I feel the need to reiterate a feeling I have made clear previously. So much is going around now with the FLA media about the Dolphins plans to tank the 2019 season. I think this is getting completely overblown. I don’t think for a second that new HC Brian Flores is coming here with a mandate from the owner to try and lose as many games as he can in order to procure a top pick in a QB rich 2020 draft. That AIN’T happening! I really wish that whole idea would just go away. Here’s what I do believe is the mandate, and take it for what it is, just one guy’s opinion.
What I do believe the plan is for 2019, is to not spend big money on free agent players, especially at the QB position. I think we will add our talent in the draft, and not necessarily a 1st RD pick, unless the QB we really want is available at our pick #13. I don’t think we’re going to trade up, I think we’re trying to get this roster as good as it can be, and therefore won’t be trading away any of our draft picks. In fact, my thought is we will be trading a few veteran players that can bring back some value and help us round out a nice haul in this year’s and next year’s draft. Ryan Tannehill, Reshad Jones, Devante Parker, Danny Amendola and Robert Quinn will be offered for trades to give us some additional draft capital. Most importantly, I think we’ll stay away from any free agent QB’s.
If we do as I say, and don’t sign a stopgap QB, that would mean a QB stable of our newly drafted 2019 QB, Luke Falk and Jake Rudock. All this doesn’t mean we’re trying to lose, but realistically, if we follow that path, it’s going to be much harder to win. I felt last season once the entire draft process was over that Baker Mayfield was the best QB in that draft. Mayfield went to a pretty talented CLE roster and only managed 6 wins. Sam Darnold got the Jets 4 wins, Josh Allen 5 wins, and finally Josh Rosen 3 wins. That’s the cream of the crop of what was considered a strong QB class, and the best outcome was 6 wins. What I’m trying to say is, it’s not trying to lose, it’s not easy to win under those circumstances. That’s not tanking, it’s truly rebuilding, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
Sadly, we will say goodbye to our longtime Special Teams coach Darren Rizzi. Unfortunately, once Rizzi interviewed for the HC position here, it made the likelihood of him returning as ST’s coach very slim. A newly hired HC wouldn’t want to compete with a coach who knows the players very well, and one that is already very well liked and respected the players. That’s too much to ask, and after any failure for the team, Rizzi’s name would surface as a replacement, and that just can’t work. The same scenario played out in CLE with Freddie Kitchens and Gregg Williams. Once Kitchens got the HC gig, Williams was out. He was out not because they could find a better DC than Williams, but because of the same conflict.
So 2019 will be a year of responsible team management, and hopefully we won’t fall back into the pitfalls of trying to get that one player that will put us over the top, because no one player can do that. Just get young talent at every position, solidify the roster, and with the purging of the expensive contracts, at some point we will hopefully be competitive and ready to make a playoff run, and at that point we should be flush with cap money to make a couple of important free agent acquisitions that put us over the top. This may happen 2 or 3 years down the line, so this will require patience from the owner Steve Ross, the coaching staff, and of course, the fans. I don’t count on 1 and 3 doing their part by any means, but hopefully, both can pull through as we ascend after finally doing things right here in Miami.
Finsmob Unleashed 
son of a son of a shula says:
February 1, 2019 at 9:27 pm
Lucky fucker I wish I sucked as good at Quarterback as he does
Don’t sell yourself short You do. You absolutely do!!
Will be cheering for Suh again.
MY MAN CHAMPION BAILEY!!!
YAY, GIL BRANDT!!!
Don’t ever question the oink! LOL
Props to Chris Long and others who donate both time and/or money to help others if Africa for drilling/building wells for clean drinking water to those communities.
HOWEVER… it’s the next thing to a scam. What do I mean???
“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. Why aren’t we teaching our African brothers/sisters how to drill/build wells for themselves? Seems like we want to keep them over a barrel to be most reliant upon outside help… NOT COOL! 😡
I find it to be most disingenuous to keep people reliant upon others… that’s a page taken straight out of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”. JMO, y’all. And no, it’s NOT cool!
Audi. Great football night!
GO RAMS TOMORROW NIGHT!!!
HELL YEAH!!!
naplesfan2010 says:
February 2, 2019 at 9:27 pm
I’m really sad to have lost Gase, because I had built him up in my mind as the savior of our franchise, but i never really forgave him for running Ajayi off.
Reply
New Age says:
February 2, 2019 at 10:42 pm
Yeah, never understood that.
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That’s funny because some around here followed Gases lead and were glad to be rid of Ajayi.
i was like OK, obviously you have another guy that could take Ajayi’s place after making a move like that…soon after i realized he didn’t!
from that point on we went 8-16
when Gase fired Ajayi he also fired himself.
14-9 with Ajayi……8-16 without
You guys are still seeing Ajayi through a halcyon lense. Ajayi was talented, but all about himself. Didn’t run plays as called, sulked on and off the field. Where Gase really fucked up was play calling and not using players well.
