Last Year:
One of The Score?s Anchormen Tim Micallef is efficient when dialing down the center for Swiss Chalet delivery, and while many endowed people have lesser known traits, the Miami Dolphins early season success is not a surprising characteristic. Like Tim?s profound voice and unique style, South Beach?s 4-1 start was impressive but it appears that a 10-win season was the peak of a Dolphins generation that is quickly balding of talent. With the loss of Ricky Williams and David Boston, Miami?s team better come across a number of undiscovered attributes or they?ll find themselves on the negative end of a Micallef mention.
What we Learned from Last Year:
With the introduction of novel relationship facilitators such as speed dating and internet singles chat rooms it is easy to hop from liaison to liaison. All of those amenities don?t seem to help the Miami Dolphins given their off-season losses as it appears that they head into 2004-05 on a blind date.
There are a few things to pluck from their fading memory of last season.
The defense was once again steady claiming the 3rd pass rank and the 5th rush rank. Jason Taylor and Adewale Ogunleye duoed as two of the finest speed rushing defensive ends in the NFL totaling 28 sacks. Some additional pressure from the interior line wouldn?t have hurt.
In a late off-season transfer, the Fish picked up the services of an aging Junior Seau who surprised critics by shoring up the outside linebacking position for Miami. Strapped with Pro Bowler Zach Thomas and Morlon Greenwood, the corps helped shave half a yard off of the team?s yard per carry average allowed from 2002.
Offensively the team dabbled between the unstable Brian Griese and an undersupplied Jay Fiedler. Though Fiedler took the larger portion of attempts, as evidenced by the team?s 26th ranked passing game, Fiedler is more of a question, than an answer at the quarterbacking position. Maybe the 11 TD/13 INT ratio tells you enough of his story, but there are a sufficient amount of other red flags.
Known for swift starts and frosty finishes, have a look at these streaky numbers:
1ST Half: 60 comp %, 9 TD, 5 INT, and 87.2 QB Rating
2nd Half: 54 comp %, 2 TD, 7 INT, and 58.6 QB Rating
There?s more:
Last 2 minutes of the half: 47 comp %, 1 TD, 2 INT, and 45.8 QB Rating
4th Quarter: 45.3 comp %, 1 TD, 7 INT, 23.0 QB Rating
These numbers are astonishingly low for a starting quarterback in this league, particularly since they drop even lower when the team gravely needs his help. A mediocre offensive line may play a part of his catastrophic numbers.
One of the few positives that will carry over onto this year?s offense is wide receiver Chris Chambers. As the only legitimate receiving threat in a dull offense Chambers nabbed just under 1000 yards, and 11 touchdowns.
What Has Changed?:
One-hit wonder Afroman had a successful single entitled ?Because I Got High? detailing the wrongdoings of his life with the justification being the same as the title. Miami Dolphins retired running back Ricky Williams seems to relate to Afroman?s lack of motivation as reasoning for his retirement appears to stem from his, and the rapper?s, love for natural highs.
"I didn't quit football because I failed a drug test," Williams told the Miami Herald. "I failed a drug test because I was ready to quit football."
Regardless of the logic, or the ethics behind the logic, the fact of the matter is that he is no longer a Miami Dolphin.
Moving forward, the Fish are in a lot of trouble.
It?s funny how a lot of NFL teams seem to always ?waste? a draft pick on an extra running back just in case but clearly the Miami Dolphins forewent that idea. The Buffalo Bills have Willis McGahee, the New York Jets have LaMont Jordan, the Kansas City Chiefs have Larry Johnson, the Minnesota Vikings have Onterrio Smith, the Cincinnati Bengals have Chris Perry, and the list goes on. One of the few clubs who do not have a prospect waiting in the wings is this exact team.
The porous passing game has been elaborated by many detractors, and it?s no secret that the running game is the ace of this offense. Losing Ricky paralyzes this team. Jay Fiedler was average with an all-star running back, what is he now without one?
When comparing Miami to the worst offenses in the league such as Dallas, San Diego, Houston, and Chicago, at the very least all 4 of those teams have a 1000 yard running back. Houston, San Diego and Chicago all have budding quarterbacks itching to pop out into the well-known, while Miami will have a go with Jay Fiedler and A.J. Feeley. The Dolphins make a valiant case for worst offense in the NFL (with Dallas a close second).
