Exorcising the demon.

[kelbail2.2]

Adam Gase entered the facility in Davie with his sites set on establishing a winning formula by hiring an aggressive DC and getting this offense on track. But molding Ryan Tannehill's game, building a solid O line and mounting a consistent rushing attack are only half the battle. The other half is chasing out the demon that has plagued every offensive player, system and coordinator since Dan Marino's departure. For Gase and this offense to succeed this demon must go.
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[Dolfan1]

I don't expect any over night success and I would imagine it's going to take 2-3 years for us to exercise ALL the demons but hopefully we are finally on the road to success and not just another cul de sac

[FinFan in KC]

That's what is so crazy about this. I don't know what to expect. I wouldn't be surprised by 4-12 and I wouldn't be surprised by 12-4. Plenty of recent first time head coaches have had success and plenty have failed miserably. It's such an enigma.

[cuchulainn]

I don't expect any over night success and I would imagine it's going to take 2-3 years for us to exercise ALL the demons but hopefully we are finally on the road to success and not just another cul de sac

I read there are 43 new faces and none of milquetoast personalities that Philbin liked. That's a huge jump in the right direction for changing the culture and upgrading most positions.

[DolphinsFreak]

Most of us will know which direction this team will be headed in after the 3rd or 4th game. It should be apparent that certain things are not worked my out to Gase's liking and that things need to change. This should make for an interesting season.

[Alpha]

That's kind of a tough way to judge the team though - since after 4 games we'll have played Seattle, New England and Cincinnati. Thanks again to the schedulers we will likely be fighting for our lives before we even get to week 6....

[kelbail2.2]

Captain Obvious has led to failed blocking, sacks stalled drives, player frustration and injuries. For how many years have we been able to see our offensive formation and call out the play ahead of time? If we can do it, how easy is it for an NFL defense? I'm tired of defenses teeing off on us.
With Tannehill, the five step drop and four yard pass have become a demon. D lines just collapse the pocket and aim for that one spot. I'm really hoping to see Gase mix things up and keep defenses off balance both in our passing game and rushing attack. That is a big help for the O line right off the top. No better example than Don Shula and Monte Clark setting traps for the Vikings' awesome, overly aggressive defensive line in Super Bowl VIII. Every time they thought the play was going one way or the O line was going to block a certain way and over-commited, the play was going the other way or they were being blindsided by a blocker from the other direction. Like I've said before, we've been trying to play checkers against chess masters.

[Bahamas]

Here is what we know...

We have one of the youngest teams in the NFL....if you take out Wake and Mario...you automatically drop our average substantially. An injection of youth is exactly what we needed, as our aging vets haven't really done anything....

it's not like these players are going out like Ray Lewis.....

Truth of the matter is, we are not going to be a good football team. In my mind, we are not going to make the playoffs for the next few years. Most likely we will finish under 500. This year draft selection was to rebuild the O

next year - look for a very heavy D selection and a secondary injection of youth...

Gase and Joseph are building organic growth, which is different from what we have seen. We are headed in the right direction, but right now we are just laying the foundation.

[FTLDOLFAN]

The Dolphins formula for success this season is that Tannehill has to take his game to another level and play like the #8 pick in the draft that he was. He has no more excuses. Our o-line has 4 former first round draft picks on it and adequate depth as well. He has weapons galore in Parker, Landry, Stills, Caroo, Cameron and Drake. We need our offense to put up points and play with a lead and then we can unleash what should be a ferocious pass rush. Thats the only way that the Dolphins will be successful this season.

[kelbail2.2]

I totally agree. A very helpful method to beating defenses is to stay unpredictable. Every play should have it's counter-play. Defenses must know that if they get caught overpursuing one direction they will pay dearly the other.
When it comes to RT, you know you are preaching to the choir here. It's up to Gase to game plan blocking strategies to enable a strong rushing attack and confuse defenses in the passing game because you're not going to just drop Tannehill back and expect him to see the field, locate open receivers downfield and do what's necessary to get first downs. He kind of needs to be spoon fed who will be open and when to throw. I don't expect him to suddenly add some creativity and killer instinct to his game. He is who we thought he was so it's up to Gase to maximize what is there.
Two suggestions. Get rid of that quick, open toss play to the RB that nets us -1 to -4 yards 99% of the time. If we're setting RT up at five yards, our lineman must engage the oncoming rushers sooner than 3 1/2 yards deep and give Ryan some space. He's proven he can't dance in the pocket to help the OL.

