Quite a familiar sight for Dolphins fans, really since Tannehill has been the QB. I know some of you think it’s all Tannehill’s fault, and that’s fine, but I for one don’t believe that to be the case. Too much pressure, too often and no containment. Seems like almost every drop back, someone loses containment on their man, and over the last 2 seasons, there really were good reasons for that. Injuries depleted our O-line and the depth we had wasn’t up to the task. Whether it was Brandon Albert injured, or Ja’Wuan James, or Mike Pouncey, it’s been rare to have those 3 former 1st RD picks on the field together. One good nugget of info uncovered by the infamous Omar Kelly is this. When those 3 have been healthy and on the field together, Ryan Tannehill, and the Dolphins are 6-1. Some will scoff at this small sample, and that’s fine too, people will always see what they want, and contrarily ignore what they don’t. I think it’s unfortunate that we have such a small sample, and if you think about it, this doesn’t even address the shoddy OG play. Imagine if we had better OG’s than Dallas Thomas, Billy Turner or Jamil Douglas. It could happen as early as this season, because the NFL draft is only about 2 weeks away!
First, let’s take a look at we currently have on the roster. At LT, Brandon Albert is the starter, and OT’s Jermon Bushrod (Bears) and Sam Young (Jaguars) were brought in as depth for both tackle positions, as both of the aforementioned players have played both. At C we have Mike Pouncey, and backing him up is OG/C Jamil Douglas, and Jacques McClendon. At OG, last years starters were a mix of LG Dallas Thomas and Jamil Douglas, and RG Billy Turner and Jamil Douglas. At RT, I’m assuming a healthy Ja’Wuan James will return as the starter at RT, now that his dislocated toe injury appears to have healed. Jason Fox is thankfully no longer on the roster, but my lord, is it about time we shore up the depth at OT or what? Why every year do we get a turnstile at RT like Marc Colombo or Jason Fox? Ya think maybe it’s time we invested in some quality depth on the O-line?
The 2016 NFL Draft leaves us with plenty of options, so let’s take a look at some of the players that might help us this season and beyond. I’m going to put them ALL on the table, because you never know if we want to trade up, although it’s unlikely.
Ole Miss LT Laremy Tunsil 6’5″ 310
Laremy Tunsil is the premier offensive tackle in this draft, and will most likely go top 5, if not #1 to the Tennessee Titans. With Branden Albert on our roster, unless they have discussed with Albert moving inside, which Albert has played before to OG, the Dolphins drafting Tunsil is even more unlikely. He is the best prospect though, actually the highest rated prospect by NFL period, but a Dolphin he will not be.
Notre Dame LT Ronnie Stanley 6’6″ 312
Ronnie Stanley is the next highest rated LT prospect. Still a slim chance that he falls all the way to #13 but he is in range to be taken somewhere in the top 10, or slightly beyond. That puts him in striking range for a reasonable trade up should we want him. Again, unlikely we trade up for an OT, but it’s possible. Stanley would also not be a candidate to move inside and is really a pure LT.
Michigan St. LT Jack Conklin 6’6″ 308
Jack Conklin is definitely a realistic possibility at #13. The Michigan St. LT is a real throwback player, spitting nails and exhibiting toughness. One of my favorite quotes of this whole draft was an NFC North scout, who said about Conklin “He’s tougher than old beef jerky”. Whether the scouts or prognosticators are right, some feel Conklin might struggle with NFL speed rushers, and may have to either move to RT, or even possibly inside. Conklin is a real scrapper, which makes me think he’d fit inside the trenches at OG just fine, and could of course give us depth at OT as well. Yes, quality depth my friends, the luxury we haven’t had for too long!
Kansas St. OT/OG Cody Whitehair 6’4″ 301
Cody Whitehair has played LT, RT and LG for Kansas St. so he certainly has some versatility. Most scouts feel he will be an OG in the NFL, so in the 2nd RD, he could be a target for us. He would be another player that gives us some depth as either an OG or OT, but could give us an upgrade at OG from what we currently have.
Texas Tech LT Le’Raven Clark 6’5″ 316
Le’Raven Clark is another 2nd RD possibility for the Dolphins. Clark has the longest arms in this draft at 36 1/8″ long. Clark has good foot speed, but likely needs to add more muscle and get stronger in the NFL (As many prospects do). He could be a guy to groom to replace Branden Albert, and be our LT for a decade, so Clark could definitely be a target of ours, if we think he could be what I said. NFC scouts said they think he’s going to be a top 5 LT in the NFL. Sounds good to me!
Texas A&M OG Germain Ifedi 6’6″ 324
Germain Ifedi looks like an NFL ready starter right now. Ifedi has power, and also has very long arms (36″). Germain played both OG and RT at Texas A&M. Oddly enough though, his NFL comparison is our own Billy Turner. He is a bit of a project though, like Turner, so although he would be thrown into the mix, the 3 year player may not be ready for us right now, but could could be a very good player in time.
Stanford OG Joshua Garnett 6’4″ 312
Garnett looks to be a pro ready NFL OG. Very thickly built lower body ideal for working in the trenches, he also has very good upper body strength. A Stanford OL, again??? I think Garnett will be fine, although I also thought Jon Martin would be fine, so if you want to stop reading the rest of this, I understand. NFL comparison is Gabe Jackson, who is doing just fine in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders, and a player both D and I wanted for our Dolphins. I could see Garnett winning a starting OG spot this season.
Arizona St. OG Christian Westerman 6’3″ 298
Westerman is a a very athletic OG, with lots of pop. Weight room warrior who never stops. Scouts say some of his actual strength doesn’t always show up on the field, but I would think learning technique from the right coaches would help that. Westerman is a true OG prospect, and should be taken somewhere between the RD 2-4. His NFL comparison is Alex Mack, and who wouldn’t want Alex mack on our O-line right now?
There are plenty more prospects out there, and I will leave that for you all to discuss and bring up on the blog!
Finsmob Unleashed 
I’ve been watching lots of CB game tape, and they all seem to suck. Guys like Candy Apple or Hargreaves can’t tackle and none of them can cover, so I don’t see why we should take one early. Offense is the name of the game, so I want Zeke or Conklin. Oh but wait, look what Den. did last yr and Seattle 3 yrs ago. Every time a defensive team wins the SB everyone says D wins Championships. That can be done, but the easiest way to winning is Offense, because of the rules.
I wanted to move this post up to the next page, it’s evidence the NFL doesn’t make schedules fairly:
Someone really needs to bitch about this Thursday road/home scheduling. The Cheats have gone 4 yrs with a home game on Thursday without an away one, while this will be our 3rd road Thurs game out of the last 4 yrs.
Steve, you have to remember they’re prospects, young guys, not finished products. Every team has to deal with the same draft pool.
That’s exactly my point Tim, they’re young and not finished prospects, so what makes the CBs that will be drafted in the first RD so much better or more of a sure thing than the ones taken later? I don’t see any of these CBs starting this yr and having much success.
I don’t even see Jalen Ramsey as all that. He’s just a prospect with a huge upside, but he’s far from a sure thing.
There are no good players in thus draft and we’re taking them all! Lol
There’s plenty of good ones, but the way college football is played they don’t cover receivers any longer. They just let them run free, even when a CB is lined up right over them they don’t make it difficult for the WR to get off the line. Most times they don’t even try to jam them.
That’s part of the reason why watching college ball is an incredible waste of time.
I don’t watch it much. I actually watch more tape this time of yr, than I do live action. It’s not a waste of time, you just have to project when you watch and throw out most stats. Actually the lack of stats is more telling from a negative perspective, than great stats on a positive one.
This was said by Bucky Brooks about Robert Nkemdiche :
The Raiders could take a chance on the ultra-talented interior rusher despite his disappointing sack production as a collegian.
Dion Jordan had the same type of sack numbers at Oregon.
With the Rams jumping up and taking Goff I think Paxton Lynch will now go in the top 10, pushing a prospect back to us, maybe even Stanley. I was hoping Philly would’ve been the one to move up to #1.
Maybe Paxton is a huge reach in the top 10, but I think the draft order has been shaken up quite a bit.
