A little poll to see what fan expectations are. I am going to say yes. I think we win the division this year. (The caveat is, we are largely a free agent team, with the another big chunk of the team being rookies and second year players. Not an ideal mix, historically.)
I think 7 wins is our floor...10 wins is probably the ceiling. I don't have us winning the division but I see a 9-7 record...don't know if that will be good enough to make the playoffs though.
I'm calling #6 seed. Broncos, Houston, Patriots (hate to say it, but it's true) are locks IMO. leaves the Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Colts, Dolphins for last 3 spots. I seriously doubt the Bengals make the playoffs again unless Dalton turns his game around. that leaves Ravens and Steelers for the division title. I'm predicting the Ravens don't make the playoffs - post Superbowl slump resulting from free agent exodus. Leaves Colts and Dolphins for the last 2 spots.
I'm a pessimist. We are making the right moves and are on the right track but the questions at RB & OL scare me this season.. We also are relying on rookies quite a bit on defense and who knows how they will produce. But if Lamar Miller can handle the load, the OL protects Tanny, Dion Jordan provides a pass rush, and our CBs can be at least average - who knows what will happen.
I would say no at this point though I think this present team with a couple of years under their belt together could compete for a Super Bowl. However, there are so many unknowns. It is so hard to say at this point. At the end of the pre-season if the starters are looking pretty good and flashing some ability - then I think the team could be very good and my prediction could change. As it is, I think we might just miss. I'd say we're borderline. I'd rank the Dolphins between #6 & #8 in the AFC.
50-50 IMO. A lot of turnover, and still lack of experience at HC and QB. I'm more interested in seeing how they play than wins and losses. Sent from my HTC One GE using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Too early to tell. I agree with Stringer, seeing them play and having the level of play improve would impress me. Those first 5 games are pretty rough, so I'll say if Miami is 3-2 heading into the bye, I'll be pleased. Playoffs...if 9-7 gets a team in this year, then yeah, maybe.
This team played well enough to be and should have been, 9-7 last year, save for a pair of missed field goals that were not only makeable but should have been made (costing Carpenter his job this year along with his salary). So you're gonna tell me that with all the new additions and the experience gained by Tannehill and the coaching staff that were not capable of not only winning those 2 games this time but adding at least 1 more win to the column? I'll be honest I'm thinking we should be able to get to 11 wins this year. Perhaps rose colored glasses but they've got to be good for at least 10-6. It will depend how they get thru those 1st 5 games while learning to play together as a team. We come out 2-3 or 3-2 we will be in the hunt big time.
Can we .... absolutely .... we can win 8 - 11 games this year depending on the 'pre-bye record'. Personally, i believe we will start fast this year .... so I will go with 10-6 and wild card spot. The PATS can have a typical year .... or they could bend under the scrutiny they'll have much of this year .... won't know until after the first few games ...
Ok...I'll admit it...I voted no, but there is a caveat... There is more hope/aqua tints than at any time since 1996. I just think we have too many "guys to take the next step" and "guys coming off injury that we aren't sure if they'll return to their previous selves".... Next Step Guys: JJ*, Martin*, Tanny*, Miller*, Lane*, Egnew/Sims, Olivier, Clemons*, Odrick* Guys off Injury: Keller*, Louis, Gibson, Grimes*, Marshall*, McCray, Daniel Thomas, Dallas Thomas. Sprinkle in a few guys that are either rookies we expect to/hope to make an impact (Jordan, Sturgis*, Sims, Jones, Thomas) or veterans added that could have an impact (Clabo*, V. Martin, Wheeler*, Ellerbe*, Gibson, Wallace*). Just using these names, there are 15(*) starting positions there ?? That's a lot to hope for that all of those guys come together this year. However, the key, I think is Tanny. If he makes the step forward we anticipate, a lot of these other guys will fall into place... For example, if Tanny is doing well, then JJ, Martin, Clabo likely are doing well too. It'll also likely mean that Gibson and Wallace, are doing well. We just have to wait to see how some of these guys that have been moved around/replaced look once the pads come on...It's still exciting, just to think about....
Not to take away from what the current team is capable of, but the answer can really start to lean towards "Yes" if the AFC turns out to be a competitively weak conference again like last year.