Look at who this team is starting at quarterback. We know Fiedler typical numbers (above), but A.J. Feeley is supposed to be the quarterback of the future? In his ephemeral, accidental starts, Feeley played like a good backup, not a good starter. He started five games for the injured Donovan McNabb and held the fort down graciously until the real starter?s health was restored. The quarterback position remains unsolved for this team.
Wide receiver was one of the few positions that the Dolphins improved in the off-season incorporating David Boston, Snoop Minnis, and Terrence Wilkins. A season-ending injury to Boston deflates all the accumulated optimism.
On defense, the Dolphins have taken a step back (temporarily) as last year?s sack leader Adewale Ogunleye is holding out. On top of his absence, the Dolphins will be without sturdy safety Brock Marion who departed to Detroit. Middle linebacker Zach Thomas battling injuries is the cherry on top of a melted vanilla Sunday. The secondary of the Dolphins is recognized as one of the better groupings in the league but without Ogunleye, the defensive line may not be as available to ameliorate the consistent defensive backs.
The Dolphins dive from being one of the best competitors who barely missed the playoffs last year to a last place AFC East team with virtually no hope before the season has even started.
How will the players remain focused for a coach that?s nearly lost the team? Is this team going to put forth a San Diego-like effort knowing that they have suffered a couple of insurmountable gashes before kickoff?
Labeled as September?s finest, and December?s depressed it could be a very long season if the Dolphins don?t get their perennial early season victories.
O/U 8:
The Super Bowl champs over-celebrate, the Jets experience some key injuries, and the Bills perform like last season and you never know right? Well?some people will try to be optimistic. They play: TEN, @CIN, PIT, STL, ARZ, @SEA, @SF, @DEN, CLE, and @BAL.
Fantasy Sleeper:
The injury to David Boston creates an opening in the starting lineup for a new wide receiver and Snoop Minnis may finally get a chance to revive his career. Though he has yet to recover from a broken foot injury two seasons ago he?ll get his chance. With attention pointed to Chris Chambers along with a bigger emphasis on the passing game, Minnis could have a moderate season. He?s a reach.
One of The Score?s Anchormen Tim Micallef is efficient when dialing down the center for Swiss Chalet delivery, and while many endowed people have lesser known traits, the Miami Dolphins early season success is not a surprising characteristic. Like Tim?s profound voice and unique style, South Beach?s 4-1 start was impressive but it appears that a 10-win season was the peak of a Dolphins generation that is quickly balding of talent. With the loss of Ricky Williams and David Boston, Miami?s team better come across a number of undiscovered attributes or they?ll find themselves on the negative end of a Micallef mention.
What we Learned from Last Year:
With the introduction of novel relationship facilitators such as speed dating and internet singles chat rooms it is easy to hop from liaison to liaison. All of those amenities don?t seem to help the Miami Dolphins given their off-season losses as it appears that they head into 2004-05 on a blind date.
There are a few things to pluck from their fading memory of last season.
The defense was once again steady claiming the 3rd pass rank and the 5th rush rank. Jason Taylor and Adewale Ogunleye duoed as two of the finest speed rushing defensive ends in the NFL totaling 28 sacks. Some additional pressure from the interior line wouldn?t have hurt.
In a late off-season transfer, the Fish picked up the services of an aging Junior Seau who surprised critics by shoring up the outside linebacking position for Miami. Strapped with Pro Bowler Zach Thomas and Morlon Greenwood, the corps helped shave half a yard off of the team?s yard per carry average allowed from 2002.
Offensively the team dabbled between the unstable Brian Griese and an undersupplied Jay Fiedler. Though Fiedler took the larger portion of attempts, as evidenced by the team?s 26th ranked passing game, Fiedler is more of a question, than an answer at the quarterbacking position. Maybe the 11 TD/13 INT ratio tells you enough of his story, but there are a sufficient amount of other red flags.
Known for swift starts and frosty finishes, have a look at these streaky numbers:
1ST Half: 60 comp %, 9 TD, 5 INT, and 87.2 QB Rating
2nd Half: 54 comp %, 2 TD, 7 INT, and 58.6 QB Rating
There?s more:
Last 2 minutes of the half: 47 comp %, 1 TD, 2 INT, and 45.8 QB Rating
4th Quarter: 45.3 comp %, 1 TD, 7 INT, 23.0 QB Rating
These numbers are astonishingly low for a starting quarterback in this league, particularly since they drop even lower when the team gravely needs his help. A mediocre offensive line may play a part of his catastrophic numbers.
