Head Coach: Joe Philbin (15-17 all-time in Miami)
Last Year's Results: 8-8, no playoffs
Projected Starters:
(My Player Rankings Guide:
E - Elite Starter: Franchise changing player at his position
HQ - High Quality Starter: One of the best in the game at his position
GS - Good Starter: If this guy's on your team, he's likely starting and you should be perfectly fine with it
AS - Average Starter: This guy is OK, but if possible, I'd be looking for an upgrade
BAS - Below Average Starer: This guy should not be starting, but he will because he's the best option
??? - Not enough information regarding this guy and the jury is still out on him
R - Rookie: Pretty self-explanatory
PS - Poor Starter: This guy shouldn't be starting for your football team. NO EXCUSES!)
OFFENSE:
QB: Ryan Tannehill (GS)
RB: Lamar Miller (AS)
RB: Knowshon Moreno (GS)
WR: Mike Wallace (GS)
WR: Brian Hartline (GS)
TE: Charles Clay (GS)
C: Mike Pouncey (GS)
RG: Dallas Thomas (???)
LG: Shelley Smith (AS)
RT: Ja'Wuan James (R)
LT: Branden Albert (HQ)
DEFENSE:
DE: Cameron Wake (E)
DE: Olivier Vernon (BAS)
DT: Randy Starks (HQ)
DT: Jared Odrick (GS)
WLB: Philip Wheeler (BAS)
MLB: Koa Misi (BAS)
SLB: Dannell Ellerbe (BAS)
CB: Brent Grimes (HQ)
CB: Cortland Finnegan (BAS)
SS: Reshad Jones (GS)
FS: Louis Delmas (AS)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: Caleb Sturgis
P: Brandon Fields
Schedule:
vs. New England
vs. @ Buffalo
vs. Kansas City
vs. @ Oakland
BYE WEEK
vs. Green Bay
vs. @ Chicago
vs. @ Jacksonville
vs. San Diego
vs. @ Detroit
vs. Buffalo
vs. @ Denver
vs. @ New York Jets
vs. Baltimore
vs. @ New England
vs. Minnesota
vs. New York Jets
Predicted Results: 8-8 (3-3 in division)
Team Analysis: The Miami Dolphins have won the AFC East just once in the last 13 years (2008). If that sounds rough to you, imagine being a Dolphins fan and year-after-year having to put up with the Patriots continuing to be the "crown jewel" of the division while everyone else fights for second place. It gets old real quick and Dolphins fans have had enough. After last year's 8-8 campaign followed by a decent off-season that saw them add some much needed pieces, there is a little bit of buzz surrounding this team. Unfortunately for them, none of the buzz is surrounding head coach Joe Philbin, who probably has to make the playoffs this year to save his job. Philbin is going into his third-year on the job and that's when people expect to start seeing results due to the personnel the coach has brought in. The only problem is, I'm not sure the players are buying what Philbin is selling. The Dolphins have had one of the worst locker rooms in football these last few years and that's a reflection of the discipline and respect you have for your head coach. I don't think Philbin is a very good coach and if I had to place any money down on an NFL head coach being canned by January, Philbin would probably be my choice.
Now, with that out of the way, the talent on this football team isn't actually that bad. Miami seems to have finally found their quarterback of the future with Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill looked decent in his rookie season in Miami, and he looked even better last season. He doubled his touchdown numbers, raised his completion percentage, and almost threw for 4,000 yards. If he continues to improve, it will only be a matter of time before he's the best quarterback in the division (Tom Brady can't play forever people). As far as his supporting cast goes, he's got some legitimate pieces to work with. The Dolphins will have a nice little two-headed monster in the backfield with Knowshon Moreno and Lamar Miller ready to share carries. Highly-paid free agent WR Mike Wallace should have a better season with this offense following a quiet off-season and Charles Clay is a nice player at TE who could end up with big time stats by the end of the year. There are still some questions on the offensive line (right guard and right tackle are big-time question marks), but the addition of Branden Albert was nice and this unit will be much improved, which could do wonders for Tannehill's stats this year. Miami will be fun to watch on offense, you can bank on it.
Defense though is another story. While there are some nice pieces on the defense in the shape of Cameron Wake, Randy Starks, and Brent Grimes, there are tons of questions regarding the rest of the roster. The defensive line is easily the strongest unit on the defense though. With Wake, Starks, and Jared Odrick ready to terrorize QB's and RB's at any given moment, opposing team's had better have their offensive lines ready to roll when they go up against these guys. The rest of the defense could use some work though. The Dolphins are lacking both talent and depth at the linebacker position (last year's #1 pick Dion Jordan has been a huge bust so far) and that could be the team's downfall. They also don't have a lot of talent in the secondary outside of Grimes and Reshad Jones and like the Seahawks showed us last season, a good secondary is kind of important if you plan on winning football games in the NFL. So, like I said earlier, there is some pieces to like on this defense, but as an overall unit, they are not going to win you football games and could very well be the reason the Dolphins find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture once again.
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