I think Steve is arguing with himself.
It works great, I win every time 😉
Steve,
There are no sure things in the draft. That’s why there are ‘busts” every year. Teams try to analyze prospects and figure out who may be able to transition successfully to the NFL. It’s an incredibly difficult process.
That’s news to me, all the experts are saying Jalen is a sure thing 😉
13: R1P13
RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT
OHIO ST.
42: R2P11
G GERMAIN IFEDI
TEXAS A&M
73: R3P10
OLB JORDAN JENKINS
GEORGIA
107: R4P9
OLB DEION JONES
LSU
147: R5P8
DE CHARLES TAPPER
OKLAHOMA
186: R6P11
S DEON BUSH
MIAMI
227: R7P6
ILB ANTONIO MORRISON
FLORIDA
231: R7P10
WR KEYARRIS GARRETT
TULSA
I think Jalen Ramsey is the best safety to come out in a long time
I watched a lot of fsu games in the last few years
And he makes a ton of plays
If there is one player with potential to be great in this draft IMO is Ramsey
I concur
Say what you want about him as a player, but Thomas is going somewhere. Could see him as the next Troy Vincent or John Offerdahl.
——————–
“Miami Dolphins safety Michael Thomas will complete a rare feat in the NFL: He will earn a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami while still an active player. Thomas will graduate on July 1 and walk with the Hurricanes’ Class of 2016 during their May 5 ceremony.”
And his undergrad degree is from Stanford
What has he done on the field that makes you think he’s going somewhere? The masters doesn’t help him on the field.
And maybe he is smart enough to know that and is preparing for life after football. When’s the last time you heard about an NFL player getting his MBA at 26?
13: R1P13 OLB MYLES JACK, UCLA
42: R2P11 S KEANU NEAL, FLORIDA
73: R3P10 CB RASHARD ROBINSON, LSU
107: R4P9 DE CHARLES TAPPER, OKLAHOMA
147: R5P8 RB CJ PROSISE, NOTRE DAME
186: R6P11 OT SPENCER DRANGO, BAYLOR
227: R7P6 CB MORGAN BURNS, KANSAS STATE
231: R7P10 ILB NICK KWIATKOSKI, WEST VIRGINIA
Sign me up for Myles Jack all day at 13. I’m a pretty big fan of Prosise as well.
Now you’re talking Brian, I like Prosise too. I didn’t know who he was during the season, but watching game tape of other players he kept popping up.
Woop woop
Jack Neal and Tapper should help make the defense a lot better
Prosise fumbles too much. We need to bring in Coughlin to teach him how not to fumble, like he taught Tiki
Five fumbles two lost, I’m not too worried about it. I’m sure whoever drafts him will help him out with the fumbles. He’s just the back up plan, I want Zeke.
Our schedule isn’t that bad. If we play well, it won’t matter. If we suck, it won’t matter either.
No, but if we had clout like someone does, it would make some games easier.
Why should we have clout? I don’t think any team should have clout.
Profound!
Wyo
Right? It’s the truth brother. It’s all about how well, or how poorly we play. The rest will take care of itself.
Ross asked if we could be away the first 2 weeks, and they obliged. Isn’t that sufficient?
Maybe wanted to make sure stadium was completely ready?
Bookman – That’s exactly why he did it, my point is, the NFL obliged him. We can’t complain about the NFL schedule makers. You can say Ross should have made damn well sure the construction was done earlier, but you can’t blame the NFL.
Maybe Ross should have asked not to play in Buffalo on Christmas eve
Gotcha Mike. I am with you any way…..I have stopped analyzing fairness of schedule…just want us to be good enough to not matter…LOL
http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/17/news/economy/china-us-debt-dump-central-banks/
Interesting article about Chinese and it’s economy. My wife thinks they are dumping goods on the US right now but offering free shipping to disguise it and help the everyday people who lost the most during their stock market crash.
The United States has taken swift action to protect its steel industry from Chinese dumping – by imposing tariffs ten times as high as those the EU levies on imports.
While the European Union took months to bring forward a levy on the import of Chinese steel of 24 per cent, the US quickly imposed a tariff of 266 per cent.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3514891/US-takes-swift-action-protect-steel-industry-Chinese-dumping-imposing-tariffs-ten-times-high-EU-levies-imports.html#ixzz460rcRAaK
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Gil Brandt thinks we have the worst schedule in the NFL. We are likely 0-2 out of the gate
Like I said, if we play well, we won’t be 0-2. If we suck, we might 0-16. lol
If this team is ANYTHING like recent years, it will start 1-1 and lose to the Browns in the home opener.
We could easily play well and be 0-2
The good news is the Jets schedule is just about as bad. I forgot who on NFL radio was saying the Jets could start 0-6
wyoming85 says:
April 16, 2016 at 12:47 pm
13: R1P13 OLB MYLES JACK, UCLA
42: R2P11 S KEANU NEAL, FLORIDA
73: R3P10 CB RASHARD ROBINSON, LSU
107: R4P9 DE CHARLES TAPPER, OKLAHOMA
147: R5P8 RB CJ PROSISE, NOTRE DAME
186: R6P11 OT SPENCER DRANGO, BAYLOR
227: R7P6 CB MORGAN BURNS, KANSAS STATE
231: R7P10 ILB NICK KWIATKOSKI, WEST VIRGINIA
Reply
Sign me up for this draft. these are most of my guys. Too bad it will never fall this way in real time.
Our pass defense would dramatically improve
Especially adding Kiko to that list
OMG, the season is already over. Tough schedule.
Let’s talk about the 2017 draft instead, yeah, that’s the ticket.
Good now we can really talk about getting a top flight RB!!!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!! We won’t take him though
He drops into coverage a lot against Wisconsin!
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/reggie-ragland-vs-wisconsin-2015/
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/reggie-ragland-vs-georgia-2015/
Wyoming LOL!!! that is because Wisconsin had like NO passing attack to worry about..LOL
Reggie!! Reggie!! Reggie!!
I’m not saying I want Reggie
I’m just saying when I went back and watched the film he dropped back into coverage more than everyone is talking about!
but your more than welcome to take a look
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/reggie-ragland/
I wonder if we end up signing Jason Jones by Monday?
I tend to think raglan would be a bad pick
Unless it’s Myles Jack I don’t think I want a lb in the first
I think Raglan is a solid lb
It’s just hard to take a lb in the first and address other areas
And I want to add lbs
Ragland, IMO, is an excellent pick as he’d be a day 1 starter & probably an anchor of your D for 10yrs. Is he flashy? No, but he keeps teams in long down distances allowing others the opportunity to make flash plays.
He’s probably a day 1 starter
It’s not an issue of flash with me
It’s that I don’t view him as elite
And I think there are good lbs in day 2
But at some of the other positions it becomes harder to get a quality player
I would not be upset at the pick
I just don’t see elite
I think he’s a top shelf MLB. I think at CB the talent of VHIII and Jackson is very good, but I think you can find good talent later on in the draft also.
Piggy
If Ragland was our best LB, which I believe he would be, does that make him a good pick? How many other players that we can take can you say that about at their respective positions?
No
Our lbs aren’t very good….lol
I would not hate the pick
I just don’t think he’s that good
I think Perryman last year was a better LB than Ragland
I loved Perryman, but he’s no where close to Ragland as a prospect. He was a an excellent prospect, but never came close as a stack and shed player as Ragland. That said I’d take either on my team👍
Looks like we may be able to get or anger jerseys again
https://twitter.com/himmelrichnfl/status/721458879167508481
While the Bengals wear Ref uniforms.
Some while color rush jerseys
The bengals black and white
The Ravens have the Maryland flag
The Giants have a stripe
75 degrees out today and no wind….fucking A it was a perfect beer pounding day!
ILB REGGIE RAGLAND
ALABAMA
42: R2P11
DE KEVIN DODD
CLEMSON
73: R3P10
OLB DEION JONES
LSU
107: R4P9
CB D.J. WHITE
GEORGIA TECH
147: R5P8
RB PAUL PERKINS
UCLA
186: R6P11
G JOE DAHL
WASHINGTON STATE
227: R7P6
C MIKE MATTHEWS
TEXAS A&M
231: R7P10
S DEON BUSH
If we did draft Ragland
I would like a draft like this
With am emphasis on defense up front early surrounding Suh with talent
Actually like that draft.
