With the dress rehearsal game now over, it's time for season predictions! Last year we were 8-6 and headed for the playoffs...and then decided to poop all over ourselves the last two weeks, but this is a brand new season. The offensive line should be much better and I'm really excited about the direction of the offense behind Bill Lazor. I think Knowshon Moreno was the perfect signing for this offense and I'm expecting Ryan Tannehill to take another step forward. The defense, despite a very lackluster linebacker unit, should still be pretty good led by an excellent defensive line. I also think Joe Philbin is getting more comfortable as a head coach. So my prediction is 10-6 and the first playoff berth since 2008. Let's hear what you got...
On offense, Knowshon looks to be an improvement. He looks to be better at making the most out of each run. Which is the difference between a 3rd and 6 and a 3rd and 4. I am hoping the offense can be better than what they showed. In fact the offense looked the best without Hartline, Wallace and Clay. Which also makes me wonder if Tannehill is looking for receivers rather than the open guy. I have faith in Tannehill because he is already better than Henne, however he does have to step it up more. First team offense has played about 4 to maybe 5 quarters. They have only scored 1 touchdown. Offensive line looks a lot better. Other than Thomas, the line isn't looking like it is being over powered by a standard defense. That is a HUGE upgrade over last season. I am not saying they are good. I am just saying that if the defense rushes 4 people, Tannehill won't be pressured as often as last season. Defense looks to be good at getting pressure. Wake is a monster. Vernon is good enough to get to the quarterback after the quarterback makes the first guy miss. (This is actually important.) Starks is Starks. Wheeler looks to have improved his blitzing. Misi is practically unblockable by a runningback up the middle. If McCain gets playing time he looks to be good at blitzing. Shelby is looking quicker and more athletic, which will help him because he already got the moves. Then there is Fede. Late in a game, if I am kind of tired, I don't want to have to block Fede. I don't really like making predictions because there are way too many variables. I am going to go with 11-5.
I don't care what record we end up with, but I'll go with 7-9, because i feel there are 9 opponents on the schedule who do their job better, overall. I have not seen enough consistent play from the Dolphins to draw a different conclusion. (New England is a team that can go 10-6, 11-5, I don't see that we are there yet due to inconsistencies.)
I can't fathom this team winning 11 games, and I'm quite the homer. If everything goes according to plan (offensive line holding up especially), we go 8-8. That's a big if.
6-10... Other teams in division are improved, our QB has shown no signs thus far in taking the necessary step.
I think our oline improvement is easily worth 2 more wins this year. I think if we can run the ball that gives us a chance to match up better with Buffalo then last year. I can't imagine our schedule will end up being as tough as it was last year. 10-6 and playoffs.
I don't think the defense is as good as last year. Ill go with 8-8. Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
9-7 Would really like to see the offense focus on deeper routes and Tannehill start slinging it into the endzone for contested catches. The defense is up and down but I think by or after the bye either McCain or Tripp will be starting.
Too hard to say. Ill go with 10-6 but if Tannehill takes a step forward it could easily be 11-5. Then again if he takes a step back it could be 7-9
I feel like we could be a 9-7 wildcard team. But as a Dolphins fan Im not so sure the play offs will ever be in our sights again. So 8-8 team ****ting ourselves out of the play offs again.
I'm thinking 9-7 and a wild card right now. The mistakes on offense last night are still fresh in my mind.
I was thinking 10-6 as well. Our line is better this year. We will score more points. Our defense is better than last year.
I don't see one major, glaring weakness in this team, the closest thing to that is the LB unit, which is the same as last year, save for the positions switch. There is no way our LBs are worse than last year, at the very least they are the same, and we still made it to 8-8. This year it looks like our pass protection and run blocking are going to be better, and IMO, this year's schedule is no different from last year in terms of difficulty (maybe even slightly easier). There's also the whole new offense and hopefully better playcalling to look forward to. I'm tempted to predict a 10-6 record, but I'm going to lean heavier on the conservative side, since this is the Miami Dolphins we're talking about... so I'm going with 9-7 and, hopefully, if the chips fall in our favor, we get that last wildcard spot.
I'm very encouraged by our OL minus Dallas Thomas and Moreno is easily an upgrade over the backs we trotted out last season. That is very clear after last night. I feel like if Ryan Tannehill picks up the offense and improves rather than regresses, we could legitimately go out there and 'steal' 10-11 games. If Tannehill struggles to pick up the offense? 6-8 wins. I think he'll do it, though.
