I know this bad to say, but I said (B), solid contender.

How are the Dolphins going to be in the Super Bowl if they can't get past the Buffalo Bills? The Dolphins haven't come close to beating Josh Allen in the Flores/Allen era. In fact, all but 1 of Allen's career-best performances have come against the Dolphins. He's made the Dolphins look silly and does so just as freely in Miami as he does in Buffalo.

I can't honestly say I think the Dolphins will make the Super Bowl when the AFC is so stacked and the Bills do nothing but whoop up on them.

 

I think Flores is the real deal. That alone should make the odds of reaching the SB within 3 years realistic. Not yet certain about Tua, but I'm still projecting him to be above average (he better not dash those hopes this year!). Above average (even if not elite) QB + very good defense with 3 years to get to the SB is something I can see. So I voted YES.

 

We all know that it all depends on the QB and I don't see anything special in Tua. I see good but, I don't see dominant. I picked B also.

 

The only real answer I can say is that its too early to tell. I absolutely don't think that they're close in 2021. But, if things go really well, then I think that they could make a move by 2023.

 

Yeah, I just didn't want to sound like a Debbie Downer without acknowledging it, haha.

Fact is, the rebuild in Miami has gone really well, but that doesn't change the fact that there are still several teams ahead of Miami in their rebuilds. The Chiefs and Titans are both a couple years ahead and are aiming for the Super Bowl. The Browns and Bills are both at least one year in front of Miami, too, having already arrived on the scene and had their QBs break out last year. They'll be at the Play-offs with serious expectations, as well.

Plus, there's always the Steelers and Ravens to contend with who were #1 and #2 in their division last year, not to mention the Chargers and Raiders who could very easily have strong seasons due to the presence of good QBs and high-end weaponry. Oh, and you've got the Colts, too, who made the Play-offs with some real good defensive play last year and who now reuniting a HC/QB who went to the Super Bowl together just a few years ago.

I don't see the Dolphins making the Super Bowl in '21 so it's really about whether Tua becomes a great QB and gives the team a shot in '22 or '23. At this point, it's 50/50 on that one (at best).

I keep going back to last year's schedule. While the Dolphins did end up with 10-wins, which is good, they lost to all 4 of the elite teams on their schedule: Seahawks, Chiefs and Bills (2x). And worse yet, 3/4 of those games were at home and in each of those games the defense gave up 31+ points.

 

I think we have most of the pieces in place. Tua is the unknown. If he’s not a franchise QB, then no matter how good this defense is, it won’t matter.

 

Asking if we'll be in the Super Bowl as opposed to whether we'll be competitive for it is a bit leading, IMO. So I chose A although B was most logical since I can't predict the future. We just need things to break our way. If we can stay healthy and get 51% of the loose balls, we can definitely be one of the best teams within the next couple of years.

 

I think that in almost any realistic scenario, the Dolphins aren't in the top five teams in the AFC this year. There's just a big gap to overcome. If they were in the NFC, you might be able to make an argument that in a best case scenario, they could be about the 4th best team over there. But they aren't.

Now if everything goes really swell with our young players developing the way that we hope, then maybe we can add the pieces we're missing a year from now and try to take that next step as a team who can challenge for the Divisional Round of the playoffs. And then do that and we can talk about challenging for the top prize in 2023.

But there are big steps to reach first.

 

At this point, I need Tua to show me he has what it takes to be a solid starter in the NFL. If he can do that, we can be a contender. If not, we're not even close.

 

...and they scored 23 against Seattle, 27 against KC, and 28 & 26 against Buffalo. Other than the 56-26 blow out against Buffalo, they were competitive in those games...
The Phins are trending in the right direction so the next step in the progression is to win 1 or 2 of those games against the elite teams.

