I disagree about TE entirely deej. I would be annoyed if we put resources into that position. Clay killin it and egnew/sims playin pretty well up to this point. Would love to see them just catch more passes. Egnews got it all physically
entire front office, entire coaching staff, entire o-line (except center), both outside lbs (unless we switch to a 3-4), running back, one cb (resign grimes), one safety. i also wouldnt be against drafting a quarterback.
My list: General Manger & Coaching staff...oh, wait. Offensive line Defensive line Middle/Inside Linebacker Running Back Secondary Receiver I think a lot of it depends on who ends up coaching the Dolphins in 2014 and what schemes they run. Obviously if Philbin & staff stay, some of those positions probably shift in order.
In all seriousness there is a possibility that the entire OL is open for business as far as replacement goes. Tyson Clabo, Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin need replacing, AT MINIMUM. John Jerry sorely needs replacing as well. You'd love to be able to count on young players to step up in one of their place except their 3rd round pick is DALLAS THOMAS...who can't beat UDFA practice squad player Sam Brenner for a crack at a guard position in an emergency situation. Awesome. That situation is Shawn Murphy all over again. And we have no idea how deep this gun trafficking thing with Mike Pouncey goes. This is a serious matter. The Dolphins would be wise to allow Dustin Keller to attempt an unlikely comeback elsewhere. They need to complement Charles Clay and Dion Sims is not that guy. Michael Egnew is not it either. If you wanted to go HIGH and add someone like Troy Niklas, I certainly wouldn't blame you. He's a special talent but he's being under-recognized right now and so you could get Gronkowski-like value out of him. The WR position is so ****ed and I'm so angry about it. Mike Wallace doesn't fit this offense and he might not fit this quarterback. But he's guaranteed $15 million next year so you can't cut him. Brian Hartline is still a serial non-scorer. Look no further than yesterday's fumble near the goal line for more proof. Brandon Gibson will now attempt to come back from a serious injury and I don't think Miami can count on him to make that comeback, but they might feel like their hands are tied just by virtue of how he produced while healthy. Ideally I would revamp that unit and build around Brian Hartline's non-scoring ***. But I think there's going to be too much on Miami's plate this off season to do that. Speaking of similar conundrums, linebacker. There's a strong chance Jeff Ireland royally ****ed Miami over by giving so much long term money to Dannell Ellerbe, Philip Wheeler and Koa Misi. That linebackers unit is not working. Wheeler continues to be up-and-down. Nobody wants to acknowledge he had a great game yesterday, but he did. Ellerbe was poor. Again. Misi wasn't there again and even when he has played this year he hasn't played like he did last year. Meanwhile you've got the whole Dion Jordan conundrum and the fact that he's not quite a defensive end, not quite a linebacker, yet you've got Olivier Vernon standing in his way at defensive end and Koa Misi/Phil Wheeler standing in his at linebacker...it's a mess. Oh and then there's Reshad Jones fresh off his $30 million contract extension, playing like a player who should be replaced next year. But because of the contract, you can't do that. You've got to stick to the program. At corner, Dimitri Patterson's body seems to be made of expired eggs. You've got two rookies Jamar Taylor and Will Davis who continue to sit in favor of Nolan Carroll. That's not as bad as it sounds. We're honestly just going to have to hope and pray one of those youngsters are up to the task next year, because the investment dictates that at least one of those two will occupy a top three spot in the corner rotation. I wasn't a big fan of either coming out but the guy I think I could have most likely been wrong about is Will Davis, so he's the one I'm watching. And in the mean time you bring Brent Grimes back. That's not even a question. You just get that done. Unlike Reshad Jones who got a big record deal after one chart-topper, Grimes has shown repeatedly throughout his career over and over again that he is someone you trust to persevere. I'd love to have all three defensive tackles back but the reality is you can't have that. Among the three I'd focus on keeping Odrick and Soliai. Starks is getting tired of Miami's bullsh-t and I can't blame him. He's served us well. I think it's time to move on and wish him luck maintaining his level of play much longer as he's on the wrong side of 30 years old and has been in the league for 10 years. You should be able to draft a replacement. As long as all of the draft picks don't have to go to OLs. Oh wait they do? FOCK! Then of course you've got to grab a tailback worth pairing with Lamar Miller. You'd like a complete guy of course, but I think a little power to go with Lamar's speed is probably in order. Just make sure that if he's a power back that he actually has vision and doesn't have a habit of being easily tripped up, this time. But with all the other needs the reality says you're probably going to have to go bargain shopping here and seeing if the shotgun approach to the position shakes loose a talent like a Bobby Rainey coming out of nowhere on ya.
