Last Year:
The Miami Dolphins began last season with a new set of tires and a new look. After Lamar Smith wheels turned to rust, the Dolphins brought in a proven talent in Ricky Williams who immediately gave this running game shock therapy. He tore up the league carrying the offense and masking their quarterback and coaching inadequacies. The Dolphins quickly found out that they can't win game simply by running the ball and they brought in Brian Griese to put some pressure on their current "starting" qb Jay Fiedler. If they work a couple of kinks out this team may be Super Bowl bound.
What We Learned from Last Year:
The Dolphins looked like the best team in the league after 6 weeks last year going 5 - 1. What is more important is that most of those 5 wins came against fairly solid opponents. But just when you thought they were about to take that next step, Fiedler got injured, and the Dolphins went into a downward spin. Under backup Ray Lucas the Dolphins only went 2 - 4 which didn't finish their season but it drained all of the momentum they had build up to this point of the season. Even when Jay came back the team just was not the same. They finished 2 - 2 in their last four games and stumbled to a 9 - 7 season. Definitely a disappointing season for a team that looked so promising at first, but it goes to show you how important momentum is in sports. The talk about this team is mostly questions whether the team this year will be shades of the 5 - 1 team or whether the team will be closer to the one the finished poorly.
It's no secret this team can run the ball, they ranked second in the league last year. On the other hand though this team's passing game ranks among the worst in the league. More importantly, it is unreliable. In the game of football running the ball is important, and it can win you 17 games a year if you are playing Buffalo, but the inability to pass the ball will kill you when you play real teams. What absolutely paralizes the Fish is that they can not pass the ball in key situations in the game. Like always, the Dolphins start their games off hot. They get early leads, shutdown opponents, but don't put teams away. They let their opponents crawl back in the game, and then the Fish usually collapse in the fourth. It's a common theme. It either comes from Dave Weinstedt (who won't be around much longer unless they fix this problem) or from Jay Fiedler. Jay Fiedler has a career 79.6 quarterback rating and posted a 85.2 average last year. Let's dig into his QB rating a bit further though:
1st quarter: 118.7
2nd quarter: 85.5
3rd quarter: 87.6
4th quarter: 52.7
Take a good look at that 4th quarter rating because it is absolute crap. When this team needs him, he folds like a cheap tent. He is one of the biggest reasons why this team chokes so often. If he keeps this up he's going to be replaced pretty quickly.
What has Changed?:
The frame of this team is pretty close to last year's. The defense has always been good and now has added Sammy Knight at strong safety and former Dolphin Terrell Buckley to add depth to the secondary. Junior Seau was probably the loudest addition to this defense, but with his age getting up there it will be interesting to see how much he can contribute to this team. He is a big emotional boost which should help them out in the 4th quarters.
Brian Griese becoming a Dolphin should have the biggest impact on this team. Maybe he will finally bring that killer instinct that this team lacks so much of. With Fiedler, this team can not get their businness done in the passing game. Griese allows them to open things up. He has a stronger arm than Miami's boy Jay, and he will be able to make more downfield connections with Chris Chambers. He had problems in Denver with decision making, but judging by just pure skills he is far better than Jay Fiedler. Griese can be a very good quarterback in the league, he just has to remain focused. He should have a more consistent defense behind him in Miami, and with the help of Ricky Williams this team might be going places.
Bringing Brian Griese should really put somes shakes through Jay Fiedler. I know, and he knows that they call him the "starter", but he has to improve his game or his role will be very temporary. Teams don't just bring in players like Brian Griese to play backup. It is to send a very clear message, specifically to Jay, that his game has to get better or he will be replaced by somebody more capable. The media, the team, and the coaches all say the right things by saying that the job is still Jay's, and he is the team's starter, but they all know why Griese was brought in. He was brought in to take this offense to a new level, and to put this team over the top. Jay would like to think that the job is his to lose, but if he plays his best, and Griese plays his best, then the job will be Brian's. So in essence the job is Brian's to lose. If Griese can give this team a boost in their passing game then they are as good of a contender as any.
As for the defense, I don't think there are any questions about it. They have the talent everywhere to shut down opponents. As long as they stay healthy they will keep Miami's games close. The key for this defense is simply momentum because they seem to feed off of Miami scoring points. When the offense sputters and starts letting teams back into the game, it seems as if the defense can't help it. What is vital for this team this year is simply second halfs. The second half of games, and the second half of their season. Miami has to find a way to finish. Unfortunately I think this invisible downfall comes from their coach Dave Weinstedt, but wherever it comes from this team needs to find consistency throughout their whole games. It does them no good to start 5 - 1 if they finish 4 - 6. It does this team no good if Fiedler has a QB rating of 118.7 in the first quarter if his rating is only 52.7 in the fourth quarter. We know the defense is good but cannot carry them. We know the running game is good but cannot carry them. They need to find a cure for their magical 2nd half disappearing act.
O/U 9.5:
With such an upredictable team judging this over under might be tough especially since the calibur of their opponents in the division. They are the most talented team in their division, and have the ability to get a good ammount of wins there but once again this is a team underachieves. Here is their schedule: Texans, @Giants, @Jaguars, @Chargers, Colts, @Titans, Ravens, Redskins, @Cowboys, Eagles.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Brian Griese is definitely a sleeper on this team. I think a lot of people think that he will be starting at some point, and if he's successful you'll have a good starting quarterback from a fairly good team. Just keep in mind that he has better raw skills than Fiedler and as long as he remains focused the job should be his. Any type of slow start from this team, or struggles from Jay Fiedler this team will make immediate changes starting at the QB position.