One of the few positives that will carry over onto this year?s offense is wide receiver Chris Chambers. As the only legitimate receiving threat in a dull offense Chambers nabbed just under 1000 yards, and 11 touchdowns.
What Has Changed?:
One-hit wonder Afroman had a successful single entitled ?Because I Got High? detailing the wrongdoings of his life with the justification being the same as the title. Miami Dolphins retired running back Ricky Williams seems to relate to Afroman?s lack of motivation as reasoning for his retirement appears to stem from his, and the rapper?s, love for natural highs.
"I didn't quit football because I failed a drug test," Williams told the Miami Herald. "I failed a drug test because I was ready to quit football."
Regardless of the logic, or the ethics behind the logic, the fact of the matter is that he is no longer a Miami Dolphin.
Moving forward, the Fish are in a lot of trouble.
It?s funny how a lot of NFL teams seem to always ?waste? a draft pick on an extra running back just in case but clearly the Miami Dolphins forewent that idea. The Buffalo Bills have Willis McGahee, the New York Jets have LaMont Jordan, the Kansas City Chiefs have Larry Johnson, the Minnesota Vikings have Onterrio Smith, the Cincinnati Bengals have Chris Perry, and the list goes on. One of the few clubs who do not have a prospect waiting in the wings is this exact team.
The porous passing game has been elaborated by many detractors, and it?s no secret that the running game is the ace of this offense. Losing Ricky paralyzes this team. Jay Fiedler was average with an all-star running back, what is he now without one?
When comparing Miami to the worst offenses in the league such as Dallas, San Diego, Houston, and Chicago, at the very least all 4 of those teams have a 1000 yard running back. Houston, San Diego and Chicago all have budding quarterbacks itching to pop out into the well-known, while Miami will have a go with Jay Fiedler and A.J. Feeley. The Dolphins make a valiant case for worst offense in the NFL (with Dallas a close second).
Look at who this team is starting at quarterback. We know Fiedler typical numbers (above), but A.J. Feeley is supposed to be the quarterback of the future? In his ephemeral, accidental starts, Feeley played like a good backup, not a good starter. He started five games for the injured Donovan McNabb and held the fort down graciously until the real starter?s health was restored. The quarterback position remains unsolved for this team.
Wide receiver was one of the few positions that the Dolphins improved in the off-season incorporating David Boston, Snoop Minnis, and Terrence Wilkins. A season-ending injury to Boston deflates all the accumulated optimism.
On defense, the Dolphins have taken a step back (temporarily) as last year?s sack leader Adewale Ogunleye is holding out. On top of his absence, the Dolphins will be without sturdy safety Brock Marion who departed to Detroit. Middle linebacker Zach Thomas battling injuries is the cherry on top of a melted vanilla Sunday. The secondary of the Dolphins is recognized as one of the better groupings in the league but without Ogunleye, the defensive line may not be as available to ameliorate the consistent defensive backs.
The Dolphins dive from being one of the best competitors who barely missed the playoffs last year to a last place AFC East team with virtually no hope before the season has even started.
How will the players remain focused for a coach that?s nearly lost the team? Is this team going to put forth a San Diego-like effort knowing that they have suffered a couple of insurmountable gashes before kickoff?
Labeled as September?s finest, and December?s depressed it could be a very long season if the Dolphins don?t get their perennial early season victories.
O/U 8:
The Super Bowl champs over-celebrate, the Jets experience some key injuries, and the Bills perform like last season and you never know right? Well?some people will try to be optimistic. They play: TEN, @CIN, PIT, STL, ARZ, @SEA, @SF, @DEN, CLE, and @BAL.
Fantasy Sleeper:
The injury to David Boston creates an opening in the starting lineup for a new wide receiver and Snoop Minnis may finally get a chance to revive his career. Though he has yet to recover from a broken foot injury two seasons ago he?ll get his chance. With attention pointed to Chris Chambers along with a bigger emphasis on the passing game, Minnis could have a moderate season. He?s a reach.
