The much-maligned defense has been revamped after last year’s nightmare.
Fact.
The Dolphins had the worst run defense season in franchise history last year, allowing 2,247 yards (140.4 per game), and finished 29th in the league in total defense. They’ve upgraded the personnel this season, especially before losing second-round pick Raekwon McMillan. Even without him, Miami’s defensive line should be better with the additions of Davon Godchaux, Charles Harris and William Hayes. The secondary is better with Reshad Jones and (eventually) T.J. McDonald, both of whom are strong against the run.
Jakeem Grant will be part of the offense.
Fact.
The idea of working Grant into the offense always sounded a little far-fetched considering the Dolphins’ talent ahead of him in Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills and DeVante Parker, plus his responsibilities as a return man. Still, Miami’s too deep into the preseason to toy with things that are pipe dreams. Grant continues to get work inside and outside as a receiver, and coach Adam Gase spent serious time in the offseason devising ways to use him.
The tight end void has been filled.
Fiction.
The belief in Julius Thomas hinges on the belief in Gase. The Dolphins picked him up for a seventh-round pick in large part because he played for him in Denver, and Gase has been adamant that Thomas’ quiet start to training camp is a non-concern. Tight end was a weak spot for Miami in the passing game last season, and even if Thomas comes around there’s not a dynamic receiver behind him at the position.
This is Parker’s breakthrough year.
Fact.
The biggest reason to believe the DeVante Parker hype is that he’s been healthy all offseason. The word around the team is that Parker has cleaned up some lifestyle habits (like diet, sleep and hydration, as well as pre- and post-workout treatment), and it’s paying off already. Beyond that, he’s benefited mentally from two years with Landry and Stills and has a quarterback in Jay Cutler who seems bent on targeting him.
Jordan Phillips is turning it around.
Fiction.
Phillips turned one of his offseason press conferences into something of a confessional, taking ownership of his inconsistency and promising to change. One of those goals was to drop from 336 to 320 pounds, and he’s still listed at 333. More importantly, his work in practice hasn’t been good enough to overtake Godchaux, a rookie fifth-round pick. He said he’d submitted himself to the tutelage of Ndamukong Suh, but that hasn’t been evident yet. At one point it looked like perhaps the staff was trying to motivate Phillips by playing Godchaux ahead of him, but that’s lasted long enough that it now seems like Godchaux is Plan A going forward.
Leonte Carroo is ready to live up to his draft status.
Fact.
Prior to a recent hamstring flare-up, Carroo’s been the real deal. He dropped about 10 pounds in the offseason and humbled himself after somewhat wasting his rookie season because he was frustrated about a lack of playing time. “I just do the opposite of what I pretty much did last year,” he said a week ago. Sick of underachieving, particularly after Miami traded up to take him in the third round, he committed to improving regardless of the limited opportunities before him. If one of the big three receivers goes down, he’ll be ready. If not, he’s still earned long- and short-term credibility with Gase.
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Julius Thomas showing up at today's practice with Philly should give some Dolphin fans some confidence in him
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I'm confidant that Fasano will block well, and thats important. However, I don't think that he'll be a big part of the passing game.
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Goal line might change your mind
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It would be great if you were right. I think we'd all be excited if he caught 10 TDs this year, because we want the team to win. But Fasano has 4 TDs on 34 catches and 372 yards the last two seasons combined. He's 33 now, and basically, since leaving the Fins after the 2012 season, he's settled into a #2 blocking TE role, and that's why he was brought back. Hopefully, he can excel in that role and help our ground game.
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Gase wants to use the TE in year 2. He got the personnel, the TEs, and seperately, the Qb that actually threw to TEs in 2015
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That's what we brought him back for though. He was never a critical component for Moore/Penny/Henne in the pass game but his presence was felt whenever we ran the ball. This was an epic smart move for opening up those off-tackle runs on Tunsil's side.dolphin25 likes this.
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I have been disappointed by Thomas as a blocker. Not that I thought he'd be great or even good, but I was hoping for serviceable. My impression has been that his guy has been responsible for blowing up several run plays in the backfield. That's concerning given the relatively low number of snaps. I agree with Gase about not being worried about him as a receiver despite the slow start. Christensen joked that Thomas was brought in to catch TDs and that's probably accurate. But he will be less effective if he's a Dallas Thomas-level liability in the run game.
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Ajayi's numbers will suffer when Thomas enters the game.
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I'm not so certain. Every will agree that Fasano is a much, much better blocker than Thomas is. That's a given. However, there can certainly be plays where Ajayi get his yardage even though the TE isn't a dynamo moving people around. How many big runs did he have last year behind suspect blocking from the TE? How many did Lamar Miller have the seasons prior? Gase is smart enough not to line up and try to do a power run right behind Thomas as the lead blocker, I would think, so overall I think that there's more being made of it than there should be.
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Fact: Jay Cutler will throw over 30 TD passes this year.
Fact: Gase will get us an above averge O-Line by the 5th game of the season.
Fact: Jay Ajayi will rush for over 1200 yards this season.
Fact: DeVante Parker indeed does have his breakout year, with 1100 yards receiving and 10+ TD's.
Fact: Our Defense will be a force to reckon with this season. Ball stripping, ball hawking.
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Fiction: Our run defense will be a liability.
Fiction: Our pass defense will be a liability.
Fiction: The Miami Dolphins will not make the playoffs this year.
Fiction: The rest of the league respects us.
Fiction: We have nothing to prove.Finatik likes this. -
I meant Michael Thomas
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The good news is, we can find out. And I'd rather be wrong than right about this anyways.