Dolphins lag behind rest of AFC East in coverage
Recent news reports once again paint the Miami Dolphins in a different light than the other AFC East teams.
It looks as though the tables have turned in the media coverage on the Dolphins from the last season to this one. Many stories have come up over the last week or so that do not paint the Dolphins in a very good light. While this is nothing new it is a contrast in comparison to the last season. The rest of the AFCE is also being touted as something to look out for.
Playoffs? A look at playoffs?
Yes, playoffs are being brought up at this early stage. No, you won’t be seeing the Dolphins included in these discussions much if not at all. Ian Wharton of bleacherreport.com has both the Jets and the Bills as contenders to do so. The Patriots are always perennial favorites there is not much change here outside of a possible 4 game suspension on Tom Brady that is still pending.
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"“According to Odds Shark, the Bills are tied with the Jets as the second-most likely team to win the AFC East, which should put them in line to compete for a wild-card birth. They may need to rack up 10 wins, as there’s deep competition across the conference. ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak projected only nine wins for the Bills in 2016.” Ian Wharton of bleacherreport.com"
While there are questions abound over the state of the other teams in the AFCE. Namely Tom Brady possibly not playing the first 4 games, Ryan Fitzpatrick signing and the ramifications on the Jets limited salary-cap while Muhammad Wilkerson has yet to sign his franchise tag. The Buffalo Bills seem to have injury problems although Shaq Lawson is the only one projected to miss playing time which is 4 games at this point although Christian Smith of todayspigskin.com states they have that covered.
"“The Bills will surely miss Lawson’s debut throughout training camp and the early part of the season. However, their depth will soothe the pain. He was expected to be an immediate starter, but that is merely a reflection of his talent rather than the Bills’ lack of depth at the position. Players like IK Enemkpali, Manny Lawson, and Corbin Bryant.” Christian Smith of todayspigskin.com"
That’s my QB
Ryan Tannehill, make or break? No excuses? Throw out all the axioms and they will fit for this season.
The state of Ryan Tannehill can lead to many debates on almost any sports comment section. While I can see both sides of this subject, most project him as a slightly better than average QB. However Jason La Canfora of cbssports.com has an interesting 7 tier grade system were tier 7 is for projected rookie starters. He has Ryan Tannehill in tier 6 “Good luck with these guys” he states and he also has the QB for the Minnesota Vikings Teddy Bridgewater 2 tiers ahead of him.
"“Not sure he is going to be Adam Gase’s cup of tea. He doesn’t make big boy reads or throws and is very limited downfield. Still looks pretty rudimentary to me.” Jason La Canfora of cbssports.com"
The rankings are pretty rank
We have bleacherreport placing the Dolphins dead last in the AFCE rankings by deduction ( see above ). There are other outlets that also have them dead last, those are profootballfocus.com with articles and statistics, various other betting outfits have the same statistics. Kevin Nogle of thephinsider.com covered one of PFF stories and also adds his on assertions as follows.
"“The assumption that Williams is done because last year was his worst year does not give any benefit of the doubt to Williams returning to a pure defensive end role instead of an outside linebacker role he had in Buffalo last year. Alonso and Maxwell have to prove themselves healthy and ready to return to form from a couple of seasons ago, but the players they are replacing in Kelvin Sheppard and Brent Grimes were not exactly healthy, dominating players last year either.”Kevin Nogle of thephinsider.com"
A PFF article was also covered by Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel were he asks in his stories title “Are Dolphins cornerbacks 31st in 32-team league? ” he states
"“You knew cornerback was a weak area this off-season. It’s still causes hives to break out on most fans when you break down the thin and inexperienced group the Dolphins hope will be bolstered by a strong pass rush. The question is whether it’s as weak as Pro Football Focus says in rating their cornerbacks only ahead of Carolina.” Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel"
ESPN covers the betting outfits lines of just 4 Dolphins wins next season with James Walker also covering Ben Fawkes and he states
"“Morning take: That’s not good for the Dolphins, when Vegas doesn’t have much confidence. Miami has a tough slate of games, particularly with early road contests against the Seahawks, Patriots and Bengals.”James Walker also covering Ben Fawkes for ESPN"
One can only guess that the betting outfits and others do not like the pieces the Dolphins have lost compared to those gained. I could write a whole other story on this matter as it gets complex. Although there might be a bigger picture here in that when you look at wins/loss records and playoffs the Dolphins are being slowing drawn down a caldron, and all the critics, betting outfits and sites that come up with newfangled stats have every right to burn them as they see fit.
The only thing that would stop this downward spiral is to first have a winning season and then to get into the playoffs. The others in the AFCE have done the first part and this is separating them. I left the Patriots out because as previously stated they are always perennial favorites. Being drawn down to the level of the Browns may not seem fitting but if you look at the records they are only one year back from the Dolphins in having the last winning season.