This is funny.Bleacher report are ****ing idiots!Despite our ****ty linebacker play no way we rank anywhere near this low. Power Ranking All 32 NFL Defenses Post-Draft By Andrew Garda , Featured Columnist May 16, 2014 Share Tweet 82 Shares Power Ranking All 32 NFL Defenses Post-Draft « Prev 2 of 34 Next » 32. Miami Dolphins The Dolphins allowed seven defensive players to leave in free agency, including Chris Clemons, Paul Soliai, Chris Owens and Nolan Carroll. None of these weaknesses were addressed in the NFL draft, though they added Louis Delmas at safety and Cortland Finnegan at corner in free agency, which should will help. The problem is that help could be minimal, as Delmas is often hurt and Finnegan is coming off a very poor season which might point to a decline.
I don't see how anyone can say this unless they believe Nolan Carrol is an elite corner of some sort.
Overlooked Earl Mitchell. They also don't account for Jordan stepping into an impactful role this year. Jamar Taylor is another second year player they disregarded. Finnegan and Taylor can make up for the loss of Carroll, who had one decent year. (preceded by terrible years) Delmas has played 65 out of 80 games and all 16 last year.
There may be some question marks around our defense this season, but no way near enough to say we're now the worst defense in the NFL. Ridiculous article. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2065618-power-ranking-all-32-nfl-defenses-post-draft
Him and Nolan Carroll lead the 'Big 7' exodus... It'll take a couple years at the bottom before this talent loss can be recouped.
While 32 is an exaggeration, our secondary woes are real. Delmas and Finnegan are both downgrades. Especially CF. I still can't believe Hickey signed him.
While I don't agree we should be 32nd, I don't think these rankings are about exactly where each defense stands right now. They probably mean how much a defense has improved/declined over the course of the offseason, and for some reason they think we "lost so much talent" in one offseason and didn't replace them that we deserve to be last.
Isnt getting average players to over achieve our DCs forte? Lets see Coyle earn his money and make it happen.
I think as long as Kevin Coyle is the DC we will not field a terrible secondary. It might drop off a little from last season, but we could get better in other areas as well. I don't see the defense being that much worse from last year to this one, and if our offense takes a major leap with Lazor, it'll take some pressure off our defense.
The best defense for a suspect secondary is with a pass rush, which we should have no problem fielding theoretically. If Jordan improves by even a small amount we could have a flat out dominant pass rush this season.
Well, that's it. It's official then... we suck. No point in watching this year, I'm calling right now to cancel Sunday ticket.
Wow...totally suprised and shocked..never realised Bleacher had such a bunch of clueless ***** giving their opinion on the Dolphins. Fill in the blanks at your own leisure. Because I'm English I will say CHAPS. Both start wi....actually I won't go there... I will say that report is pathetic.
They watched a lot of the LB play from last year, I guess. Wake was hurting- Big Paul wasn't dominant- Some of the play calling was questionable at times, IMO- The safeties hurt us with bad reads- I'm hoping someone can step up and take the place of 'any' LB. Those contracts are inexcusable and we're stuck this season. (thanks, Jeff) Maybe Taylor or Davis get over the hump and Finnegen returns to half of what he was. Coyle is supposed to be some kind of Safety guru and I haven't been impressed so far. Looks like it might be a big question mark again this season. Nowhere to look but up if you believe what they say.
I did wish for Nolan to be retained. I thought he stepped up big time last year. With that said, 32? 32? We have one of the best pass rushing duos in the league, and they rank us 32?
I don't think the Dolphins will have the worst defense in the league this year, but I have stated numerous times on this forum that the LB corp is one of the worst in the entire league and I think the secondary will prove to be a major concern throughout the coming season. I can easily see the defense ending the season ranking near the bottom in the NFL. The defense is the major reason I see the Dolphins once again being nothing but a mediocre team in 2014. It is going to take at least two more quality drafts and success in free agent signings before the Dolphins will be legitimate playoff contenders, IMO.
Outside of a few people bleacher pretty much pulls anyone out of their rear end to write. Always been a poor site...always will be a poor site.
I just think its hilarious that everyone hated Clemons so much but when we replace him we are in serious trouble. I don't nean you, just speaking generally. It does suck we lost Carroll but I'm not going to pretend losing him makes us a bottom ranked defense. Also we were legitimate playoff contenders last year sooooo.
I didn't hate Clemons, yet I also felt the Dolphins should upgrade from him. Unfortunately I don't see Delmas as an upgrade. I think he is in fact a downgrade from Clemons. Carroll was a player I often wondered how he remained on the Dolphins roster his first few years in the league. He finally showed signs of becoming a decent CB last year and the Dolphins decided to instead go with a veteran CB who I feel played his best football 3-4 years ago. Grimes to me is the only dependable player in the Dolphins secondary at this time. Jones didn't play nearly as well last year as he did in 2012. Once he got his money, his play declines noticeably. If the young CB's drafted in 2013 and this year, don't step up and show they can be effective players in the secondary. The Dolphins secondary could turn out to be almost as bad as the LB corp of the Dolphins. The defensive line is still solid, but the rest of the defense is certainly nothing to get excited about.
The corners (except Carroll being gone) are the same though. There is no reason to think Carroll was the key cog in our secondary is my point. I don't know how I feel about Davis but Taylor is going to be a solid corner in this leaugue if he is healthy. I dont think Delmas is an upgrade or downgrade. I think he has a completely different skill set. LB wise...I don't see how we can get worse. We will either stay the same or get better. I see better as likely just because I feel Wheeler is actually a good player and won't struggle like he did last season. Ellerbe I'm unsure but again...can't get worse.
And this is why Bleacher Report should at least make these kids have college degrees and test them before they write articles. I thought they started doing that when they hired Howard Beck (former NY Times writer) to seemingly head up the basketball department but theyve failed miserably in football. We might not be the best, we might not be as good as last season (or we may be a little better) but we definitely arent bottom 5.
I think I was chis Clemons biggest supporter on this site, but I don't think the loss of Carroll and Clemons takes us backwards, Delmas has talent and a healthy finnegan is better than Nolan, Jesus, Nolan was blantantly shying away from contact during the year, it made me sick.. Jamar will be better.
The changes were basically only 3 starters. Delmas replacing Clemons. Finnegan replacing Carroll. Mitchell replacing Soliai, who played the 3rd most DT snaps anyway. At the very worst, that is a push. Maybe better, maybe about the same, but no way I can see it being worse. Especially worse enough to go from the 8th best scoring D to the worst D in the league.
I agree with Mr. Clean...at worst, we are equal to last year in the secondary... Personally, Delmas and Finnegan are certainly a notch better than Carroll and Clemons. Mitchell and Soliai is more of a push to a possible loss due to, imho, Soliai being under rated in what he brought to this D as a run stopper...but that's my opinion...otherwise you could make a case that these two are fairly even as well... What will/can make a difference in our D is whether Coyle can scheme around the deficiencies in our LB corps. They (Ellerbe and Wheeler) just didn't seem to buy into what Coyle was trying to do. Maybe with another year to adapt what they bring to the field with what Coyle is trying to do they will, as a unit, improve. That said, I don't think we are worse than last year at all, as the BR seems to think. What I do think is that we aren't much better than last year, assuming that Ellerbe and Wheeler's performances were not anomalies...
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but this writer has no clue. As long as Grimes, Starks and Wake stay healthy, they'll be ranked in the top half of the league. If Taylor, Finnegan, Delmas, Jordan, Ellerbe or Wheeler step up their game, this defense will be elite.