With the free agency and draft moves that we've made so far, I'm curious as to what everyone's expectations are for this Dolphins defense going into the new season. We dumped Dansby and Burnett, two effective but aging players, and replaced them with Ellerbe and Wheeler, two fast, hungry, younger players with the speed to cover tight end sets and get to the quarterback when needed. We moved up to the third spot to draft Dion Jordan (in LOVE with this move) to give Wake a compliment in the pass rush, who also has the speed and ability to drop back into coverage when needed. Looking at our most immediate threat in the division, Jordan and Wake rushing the QB together will give Brady fits, and as we all know, when you give Brady fits, his production decreases significantly. See his last two Super Bowls. The pass rush will in turn make our secondary better by itself, but we got a steal in Taylor IMO to hopefully pair with Grimes to give us a much more solidified Corner situation than we had last year. Our safeties look to be in good shape, and if everyone pans out the way the Phins hope they do, we look to have very few holes on Defense. So I guess what I'm asking, and I know it's a little early for these kinds of questions, is what should our expectations be with this defense going into the season? Are you expecting our defense to bend but not break, and keep us in games, like it did at times last year before Sean Smith saw a butterfly on the hashmarks and lost interest in the game? Or are we looking at a potential dominant force, a defense that can carry this team in the event the offense struggles during a game? I'm cautiously optimistic it's the second... but that may just be my excitement of pairing Jordan and Wake coming through. Either way, it's easy to get excited about our offensive moves, but I think with the speed and playmaking ability we've added on defense, they may be just as exciting to watch in the upcoming season now let's solidify that O Line and finish up the offseason strong
Our expectations? Remember that colts game where Jimmy Wilson, Sean Smith and Nolan Carroll got beat silly? Well, in theory, Grimes, Marshall, Taylor and Davis should be much more competitive. There was a few games last year (Colts and Bills games come to mind) where our secondary just blew it big time. I think this revamped secondary changes our defense in a great way. Dion Jordan can be put all over the place. He can cover Gronk, i have no doubt in my mind this is part of why he was drafted. Guy can rush on 3rd downs. He's an excited pick without a doubt. Whole new LB corp, that's going to be much better in coverage. Dansby and Burnett continually got torched over the middle by TE's. Hopefully this new crew can stop that once and for all. Hopefully.
The objective of all of the moves that have been made is to become a younger, faster and a more disruptive defense .That means more sacks,fumble recoveries and intercepcions. The were times last year that we looked very slow on defense .That will be corrected too IMO.
What he said ^, and we've done a great job transitioning to such in just one offseason. Getting guys who play fast and make plays. Here's to a disruptive 2013 season.
I think we could have the best defensive line in the league, or at least one of them. What more could you want besides Wake, Starks, Soliai, Odrick and Jordan? On top of that, the linebackers are young and talented, and the secondary has been upgraded, not just with the additions of Brent Grimes and Jamar Taylor, but with the continued development of Reshad Jones. The secondary is still the weak point, but I'm OK with it. I'm expecting the defence to improve across the board, make game-changing plays and ultimately develop into one of the best young units in the NFL.
We might start off a little bit slow with all of the new pieces but I do like the moves. We have needed guys that put the Qb on his back(other than Wake) and get turnovers for years now. We've had solid defenses but never playmaking defenses that actually scare offensive coordinators, hopefully these moves get us there. I think if we can play the run well and get some more disruptive plays our defense is going to be really, really good. I have to give credit where credit is due, Ireland has made some bold, decisive, high risk/high reward moves. Hopefully they pan out and our team develops the identity that great teams have. Excited to see our defense next season.
Well we had a good defense last season and we have improved it this year so I have high expectations myself.
Love the speed, it reminds me of the Jimmy Johnson era, it can cancel out even the best coaching. Downside is, against teams that run the ball with power, we can be a bit vulnerable, inow, the offense is going to have to put up more points to force those power running teams (like the Jest) to pass the ball
Jests OL is crap, and they have a weak passing offense. Stack the front and make Sanchez try to beat you, or rookie Geno Smith. Besides, if we play a front of Wake - Soliai - Starks - Odrick, that is a tough line to run against.
Key is, you also need quick guys who can come up and close plays, if they drop in coverage and they dump the ball off guys just have to able to close like sharks and stop them short. Pats are murder on offense when you cannot do that consistently.
I have a top 10 expectation for this year .... but by the end of the year and for '14 - I expect top 5. I expect that Jordan/Taylor to contribute and Davis/Jenkins to help STs .... but in '14 Jordan will make a mark