Well I doubt Dodd falls to is in the 2nd round
But sub a guy like calhoune and Bullard and it can work
If we draft Ragland I would try to work that trade down
We will be playing the bengals in the “color rush” game
So they better not confuse them with refs
It’s going to be prison garb from the 50’s vs modern prison garb!
Pig,
I’d try to work a trade down in RD 1 no matter what.
True
Unless jack or Ramsey fall to 13
Well rumor is Jack possibly dropping to the teens because of the knee. Like Ajayi, some are saying he won’t hit his 2nd contract. I doubt it, but it’s one of the pre-draft rumors right now.
No way a rumor before the draft, and people actually believing it is the strange part.
I hope Jack drops to us
That would be a dream
Really opens up many options.
Pancakes
Syrup
Pig,
This is what I ended up with:
ILB REGGIE RAGLAND
ALABAMA
42: R2P11
G GERMAIN IFEDI
TEXAS A&M
73: R3P10
G CHRISTIAN WESTERMAN
ARIZONA STATE
107: R4P9
RB ALEX COLLINS
ARKANSAS
147: R5P8
CB SEAN DAVIS
MARYLAND
186: R6P11
DE ALEX MCCALISTER
FLORIDA
227: R7P6
CB JAMES BRADBERRY
SAMFORD
231: R7P10
WR KEYARRIS GARRETT
I like Sean Davis
But I really think if we selected Ragland
The focus early in the draft should continue to be defense
Try to find a DE and a CB
Maybe a safety early
I would have taken Jeremy Cash in the 2nd after Ragland in my draft
And I bet those 2 work really well together to create a physical defense that knocks the hell out of offenses
But he was gone in my draft
Really weird seeing how the draft unfolds depending on which board you use.
Suck it up
Steve, from yesterday – I’ve said a few times that there are a few ways we could go and one specific position is not a must in any round. Just take the BPA on your board and see what you have at the of the draft and look at it as a whole.
I do think Ramsey is going to be a special player. He did a lot of things at FSU. They had him in coverage obviously but he also made plays at the LOS. I think any team that lands him will have a guy they can do a lot of things with – CB/S/Nickel LB etc. very much like a Polamalu. Though I don’t think Polamalu played corner.
I think Ramsey, just like Hargreaves, is going to be a big play type of guy in the NFL, but I think both will struggle, at least early, with man to man coverage (they’ll both get beat early and often). Which is why I’m saying I don’t want to take those types of guys in the first round. The question is will either guy ever be anything close to a lockdown type of DB. Ramsey may not have to be, because he can play safety, but from what I’ve read most teams see him as a CB, maybe a smokescreen.
Both of these guys will be projected to start opening day, and their teams will pay in coverage, they may get rewarded by a pick, but the rest of the time they’ll get worked on. I put Grimes in this same class, from his play last yr, he got beat often, but had several picks and went to the Pro Bowl. Gimme a break Grimes was bad last yr in regular coverage.
All of these schedule predictions are comical. I would love to ask these predictors have they seen the 2016 Miami Dolphins defense play yet, or what the offense looks like in Adam Gase’s offense? Because I surely have not and I follow the team. And wow!!! They made these predictions before the draft. Talk about worthless reading. LOL
We all know the team isn’t built yet, nor have they even gotten on the practice field, but they’ve been asked to predict the games, so that’s what they’ve done. If we had the Dolphins on our schedule we’d all be predicting an easy win too. It’s not meant to have any more meaning than the current power poll, it’s just reading material for craved fans this time of yr.
On defense I can only project these guys as starters at this time – Suh, Williams, Alonso, Maxwell, Jones and IAQ. Oh and 4 of them are new to the team. They will not be the same defense. The new coaching staff might start Phillips over Mitchell and the other DE may not be on the team yet. They might like a different LB lineup as well. Nobody has seen this defense play together yet and it’s not even set.
On offense has anyone seen the team play with Albert, Pouncey and James on the field together for any length of time? No, I didn’t think so. Does anyone know who will be playing guard? How about a full season with Parker in the lineup? What will the RB position look like? You don’t know, yeah none of us do.
Oh and who did we draft? Don’t know, of course not it hasn’t happened yet. Yet the crystal balls are out in full force. LOL
what kind of major impact will any drafted player have in his first year?
If its a CB, not much, if it’s Ragland or Jack, or Zeke or Conklin it could be huge. These are the types of guys I want to draft in the first.
You never know until you draft them and get them in here. Rookies make a major impact all the time. But until that happens you don’t know. If you want to keep it on the negative be my guest but that’s pure speculation based on nothing but doubt and nothing more. There is no real reasoning involved at this time. That’s my point.
I have no idea either, but I can’t say it will be one way or the other. And most of these national reporters probably can’t even name a bunch of our players off the cuff. That makes their opinions null and void.
you pointed out a lot of reasons why the team could have a poor showing this season. lots of new faces. new players ,new coaching staff. hard to have consistency when you keep changing things up. odds are against them they come out and have a strong season.
We know that, but it’s been written like it’s a given that will happen and that’s what Tim is questioning.
and what has changed on offense from a positive perspective that would say we would have an increase in scoring vs last season? We’re down two wr’s and a starting running back. I like Ajayi a lot and think he’ll do a really good job but we’ve not got someone if he goes down. We have Landry, Parker and Stills as wr’s. We need at least one more guy and I don’t think Hazel is the answer.
On defense we have some new faces but it’s not like we’ve brought in a ton of elite talent that’s going to change things there.
And then there’s a brand new coaching staff with a rookie NFL HC and nobody knows what to expect from that.
So, predicting another 6-10 season is easy IMO. If you have someone talking playoffs or even 9 wins they are just pulling shit out of their ass.
Having a good group of 3 WRs is ahead of the game. Now the 4th is a big deal? The Giants are looking to find a complement to Beckham, they’re not focused on the 4th WR. They’re hoping Cruz can be their inside guy again and they need another guy.
The last thing on my mind is the 4th WR. That should not be hard to find. WR is one position where there is a pretty deep pool if you’re simply looking for reliable.
We already know what Landry is. Parker has the ability to become dominant and Stills will be more involved being that Gase loves his skill set. He’s extremely excited about those 3 and has said so more than once and not in a coach’s speak sort of way. He’s reiterated it candidly.
Again, nobody knows what either units will look like because they won’t be the same and the schemes won’t be the same. Preseason predictions is some of the most worthless reading there is and it happens every year and it’s usually way off because good teams have bad years and lower tier teams rise to the top.
If you don’t know the makeup of a team at the start of the season how do you predict what they’ll do? It’s sophomoric projecting.
How long have y’all been following the NFL? Does anything ever change year to year?
I agree, but you’re reading too much into this, the basis of the predictions are as the teams are right now, it isn’t meant to be anything other than a fantasy-somewhat reality type prediction. It’s the same thing as all of these mock drafts, they aren’t meant to represent what’s going to happen, they’re more of a what might happen in certain situations, if this team picks this player instead of that play. In other words it’s all just fun for NFL junkies this time of yr.
I’m not reading too much into it, they’re basing their opinions solely on last year’s team. I make fun of it every year and not just for the Dolphins. A good reporter would say it’s too early for me to do that. Let’s wait until after the PS when the teams are down to the 53 and we have something to go by.
You are reading too much into, you just proved my point by saying they’re basing their opinions solely on last yrs team. That’s the exercise they are doing (but it’s not totally last yrs team it includes players added and lost).
Tim, last yr we were supposed to really challenge the Cheats for the division, and with that on our mind, when predicting our schedule, we all had the Fins beating the Bills and jets twice. How’d that turn out? My point is the shoe is on the other foot and we’re bitchin’ about it.
I never said that. I was cautiously optimistic last year and said the one thing that could hurt us was too much youth as depth and that came to the forefront.