Thankfully I don't see a lot here that's too alarming. Wr should be okay. Mathews is filling in for Gibson nicely. Hartline is...hartline. He's a great #2. Wallace still demands the respect even if he hasn't beat anyone deep this year. Linebacker sucks, but it could b worse. Tight end is far from an issue in my mind. Oline is #1, #2 #3 priority. Improve hat (hopefully drastically) and we're already a much better team.
I see your point, for me it depends on the player available, if a player that I love is available it forces you to make tough decisions about the direction.
I would be against drafting a QB. You just don't like Tannehill, I get it. Understand it...no. High picks are more important with O-Line. Speed WR to replace Wallace in 2yrs time would be nice. Cornerback to replace Plastic Patterson. I rate Patterson but if he misses more games than he plays then he should be gone. I'm sure we can improve at LB. O-Line, O-Line, O-Line.....might get through one day. I don't want Ireland in charge making the O-Line better protecting Tannehill. He's had long enough. Epic fail.
As far as players, John Jerry, Richie Incognito, Tyson Clabo, Thigpen, Marlin Moore, Johnathan Martin, Nolan Carroll and Michael Egneu. We need an upgrade for Trusnik and Spitler at MLB, and an upgrade for Clemmons at SS. I think we're set at CB with Taylor replacing Carrol next year and Davis playing more nickle. I believe the offensive schemes have been lacking this year. So Sherman is top on my list to replace. Second, Wallace needs to be taught to block. So the Receiver coach needs an earful or needs to be replaced. 3rd the QB coach needs to be replaced because Tannehill's accuracy with Wallace is still an issue. Wallace would demand more respect if Tannehill threw the ball more to him when he's wide open.
offensive line has to be addressed from tackle to tackle & Tuner, then a power back would be nice to replace Thomas. as far as I can see, the team just needs time & coaching... we are very close. unfortunately, everything begins in the trenches. no holes no run-game, with no protection & no run-game no passing game. it take 3 or 4 years of building & coaching to develop a team from scratch. what we need most you won't find in the draft or free-agency, only the fan-base can provide it...patience.
it's not that i dont like tannehill, because i honestly think he's an average qb. i think he's a guy who might get us to the playoffs eventually if we stuck with him, but do i think he can get us a ring? not a chance in hell. i see nothing special. i dont see a leader...he'll be a solid, average qb. someone in another thread made a spot on comparison in my opinion, they called him a young alex smith. they are on the money. in my opinion, that is his ceiling.
I think had they played Tannehill with some roll outs and runs all season, similar to what we saw yesterday, we'd be two games better in the Win Col than we are now. T'hill is ahead of Brady in Completion %, TDs and Yards. His problem has been the sacks, which I'd blame 1/3 on his lack of pocket awareness and 1/3 on Poor OL, TE and RB play blocking and 1/3 on the OL Coaching Offensive schemes. In all, Tannehill needs to improve on his long ball accuracy because he will have more opportunities for open receivers downfield as the OL and running game improves.
I am not against drafting a QB, if you can find a good 3rd round QB, than yea, draft him. I would be against 1st round unless he is special and Miami is not near a spot where they can get a special quarterback.
Priorities that need to be addressed early in the draft include LT, DT and a big body at Rb. Later pick up at least 1 guard. Get this offense a running game and I feel we will be a sound team both on offense and defense. Defensive tackle because we seem to love screwing Soliai and Starks out of long term deals and I expect both to leave. I think the Dolphins can manage this offseason and come out ok. Feels great to talk about next offseason in week 11.....
And Wallace isn't? You can't dismiss teams 2 top WRs in one go. Bad business sense. WR isn't a unit that is a huge weakness. Gibson to come back, Matthews, Hartline is decent. Wallace is overpaid and a Dolphin. Get used to that. Going nowhere fast.
There's so many variables I think it's impossible to tell besides offensive line, and even then I think that's not that simple. There's a lot of football left to be played, then you've got considerations of scheme change and what else is done in the off-season. Mike Pouncey is likely the only quality long-term starter we have, but I don't think it would be that shocking or dismaying to see a some combination of guys playing right now on the field otherwise. The same with defensive tackle- As it stands you'd imagine Starks will walk because of Odrick's performance at the same sub-position, but if you run a Tampa-2 style defense(with Lovie Smith) you would tend to expect Starks a priority and Soliai a dead letter. A 3-4 would likely mean strong interest in one or both, or even additional investment, etc.
