Miami Dolphins
2018 Record: (7-9) 2nd AFC East
2018 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 19.9 (26th)
Yards: 289.9 (31st)
Pass Yards: 181.2 (30th)
Rush Yards: 108.6 (18th)
Defense
Points: 27.1 (27th)
Yards: 391.1 (29th)
Pass Yards: 245.8 (21st)
Rush Yards: 145.3 (31st)
Heading into the 2018 season, there was much discussion around the
Dolphins returning to greener pastures now that Ryan Tannehill was returning
from injury. With coach Adam Gase preaching greater commitments to become more
creative, we even believed the potential hype of this team turning heads.
While the year began on a bright note, Miami managed to open the
season with 3 straight victories, making believers from early doubters. Led by
a rejuvenated Ryan Tannehill who looked poise and proficient in those contests,
the wheels began to fall of earlier than expected.
Over the course of the next 7 weeks, Miami faltered with enigmatic
play, seeing them go 2-5 over that stretch dropping their overall record to 5-5
as they entered their week 11 bye. To make matters worse for the Fins, Ryan
Tannehill suffered yet another of a long list of injuries back in week 6. With
the team’s starting quarterback again lost, it was no coincidence to see Miami
struggle.
As Tannehill managed to return to action after the team’s bye week
concluded, knowing a strong push would have to be made for this team to hold a
wildcard spot to gain entrance into the postseason. Over the course of the
final 6 weeks, Miami again found grave misfortune only managing 2 wins in that
process dropping their record to 7-9, and finding themselves again on the
outside looking in.
With so much failure over his tenure, Coach Adam Gase was promptly
relieved of his duties as the Dolphins side line boss leaving Miami to again
search for a replacement.
2019 Offseason WorkBook:
The Coaching Staff
Starting the offseason once again without the taste of the
playoffs has become a common occurrence that needs to be rectified.
Dolphins ownership had many candidates lined up for the open
position, but ultimately chose to hire former New England Patriots defensive
coordinator Brian Flores to start this rebuild once again. While Flores is no
stranger to winning while piling up years of experience and service as a coach,
the cast which he hired to come along for the ride is also vastly
knowledgeable. With a slew of hires rounding out this staff, Flores brought on
Jim Caldwell to become the assistant head coach which could be a very important
piece.
Rounding out the most important coaches to call Miami home, Flores
hired Chad O’Shea as his offensive coordinator, while appointing Patrick Graham
as the defensive coordinator.
Its never easy to predict how a former Belichick disciple will
fair in a new organization after cutting ties with New England, but Flores has
earned his chance to prove he can lead a team to the promise land. Miami should
be in good hands with this staff and perhaps Miami ownership finally got this
one right.
The Offense
Though a great deal of issues transpired over the past season, the
biggest question is already been apparent as to how to handle the future of
Ryan Tannehill. Many reports have suggested that Miami has shopped this career
Dolphin in hopes to move in another direction. While finding an NFL passer who
can generate sound production is never an easy task, we could see Ryan return
for one more season as the new coaching staff provides a full evaluation before
blowing this team up.
While Ryan is becoming something of an injury concern, the
Dolphins run game left a great deal on the field and we were quite baffled with
how they were utilized. With the ageless Frank Gore signing on last season, our
speculation had Gore to play the backup role to Kenyan Drake, which appeared to
be the complete opposite. With Drake making giants leaps the previous season,
many believed he would lead this backfield in carries. As the season
progressed, Gore was favored by Gase in almost every contest limiting the
overall output this run game could provide. Adding to that, last years rookie
Kalen Ballage also showed good flash allowing this situation to truly become an
unknown for 2019.
When the Dolphins went shopping last offseason in attempts to
improve the receiving core, we were optimistic that it would’ve been able to
produce. Trying to recreate a true number one talent which was lost when Jarvis
Landry was shipped to Cleveland, the Fins signed Amendola and Wilson hoping
their ability could lift this unit as a whole. With DeVante Parker never living
up to his draft stock, and Kenny Stills being used as the primary deep threat,
many options were employed but never exploited. While this group has some
pieces, it will be interring to see who stays and who goes.