The one thing that did catch me off guard was the DL and defense overall not performing up to expectations. But again, we had to rely on a lot of green players throughout the season.
I didn’t say you said that I said we, meaning the consensus here.
I don’t think the majority here thought that but I was just speaking for myself.
Really? Go back and look at those predictions we put on the spreadsheet and you’ll see the majority of us had us going 11-5 to 12-4, with us beating the Bills and jets twice.
Here’s another one for you Tim. In 2014 we crushed the Chargers, so of course when predicting the 2015 games we all marked up a win. For the 2016 prediction the SD ESPN beat writer has a win marked up for the Chargers against us, coming off of their convincing win last yr.
Right, and in 2012 we beat the Seahawks who ended up 11-5 in Philbin’s first season and we finished 7-9, albeit that was in Miami not in Seattle. But do you think anyone picked us to win that game?
It’s all in fun, it’s not meant to be what going to happen. A lot of it is wishful thinking, it really isn’t meant to be more than that. Here’s another example taken to the extreme, Greenie on Mike and Mike when predicting the jets for 2016 had them going 15-1, with Golic watching in disgust. It wasn’t meant to be real it was just a joke, he was making fun at the beat writers and what most of those homers think about the team they’re covering.
I’m not talking about joking around. Maybe Mike and Mike were but not some of these other yahoos. LOL
By the way I don’t like that show. 🙂
Steve, so the fact that this is what the reporters do even though it’s baseless is reading too much into it? I’m just pointing out how stupid it is. LOL
Like I said, a good reporter would say it’s too early for me to do that. Let’s wait until after the PS when the teams are down to the 53 and we have something to go by.
Look at how many hacks roll with it and they’re paid to do this. I wouldn’t last doing my job that way.
No, the fact that you say the team hasn’t been built yet, and therefore the record can’t be predicted, when all they’re trying to do is have fun with it after the schedule came out, is reading too much into it. In other words you’re saying it isn’t what’s going to happen, so why bother, but they know the teams aren’t a finished product and it isn’t going to happen this way it’s just a fantasy thing.
You wouldn’t last doing the job you said they should do (not write the article). They’ve been told to write this article, if they don’t do it they’d be fired.
Tim
how could it be pure speculation? what has the team done that points to a major improvement over last season? nothing. we lost our starting running back and you still don’t know if there’s an answer on the roster at the guard spot. Matthews was a big part of the success of the offense last season and we all know that Tannehill has a tough time working with new people. he’s very comfortable with Landry and he was very comfortable with Parker. Then there’s the fact that he’s working with a new HC, a new offensive scheme and a new OC all in the same year. So much was made about him working with two new OC’s in 3 yrs and now THIS isn’t a factor?
Ajayi did some nice things for us last season but he didn’t carry the ball that much so, unfortunately, there’s a question at rb until it’s proven otherwise. We’ve done nothing to significantly upgrade the D from last season. So many fans are saying Maxwell is a bad cb and now all of a sudden he’ll be able to fill in Grimes’ position with ease. We’ve got no answer at the other cb position. We’ve got a lot of new faces who’ve never played with the team before, an entirely new coaching staff who have never worked together before, a rookie HC, a rookie DC.
You can call it anything you want but with everything that’s going on it’s hard to see this team making any kind of big leap this year. If we see some signs of light this season maybe we can see them doing better next yr.
If anything, you can see this team taking a bit of a step back this year because of all the changes. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised. It’s okay to be optimistic about the season but if you have in your head that we could make the playoffs this season you’re speculating a hell of a lot more than people who are saying otherwise.
I meant he was very comfortable with Matthews.
Everything you just said is speculation based on not enough intel. You’re just taking a negative angle. I’m not even being optimistic, I’m saying we don’t have enough to go by. There is a difference.
If this is how you feel, why even focus on the draft because you make it seem useless anyway?
we lost our starting rb who contributed 8 rushing and 2 receiving td’s last yr and was also our second leading receiver w/47 catches. We lost Matthews who contributed 43 catches last season. we lost our starting cb in Grimes. we still don’t have an answer at the other cb position. we don’t have a sure answer at the FS position. we have not upgraded our lb position. we have a brand new coaching staff with a rookie HC and rookie DC and Tannehill is working with another new OC and HC and the offense is working with it’s 3rd offensive scheme in 5 yrs. that’s a lot of the SAME and a lot of changes.
we’ve done nothing to significantly upgrade the talent on the team and we’re starting from scratch with a new coaching staff. these are facts; not speculation.
On your side Lou you’re taking the negative angle, on the other side people are taking the positive angle. You say this team isn’t going to make the playoffs, (yeah, they probably aren’t), while the other side is saying all of the acquisitions are upgrades. Neither side is correct or wrong, it’s all speculation. With that said both sides are saying the same thing, they’re just on opposite sides.
Here’s an example, you wrote:
It’s okay to be optimistic about the season but if you have in your head that we could make the playoffs this season you’re speculating a hell of a lot more than people who are saying otherwise.
This could easily be changed to:
It’s okay to be pessimistic about the season but if you have in your head that we can’t make the playoffs this season you’re negatively speculating a hell of a lot more than people who are saying they might.
it’s not about being pessimistic. it’s about being REALISTIC. that’s a big difference. and WHO is saying the acquisitions are upgrades? haven’t heard that ANYWHERE. who is an upgrade?
I’m not even being optimistic, I’m saying we don’t know yet. Lou has a more defined opinion on the 2016 team than I do. That’s the difference. I’m in wait and see mode. I don’t see how anyone can realistically do anything other than that.
We don’t know who will be on our roster heading into camp nor have we seen our coaches coach, the systems we implement and how we execute them. There is nothing to go by other than we have some good players, need some upgrades or better performances from within. Until that happens how could you have a feel for this team?
The definition of pessimistic is tending to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen. If that isn’t what you think you’ve been writing I can’t say another word.
and you couldn’t be more wrong then what you’ve put in that last paragraph. “if you have in your head that we can’t make the playoffs this season you’re negatively speculating”. any time you make a projection, whether it be in business or otherwise, you look at the prior year for information to use to project what will happen in the current year.
so, you look at the talent the team had last season and you look at the talent the team has this season. what did they lose and what did they gain? also, when a change is made like they did with an entirely new coaching staff; especially with a rookie HC the net effect of that change has to be taken into account. when you take a look at the success of rookie head coaches in the league and take into account what they had to work with it’s easier to predict the outcome of a rookie HC’s inaugural season.
yeah, the draft isn’t over yet and, yes, we could see the roster churned quite a bit before the season starts but there’s too many variables with all the changes that have taken place that would need to work in the favor of the Phins for them to do much better than what they did last season.
Again, it’s not “negativity”. It’s being REALISTIC.
I guess now I’m a “negative” “hater”.
Also me saying we have questions at a bunch of positions doesn’t mean we have nobody to fill them, we just don’t know yet who will win those jobs. Some of them may not be here yet. Some of them are already on the roster. But with a new coaching staff they may like certain players more than others. They have no favorites yet or any allegiance to any player other than some we know will start. They will make their own evaluations through what they see in camp, practice and PS games.
I also don’t feel that a good team can’t be constructed with a lot of new. It depends on who the new are. If they perform we should play well. If we’re still looking at too many positions heading into the season then it may take some time to figure it out and that may not even happen this season. I hope that’s not the case.
I’m in full we’ll see mode. No grand expectations but no absolute doom and gloom either. Let it play out. We’ll have a much better idea once the 53 is set heading into week one and then we go from there.
In the past there’s been so much fighting going on between the GM, the Tannenbaum position, and the HC that the results on the field haven’t been favorable. The problem was everyone wasn’t working as one. The GM was just picking up talent, but the talent wasn’t necessarily the right guys for the scheme. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about, Williams last yr in Buff. compared to 2014 under a different scheme.
This yr we all know Tannenbaum has final say on player acquisitions, so no power struggle there yet. We know he’s bringing in guys that fit what Vance wants to do on D, because he’s brought in a press CB, a pressure LB and a pressure S, and gotten rid of those that haven’t fit the scheme.
