How about that. I agree with Tony Romo on something.

 

I’m anticipating quite a leap myself.

 

He might say that now, but listen to how he salivates all over the Patriots on Sunday. I thought that he'd rise above that, but he's as bad as the rest of them.

 

He has to say that about every team.

 

he's also had how many concussions and been sacked how many times?

 

Does anyone really care what an overhyped, underperforming, choke artist of a quarterback has to say?

 

I liked him as a player a lot. And I liked what his personality seemed to be. But once he got on air, it's been nothing but licking the patriots boots like every other announcer.

 

To each his own as to what some likes or dislikes. I just never liked Romo as a player and that translates to my dislike for him as an analyst.

As a player his abilities were way over blown, he was never clutch and so many sports writers and announcers tried so hard to prop him up there with the likes Favre, Manning, Brees and Brady.

He choked more than someone at a Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest. Why the Cowboys stuck with him as long as they did is beyond me.

Just my opinion

 

I really enjoy him as a commentator...I think he’s passionate and insightful, and interesting.

 

Best ever in the business in my opinion, and his salary reflects that.

 

Really? Like I said, I liked him as a player both on and off the field, but I think that he's been highly overrated as an announcer. Raspy voice, and he just hypes up the same teams as everyone else.

 

His analysis of the game in real time is unparalleled in my opinion.

 

He'll hype us too if we're... ya know... good.

 

I'd much rather have honesty and depth regardless. Instead of constantly talking about how a couple of teams are awesome non stop, I want the media covering each game to give both teams equal time.

 

Well I agree completely with this. He was a good QB but definitely the guy that the stage seemed to big for him. Big time choke artist.

However, I really like him as an analyst.

 

I enjoy listening to Romo because he can actually give a little bit of depth to his commentating...what the QB saw, who blew an assignment, why a QB audibles, etc. I enjoy the extra insights.

Those who are going negative on Romo here...are we really to a point where we're bashing someone for saying the Dolphins will be good this year? That's not something we hear very often and I'm not sure why anyone would complain.

 

Because the people complaining are still upset that we drafted Tua, let go of Tannehill and can't fathom the mere possibility that Grier is building something powerful with Flores at the helm.

A positive opinion by the smartest guy in the booth and former player is to be looked down upon!

 

I think Sunday's game will be a good litmus test to see where we are.

I completely get that we got A LOT of talent, but I also think that we are essentially an expansion team. We are very, very young, and a lot of our vets were not here last season. I think that are probably the team that was hurt the most by missing preseason games.

Is it possible that we come out and get destroyed? Yup. It took Flores time to get THAT team together last season. The problem is, I essentially think that team is gone.
Is it possible that we come out and lose a competitive game? Yup.
Is it possible that we come out and win? Yes. I think the Patriots are the opposite of us. I think their best players are getting older and regressing whereas our best players are young and getting better.

 

I like Romo as a commentater. I learn from him and he enjoys the sport. I think he is a great color guy.

As a player the dude was a UDFA. Hard to say he underperformed.

 

I fully expect Miami to compete for the AFC E this year.

They were the best team in the division the last quarter of the season last year with a cast off, practice squad roster. They have a vastly improved defense and the OL physically can't be worse than it was last year. We also have two solid RB's on the roster to open it up.

Fitzpatrick was Superman the back half of the season - I expect him to continue rolling... Although if he does go down I'm even more excited about Tua coming in and dominating.

It's gonna be a fan****ingfastic season fellas! Get onboard the hype train.

 

And not just a UDFA either. He was only on the Cowboys radar because Sean Payton is also an Eastern Illinois alum and liked him when he saw him play. Otherwise, the story is that he likely would have never even gotten a training camp shot. Then he spent a year on the Dallas practice squad, a second year mostly on the PS but dressed as the 4rd QB for a few games, and then in his third year dressed as the third QB but never saw the field. He finally got to play at age 26, in his 4th year out of college, when Drew Bledsoe got hurt.

 

To be honest the high expectations on Fitzpatrick makes me think he is going to fail miserably. Like 4 TDs and 11 ints in the first three games miserably.

 

I think COVID-19 favors better coaching. Play well when the normal planning and preparation process is disrupted and I think you have evidence of a good HC.

So the first few weeks of play is for me a litmus test of how good Flores is. Not win or lose, but how well prepared and competitive we are regardless of scoreline. So I really hope to see competitive and smart play regardless of scoreline in these first few weeks as I think that suggests we may have a keeper at HC.

 

I know your stance on him.. And that's OK.. But have an open mind to him elevating the offense this year too. He did last year.

 

Well, the Patriots and Jaguars defenses look like they can be dealt with. But facing Buffalo, Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver over the span of five weeks is going to be ugly.

 

My stance is based on his history where every time he has zero expectations he is amazing and each time people start believing in him he is tragic.

I am not some "Leopard cannot change his spots" type of a guy. However, Fitz has had almost 15 years to show he can change this habit and has failed every time.

 

Well he held up pretty damn well last year. I saw enough to at least give him a chance this year. Factor in the fact that he also had literally no help on the OL and was the teams leading rusher. It would have been beyond ugly with someone less mobile and instinctual in the pocket.

So I have faith even if past history dulls his achievements from last year.

It may wind up being like Pennington in 2009 - Except this time instead of Chad Henne we have Tua.

 

He also did extremely well with Tampa Bay. He had one of the best starts of all time. Then when the talk of keeping Winston on the bench started up, he folded.

Almost everywhere he goes he has achievements.