If you have small children, get them to repeat after me: Guards and Tackles, Kicker and Coach....Kicker and coach.... ....Guards and Tackles, Kicker and Coach....Kicker and coach.... Aaand Wallace, and Sherman and Ireland and Coyle..... Guards and Tackles, Kicker and Coach! [video=youtube;gFuZ6LPDYQc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFuZ6LPDYQc[/video]
3-4 along with 3good dt thats a waste... i say sign ol..Asamoah,Veldher.. Maybe a wr and an te..overalll in happy with the team talent..please draft good whoever will
I think he's highly critical because that's part of his job. I think besides the O line the offense isn't that bad.
It's possible to effectively replace 4/5 of your o-line, similar to how the Bears just did this past year. They signed Bushrod and Slauson as FAs on the left side while drafting Kyle Long in the 1st and Jordan Mills in the 5th for the right side. The only 2012 starter is Garza, so that could be a parallel for Miami with Pouncey (if he's not in jail). That's a dramatic improvement from their 2012 line. Won't be easy for Miami, but a new GM may have no other choice except to attempt a similar route with hopefully results along the same line as Chicago.
QB: We are fine. Draft someone late to compete as a back up. RB: We need a big, every down back in my opinion. A player who is a well above average pass blocker and has decent hands. We need to get the running backs involved in the passing game, that might be a Mike Sherman issue. I like Lamar Miller but he is not any of the things I just listed. He should be used as a specialist. TE: Clay is fine. Egg nog is just a guy. Sims is just a guy. I'd LOVE to add a high end prospect but we have so many other needs that take priority, this is what happens when your GM is a ****ing jackass. O-line: We have Brenner (who is MAYBE a depth player), Garner (who is a depth player), Jerry (who is horse**** and needs to be replaced), Clabo (who is worse than Jerry), Watkins (he can't see the field on this team) and Thomas (who has shown less than nothing). It's very likely that the only returning players are Mike Pouncey, who could be facing legal issues and Nate Garner. Holy **** is that awful. We need a starting left tackle, left guard, right guard and right tackle. Let that sink in. We can't draft all that and free agency will only offer stopgap measures over overpriced mediocrity. Defensive line: We have to let either Starks or Big Paul walk, they are simply too expensive. If they both walk we are screwed, we will need two starting quality players. We are good at end. Linebacker: Ellerbe is not a 4-3 MLB. Wheeler has been a trainwreck. We have no depth. Secondary: The rookies have done nothing. Patterson is bordering on great, but he is made of glass and can't be relied upon. Chris Clemons is just a guy. Reshad Jones has been so ****ing terrible I'd consider cutting him if it saved cap space. Not a pretty picture.
we've just given up 140+ on the ground in 3 straight games. these two arent exactly killin it right now anyway. IMO letting them both walk, soaking up the money to fix the Oline, is a very plausible course of action. If Brandon Albert hits FA, i don't see how hes not our #1 priority. then it doesn't look so bleak filling out the rest of the line.
Personally, I think if we devoted our entire off season to the oline (FA & draft), with some late round picks devoted to depth in other areas we'd be alright. I think our LB corp can be fine with moving Misi to Wheeler's spot and letting Jordan play Misi's spot. I think Dion has the potential to be a HoFer at that spot. I think Charles Clay can be the short yardage back we need to go along with Miller. I think Jamar Taylor will be starting at CB next year opposite of Grimes if we resign him. I think with more time Wallace and Tannehill will click, and we could get Gibson back and that would be one dangerous WR corp. Our biggest and most glaring problem is the oline. Fix that and we'll still have some holes (but every team does) but we'll be a dramatically better team.
I have grave doubts that the Fins are going to be active at all in free agency this coming offseason. Ross spent a buttload of money on free agents this last offseason and hasn't gotten any kind of return for his money. Given the impact of this spending spree on our salary cap and the lack of butts in the stands, I'd say we'll be lucky if we sign a couple low-dollar FAs. If we have any hope for improvement it'll be through the draft and I pray to God that Jeff Ireland isn't running it. Obviously, we need to concentrate on O line in the draft. Basically everything but center.
I think if you rebuild the offensive line efficiently it'll help make some of the issues at RB and WR less of an immediate concern. I'd also look at an ILB, DT and possibly CB depending on how much faith they have in Jamar Taylor ever becoming a player. I wouldn't waste an early pick on a RB but might take a chance on one mid to late in the draft. They could also quite possibly find a capable short yardage back fairly cheap on the free agent market.
Whys everyone saying Clemons needs to be replaced? He's been our second best maybe even most consistent this year. He's been blowing up plays at or behind the line of scrimmage and has been pretty good in coverage.
Rick, selling tickets is gravy money for NFL franchises. They would still make a profit and a large one at that, even if they never sold a ticket.