On O we let Miller walk, because he didn’t fit the scheme enough for the money he wanted. My biggest problem with Miller is he sucked when the D knew we were going to run. We kept Cameron, I think he’s going to be night and day in 2016 vs 2015, because Gase has shown what he can do with good TEs. It sucks we lost Matthews, but by having him stay means we see less of Parker and I don’t think that’s a good thing. The RB that we get in the draft will be able to run better than Miller, when we need to run.
Based on this I say the team is so much better off now than a yr ago. People seem to forget all the issues that were going on between Philbin and RT, and between Hickey and Tannenbaum, and Lazor and RT, and our DC and the D, just removing those issues makes the team better. Why do you think everyone was so excited in the locker room when they reported on Monday?
Lou, based on what you just wrote about why the team isn’t better, we lost our starting rb who contributed 8 rushing and 2 receiving td’s…Would you rather we kept all of those underperforming players (some overpaid based on what they got in FA) and stayed status quo going into the 2016 season or would you rather we made all the changes we did?
That is also something that had to happen. We weren’t winning with any of them.
steveccnv says:
April 17, 2016 at 10:59 am
The definition of pessimistic is tending to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen. If that isn’t what you think you’ve been writing I can’t say another word.
Ditto! I can’t state my feelings on this team in any other way. Wait and see. That’s not the definition of optimistic either.
again, BIG difference between being pessimistic and being realistic.
You think you’re being realistic but it doesn’t mean you are. What does that even mean, realistic? “Having or showing a sensible and practical idea of what can be achieved or expected.” Okay, based on what? Last year with people who are no longer here. A new coaching staff that hasn’t coached yet. Young players who haven’t reached their potential yet. New draftees who haven’t been selected yet? It sounds more like predictions based on gut feeling than anything else. I wouldn’t put that in the realistic category because it isn’t real yet.
Tim
I think all you’re trying to do is either convince yourself things can/will be better this season then they will be or you’re trying to get people who will say “yes, It’s all lollipops and sunshine until proven otherwise”.
“A new coaching staff that hasn’t coached yet.” EXACTLY my point. we have a new coaching staff that has never worked together before with a rookie HC and a new DC who’s never designed a scheme for a defense or called a defensive play in the NFL. We have a new HC who’s never put into place his methods for practicing or game planning or otherwise and those methods have yet to be tested.
When I say I’m being realistic I AM looking at the available DATA/INTEL. We haven’t been good and we lost some talent and haven’t replaced some of it and we’ve not upgraded positions we needed to upgrade like LB, CB and G. Plus, any time you have a new coaching staff you’ve got to take into account that RARELY do you see a team turn things around it’s first season.
In addition, you’ve got to win the games in your division. So, you’ve got to be built to beat the teams in your division and there’s NOTHING right now that shows me we are built to beat the teams in our division. NOTHING
I’m not sure if it was Manish Mehta or someone else who works for the Jets, but he had made his predictions for the season after the schedule came out, and he said he hates doing this, that it’s pointless to make predictions now, but his bosses want it out there, so he did it. Probably that way across the board everywhere. It’s a silly exercise predicting each game, or even just the season record before the draft, training camp and preseason. The team isn’t fully formed yet, there could be about 10-15 players who might impact the roster after the draft and free agency.
I personally think this is going to be rebuilding year for us whether Ross likes it or not. But I also see Tim’s point of view. Bowles took a 4-12 jets team and won 10 games last year with fitzpatrick. He did it by committing to the run and playing great defense.
If we do that we can be in the mix at the end of year. IF we decide to put it on Tanny’s shoulder then we’d be lucky to win 6 games.
Jets already had one of the best rushing offenses and defenses vs the run of any team in the league and then they brought in Marshall and Revis. Hardly the same thing.
We put a lot of seasons on Marino’s shoulders for years and he couldn’t get it done either. Putting games on a QB’s shoulders means you don’t have a good overall team and you need out of this world performances from one person to win. It still amazes me how we look at football that way.
Lou, if a company changes management and most of it’s employees the year before means nothing because there is no track record other than what some of the new people have accomplished in the past somewhere else. But it’s a new conglomerate.
When fans scream for a team to blow it up and bring in new people, what is the basis for that? They want change because the past regime and personnel wasn’t working. Now they’re in wait and see mode to see if the new group can get it right. That’s where we are.
When someone tells you they’re a realist when dealing with a future event, they’re saying what I think is going to happen is correct and what you think is going to happen is speculation.
Pretty much. Just said as much.
Lou
I think you’re jumping the gun on whether you’re realistic or not. It’s too early to form a strong opinion one way or the other about what this team can do this year.
He has an opinion and that’s fine. He’s going by gut feeling and that’s fair and he may even be right. Myself and others are saying we don’t know yet. There is a clear difference in the two opinions. It’s not pessimism vs. optimism. It’s this is what I think will happen vs. not sure.
Optimism would be I think we have a good team already that is a playoff bound, our new head coach is going to be the next great coach and I expect us to have success for years to come based on what I see. Not sure I’ve seen anyone say this.
I don’t think so. 6-10 or 7-9 is a good place to start. What’s the difference between this year and last year that would say otherwise?
professorloumiamidolphinsblog says:
April 17, 2016 at 10:54 am
it’s not about being pessimistic. it’s about being REALISTIC. that’s a big difference.
lou,
i so get the being realistic outlook. but unfortunately to most being realistic is the same as being pessimistic. i watch Rays game with my son and start saying how they can’t hit, how a certain pitcher will shut them down. that is my opinion based on the fact they cant hit and they are constantly shut down. my son says i am pessimistic, i just say nope just being realistic.
it just seems if you arent predicting 16-0 then you are labeled pessimistic.
That’s not what a few of us are saying at all. You’re watching your Rays team play real time and you’re going by what you’re seeing. I haven’t seen the 2016 Miami Dolphins play yet, have you? 😉
tim
yes as a matter of fact i have seen them play. oh yeah by the way, be careful on november 20, 2016, the squirrels win that day. just wear some thick shoes and a cup.
No you haven’t.
I projected the Mets could be a 100 win team this year based off last year winning 90 with a triple A lineup for 2/3rds of the season, adding some talent and making it to the WS. Then bringing back key guys like Cespedes and adding some new major leaguers along with keeping their manager. So why can’t they win 10 more games?
They then had a bad spring and they’re off to a slow start at 4-6. So right now it doesn’t look like a great projection but in a league where you play 162 games and you’ve only played 10, I can’t get too crazy about it. Would 6-4 make me feel so much more confident? No!
Why did I use this example, I have something to go by with the Mets. The Dolphins had a bad season last year and did not play for a championship and they’re not bringing back all of their key players or their coaching staff. It much more unclear.
We haven’t seen a thing from the 2016 Dolphins other than a new video of them in the weight room. LOL
Tim
I understand he has opinion, but what he;s saying is simply not true. What were the Carolina Panthers in 2014? I’ll tell you, they were 7-8-1, and their starting QB, Cam Newton sucked worse than Tannehill ever did. In fact, it wasn’t for Derek Anderson winning 2 games that season, they wouldn’t have made the playoffs. They had an 8 game turnaround from ’14-’15. It happens, and if we can infuse some talent to this roster in the right places, and coach properly, we can improve as well, maybe not an 8 game swing, but we wouldn’t have to improve that much.
and i dont know what the big deal is between being optimistic, pessimistic, realistic or in my case voyeuristic (wait i know the big deal about voyeuristic). who cares it is all ones opinion. there are always way to many disagreements here because some start thinking their opinion is fact and start arguing it that way.
Lou
What’s the difference you ask? I’ll tell you. We haven’t even had the draft and the second wave of free agency yet, so what are you going by? How we’re currently constituted? Why bother?
we brought in Suh last season, by far the best D lineman in the game. One person doesn’t make that much of a difference. we all saw it. there is NO ONE player in this draft who is going to come in and make this team that much better this year. NOBODY. Not going to happen. Did we upgrade the G’s? No. Did we upgrade the LB’s? No. Did we lose our staring rb? Yes. So, there’s clues. There are no clues to say otherwise. None.
So, that’s being realistic.