[cuchulainn]

The Dolphins formula for success this season is that Tannehill has to take his game to another level and play like the #8 pick in the draft that he was. He has no more excuses. Our o-line has 4 former first round draft picks on it and adequate depth as well. He has weapons galore in Parker, Landry, Stills, Caroo, Cameron and Drake. We need our offense to put up points and play with a lead and then we can unleash what should be a ferocious pass rush. Thats the only way that the Dolphins will be successful this season.

The Marino led teams missed the playoffs 5 out of 6 years between 1986 and 1993 when Danny was at the height of his game with a HOF coach in Shula. Why? The TEAM's sucked overall.

The 2013 Steelers were 8-8 and finished with 379 points for and 370 points against. Big Ben had 4200 yds, 28 TDs, and 14 INTs while being sacked 42 times.

In 2014, the Fins went 8-8, finishing with 388 points for and 373 points given up by the Defense. Tannehill had 4000 yds, 27 TDs, and 12 INTs while being sacked 46 times.

Just a comparison on the effects of the OL and supporting cast. IMO, Tannehill and the backs will go as far as the OL provides and the TEAM will go as far as the sum of all it's parts. I hate that (Omar) line about 4 1st round picks as any position is only as good as it's weakest links and 3 of those 1st rounders have missed a lot of games the past 2 seasons.

Agree on being excited about the weapons and that our defense and pass rush should be VASTLY improved.

[DolphinsFreak]

If you had these stats why haven't you been backing me to upgrade our offensive line over the past few years? I've been literally SCREAMING on the forum for the Dolphins to upgrade their line either in free agency and/or the draft but you have always wanted other positions like wide receivers. After four years of getting pummeled now you finally want a o-line?

[cuchulainn]

I already answered this for you... no one, including me, was against upgrading the OL. Where we differed was on how to do so. I didn't want to spend 1st round picks on OL when you can get quality guys from 2nd to the 4th round. Where the team failed was in whiffing on these guys - Martin, Thomas, Turner, Douglas, etc... also, the team failed to bring in good starters as FAs. Albert was about the best FA they picked up at tackle.

[cuchulainn]

Really enjoying Gase as a HC so far. Like his no non-sense style with the press and the way he's handling the team. Hope he ends up being as good a HC as a young Shula was. Be nice to finally exorcise *that* demon...

[Driven_Phinsane!]

Here is what we know...

We have one of the youngest teams in the NFL....if you take out Wake and Mario...you automatically drop our average substantially. An injection of youth is exactly what we needed, as our aging vets haven't really done anything....

it's not like these players are going out like Ray Lewis.....

Truth of the matter is, we are not going to be a good football team. In my mind, we are not going to make the playoffs for the next few years. Most likely we will finish under 500. This year draft selection was to rebuild the O

next year - look for a very heavy D selection and a secondary injection of youth...

Gase and Joseph are building organic growth, which is different from what we have seen. We are headed in the right direction, but right now we are just laying the foundation.

Hey B, how's the Island Life treatin' you?! I agree with this 100% and have pretty much been saying the same thing since we finally shit-canned Average Joe; if we would've done that when we should've done that, we'd already be a year or so into the process and yeah, yeah, if if's & but's were candy & nuts....

I look at this as a throw-away year, i don't really see any way that we're going to compete for a playoff spot..We went into the offseason with more holes and questions than what we could realistically fill or answer, while we may find that ultimately we're on the right track, this is going to be no easy-fix!

Really hope i'm wrong, but i'd be really surprised if we win more than 5 or 6 games, i'd be shocked if we won 8 or more and my old ass'll probably have a heart attack if we win over 10 and make the playoffs..You know you're a Dolphin fan if you'd take that trade-off in a heartbeat!!!