up off the turf more times then not and OV was way over hyped. I fully expect Mario Williams to have more sacks this year than OV. Write it down.Originally posted by Finatic View PostWhile it takes two to have an argument, it only takes one to walk away.Comment
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We have the best OL depth we've had since Philbin took over the team and we have coaches who have been hired hopefully on merit and not on nepotism, which was another staple of Queasy Joe's - hiring buddies.
I think we're improved on the OL and depth, have improved both our secondary and LB corp, and have a solid receiving corp. The most questionable aspect is the runningback corp. Still hoping we bring in another vet RB. Pissed we brought back Daniel Thomas, who has always been terrible.
Still, I see us as no worse than 8-8 and think that we have a shot at 9-7.
YMMV.Comment
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I think the talent level is upgraded especially on the OL. We have 4 first round picks starting on that line now. I fully agree on Williams over Vernon any day. But my biggest hope and concern is the coaching staff. In the Texans game last year we cruised to a 41 point first half lead. We were not that much more talented than the Texans, we had the right game plan for that opponent and they had the wrong one for us. It's usually not that bad and we are usually on the short end of the coaching stick. But that game dramatically points out the difference the right or wrong game plan makes. So where do we fall on the strategy scale this year? We shall see.Comment
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Wow you guys are dumping on guys really fast. Vernon was Pro Football Focus #1 4-3 DE recording over 80 combined tackles, sacks and hurries. He is strong against the run and the pass and one year removed from the Pro Bowl. Grimes did have an off year but also is one year removed from the Pro Bowl. Considering the absolute garbage we had for coaches it is a testament to these men they achieved despite the bad systems and coaches. And I REALLY do not know how anyone can think we upgraded at DB and LB. Maybe we did but would you be surprised if Alonso and Maxwell were as bad here as they were there? My book it could go either way. I think sometimes as fans we want to believe so much that we project success that isn't even there yet. And once again, all new coaches and all new schemes. Believe me I will never be so happy to say I am wrong, if I am wrong on this. But 6-10 maybe 7-9.Comment
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Let's get together in December on this topic and see what a bust OV was for the price. The Giants paid a ridiculous sum for him.Comment
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So true,, and us being Fins fans we should know that way more than likely it'll go the opposite way! I mean come on guys, we're like the epitome of Murphy's Law in action...Originally posted by Finatic View Post
I think sometimes as fans we want to believe so much that we project success that isn't even there yet. And once again, all new coaches and all new schemes. Believe me I will never be so happy to say I am wrong, if I am wrong on this. But 6-10 maybe 7-9.[/QUOTE]
Hope springs eternal; we fall for it every year..We have to remember that just because we change things, doesn't mean they're instantly changes for the better. I remember how excited i was when we shook up our LB corps & got rid of under-performers in Dansby & Burnett..well, in case anyone needs to be reminded, we replaced them with Dannell Ellerbe & Phillip Wheeler!!..
So, this season, i for one refuse to be sucked into the madness..I expect this team to pretty much be abysmal (I'm thinking we'll have trouble winning 6 games - Seriously hope i'm wrong!!) Why would i expect any different?? At least this way if they do end up being world beater's & over-achiever's, it'll be such a pleasant surprise that it'll be like a state of euphoria, rather than the every season exact opposite where they get our hopes up only to ultimately kick us all collectively in the nuts!
Last edited by Driven_Phinsane!; 06-30-2016, 07:54 AM.Comment
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A lot of the problem hasn't been with our starters WHEN the are healthy, it's been that this damn team had no quality depth and was snakebit with the OL.
Last season we only had a few games where the starting OL both started and finished games together, the secondary was piece mill, the LBs gimpy, and Coyles had each DLman doing everything but attacking the OL and ball carriers. It was a cluster fook of dysfunction, which was more of the same under Philbin.
I feel this is going to be a solid team with a good shot at 8 or 9 wins.
YMMV.Comment
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Point taken, and i'm definitely not saying this team has no shot at .500...Just not currently buying into it. Not just the OL that's been snakebit, this whole franchise has not only been snakebit, but pretty much been swallowed whole by the damn snake for about as long as i can remember! -
NP... everyone has the right to be skeptical, but I personally feel really good about Gase and CJ, plus the moves we've made the past 2 seasons under Tbaum. If we can catch a little luck and shake the injury bug, we should have a very good season.