BBL fellas, sorry, I have to run.
Lou, you’re not getting my feeling on the team and situation at all. I don’t think I could have stated it in any other way as many times as I did. What do you think wait and see means? It’s not just for me, it’s for all of us fans. How does this even fit into looking for a yes? Yes to what? That we don’t know what this team will look like until we see it? So anyone agree with that?
“I think all you’re trying to do is either convince yourself things can/will be better this season then they will be or you’re trying to get people who will say “yes, It’s all lollipops and sunshine until proven otherwise”.
Then there’s that. If you think what I’ve been saying is all lollipops and sunshine, I wonder what all lollipops and sunshine is really like? LOL
By the way I don’t like lollipops. I don’t eat that sticky crap. 🙂
Personally, I just think Tim wants so bad for Gase to be the MAN at the head coaching position. If we still had Philbin and his staff coaching the team and we made the same moves during this offseason I don’t think anyone would be making the same statements and telling me I’m being pessimistic but because Gase (the qb oracle) is the new HC everyone wants to be in wait and see mode because they don’t want anyone talkin’ shit about their boy Gase.
Face it, the team has done nothing significant during the offseason other than hire a new HC who you HOPE is the answer but who can also turn out to be Philby 2.0 or worse. You don’t know if this guy can coach his way out of a paper bag but I think there’s some who think he’s a major upgrade to what we had but they are just “speculating” where that’s concerned.
Call me a pessimist, call me negative or whatever you want but until the team proves otherwise they are no better than what we’ve seen from them in recent years. I want them to improve and make the playoffs just as bad as anyone else but when they actually show they’re that good then you’ve got something to go off.
“I just think Tim wants so bad for Gase to be the MAN at the head coaching position.”
You don’t?
‘Call me a pessimist, call me negative or whatever you want but until the team proves otherwise they are no better than what we’ve seen from them in recent years.’
yeah tim. why cant you just wait and see what the team is going to be like. you should just stop saying you are gonna wait and see what the team is going be like and you should wait and see what they are going to be like. like lou just said.
LOL
can the Phins get the same 1-2 punch with Dixon, Collins, Booker, etc they can get with Elliot? Why or why not?
lou,
i do get what you are saying though. based on what the team has done this off season and based on the history of this team there isnt a reason to think they are going to be any better then a bad team.
but with that said i still like hearing the ones who think there is a chance to be better. i dont have to buy into what they are saying or thinking and i do stick with my, until they show me different i wont expect more thoughts, but i am not going to argue or try and persuade to thinking or even trying to show them why they shouldnt be positive. .
but people are going to argue with me that I’m being negative or a pessimist. I understand being positive or being optimistic. I really do. I also understand “wait and see”. However, any changes made between now and the beginning of the season in terms of players added to the roster may net us some improvement this yr but I think we’re looking at more improvement occurring next season due to those changes.
The team needs another rb, at least 2 LB’s, could need a DE, a starting CB, a starting FS, and 2 starting guards. Between the draft and the cuts that will occur after the draft we may find some guys who can fill holes but, keep in mind, rookies rarely make a significant contribution their first season. Maybe a rookie rb can make that type of contribution but a cb or a lb most likely won’t. when the cuts are made we may get one solid player who can fill in a spot somewhere as well.
So, can there be some improvement? yes. but when you look at how we performed on offense and defense this past year there would need to be a major improvement in order to do much better than 7-9 or 8-8.
put it this way. if we were 6-10 last season but had a top rushing or passing offense last season we’d already have something to build off. If we had a top rushing or scoring defense last season we’d have something to build off. but we had nothing.
Queasy like Sunday morning.
Lou, I’m not calling you a pessimist or any kind of name or label. I’m saying you’re taking a negative stance on the status of the team at this time and that’s fine if that’s how you feel, others share that point of view. But others have taken that view point as a negative slant as well, not just me. So you must be saying something like that. It doesn’t mean your points aren’t valid and you might end up being right. I don’t know so I don’t have a view point one way or the other. Just like I have no idea what we’re going to do in the 1st rd.
The best way I can rap up my feeling on this team is, I’m hoping for the best. I have no idea what to expect with the exception of some players I think are going to have good seasons. That doesn’t mean team success though.
I’m hoping for the best too Tim. I would love to see this team hit the ground running and not look back.
I just hope we run the ball more from under center and play a lot better defense than last year. Everything else is gravy.
Only thing I’m saying is what do you see happening between the draft and post-draft cuts that can make this team that much better as to say it can be any better than last season. We added THE best d linemen in the league last yr and it made NO difference whatsoever. In fact, the defense took a step back from the previous year. So, in terms of talent, it’s hard to say the team can do anything significant enough between now and the season to really improve things. Next year? that’s a different story. we can build for next season if we do things right. but, even if we get a running back to pair with Ajayi and commit to the running game and are successful it’s hard to say we’re going to win more than another game or two.
The big questions: are we built to win games in our own division? Can we stop the Jets running game this year? Can we slow down Brady? Are we a better pass rushing team that will get pressure on Brady more this year than in the past? Can we stop the Bills this season? They swept us last year. There’s a lot of questions from last season and right now it doesn’t appear we’ve addressed any of it.
mike,
so much depends on injuries. I heard our dline man handled carolina oline during the practice sessions we had in august. But with injuries to both our lines we took different turns. Coaching and injuries matter a lot to how a season plays out.
this is pessimistic LOL.
from PFT
:”With Williams, Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh up front, there’s reason to think the Dolphins will be better up front under new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Of course, there have been reasons to think the Dolphins would be better heading into the last few seasons and the results have been uniformly disappointing once the games began so talk will only go so far in Miami this time around.”
LOL, that’s the classic what if?
Wentz will be the first pick. I hadn’t paid too much attention to either him or Goff or really any of the QB’s prior to this weekend and after seeing NFLN’s Wentz or Goff show I came away very impressed with both but would have to take Wentz over Goff. What an arm, the ball really jumps out of his hand.
Oh and Mike there was NEVER a point when Tannehill was way better than Cam, sorry it sounds good when you say it fast but it holds no water. Cam put the team on his back to end the ’14 season going undefeated in December after being injured to start the season then enduring a potentially life threatening accident on the highway.
He said Cam sucked worse than Tannehill ever did. There’s a difference. LOL
That’s practically impossible to do actually.
But he did it. 🙂
Without going too deep in your choices, keep it to say 4, which players do you have a gut feeling on that can have really big seasons?
Mine are:
Suh – I think he want’s to re-establish himself as the premier interior defender.
Landry – He gets better and better every year and not just catch amounts but playmaking.
Parker – His upside is really high and he showed us what he’s capable of if he’s ready to go.
Stills – He will be more involved and he’s playing for his big pay day contract.
I believe those 3 WRs (all 23) can all have 1,000 yard seasons in 2016 because they will be the bread and butter of the offense. That doesn’t mean don’t commit to the running game or spread it around, but it will go through them obviously from Tannehill. The running game will complement it and set it up. Then you hit Cameron when you sleep on him. Gase has talent to work with. He needs to get some things corrected.
Alonzo might be huge for us, I’m excited to see what he does on our Defense.
Me too, but he wasn’t top 4. If I went with a few more he would be one. But I really think the 4 I picked will. Gase loves this WR group. That’s his specialty – route designs and utilizing talent to run them. I believe the main reason he took this job and you’re not going to like it, is Tannehill and those 3 WRs along with having Suh on the other side of the ball to build around.
That’s just my opinion. 🙂
I’m not so much concerned about the yards as I am about the scoring. Catches and yards are nice stats but the thing that’s most important to me is the td’s. Look at the number of catches Landry had last season, 110, and he scored only 4 td’s. That’s 1 td for about every 28 or so catches. But, Parker had 3td’s with only 26 catches. Stills had 3 td’s and only 27 catches. Cameron had 3 td’s with 35 catches and Matthews had 4 td’s with 43 catches. Then you have Stoneburner, who had only 5 catches all season and 2 were for td’s.