 

I love Fitzpatrick, one of the most colorful guys in the NFL at the moment. But he is what he is, Fitzmagic and Fitztragic and you never know which one is going to show up. The Jekyl and Hyde of QB's.

 

Like you said, we've upgraded almost every skill position this off-season and we have a ton of youth on the field. That could be good or bad, and there's simply no way to know if this is a 1 win team, a 15 win team or anything between those #'s. COVID is also the great equalizer since this NE game is basically a pre-season test that actually counts in the record books.

For this match-up, I think we keep things simple and try to run the ball as much as possible with a dose of play action mixed in...and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see some Wildcat emerging this week. NE is also going to rely heavily on Cam's experience to make safe plays with his legs, so this could end up being a low-scoring game if our secondary makes things difficult. The one thing I hate about being a Carolina/Newton fan is that he will take unnecessary risks at times and throw ill-advised balls down the field, so I'm hoping we win the turnover battle and take an early lead.

I don't think we'll get destroyed since NE is just as unproven as we are and Cam will try to be Superman right out the gate. Maybe he has one of his career-defining performances but I'm honestly not expecting it this early on. And on the flip side of that, I think Fitz will be pressured often and early...meaning we'll keep the football on the ground for the most part with only occasional shots downfield. I think Miami wins this game off a few deep passes to Williams and Grant while we rack up about 150-200 total rushing yards...and my "bold" prediction is that Fitzpatrick is not the guy throwing one of those bombs.

I really think we win this one though with a close, low scoring game...maybe like a 16-13 or a 20-17 type of contest.

 

Well the way I figure is we beat them at home in our last game last season. A game they had to win to get Home Field advantage in the Playoffs. They had a better team than we did with our patchwork bunch of 2nd string rejects. Everything was going for them and we still beat them.

This year it's different. They lost a number of guys in the off season including their All World QB and 3 of the guys that ended up on our squad. On top of that 8 of their guys including a number of key defensive guys bailed out thru the Covid Opt Out, most of any team. We are a young unproven team with an unfortunate lack of off season preparation but in truth the only thing going for them is Bill Belichick. I am thinking we have a real shot in this thing.

 

Honestly, I think the young talent with a new offense plays heavily in our favor because of Belichek...he's had absolutely no way to prepare for the looks we'll give this Sunday. That's why I've said for months that we'll win this game.

 

So you're thinking run heavy, eh? Woulda said you were crazy a few days ago. Smythe getting the nod as the starter on the depth chart might be a hint that you could be right. Essentially, Smythe was drafted to be a pass blocker, and we all know Gesicki is not moving anybody. Also, Kindley starting may be another clue. It sounds like he has been super strong at moving bodies in the run game, but the pass game seems to be a question mark. Parker and Williams being limited again seems to be a feather in your cap.

I know Gailey's specialty is the spread. I think our interior receivers are iffy at best. I am curious to see how snaps are divided between Grant and Ford. Bowden is exciting, but I doubt he even dresses.

I could also see Breida lining up as a slot receiver out of the gun. Who knows? Maybe we see Perry.

Do you think we are gonna run out of the shotgun or are you seeing more traditional sets on early downs?

 

I would say for NFL it’s him at the top and for College it’s Gus..

 

Well and you could actually put them together and have one hell of a tandem, because Gus does play-by-play and Romo does color commentary.

 

It's so hard to even guess what formations, etc we'll roll with, but here's why I think we'll be run-heavy-

1) Our line was drafted for their run-stuffing abilities the past two seasons. None of these rookie linemen (3 may start) have the NFL experience to handle consistent pass blocking without a moving QB (Bowden/Perry/wildcat?)

2) If we're going to go with a mobile QB, that would play into Tua starting sooner...which I don't think Miami wants to force. In fact, I don't know if the front office wants Tua anywhere near the field with 2 or 3 rookie lineman and a 2nd year player. So I just don't see passing being a big part of the scheme in week one.

3) As you said, Williams and Parker both have boo-boos, and they take our offense to a different level since they don't have to be open in order to throw it to them. Who knows how healthy they actually are, but we're not going pass-heavy to Grant, Ford and a rookie. I love Grant, don't get me wrong, but unless we're going to use him like an Edelman-type receiver with 12+ three-yard slant route passes per game, he'll never be a #1.

4) So what can we do with Fitz and a rookie line that can't pass block? Run the football. Wildcat. Screens/slants. Gimmick plays. And keep doing that stuff until you have Williams without safety help over the top. I mean, if Williams develops and Parker plays like last season, we're going to have one heck of a passing offense around week 10...but I just don't think it's there this Sunday. Parker/Williams will be checked/doubled and it will be the screen game to Grant or one of the rookie QB/RB/WR/Punters and whatever else they can do, LOL!

I agree with you, Bowden probably doesn't dress and we have no idea how much they've designed for Perry. My gut tells me that the Wildcat is coming though because you have two of those types of players and Fitz is going to need serious help. That all changes if we can run the football though and move the chains on the ground...which I think will be the plan this first month as the offense gets up to speed. So yeah, I see traditional formations with Fitz and Wildcat with Perry.

Again, just marginally educated guesses based on a COVID year and so many young linemen. They have to protect Fitzpatrick at all costs because I don't think they're 100% convinced Tua is ready to start today.

 

Tua isn't a mobile quarterback.

 

Compared to Fitzpatrick he is.

 

Underrated mobility outside, excellent mobility inside, instincts to navigate are off the charts good.