I'll be content if we're playing well and still end up a 7 win team, cause just playing well overall would be improvement. lol...
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It is a lot of new players and an all new coaching staff with all new schemes. It's not impossible to be successful the first year and compete for the playoffs but it's not likely. I'm thinking another mediocre 8-8 but hopefully signs of moving in the right direction.Can we sign this guy?Comment
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I don't think anyone is saying that OV and Miller are not good players. But we are usually the ones overpaying for someone else's retreads. I would have loved to keep them both at a reasonable price, but not blockbuster prices. In baseball they use the term value over replacement. So if I say OV value over Williams, little or none. Miller value over Ajayi, little at this point, but Miller was never the yardage leader nationwide in NCAA. It is possible that Ajayi could be a superior RB to Miller, the potential is there. Grimes over Maxwell, little on the field if any and taking into consideration the cancer his attitude was on the team. So when you take into consideration the salary cap impact it would have made we won the FA exchange in my opinion. My problem with OV was too many penalties and his timing. If you look at Jason Taylor's numbers they don't tell how special he was. If he had 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble in a game, they probably came in the 4th quarter to seal the victory. OV is the oposite, his pressure seemed to often come on second down in the first half and the opponent would then convert the 3rd and long with no pressure on the QB in the have to pass situation. I just feel like all 3 were good, not great and value over replacement, little, none or upgrade for us, but at a much cheaper price.Comment
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Disagree on the value of Miller over Ajayi. The guy has yet to even start and have a 100 yard game, much less be the game breaker and steady producer that Miller has been for the last 4 years. Until we see if he can stay healthy and consistently contribute the value is in Miller's favor. And at 4 years $26M it wasn't exactly a blockbuster deal he left for. I think we should have paid him. But who knows. Ajayi may be that explosive back you mentioned and we will have much better value. But to be an improved team we have to hit on the following unknowns, RB, LB Pass Rush, DB and you even have to say QB. A lot to ask for in a new system. If we hit on Ajayi, Maxwell, Alonso, Drake, Williams and Tannehill improves then we will be a better team. But man...what are those odds? -
Other than the Texans game last year, I can't think of a single performance where Miller was a "game breaker", he was a consistent performer the last 2 years, not so much the first 2. I do consider Miller the better back right now. But that could change by the end of this year very easily. All I was pointing out is that Miller's credentials after his rookie year were no better if as good as Ajayi's. And that's the replacement most likely to not work out in our favor. I also think Ajayi will be running behind a better line than Miller ever saw. Most likely on one side of that line will be Pouncey, Tunsil, and Albert. I think a good back ought to be able to consistently find yards on that side. Also, do not underestimate the impact Parker can have on this entire offense.
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Miller is a far better back than we allowed him to be. He was never utilized properly and it was completely maddening to me. All he did was produce when given the opportunity but the opportunities were too scarce. He never averaged more than 13.5 carries per game. I think he would have been a star in Gase's offense. I'm all for value but at some point you have to pay some players. They should have paid Miller.
Can we sign this guy?Comment
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I understand your point, and I know he has only had 2 career games with 20 or more carries. He also suffered from the poor game plans and offensive line. But just like Ajayi, that is called potential. It's one thing to take a few carries and extrapolate them forward into a 1,600 yard season, it's quite another thing to do it. When you play the Vikings, everyone is after Peterson, Miller had the element of being the change up. We will see this year, but my bold prediction is that Ajayi finishes the season with more rushing yards and yards from scrimmage than Miller.
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Problem with Miller is that he has chronic shoulder issues. They kept him on a pitch count to protect his shoulders. Every season there was an issue with keeping him durable. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sp...g-to-wo/nhyHp/Originally posted by FinFan in KC View Post
He also went down too easily after contact. This is why Campbell was wanting Ajayi getting more runs at the end of last season as Ajayi is better after contact. Campbell wanted to beat defenses with Ajayi to soften them up, then use Miller afterwards in an attempt to get more rushing yards like we intended to do when Moreno was here a couple seasons ago before being lost to injuries.Comment
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The way the team has been playing bad which has been forever, I find it hard to believe our coaches were smart or ever smart enough to know about a "pitch count" JMHOOriginally posted by cuchulainn View PostComment
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