So, I can care less about the yards each one of these guys gets. It’s about the scoring potential they have as a group and how they are used to maximize scoring opportunities. Parker and Cameron both have great leaping ability so as soon as we get inside the red zone we should be looking to put the ball out to them into the endzone and let them go up and get it. Stills is actually another nice redzone threat even though most may not think of him that way.
But, the running game and getting the max out of that is going to go a long way in getting the most out of the passing game. the team needs to stay on the field and when they can run the ball effectively and the run game is seen as a threat to the opposing defense it will make the passing game all that much more effective. that’s how you beat the Pats.
You didn’t play, you just scrutinized my picks. LOL
Landry 8 TD
Parker 10 TD
Stills 6 TD
no, I wasn’t scrutinizing anything. I was trying to point out the scoring potential of guys on the offense and the offense as a whole. I think Landry is a great “go to” guy who keeps the ball moving on offense but I don’t see him as a major scoring threat. Parker, on the other hand, is a major scoring threat. I also think Stills can be. Cameron is a guy who SHOULD be more of a scoring threat if he’s utilized properly in the red zone. So, it was more of a comment showing we have the guys who can score if we use them properly but we also need to run the ball effectively to stay on the field and maximize our scoring opportunities. We can’t be throwing the ball 37 times a game anymore. It would be nice to think we can with this group of guys but we’re going to go back to square one where we keep getting off the field because of stalled drives.
Has Son been on the board lately? Haven’t seen him in a while.
Was wondering if he was happy as I am that the Ravens game this year is away. Got PTSD from watching those ones from the stands.
Mario Williams plans to give the Dolphins “the best attitude” he’s ever had.
Williams wasn’t happy with his role on the Bills last season and voiced his displeasure by giving minimal effort. He promises that won’t be an issue in Miami. “The No. 1 thing that you can definitely look forward to [from me] is attitude,” said Williams. “I know for sure I’m going to be out there humming 100 miles per hour and it’s going to be full attitude.” Williams is excited to be part of an aggressive pass rush featuring Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh. The five sacks Williams registered last year were his fewest since 2011 when he was limited to only five games.
Let’s say Mario Williams played 40 snaps per game last year in BUF at OLB and set the edge and/or rushed the passer 30 times. He also dropped in coverage 10 times at 6-6 290. Way to go Rex, take 14 and 9.5 sack guys in 2014 and make them both 5 sacks guys in your first season there. Pure Genius! LOL
Williams may drop in coverage with us this year 10 times in a zone blitz scheme all season.
Stanger, I’m here been relegated to “troll” status but I’m around.
I like the Pitt game as my favorite so far but we do have a golden opportunity to have a division game for the fest so I’m open. I also what to see what game works for Herd.
Bro, who’s calling you a troll? WTF?
Shit, every time I come on lately
Keep in mind I was joking….I’m the one who hasn’t been around. But wasn’t joking about those Ravens games. Must be like our kryptonite or something.
Lots of factors involved but the one against Pitt is going to be a tough tix. Man do those guys travel strong. But that is just the one against that one. So many options for the game date this year. Biggest factor might be when the most planets align.
https://twitter.com/MDCheer/status/721733501549178880
Can you imagine what those girls would be saying?
“Ewww look at that creep over there. Oh gross is he touching himself?”
Stanger, the Pitt game would be expensive and hard to get so that’s a factor. But they haven’t been to town since Sterratore stole that game from us. You know, the ref from Pittsburgh who flew down on their charter flight.
The Bills or Titans game would be the easier and cheaper tickets to get.
Son, come on man. A troll? You’re down on Tannehill and don’t believe in him. That’s not a unique stance and surely not being a troll. LOL
Well I guess I’ve never made any meaningful contributions to the blog.
I just passed you the pipe. How about this?
Dang, what big bass notes she has. Pretty impressive.
13: R1P13
ILB REGGIE RAGLAND
ALABAMA
42: R2P11
G JOSHUA GARNETT
STANFORD
73: R3P10
OLB DEION JONES
LSU
107: R4P9
S JEREMY CASH
DUKE
147: R5P8
RB KENYAN DRAKE
ALABAMA
186: R6P11
DE BRONSON KAUFUSI
BRIGHAM YOUNG
227: R7P6
CB MORGAN BURNS
KANSAS ST.
231: R7P10
CB CRE’VON LEBLANC
FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Landing Cash in the 4th is the stuff of piggy dreams
I thought you said earlier Ragland wouldn’t be a good pick?
Tim, the 4 players for me:
1. Has to be Tannehill for us to be contenders. He needs to put up points in the 4th qtr and hit wide open receivers when they get free on broken coverage. Easy points that we missed more than a few times last year.
2. Suh by simply taking ownership of the D line and setting a tone that will inspire the entire group.
3. (tie) I agree with on Landry and Parker – these 2 rightfully should be the focus of our attack.
4. I do have Alonzo here. Despite the fact he may get moved outside, we have a guy who can “clean up” unlike anyone we’ve had inside since Zach.
Do you think Tannehill has a really good season or that’s what you think he needs to do?
By the way I’m not saying what you’re saying about him didn’t happen last year. I don’t think it was all on him though. He had to throw off his back foot too often. There’s a lot of footage on that even on good highlights. His pocket was a frenzy too often.
I think its on him more than any other player on the team despite what’s happening with the line and with the play calling. We need more points, more leadership and more game changing plays.
Piggy is Kafusi dropping? He was borderline 2nd and a 3rd rd prospect a month ago?
Here’s last yr’s receiving td’s:
Landry 4
Miller 2
Matthews 4
Cameron 3
Stills 3
Parker 3
Williams 1
Jennings 1
Sims 1
Stoneburner 2
Funny thing about Stoneburner is you would think his production would come after Campbell took over but it was early in the season and then he just disappeared. Landry is about a 4 to 5 td/yr guy. Parker could be a huge scoring threat in our offense and Cameron and Stills could both see an increase in scoring opps due to the use of the TE in AG’s O and the fact that he said Stills should see a bigger role in the offense. If these guys are used correctly you could see:
Landry 5
Parker 8-10
Stills 6
Cameron 5
Williams 1
Stoneburner 1-2
I don’t care who catches them but we need Tannehill to be in the 30’s for us to have the kind of scoring necessary to be a contender.
I don’t think that’s necessary. We were the 11th scoring O in ’14 with 27 passing td’s but we only had 12 rushing td’s. We can get there a number of different ways. I don’t like the idea of running the ball inside the 5 and throwing 3 times to score either.
However, RT may be able to put up over 30 if we run the ball well enough with the guys we have that can go up and get it. Once we get inside the 20, maybe there’s more shots to the end zone.
What do you mean by I don’t like the idea of running the ball inside the 5 and throwing 3 times to score either. I assume you mean mix it up, don’t just run all 3 or pass all 3. I agree, if that’s what you’re trying to say.
We need to do things differently inside the 20 from what we do the rest of the field. The yards in the redzone should be treated like gold, every yard in there is important. It’s not a time for bread and butter plays, you need to have plays designed for the redzone that week based on your opponent.
yeah, I was unclear there. what I meant to say is I don’t like the idea of running the ball to get into scoring position and then throwing 3 times into the EZ once you get there.
Ajayi or another back could be in that mix.
Keep in mind that not only did we have 3 less td’s in ’15 than in ’14 but we had only 13 FG’s made in ’15 compared to 29 (fist pump) in ’14 so that’s a total of 19 scoring opps we didn’t have in ’15 vs the prior yr. The offense needs to move the ball more consistently this season (captain obvious) to maximize scoring opps once again. Having threats on the outside like Parker and Stills could help spread things out and the running game could benefit from that. O-line needs to stay healthy or, if not, they need to have quality depth there AND they need a quality rb who can split reps with Ajayi.
Last yr was a bad yr to compare anything to, because of the firing of the coach and coordinators during the season. It was a bad yr all the way around.
Absolutely! It blew up in our faces right from the get go. Even the win against WAS week one sent off bad signals.
I’m Jess Greenberg’s lil lover boy.
