Its a new decade. The Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor era is over. I believe the Miami Dolphins will dominate the "teens." Year one begins this fall. I am hoping for a Super Bowl victory but my more realistic expectation is at least one playoff victory. If the Jets can do it then why not us?

We have the majority of our core players.

Henne is one the verge of a breakout year.

Brandon Marshall and Jake Long are pro-bowlers.

Davis and Smith are a very promising young tandem at cornerback. Plus Will Allen is back from injury.

I wonder if Starks is the long-term answer at nose tackle. We will see. My gut tells me he is getting an 8-game audition. If he comes through for us we are set. If not we might be drafting a big man in the 1st or 2nd round in 2011. Which is fine. I am sure there is a learning curve at nose tackle but it is not nearly as steep as quarterback, wideout, or outside linebacker.

Ferguson will be back for our playoff push.

Our pressure players are the biggest question mark right now. Last year Joey Porter and Jason Taylor led the team in sacks followed by Starks, Wake, Langford, Merling, and Anderson. Now Starks will be playing a new position and Wake will get more playing time. We have added Jared Odrick and Koa Misi. Did we do enough? Elvis Dumervil, Jared Allen, Dwight Freeney, and LaMarr Woodely led the league in sacks last year. Do we have a guy like that on our roster? Do we need a guy like that on our roster or are team sacks a more important statistic.

Would you be surprised to learn that the Vikings, Steelers, Dolphins, and 49ers led the league in team sacks last year?

SIDE NOTE: Mike Nolan might be the biggest acquisition of the offseason.

In an extremely competitive AFC East I do not expect to win the division. What I do expect is epic battles against the Pats and the Jets. Looking at our schedule our toughest non-divisional games appear to be against the Vikings, Packers, Steelers, Ravens, and Titans. If we can win half of those games we should be okay.

This current regime of Parcells, Ireland, and Sparano has done well. They have made a few mistakes but for the most part the good has outweighed the bad. This will be their third year in charge and they can now lay claim to this team. Take a look at the roster from 2007.

QB - Trent Green, Cleo Lemon, Casey Bramlet, and John Beck are all gone.

RB - Lorenzo Booker, Jesse Chatman, Samkon Gado, and Reagan Mauia are gone. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, and Patrick Cobbs remain.

WR - Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, Derek Hagan, Kerry Reed, and Ted Ginn are all gone. Only Greg Camarillo remains.

TE - David Martin, Justin Peelle, Aaron Halterman, and Courtney Anderson are all gone.

OL - Samson Satele, Rex Hadnot, L.J. Shelton, Anthony Alabi, Drew Mormino, Joe Toledo, Chris Liwienski, Cory Lekkerkerker, Gene Mruczkowski, Ike Ndukwe, Julius Wilson, Johnathan Ingram, Dan Stevenson, Stephen Parker, and Mike Rosenthal are all gone. Only Vernon Carey remains.

DL - Jason Taylor, Joey Porter, Matt Roth, Keith Traylor, Vonnie Holliday, Mkristo Bruce, Abraham Wright, Chase Page, Steve Fifita, Rodrique Wright, and Kevin Vickerson are all gone. Only Paul Soliai and Quentin Moses remain.

LB - Zach Thomas, Derrick Pope, Donnie Spragan, Mark Washington, Kelvin Smith, and Ed Miles are all gone. Only Channing Crowder remains.

CB - Travis Daniels, Andre Goodman, and Michael Lehan are gone. Only Will Allen and Jason Allen remain.

Safety - Renaldo Hill, Courtney Bryan, Lance Schulters, Tuff Harris, and Cameron Worrell are gone. Only Yeremiah Bell remains.

Special teams - Jay Feely is gone. Fields and Denney remain.

This team has been completely made over by the triumvirate. There are no more excuses. This is the team they have built.

When Jimmy Johnson took over I heard a lot of talk about his track record. When Wannadouche took over I heard a lot of talk about how much he had learned. When Saban took over I heard a lot of talk about how he is a winner. When Cameron took over I heard a lot of talk about loyalty.

I am not interested in any more talk. Its time to shut up and put up.

 

If we were in the NFC West I might expect to win the division but the AFC East looks to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. The Dolphins, Jets, and Pats will beat each other up. Even the Bills give everyone in the division a run for their money. They lost to the Pats by one point and then one touchdown. They beat the Jets in New York and they beat us in Buffalo.

Plus its Brandon Marshall's first year with Henne, probably two new guards on the offensive line, Wake's first year as the man, Odrick, Misi, Edds, and Jones are all rookies. Things are looking good but I am not sure that an AFC East title is a realistic expectation. Obviously that will not stop me from rooting for it and hoping for it. :up:

We can make the playoffs without winning the division and once we are in anything can happen. I expect us to be a different team in January than in September. More cohesive, confident, and experienced.

 

Yes and no. Marshall, Dansby, and Incognito are not rookies. They should have an immediate impact. Obviously the more everybody plays together as a team the more they will improve but the jumping off point should be at a pretty high level. For instance in 2002 we acquired Ricky Williams and he rushed for 16 touchdowns and led the league with 1,853 yards.

If we fail to win 10 games or make the playoffs I will be very disappointed just as I was in 2002.