GOOD COACHES learn how to get the most out of difficult to deal with (but very talented) players. DON SHULA turned “Me, Me, Me” Mercury Morris into a major force during the Fins 32-2 run to glory. He also got “Spaceman” Jake Scott to be the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl VII. Jay Ajayi proved his worth last season, winning a Super Bowl ring. He may again become a dominant player in 2019 if he can come back from a torn ACL. I’d sure put more money on Ajayi’s future success than I would on Gase’s future success. Gase is an obnoxious, petulant, asshole who deserves all the shit Jets fans are going to throw at him!! And he oversaw the dismemberment of my favorite franchise with his continuous policy of getting next to nothing for all the star players he ran out of Miami. Of all of Ross’s idiot hires, Adam Gase is a serious contender for Ross’s worst mistake ever!
7-9 without Suh
Tim,
I don’t believe we’ll be bad enough for a top five pick either because, for one, coaching can make all the difference in the world. offensive play design and calling can make a huge difference and so can the design of the defense and the plays called on the defense.
You put your players in position to make plays and they do and it’s a different situation. Of course, it could go in the opposite direction as well but let’s say we do get a bonafide blue chip defensive lineman in the first rd and he’s really good at helping out vs the run and then we get a pretty good offensive lineman in the 2nd and he’s just as good or better than what we’ve had there it’s possible there’s no drop off in play at two positions right off the bat.
You’ve got some young guys coming back who could be better from their experience last year like Baker and McMillan and then if the coaching is better than it was they could improve and so could the play of guys like Branch if they choose to keep him. Harris could take a leap.
So, I’m not buying that we’re a 2 or 3 win team next season.
PHELON: Response for you below your 8:20 post. ENJOY!
OD – Can’t argue about Gase’s inability to reach some players. It was obvious. And he certainly was arrogant without having done anything to warrant it. But I don’t think Ajayi is or ever will be elite. I think Drake properly used has far more upside and Ajayi’s ego would never stand for it.
Was thinking last night about Wyomings post (5 players to benefit from coaching change). I believe the impact will be on much more players. Our WR group with Chad O’Shea will definitely (finally) learn how to get away with an illegal pick (LOL).
My guy to really benefit from this coaching change is going to be ILB Chase Allen (hoping it’s Harris). Look at what FLores has done with Kyle Van Noy. He was a bust in Detroit and is now a stud LB with the Pats. Chase Allen is the same size at 6’3″ 250 and runs a sub 4.6 40. Allen, McMillan, Baker all have a NFL year or more under their belt and now getting the right coaching. Along with Kiko, I’m excited about our LB group especially with pulling Harris back in that group at times with another stud we draft. There are several OLB/DE tweeners we could draft in the Josh Allen mold. Here’s a refresher on Chase Allen #5.
Agree
HERE ARE A COUPLE of goodies from today’s TAMPA BAY TIMES spots section. Reporter Thomas Bassinger notes that the Rams defense (led by Donald and Suh) has generated serious pressure on the passer on 36% of pass plays, the NFL’s highest rate. It’s no coincidence that the Rams became serious contenders upon the 2017 arrival of DC Wade Phillips. As DC of the Denver Broncos, his defense hit Tom Brady 17 times and held the Patriots to 18 points in the 2016 playoffs. That formula is the number one reason why I am predicting a Rams victory in today’s game (31-27).
The second tidbit, courtesy of columnist Martin Fennelly, has to do with Rams assistant linebackers coach Chris Shula, the grandson of the Great Don of Miami. Seems as though young Shula was Rams HC Sean McVay’s room mate when they were both at Miami of Ohio. He now lives with McVay and his live-in girlfriend, super model Veronika Khomyn, in McVay’s 6-bedroom mansion in southern California. Shula probably wonders WHY McVay & Khomyn send him out to pick up dinner at pricy local restaurants about 4-5 times a week!!!
RAMS-31, CHEATS-27
I also agree with Tim and BLL that the team will be better than sub-5 win team. They have some good young players.
PHELON: I HEARD no complaints about Ajayi’s attitude in Philadelphia last season. The REAL PROBLEM was GASE’S ATTITUDE, plain and simple. Ajayi didn’t mind sharing the load in Philly, and THAT’s A FACT!!
I CAN”T WAIT to see the reaction of Jet fans to another losing season in 2019!!!
LOL!!! @BLL
OD – One more thing. You can’t legitimately fault Ross for hiring Gase. Gase was the hottest name out there that year and Ross swung for the fences. Credit Ross with admitting the mistake quickly and rectifying it.
PHELON: OF COUSE I CAN FAULT ROSS for hiring this over blown bad-attitude idiot of a coach!! We’re NOT in IRAN or CHINA, PHELON! Ross fucked-up that selection just as he has fucked up virtually every major hiring decision he has made during his reign as Dolphins majority owner!!!!
SHEESH!!!
Have I ever mentioned how much I couldn’t stand Gase’s offense
Any change is a welcome change
Some people will watch ANY NFL football game that’s on television and this game proves it.
Pats D plays very disciplined. That’s the way they strictly coach it. I don’t think Suh fits that mold.
MF13
Why would a people that have been nomadic for thousands of years care about a well?
If you want to “give” them something, get out of their way!
Well there goes his shoe collection!