Lou keeps doing the same thing, especially when asked a direct question. I don’t blame him after what’s happened to the team the last 10 or 15 yrs, but he shouldn’t think he’s right and anyone opposed is wrong. He hasn’t answered any question that ask him to predict something about the team, ok maybe he’s said the team will be 5-11 this yr, but no specific types of questions. Tim asked him to name 4 players that he thinks will break out this yr. I asked him if he’d rather the team stay status quo from last yr or make the acquisitions they did. I’ve asked other questions in the past several weeks when he’s been on, but again no response.
As he said he’s a realist, but what he really is, is someone that doesn’t want to stick his neck on the line. He wants to play the odds that what he’s saying will happen. That’s the same thing Omar and Walker do, because if they make predictions and they come up short people get all over them.
LOL
Tim did not ask ME that question directly or specifically. But, I’ll answer it anyway. I already posted above what I think guys on the O can do in terms of td output. 4 guys I think can have a big year:
1. Jordan Phillips: Love his potential and, like I said many times, he was my #2 overall DT in the draft last season. I think we got a steal getting him in the 2nd rd and I think he TAKES the spot next to Suh away from Mitchell. I think he’s going to be a key guy in the run defense this season and I expect he’ll keep deflecting passes this season.
2. Devante Parker: You saw flashes of what the kid is capable of doing like the adjustment he made on the ball on a deep throw down the left sideline w/double coverage; comes back inside to make the catch. He knows how to go get the ball. Looking for a major year from him; especially in the scoring department.
3. Jordan Cameron: If Cameron is used in Miami the way the Bengals use Eiffert in the red zone he becomes a major factor on the offense. I think he was underutilized in that capacity last season and the new OC has to give him more opps to use his size and leaping ability when the team is in scoring position.
4. Tony Lippett: When I told Hickey to make this pick (heheheeee) I put a lot of faith into what Mark Dantonio had to say about his ability to play cb and his comparison to Dennard. I expect Lippett to take it to the next level and win the starting cb position opposite Maxwell this season and be the guy we need on that side.
If I had to add a 5th it would be Jay Ajayi. I thought Ajayi was a 2nd rd pick and getting him in the 5th is a real steal IMO. I think he could have a nice year if the o-line stays healthy and we get another guy in here who can split reps with him. I’d prefer Ryan Matthews because he’s a vet but if it’s too rich for our blood and we go draft I’d prefer Kenneth Dixon.
but, where Ajayi is concerned, I believe he could get us similar production to Miller with similar touches in his first season as THE back.
Your Picks:
Round 1 Pick 13: Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida (A)
Round 2 Pick 11: Kevin Dodd, DE/OLB, Clemson (A)
Round 3 Pick 10: Deion Jones, OLB/ILB, LSU (B-)
Round 4 Pick 9: T.J. Green, FS, Clemson (A+)
Round 5 Pick 8: C.J. Prosise, RB, Notre Dame (A+)
Round 6 Pick 11: Isaac Seumalo, OG, Oregon State (A)
Round 7 Pick 6: Deiondre’ Hall, CB, Northern Iowa (A)
Round 7 Pick 10: Henry Krieger Coble, TE, Iowa (A+)
Those first 3 picks are really good picks
I wonder if maybe another safety would be there in the 4th like cash, Neal or Davis
That would be the inching on the cake of a defensive draft
Tim Knight says:
April 17, 2016 at 1:35 pm (Edit)
I thought you said earlier Ragland wouldn’t be a good pick?
****
If they add other defensive players early
Then I think Ragland works
But you can see by the draft that I missed bc of The Ragland pick
And that always seems to happen with that mock
Either cb or OL is missed early bc I spent the pick on a lb
No matter what we have to bypass a position of need early. We have too many needs and not enough picks. I don’t think we go LB early. I think that was part of the rational of the trade with Philly is it alleviates the pressure to have to draft a LB early. If I am betting man and Hargreaves is on the board when we pick that is who I think the pick will be.
“you need to have plays designed for the redzone that week based on your opponent.”
That’s a big key, we were the same against everyone, we never had a wrinkle designed to beat a specific opponent.
We haven’t ever done this to my knowledge. The Cheats do it every week, but we can’t seem to learn anything from them. We’ve done good scripting plays in the past, although not recently, and had some good 2nd half adjustments in 2014. I don’t get what the coaching staff is doing for 20 hrs a day?
They spent a lot of time working on the redzone, but the plays don’t change. Philbin needed to look in the mirror instead of saying RT wasn’t a good QB.
Pitt game would be fun for a fest but it will be hard for me to make that one. Buffalo I should be able to make and it is a divisional game so I think that would be a great choice for a fest game. Just my .02
I’d be down for that one. I think Herd has her annual Walk at the end of Oct so I’d hate for her to miss out again. I’m anxious to see which game works best for her.
There is something different about her in this older clip
What is it?
“The Bills or Titans game would be the easier and cheaper tickets to get.”
Son — Most definitely on that factor……and would different with the Browns if they weren’t the home opener (people with seasons always go to that one and that factor filters up into prices in the upper deck).
This will probably give OD a reason to bash Ross, but the world in the nosebleeds changed last season with the seats taken out and the variable pricing coming in. Guy I bought from said “just sold a group in a section like yours for three times as much per ticket.” He was talking Giant but he wasn’t fibbing. (even if maybe puff’n it a bit)
But then the guys flying in won’t care as much about that cause they have plane rides to pay for and vacations to plan. Is more of a factor for us drive there guys though.
The bills game has a pretty substantial lead in the poll
I think I voted twice by accident.
Good point Son on what works best for Herd. She has not been to a fest yet so it would be nice to have her get out for one. My problem is early October I have a number of cases coming to trial but I had a trial scheduled for 10/25 that just settled so that 10/23 date is looking pretty good for me. Even if I can’t make the fest if it is earlier I may come down for 10/23 as I am guessing my buddy Stanger will be around.
Titans game may also be feasible because that is Columbus day weekend and court is closed that day so I may have some flexibility for that game.
“I may come down for 10/23 as I am guessing my buddy Stanger will be around.”
But that is the big negative that hopefully will get us all on one date. You come down for any other game and you get to hang out with just me and OD without Warren’s food.
What you and OD are not good enough? LOL. Unfortunately the necessities of my calendar and job will dictate my availability. I will do the best I can to make the fest but my options may be limited.
Just hoping we all come to one date and the only drama left is the cage fight btwn you and Brian NY about who should be communications manager. 🙂
Just an FYI, I answered Tim’s question about “4 players” ABOVE.
I saw it, but you still haven’t answered mine.
Steve,
When I said we lost our starting rb I was stating a “fact” to support my point of view of how I think the team will do this yr. Should we have kept Miller? I wouldn’t have for the price we were going to pay to keep him but that doesn’t change the fact that we lost that production.
Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter 2m2 minutes ago
Legion of Boom reunited: Seattle reached agreement with CB Brandon Browner, per source. Browner, Sherman, Thomas, Chancellor together again.
Good, that will give us a chance to get free first downs, because Browner is a PI/Holding machine 😉 If they don’t call him for it, we will be in for a long day though.
If I’m Gase I’m going right to the referee before the game and asking him how they’re going to be calling it, and to watch out for Browner.
Seattle has been a slow starting team for the last several years, so we have that going for us at least.
We have come out like gangbusters – oh wait a minute.
Not that I think we win in Seattle but it is not the worst case scenario for us. It is week 1 so the west coast trip won’t be as stressful as if it were mid season. We will be coming in fully rested. Also Seattle is in a bit of transition. No more Beastmode, no Bruce Irvin, their OL is no longer elite so they are not the unstoppable machine they have been the last few years. There are still a damn good team until proven otherwise but I think their star is starting to fade.
True, Washington started 0-1 last year and went on to be a playoff team.
Gotta run. My drive by is over. Peace.
Maxwell plays just like Seattle’s DBs, and we are supposedly gonna play a tight coverage scheme. It’s gonna be interesting to listen to what everyone says about our DBs when they start playing like Seattle’s do. I wonder if we’ll hear a lot of complaining about calls then. Lol
There is something different about her in this older clip
What is it?
She’s a lot closer to the guitar in the older clip.
Yes
I think she was holding her breath in the other clip bc her lungs looked like they expanded