This is a quick estimation of AFC power ratings based on Bovada over/unders and the vig. Just an FYI. It's how the Bovada betting public sees the AFC shaping up. Denver Broncos: 11.50 New England Patriots: 10.75 Houston Texans: 10.30 Pittsburgh Steelers: 9.15 Cincinnati Bengals: 8.75 Baltimore Ravens: 8.70 Indianapolis Colts: 8.60 Miami Dolphins: 7.90 Kansas City Chiefs: 7.40 San Diego Chargers: 7.35 Tennessee Titans: 6.40 Buffalo Bills: 6.25 Cleveland Browns: 6.20 New York Jets: 6.00 Oakland Raiders: 5.25 Jacksonville Jaguars: 5.00 Essentially they've got the Colts, Ravens and Bengals duking it out for the final two wildcard spots with Miami behind them. Here is the NFC, for reference... San Francisco 49ers: 11.05 Seattle Seahawks: 10.70 Green Bay Packers: 10.50 Atlanta Falcons: 9.85 New Orleans Saints: 9.30 New York Giants: 9.00 Chicago Bears: 8.65 Dallas Cowboys: 8.40 Washington Redskins: 8.30 Detroit Lions: 7.90 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7.75 St. Louis Rams: 7.60 Philadelphia Eagles: 7.40 Minnesota Vikings: 7.40 Carolina Panthers: 7.35 Arizona Cardinals: 5.40
I believe we get to 9-7 this year. We have a lot of new parts and those things take time to gel together. If 9-7 gets you into the playoff, we will be in. I think we fall just short though.
That doesn't look too bad. I'd give some thought to: Denver at 12+ Baltimore at 9+ Indianapolis at 9+ Tennessee at 7+ Kansas City at 7- San Diego at 7- Oakland at 6+ New York Jets at 6- Seattle at 11+ New Orleans at a 10+ Philadelphia at 8+ Carolina at 8+ Dallas at a 8- Detroit at 7- Tampa at 7- Minnesota at 7- But that's 9 overs and only 7 unders...so I'd probably look to balance that out somehow.
I think we squeak into the playoffs and eliminated after the Wild Card Playoff game. Whether or not we go in as the division winner, I'm not sure, but at least we get invited to the dance.
Dalton will be helped by Eifert somewhat. Ravens have an uphill battle in some ways, even with their player losses their QB, systems and coaching are proven winners. I agree that Colts-Dolphins could be vying for the same Wildcard spot... which makes the Colts-Dolphins game even more important.
I don't like reading that we are as good as the Lions, by anyone's estimation. NOw that's an old prejudice, from when the name Lions was synonymous with 'consecutive #1 overall pick". The Lions are better now. Still, not a compliment, imo. Interestingly, both the Lions and Dolphins have Qbs who determine their teams' fates... Stafford and Tanny with QBR in the 70's = no playoffs. If they improve into the 80's (Tanny because of more experience and better receivers, Stafford because he gets healthy for a stretch and gets better protection) then both are playoff teams. Other interesting parallel.. both teams strength on D is their D-line.
If we used this to predict our wins and losses this season, here is how each game looks: Miami 7.90 v Browns 6.20 (WIN) Miami 7.90 v Colts 8.60 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Falcons 9.85 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Saints 9.30 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Ravens 8.70 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Bills 6.25 (WIN) Miami 7.90 v Patriots 10.75 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Bengals 8.75 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Buccaneers 7.75 (WIN) Miami 7.90 v Chargers 7.35 (WIN) Miami 7.90 v Panthers 7.35 (WIN) Miami 7.90 v Jets 6.00 (WIN) Miami 7.90 v Steelers 9.15 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Patriots 10.75 (LOSS) Miami 7.90 v Bills 6.25 (WIN) Miami 7.90 v Jets 6.00 (WIN) RECORD: 8-8 No Playoffs.
While I fully understand the guarded optimism, I just don't see how this team DOESN'T make the playoffs! Come on man...everything we're hearing about Tanny is on pace with what we all hoped...our secondary BLED last year, at least it has band-aids this year...our receiver corps DRASTICALLY upgraded in my opinion (last I checked, this will allow us to completely spread the field instead of playing into a little box like we have since Marino)...and a better/cheaper kicker (which would have given us 2 wins last year, which puts us 9-7 with a TRAINLOAD of problems that were fixed this off-season. I can't see it as reasonable to expect 8-8, 7-9 by any stretch. My only caveat is our first 5 game schedule...I still say we go 3-2, but if we go 1-4, I'll STFU and color...
I know the division is rough, but I think with Carson Palmer they have a shot at .500...truth be told they are my sleeper for the WC spot. Maybe ts because I don't like Pitt, but I see a downfall in their future.
we played them pretty well last year, but our secondary (ie: sean smith, caroll, wilson and stanford) got torched. If grimes, marshall/patterson, davis etc step up that games ours IMO. I think the Colts are easily the team to that falls flat this year. They were driven by the pagano storyline all season and that definitely gave them an edge they won't have going forward. We'll see tho.
I think the best the Dolphins will do this year is 8-8. Since I don't see an 8-8 record in the AFC making the playoffs, I don't see the Dolphins as a playoff team in 2013.
They were driven by the best rookie QB to come into the league since Peyton Manning. I expect Luck to become a top ten QB in 2013 and I expect the Colts to once again be a playoff team in 2013. The Dolphins need to be a lot better than they were when they played in Colts last year, if the expect to beat them. Because I expect the Colts to be a much better team with Luck in his second year in the NFL. The Colts going 11-5 or even 12-4 wouldn't surprise me in the least.
I say no i think we still need help at Rb and it gonna take this year to click together. i see us winning 10-12 games