can you summarize Miami's description? some of us aren't "insiders"

 

Seems about right.

 

Juuuust a bit outside....playoffs that is.

 

actually 6th is the wild card....we always play the good teams tough, we just need to find a way to beat the teams we are "supposed" to beat

 

PFF started this heat map thing, and actually analyzed Miami's roster earlier this week. They had Cam Wake as a high quality, not Elite. After that, and reviewing their chart, I didn't even bother reading the article.

 

This is what I'm talking about;

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/06/03/2014-depth-chart-miami-dolphins/

 

They said his performance wasn't elite last year. With the time the missed due to injury, it's a fair take

I'm surprised they have Fede over Shelby.

 

I just saw 13 and figured as such.

 

The OL was my biggest concern last season, and I feel much better this year about it... at least on paper. I'm excited about seeing the preseason. I'd like to think we have a legit shot at the playoffs. We will see.

Pretty solid roster, though.

 

Are both these charts over rating Moreno? Is he really of that level or did Denver make him look good? I'm understand that it's from historical data but I think the team.around made him look better.

 

This team is going to live and die off it's 2nd and 3rd year players stepping up. If they don't.....were looking outside again.

 

Initially I looked at them sideways when they didn't put Cam Wake as Elite.

However in thinking about it, I can see where they're coming from. Wake is old and he essentially gave Miami a little over half of a season of "elite" in 2013. He gave Miami a superb Week 1 but then suffered through injuries and didn't start to round back into elite form until Week 9.

That's a lot of time where he either wasn't on the field or he might as well have not been on the field...Week 2 to Week 8. If he were like 27 years old you've got to be thinking whatever, bad luck, he'll be healthy next year. But he's 32 years old so you've got to think there's a significant chance that sort of thing could happen again.

When he's on the field and feeling OK there is absolutely no denying whatsoever he is an elite player. In fact I've gone on record saying he's the best pass rusher in the league in those circumstances, and I'll even go as far as saying one of the best that has ever played the game.

But what happened in 2013 does make you wonder if at 32 years old we can count on more than 10 games of that "elite" level play from him.

 

I can't help but look at this chart and remember the axiom that "good is the enemy of great."

 

That is only because if you are "good" you are not in pain enough to improve.

The Dolphins are not in that situation.

 

I think you could apply it to a certain degree, but I'm not sure in the same context Desides was using.

A good example here would be someone like Rishard Matthews. You want to get him reps to develop him, but he has three good WRs in front of him. Obviously there are concerns surfacing about his work-habits, so my point may not be valid with Matthews, but I think there are situations where guys may not get as much opportunity to develop.

 

Interesting that they have Taylor as the RCB and Finnegan on the slot. Also interesting that they are ranking Thigpen as a wr.


This is nitpicking but how is Fields not at least a high quality starter.

 

Very true. However, a team has to be good before they can be great. They just shouldn't get comfortable with being good.

 

Thigpen was just moved to WR. That's where he is now competing.

 

I notice how Ellerbe, Wheeler, and Finnegan are rated as below average starters. Misi, Delmas, and Vernon are rated as only average. I tend to agree with these ratings and that is why I think the problems for the Dolphins this year are going to be mainly on defense.

Assuming the OL improves, the offense should be more effective this coming season, but I see the defense continuing to take steps backwards from what it was just a couple of years ago. I have been stating for months that this team will once ago finish 8-8 or worse and with this defense, I think that is about the best we can expect this coming season.

 

I'm not very concerned about Wake's age. I see his somewhat diminished production last year as being to to the injury and the sprained MCL isn't necessarily an old man's injury. It happens to 22 yr olds too. Considering that he recovered and played well down the stretch, there is no reason to think the MCL is an issue anymore. He is clearly a guy who takes very good care of his body. For reasons I don't fully understand, pass rushers are often able to maintain productivity well into their mid 30s.

 

That is a bit of a stretch

 

I would have to question some of what PFF has in their color coding.

First off why is the PFF breakdown different from ESPN Insider? The latter shows Wake as elite, Dallas Thomas as the RG (which is weird) and Shelley Smith at LG. On ESPN Insider Olivier Vernon is a below average starter, and on PFF he's an average starter.

Second when you consider that PFF graded Mike Wallace a +0.5 and Reshad Jones a -6.9 in 2013, it's tough to understand why they are color-coded as "good starters" as opposed to "average starters". I thought the idea behind the roster evaluation was to rely on their play-by-play grading in order to tell us which players they feel are really playing well and which are not.

All that said I really like the idea, to some extent. I would probably do it a lot differently from them but it's still a good idea.

 

I see more reasons for us to be better or at least equal to last year on defense than for us to be worse. Carrol for Finnegan and Delmas for Clemons is basically a push, the only real downside personnel-wise is the loss of Soliai, but I believe that with Misi moving to MLB and the growth of the 2nd year guys, we won't miss Soliai as much.

 

I would classify Pouncey as "high quality" over a "good starter" IMO.

 

Being the #2 corner in the league certainly doesn't qualify "elite" status...

He didn't have 20 interceptions to go along with giving up zero TDs...scrub.

 

I know they are trying him there but I didn't think that move was set in stone.

 

I'm not a big fan of improvement from within. I'm a big fan of improvement by getting better players. Good players drop your draft position and prevent you from getting the really good/great players.

 

" he's got no place else to go"

Movie reference..

Seriously I think Thigpen to receiver is pretty funny...he did get reps at returner during the OTA's.

 

I was NEVER a fan of Carroll, but he had his best season ever in the NFL last year. Some on here think Finnegan can be the same player he was 3 or 4 years ago. I don't and I actually think Finnegan is a downgrade from Carroll, at this stage of their careers.

Clemons was nothing special at the safety position, but I would still prefer him over Delmas. I will be extremely surprised if Delmas is able to play the entire season, based on his past. Last year was the first time in his career in the NFL that he actually played in all the regular season games. I was hoping that if the Dolphins let Clemons go in free agency, they would upgrade the position. I don't think that happened with the signing of Delmas.

I think the Dolphins LB corp is probably near the bottom of the NFL as a group. They are weak against the run and are awful in pass coverage. Because the Dolphins are stuck with the contracts of Ellerbe and Wheeler and I really don't see much depth at the LB position, I think this group of LB's are going to be a major problem for the defense.

I hope all these players perform at a much higher level than I anticipate. If they do and the offense is more productive, this team could possibly win 9 or 10 games and have a shot at the playoffs.
Right now though, I'll stick with my prediction that the Dolphins will finish the 2014 season, 8-8 or 7-9.

 

I don't know how set in stone it is. I know he's still listed as a RB on the official team site. I'm guessing PFF saw he's being used as a WR in OTAs, so, they chose to list him as a WR for rankings. That's just a guess, though.

 

And, I tend to agree with you. But, don't you admit that for a team to be great, they would most likely need to be good first?

 

I am exact opposite.

 

I'm surprised they don't like Vernon. I thought he was at least average last year.

 

If our quarterback is close to a Pro Bowl level (something I think could happen), our defense improves (I don't have high hopes because of the coordinator) and we receive quality coaching (I don't have any hopes of this happening) it's a playoff team. A one and done playoff team but a playoff team anyway.