How about we make this a little more focused with a reminder of the specifics? Last Year's Positives: Tannehill's Mobility/Throwing on the move Tannehill's skill under pressure Tannehill's resilience in the face of being sacked Pass Rush Brent Grimes Last Year's Negatives: Cardboard O-Line Weakened WR corp Light-weight Run Game Offensive Play-calling/Strategy (OC and HC) Hugging...I mean, Tackling Line Backers/spectators Run Defense/Rotating Turnstyle Improvements This Year: Healthy/Deeper WR corp Stronger RB corp Stronger OL Stronger Secondary New Offense New O Play Caller (Lazor) Stagnation/Deterioration This Year: No improvement on Line-backers Pouncey Injured Dion Jordan/Reshad Jones out at start Run Def doesn't look like it has improved much if at all More hugging...sorry 'Tackling' Question Marks/Unknown Quantities: Philbin's Strategy/Calling - How much of last year was him and what changes might have taken place? Will a more mobile Wallace actually be a hindrance if he can't catch (not even taking the top off)? Has the run blocking really improved? T17 is moving from a familiar offense to an unfamiliar one. Almost entirely new O-Line (when Pouncey is back) - has to bring some issues. No evidence T17 and Wallace have even put special time into improving their connection. Prediction: Looking at the schedule I'll have to say Top/Bottom is 13-3 / 5-10 So the middle of that is 9-7. That would be hopeful, I think, and dependent on some poor performances by opponents, so I think I'm calling 8-8. (If I'm going to be wrong I prefer to be wrong about losing ) [ Reasoning: Despite all the improvements this year, I think the x-factors of having a new/unfamiliar offense, a newly formed O-line, the question on how Philbin's influence last year might project into this year, and the doubts over the run-game actually getting established leave me feeling that despite flashes we're going to be disappointed this year. Short of a disaster though it'll still be Philbin and the new boys back next year - which might actually work out.
I think this is a better team than last year. However, they have a tough schedule. If I go game-by-game, I come up with 8-8. That's with splitting with the Jets/Bills and getting swept by the Pats. I think the opening game against the Pats is big in establishing a tone for the season. If the Phins play well, they'll get some confidence and could surprise. If they get blown out, it could all fall apart very early. If it does fall apart, I'll feel really bad for Lazor. I think that guy has a big future in the NFL. I hope these players can do good by his offense, which is impressive. But... in all honesty, this team is tough to read. I will add one last thing: in interviews, these guys sound like a real team. Aside from Wallace, the players are taking responsibility for their mistakes and giving props to their teammates. That's not by accident. I'll be very curious to see if that's just not lip-service, and if that translates to actual wins.
I'm looking at 4-4 at a minimum for the first half of the season, 6-2 in the last to finish 10-6 with a WC spot, and getting 1 playoff win. Any better than 4-4 in the first half and I'm lovin' it.
8-8 I just hate how we match up with our division. Our weaknesses are going to be running the ball and stopping the run...and against the Pats, Jets, and Bills that's bad news.
If Tannehill passes effectively it is going to open up the run game quite a bit. IMO run blocking takes more time to develop as a line than pass blocking so while its not guaranteed we could see improvement there as well. Obviously I don't see our running game as a huge strength but I could definitely see it being middle of the pack which IMO would be good enough. I personally love how we match up with NE and NYJ defensively. We sre going to eat them alive. My two cents.
I don't think our defense is as good as people think. I also don't think Ryan Tannehill is nearly as good as people think. I think our offensive line is better than people think. I think our running game will be better than people think. With all that in mind, I see us as 7-9. I just don't believe Tannehill is the guy.
Wow, so you think Tannehill and the defense will regress from last year? Or do you just think this year's schedule is that much harder? I personally don't think we'll be any worse than 8-8, barring major injuries (knocks on wood).
Let's clear up some things about our "easy" schedule last year. We had 6 games against playoff teams and 11 of our 16 games were against teams that finished 500 or better.
I don't think Tannehill will regress, I think he'll be less lucky. He was the recipient of many dropped INTs and fantastic plays from Charles Clay. I just don't think he's very good at reading the field, throwing over the middle, and of course the ability to hit big plays with Wallace. He's by far and away the best QB we've had since Marino, minus Pennington for a year, but that doesn't mean he'll lead this franchise to wins/playoffs.
Moreno's performance last night confirmed my opinion from the free agency period. He is a significant upgrade. His health is very important to our offensive success. I hope the coaching staff limits his snaps to 30 per game to keep him healthy for the entire season.
I feel like we got the down years of a lot of those teams year, including all of our division opponents (that we didnt take advantage of). Just look at the rest of em, Balt, Pitt, SD, ATL, Tampa... You never know how it's going to turn out, but our schedule could be extremely tough depending on how Buff & the Jets look, and also a few playoff/borderline playoff teams like KC, Det, Chi, Balt. It was really a horrible year for the AFC in general. So hard to make a prediction when I could see Tannehill improving, through 30 TDs / 15 INT, and us still going 8-8 depending on how strong our opponents are.
Scary schedule w/ several tough road games. We have to handle our business w/ the Jets and Bills. If we can go 3-1 w/ them and beat Raiders, Jags, Bears and vikings that is 7. I think we can take two more maybe the Lions and Ravens. Not sure if 9 gets us in or not.
8-8 Not pleased with out LB and S right now. Also, not sold on Tannehill on being the franchise guy. Hopefully he proves me wrong. If he does, we can be 11-5 or 10-6. But until he shows me otherwise, ill continue to go off what he is currently.
I was more hopeful before I went through the schedule and thought about which teams we were likely to beat.