This is a moderated phorum for the CIVILIZED discussion of the Miami Dolphins. In this phorum, there are rules and moderators to make sure you abide by the rules. The moderators for this phorum are JC and Colonel.
I feel the fins will finish 8-8, Henne will continue to struggle and be benched week #4. The safety spot will be a huge concern again! The team will be in some close games but the inconsistant QB play will be our downfall. Lets just hope next year we bring in a coach who will make the right decisions and get this team back to championship form!!
I will stick with my July 10 predictions. 13-3 and SB winners.
1 Sep 12 NE @ MIA: Pouncey, Daniel Thomas and E. Gates make their impressions early in big W. Mia wins 34-17
2 Sep 18 HOU @ MIA: Finally, FINALLY!! Miami tames this beast 24-13.
3 Sep 25 MIA @ CLE: I will be there for this one as the D comes to play in the 21-3 win.
4 Oct 02 MIA @ SD: tough game for Miami. Offense can't keep up 14-31 loss. Were now 3 and 1.
5 Bye
6 Oct 17 MIA @ NYJ: Defense comes alive and offensive line is a thing of beauty in 17-7 win.
7 Oct 23 DEN @ MIA: Henne continues to be effective and is getting positive media attention after big win 34-10.
8 Oct 30 MIA @ NYG: Giants are having a tough year as mini-manning (although I really like the guy) serves up a few to Mia in another road win 23-10.
9 Nov 06 MIA @ KC: Mia uncovers the real KC team (pretenders) in 27-7 killing.
10 Nov 13 WAS @ MIA: I think Mia should get Donovan. I think they do before the season starts and this game is a big one. Mia 28 Was 17.
11 Nov 20 BUF @ MIA: No problems in this 24-10 win.
12 Nov 24 MIA @ DAL: I would like to see Jerry Jones cry on those big old stadium screens. Mia 28 Dal 24.
13 Dec 04 OAK @ MIA: Al Davis trys to talk Howie Long into one more year and Howie agrees, but only if this is Al's last as controller of the Radiers. Mia is now 12-1 after this 23-3 game.
14 Dec 11 PHI @ MIA: Donavan winks to Andy as Philly takes Mia down 24-13.
15 Dec 18 MIA @ BUF: Buffalo gives Mia a scare as they have only these internaltinal games to highlite thier season. Mia wins 27-24 in OT.
16 Dec 24 MIA @ NE: Tom terrific spanks Mia 31-13.
17 Jan 01 NYJ @ MIA: Pouncey, Thomas and Gates are all in the Pro-Bowl (along with Henne, Marshal, Wake, Dansby and half the Defensive line) as Mia is the league leader in rushing offense and rushing defense. Mia wins 21-17 and closes the regular season at 13-3.
Divisional: Mia beats Pittsburgh 24-20.
AFC Championship: Mia beats Baltimore 28-14.
SB: Mia beats GB 31-3.
I would like to be aggressively optimistic but this team simply has too many fundamental questions still. Those of us with our critical faculties intact know the Offense is highly suspect at the QB position – and the OL is not a solid cohesive unit. I’ve been saying for a while Long will never be the dominant run blocker he was 2 years ago – and the knee is now yet another concern. It’s not good news to see him breaking down so early in his career. Pouncey could prove to be a solid pick but regretfully he can’t play QB, and I’m not sure he’s ready out of the box to be physically stout enough to match against the likes of Wilfork et al. Jerry seems to be yet another whiff in the Shawn Murphy Pillsbury mold. The balance of the OL is a mostly a mixture of retreads and dudes who lack the necessary discipline to be consistent winners (the poster boy being Vernon Cary). After dumping Ricky and Ronnie we added significant speed and youth to the mix at RB. The questions are: do we have a bona fide productive workhorse in Thomas and can Reggie Bush stay out of street cloths? There’s potential here but it’s untested and unproven. If we get lucky we could do well with the reformulation at the RB position. The WR position has some young talent with significant upside – and I still believe Brandon Marshall can be a top tier receiver – but only with a competent QB, and Henne is not that guy. Maybe Moore can carry the load for one season – but the odds are Miami’s solution at QB is still in college.