The Defense
Lone gone are the days that this Miami defense was feared by the
opposition, as this group had a complete letdown this past season.
When the Fins traded for Robert Quinn, the thought process had
gleaming reviews to place Wake opposite of Quinn to wreak havoc on opposing
quarterbacks. While the image looked great, the output was a disaster. Quinn
rarely looked motivated to play, while Wake has seen his prime years pass him
many seasons ago. With Miami only being able to manage a meek 31 sacks all
season, it was clear this line didn’t help the situation. With rumors floating
that Quinn has been placed on the trade block, and Wake is a top choice to not return,
Miami will need to place a lot of attention on this group this offseason.
At least when reviewing the Dolphins line backing core, the
outlook appears to be a little more favorable with Kiko Alonso and Raekwon
McMillan taking charge. Both men led this club in tackles with 125 and 105
respectively, showing that other options weren’t about to help in stopping ball
carriers. While adding talent to this group should be the least of managements
worries, perhaps making this unit stronger could cover up inadequacies the
defensive line will have.
When discussing the defensive back core, we actually have some
affinity for this group which is led by all star Xavien Howard. Unfortunately
for Howard, his play rarely sees the accolades it truly deserves, as he has
become one of the better shutdown corners in the game. Leading the team and
sitting atop the league rankings with 7 interceptions on the season, Howard in
our eyes has arrived. Having adequate depth at the safety position allowed
Howard to jump more routes then what is typically advised but believing Minkah
Fitzpatrick would be there to cover his tracks, he rarely disappointed.
All-in-all, this defensive group requires a true identity shift
which should be applied when Flores places his stamp on the unit from day one.
We fully expect this defense to see the most improvement under the new regime.
Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
Nothing grinds our gears more than a team that has been grossly
mismanaged to the point it could take a couple seasons to get them back on
track. Unfortunately for Dolphins fans, we must raise the white flag a hit all
alarm bells.
With Miami consistently sitting in the middle of the pack and
overpaying players that pretend to have talent, they currently sit with a weak
24 million (+$24,025,305) on the books to help improve this club. With Miami
also having 21 team free agents to contend with, we find it hard to see many
returning to South Beach.
With Cameron Wake sitting at the ripe age of 37, he surly has
played his last down in a Dolphin uniform. With replaceable and interchangeable
depth pieces littering the rest of this listing, we should see Miami move on
with ease.
Having to review all contract in hopes to generate more funds,
recent transaction which became official, the Fins released Danny Amendola form
the club saving additional funds on the books. As we continue to look over this
cap crisis, we have found ample opportunity for Miami to create a boat load of
room in order to retool this team.
Robert Quinn while being on the trade block may not fetch any
compensation in return, leaving Miami forced to potentially cut bait. Releasing
Quinn would create a whopping 12.9 million in cap space while enduring no dead
money. DeVante Parker is another player who should no longer be on this club
with his ridiculous 9.3 million in salary eating up valuable space. If Parker
is cut, he too would leave no dead money attached.
While a few more players could add to available cap space, the
gains would be viewed as minimal and could pose as low value cuts. Tough
choices will have to be made in order to rebuild properly.
The NFL Draft
Heading into the 2019 NFL draft, Miami finds themselves in a
situation where they hold all their original draft capital and nothing more.
Holding 7 picks to their name while selecting with the 13th overall
pick in the first round, we would highly recommend the Dolphins to exercise the
option of trading down.
Getting younger while correcting the cap situation past regimes
have placed this club in, it will be paramount to how quick this rebuild will
take. Gaining extra draft compensation will go a very long way.
Early rumors have suggested that Miami is
extremely interested in the quarterback class of 2020 and would completely
dismantle this roster to secure the chances in holding the first overall pick
in that draft. So, to further our point, trading down would make even more
sense for Miami in this draft to help secure as much ammunition for the
following offseason. Dolphins fans will have to remain patient as this will be
another process to endure.
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