The Miami Dolphins began last season with a new set of tires and a new look. After Lamar Smith wheels turned to rust, the Dolphins brought in a proven talent in Ricky Williams who immediately gave this running game shock therapy. He tore up the league carrying the offense and masking their quarterback and coaching inadequacies. The Dolphins quickly found out that they can't win game simply by running the ball and they brought in Brian Griese to put some pressure on their current "starting" qb Jay Fiedler. If they work a couple of kinks out this team may be Super Bowl bound.
What We Learned from Last Year:
The Dolphins looked like the best team in the league after 6 weeks last year going 5 - 1. What is more important is that most of those 5 wins came against fairly solid opponents. But just when you thought they were about to take that next step, Fiedler got injured, and the Dolphins went into a downward spin. Under backup Ray Lucas the Dolphins only went 2 - 4 which didn't finish their season but it drained all of the momentum they had build up to this point of the season. Even when Jay came back the team just was not the same. They finished 2 - 2 in their last four games and stumbled to a 9 - 7 season. Definitely a disappointing season for a team that looked so promising at first, but it goes to show you how important momentum is in sports. The talk about this team is mostly questions whether the team this year will be shades of the 5 - 1 team or whether the team will be closer to the one the finished poorly.
It's no secret this team can run the ball, they ranked second in the league last year. On the other hand though this team's passing game ranks among the worst in the league. More importantly, it is unreliable. In the game of football running the ball is important, and it can win you 17 games a year if you are playing Buffalo, but the inability to pass the ball will kill you when you play real teams. What absolutely paralizes the Fish is that they can not pass the ball in key situations in the game. Like always, the Dolphins start their games off hot. They get early leads, shutdown opponents, but don't put teams away. They let their opponents crawl back in the game, and then the Fish usually collapse in the fourth. It's a common theme. It either comes from Dave Weinstedt (who won't be around much longer unless they fix this problem) or from Jay Fiedler. Jay Fiedler has a career 79.6 quarterback rating and posted a 85.2 average last year. Let's dig into his QB rating a bit further though:
1st quarter: 118.7
2nd quarter: 85.5
3rd quarter: 87.6
4th quarter: 52.7
Take a good look at that 4th quarter rating because it is absolute crap. When this team needs him, he folds like a cheap tent. He is one of the biggest reasons why this team chokes so often. If he keeps this up he's going to be replaced pretty quickly.
What has Changed?:
The frame of this team is pretty close to last year's. The defense has always been good and now has added Sammy Knight at strong safety and former Dolphin Terrell Buckley to add depth to the secondary. Junior Seau was probably the loudest addition to this defense, but with his age getting up there it will be interesting to see how much he can contribute to this team. He is a big emotional boost which should help them out in the 4th quarters.
Brian Griese becoming a Dolphin should have the biggest impact on this team. Maybe he will finally bring that killer instinct that this team lacks so much of. With Fiedler, this team can not get their businness done in the passing game. Griese allows them to open things up. He has a stronger arm than Miami's boy Jay, and he will be able to make more downfield connections with Chris Chambers. He had problems in Denver with decision making, but judging by just pure skills he is far better than Jay Fiedler. Griese can be a very good quarterback in the league, he just has to remain focused. He should have a more consistent defense behind him in Miami, and with the help of Ricky Williams this team might be going places.
Bringing Brian Griese should really put somes shakes through Jay Fiedler. I know, and he knows that they call him the "starter", but he has to improve his game or his role will be very temporary. Teams don't just bring in players like Brian Griese to play backup. It is to send a very clear message, specifically to Jay, that his game has to get better or he will be replaced by somebody more capable. The media, the team, and the coaches all say the right things by saying that the job is still Jay's, and he is the team's starter, but they all know why Griese was brought in. He was brought in to take this offense to a new level, and to put this team over the top. Jay would like to think that the job is his to lose, but if he plays his best, and Griese plays his best, then the job will be Brian's. So in essence the job is Brian's to lose. If Griese can give this team a boost in their passing game then they are as good of a contender as any.
As for the defense, I don't think there are any questions about it. They have the talent everywhere to shut down opponents. As long as they stay healthy they will keep Miami's games close. The key for this defense is simply momentum because they seem to feed off of Miami scoring points. When the offense sputters and starts letting teams back into the game, it seems as if the defense can't help it. What is vital for this team this year is simply second halfs. The second half of games, and the second half of their season. Miami has to find a way to finish. Unfortunately I think this invisible downfall comes from their coach Dave Weinstedt, but wherever it comes from this team needs to find consistency throughout their whole games. It does them no good to start 5 - 1 if they finish 4 - 6. It does this team no good if Fiedler has a QB rating of 118.7 in the first quarter if his rating is only 52.7 in the fourth quarter. We know the defense is good but cannot carry them. We know the running game is good but cannot carry them. They need to find a cure for their magical 2nd half disappearing act.
O/U 9.5:
With such an upredictable team judging this over under might be tough especially since the calibur of their opponents in the division. They are the most talented team in their division, and have the ability to get a good ammount of wins there but once again this is a team underachieves. Here is their schedule: Texans, @Giants, @Jaguars, @Chargers, Colts, @Titans, Ravens, Redskins, @Cowboys, Eagles.
Fantasy Sleeper:
Brian Griese is definitely a sleeper on this team. I think a lot of people think that he will be starting at some point, and if he's successful you'll have a good starting quarterback from a fairly good team. Just keep in mind that he has better raw skills than Fiedler and as long as he remains focused the job should be his. Any type of slow start from this team, or struggles from Jay Fiedler this team will make immediate changes starting at the QB position.