 

Need to make sure if 2 things.
1) Is Flores the real deal? Another winning season in 2021 will strongly suggest he is.
2) Is Tua a consistent Pro-bowl QB? Hard to say. Too many confounding variables in 2020 to make an informed opinion.
If the answer to bith questions is “yes” then Suoerbowls and deep playoff runs are in our future.

 

Agreed of course. I am not guaranteeing a Superbowl. Those are hard to win.

I like the make up of the team and the coaching staff.

Some things to work out offensively, of course.

However, if this is a Super Bowl team, this is the main talent that is going to make it there.

 

We almost beat them in the first matchup with Fitzy playing. We lost by a FG.

 

Who can really tell. Injuries at the wrong position derail teams all the time. Do I think we have enough talent? Yes I do. But it all comes down to the QB position, down to Tua. At least this year.

 

To me it's 100 percen if Tua becomes a franchise QB.Withoit one we have zero shot in today's NFL
Do I think he will I will say no as I thought he was overated at Bama but I I have been wrong before.

 

I understand what you're saying, but that's not entirely true.

In 2019, the 49ers made it to and should have won the Super Bowl without a top QB.
In 2018, the Rams made it to the Super Bowl without a top QB.
In 2017, the Eagles won the Super Bowl without a top QB.

Various other teams have made it to the Divisional Round with only a pretty good QB. Does having one make everything easier? Of course, no one will question that. But its not the end all that some make it out to be. You need a solid guy absolutely. But if he's not top five, then if you have a very good team around him, you can make it work.

 

I agree that the next step is to maybe win 1 or 2 of those games. Even that still leaves them pretty far behind those other franchises.

Those aren't exactly big scores in today's NFL to be honest, especially in games you expect to be shoot-outs. You're also including 2 games there where Ryan Fitzpatrick was the QB (sea & buf). The couple games featuring Tua were less competitive. You point out the game against Buffalo. Recall however the defense forced Mahomes into a ridiculously bad day and still the offense (being the beneficiary of 4 turnovers!) couldn't outpace him.

I like the progress that's been made so far, but the AFC is stacked at the top. There's no way Miami's beating the elite teams right now unless injury changes something or Tua comes out looking totally different from last year. The idea that the Dolphins are anywhere near marching into Buffalo or KC to win a meaningful Play-off game when they can't even manage a mid-season upset at home shows you how far ahead those teams really are.

For that matter, we're really not talking as much about the terrible offense as we should be. Even with Fitzpatrick averaged in it was subpar. With Tua at the helm, the Dolphins were one of the worst offenses.

#22 in total yards.
#21 in yards per play.
#20 in passing yards (about #28 with Tua).
#20 in passing Y/A (about #25 with Tua).
#29 in rushing Y/A.

So in reality, the Dolphins are bringing back one of the worst rushing attacks and pairing it with a QB who ranked down at the bottom as well. I like the talent on offense more this year, but WRs by themselves do not fix a stagnant offense. And it's not like the team has brought in Andy Reid to fix things. We're hoping a couple of relative unknown co-OCs can work some magic.

The offense not only has to step it up but likely won't get the breaks they had last year. Howard isn't going to provide 10 INTs. He may not even be a Dolphin. Meanwhile, the Jets and Patriots are only getting better, too.

I'm not trying to be negative, but you have to tell it like it really is.

Right now, the objective voices are not asking whether Miami will compete for the AFC East but if they'll even be the #2 team or whether the Patriots might snag that.

 

True but I am actually thinking about winning a superbowl and not gjust getting there.It can be argued the rams and 49ers didn't win the SB because of the Qb play.As for the eagles Nick Foles had a career game against the pats.That was a fluke..
So I will drop my 100 percent down to 95%.

 

Well, getting to the Super Bowl is 99% of the way there. And more than the Dolphins have done in generations. And like I said, neither of those teams were blown out in the game. I think that far too much focus is put on the team that wins the championship anyways. Being one of the final four, or even final eight, means that a team had a great season. And all of the data from the last twenty years is thrown off by New England anyways.