Sonny – I love you like a brother, but we were 6-10 in ’17 with Suh here. We were 6-10 w/o Tannehill. 😛
Well at least we didn’t do this!
Screw “Crap-on-a-stick”
Here’s a role model!
Wonder if he was the face of the movement if it would have taken a different turn????????
I’m not knocking Kaepersniffers cause, I would have given it to St. Judes but that’s just me.
I don’t think he’s giving it to Kaepernick’s legal battle vs the NFL. He’s giving it to his civil rights cause that Kaepernick has taken up.
Going to watch Waste Management Phoenix Open before the SB to see if Ricky Fowler can hang on for the win. It’s a fun tournament to watch especially the last 3 holes.
Too bad there isn’t a Waste management Bowl, otherwise known as the Toilet Bowl
yeah, this year’s Super Bowl would be it.
Lol!!!
Lou – I agree, I couldn’t give a crap about this Super Bowl, which in itself I guess is waste management.
I just get tired of seeing the Pats in it all the time and as far as the Rams go I could care less about them. I really am not a fan of Suh so there’s that. So, I really don’t want either team to win it, to be honest.
Maybe if it were a different team from the NFC but even with the Pats in it again it just bores the shit out of me. It’s not enough for me to sit there and root for another team to beat NE to get me interested.
I’m going to have to go to the Family Dollar and try to find a date. lol
BBM – Good call on Chase, and I hope to hell you’re right. That would be something big for our team
Hey Lou, sorry for the way I came off yesterday. I’m always gonna share my opinions or I won’t have anything worth posting, but I wasn’t intending to single you out or anything….
Also I agree that it’s fun looking forward to next season knowing that it’s a process and the expectations (usually unrealistic) that sometimes drive decision making for “now” instead of the future, are going to be kept in check (hopefully).
Thank you for that. Maybe one day we can have one of your beers together. I’m looking forward to trying one.
Yeah buddy!
Fuck Kenny Stills. Trade him for a small coke and a bag of chips.
The song “just the way you are” by Bruno Mars was on the radio all the time several years ago when I was still driving my youngest daughter around. I haven’t heard it in quite a while but it was playing at the grocery store today and I started singing it in my head the way me and her used to. We changed it to all first person and she knew all the words perfectly it was so funny.
…because I’m amazing just the way I am…
…when I see my face…
lol
LOL – That’s funny
OD – I don’t know what IRAN and CHINA have to do with the conversation and it goes without saying that YOU are going to find fault with Ross, BUT I said You can’t LEGITIMATELY fault Ross. Your complaints are IRRATIONAL Aand ILLOGICAL.
SHEESH! Or as I like to say…. SWEET BABY JESUS!!!
Funny as hell on the mimic, but you knew the best way to bait the OD was talk Ross. Don’t act all shocked when the lion goes after the raw meet you throw in his cage and complain about his table manners after. 🙂
I’ve told you what I am.
And it’s more like throwing dough balls to catfish
You know I love OD, but dare you to bring up Ross to him if sitting next to him at a game. You do it once and will never do again unless you know he’s leaving in a few minutes. 🙂
Lou -‘You know I call you BLL with the greatest affection, right? Unless you’re being a douche. Then it’s an insult.
I’m always a douche. It’s what I do best.
Well I think you should change your screen name to BarcaLounger Lou. It’s both catchier and douche-ire.
You mayhave something
What time is the shit show tonight
Lol Phelon
Stills being better by a small coke….LOL
Sunday brunch. Bitch Slap Bloody Mary and Sangrias.
Congrats to Omar on getting married. Much as bash him, don’t hate him. He was one bitter mess of a pup during his divorce. But who isn’t?
My ex and I sat at the dining room table and did our divorce settlement together. I actually babysit her little boy who she had with her boyfriend.
She comes to my house and cuts my grass, edges the yard and does my flower beds for me in the Spring.
Glad it worked out well with you guys. There are exceptions, especially when kids involved (no choice at that point and best for them). In my case not so much. Could tell you stories, but then have friends who have been through much worse. Talking false charges, handcuffs, using kids as a pawn and such.
I got one divorce for free and got paid for the second.
Paid half the house gain and 45% of my income for three years in my divorce….. best money I ever spent.
Cheaper to keep her….
You ER never met my first wife. 🙂
LOL @ Phish “And it’s more like throwing dough balls to catfish”
Got you guys beat
I never got married so saved money on the ring
New blog up
pheloniusphish says:
February 3, 2019 at 8:20 am
You guys are still seeing Ajayi through a halcyon lense. Ajayi was talented, but all about himself. Didn’t run plays as called, sulked on and off the field. Where Gase really fucked up was play calling and not using players well.
But I don’t think Ajayi is or ever will be elite. I think Drake properly used has far more upside and Ajayi’s ego would never stand for it.
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the reason Ajayi was mad was due to the losses because Gase went away from the run game, Ajayi carried that team on his back in 2016 going 10-6 to make the playoffs.
comparing Ajayi to drake is like comparing Stills to gesicki, two different style players, Drake could not carry a team like Ajayi carried the 2016 dolphins.
Quadree Olison I think is a guy to think about if we want to add a “fullback”