The D could be impressive but there are questions as well. It all starts with Soliai, if he’s indeed developed into a 60-minute player and brings it game after game – we’re in dominant shape (potentially) up front. Odrick is a big question IMO because the dude is just too fragile for his monster athletic frame. If he holds together (and that’s a BIG if IMO) he will contribute to a physicality up-front that’s intimidating. The depth at DL is perhaps as good as there is in the league.
LB has been improved but once again we have questions on dependability and core soundness. Burnett is a great athlete but he’s a bit fragile. But if he can hold together, the tandem of him and Dansby is really impressive. The athleticism inside is like WOW. Now match that with Misi and Wake on the outside and suddenly you’ve got a legit shot at a championship D. The DB’s are on the rise with tons of developing young talent. Now add the fact Nolan is coaching this group and on paper – it looks like all the offense has to do is run the ball efficiently and NOT lose the game with dumbass mistakes. But that’s precisely what Henne has demonstrated remarkable prowess at doing. So Matt Moore looks like the better choice right out of the box. And I wouldn’t waste 2 or 3 games hoping Henne has a transformational football awakening – I’d start Moore on day one if (???) he proves competent and (most important) efficient – and stays away from dumbass plays.
BNF.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2011 02:08PM by BigNastyFish.
If Tony wakes up and gets his head out of his ass.........we can be a 11-5 team. I think our defense is going to be KILLER. Best in the NFL. I like some new blood for Special teams. Our offense can be effective with a New QB.
9-7 with some luck
8-8 on our talent level (pretty tough schedule)
7-9 with some bad luck
Tony S. gets shown the door (not Ireland), Jeff names Nolan or maybe Fisher the HC, and we go all "Mike Ditka/Ricky Williams wedding" type of draft for a franchise QB next year.
<meanwhile back at the ranch> Chad Henne signs with the Jets/Pats as a scout team QB and this board explodes with people lamenting that he's gonna come back to haunt us and "why did we let him get away???????"
Optimistically, I'm with Treasure at 11-5. I think our strengths can outweigh our deficiencies enough to prop up 11 wins. There's no way our OL will be as bad as last year...our D should be really, really good & bordering on best in league...our ST can't be as bad...and we can't have all the bad luck we seemed to last year (dropped INT, etc.).
However, if we start bad, we will have a terrible year. I think the team's overall psyche is pretty fragile, so if things go poorly, they'll go really poorly. If well, we might be able to ride a high to 11-5.
tsstamper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There's no way our OL
> will be as bad as last year...our D should be
> really, really good & bordering on best in
> league...our ST can't be as bad...and we can't
> have all the bad luck we seemed to last year
> (dropped INT, etc.).
>
I sincerely hope you're right. That first preseason game didn't give me very much to be optimistic about.
dolphaholic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 9-7 with some luck
> 8-8 on our talent level (pretty tough schedule)
> 7-9 with some bad luck
>
> Tony S. gets shown the door (not Ireland), Jeff
> names Nolan or maybe Fisher the HC, and we go all
> "Mike Ditka/Ricky Williams wedding" type of draft
> for a franchise QB next year.
>
> Chad Henne signs with the Jets/Pats as a scout
> team QB and this board explodes with people
> lamenting that he's gonna come back to haunt us
> and "why did we let him get away???????"
probably not an unlikely scenario if Henne and Sparano fail this year, other then adding the Patriots drop Mallett to pick up Henne just to seal the icing on the cake...lol
I don't think our run game struggles infact I think Bush post over 1k this year.
I think because of Bush Henne and Marshall will have a very solid year resulting in Miami to e 12-4 winning the AFC East and advancing to the playoffs.
This is if we do not have alot of injuries. Henne should hit the 4k mark this year I agree with.
He might not and that would only be because the lack of a elite pass catching TE.