Nov. 15, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake (91) watches as Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) jumps to throw a pass during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo defeats Miami 19 to 14. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Both Pro Football Focus and the NFL Network released their own version of the Top 100 players in the NFL in 2012. There seemed to be a little dispute on how good Cameron Wake is. NFL Network ranked Wake the 89th best player while PFF ranked him number 8, including an honorable mention for defensive player of the year.

I thought it would be a good idea to look at Wake’s numbers to see which one of these rankings are more realistic.

Last year was Wake’s first year playing as a 4-3 defensive end. The change didn’t seem to bother him much, as he racked up 15 sacks, the 4th most in the NFL. He also forced three fumbles which placed him within the top 25 of the category. These numbers were good enough for Wake to be selected to go to the Pro Bowl for the second time in four years and was named a 1st Team all Pro in 2012.

Wake’s 15 sacks came in a total of 8 games which is pretty good, including a 4.5 sack performance against Arizona, and a 3 sack performance against San Fran. These are pretty solid stats seeing how there was never a consistent pass rusher lined up on the other side.

PFF also stated that Wake had 23 stops in the run game which was 8th most by a 4-3 defensive end. The Dolphins had the best defense on rushes to the right side, Wake being a key part of that stat.

It is clear that Cam can get to the QB, and he can play extremely well against the run. He is a nightmare for most tackles, exploding off the line and being able to get to the ball.

After sharing a few stats from the 2012 season which ranking seems more fitting for the 4 year player who came over from the CFL?

I believe Wake is a top 10 player, a true playmaker that every team worries about facing each Sunday. PFF seems to rank Wake a lot closer to where he belongs. 89 is way to low for someone with the Numbers Wake was able to put up in 2012.

What do you guys think???

Can Jonathan Martin protect Ryan Tannehill’s blind side for the entire season? This question is very hard to answer before camp starts. We will not see Martin in pads for another few months. Until then I can’t see the Dolphins signing another tackle.

Philbin has to think highly of Martin, they must of seen something in him they like because only last year they drafted him, using their second round pick. Martin didn’t exactly have a good rookie season. He was actually pretty inconsistent sharing time between both left and right tackle in 2013. In that time he gave up more QB hurries then any other tackle in the NFL.

That doesn’t mean Martin can’t improve, he could be ready to take the next step and protect Tannehill’s blind side for many years, like he did for Andrew Luck in college. Martin has also said he has bulked up, gaining 15 pounds now weighing 320.

Martin sounds like he is ready for the challenge in 2013. We won’t know if he is ready until mid July and summer camp starts. Until then, i can’t see Miami looking at any other tackles. They aren’t ready to give up on their second round pick from last year.

Espn has released its yearly post draft power rankings, and Miami is ranked right about where they were at the end of last season, 18 out of 32. Basically saying they are competitive but not a playoff team yet. This ranking seems pretty fair because Miami hasn’t played a single snap yet. If the Dolphins play the way they should, after becoming a far more talented team this offseason then they could easily be floating around the top ten when the season comes to an end.

There are three areas that Miami must improve this season to become  a playoff team and a team others do not want to face.

Playmaking on defense. Other then Cameron Wake and Rashad Jones no one on the Dolphins defense could make a play. This resulted in many third down conversions by opposing teams. I look at the game against the Colts as a perfect example. Too many times throughout the game the Dolphins were able to get Andrew Luck into a third and long situation, (at times being more then 10 yards) but Luck was able to sit in the pocket and find Reggie Wayne or Donnie Avery for a huge gain, at least 15 yards or more.

With the Additions of players like Dion Jordan and Brent Grimes, Joe Philbin hopes he has found the pieces to be able to make the big play or stop on third down to get their team off the field.

Another big key is explosive plays down the field. This one will mostly rely on Ryan Tannehill, he has to be able to improve his accuracy down the field. Brian Hartline was able to sneak by the secondary a few times last year, only one resulted in one touchdown. Most of the time it was either over or under thrown, but not by much. With the addition of mike Wallace I expect that to happen even more this year. If Tannehill can make the throws, this team will have a very scary offense.

The third may be the biggest of them all. Do your job. More specifically Carpenter make the simple field goals, and Daniel Thomas, protect the ball better. The Dolphins went out and drafted another ground and pound runner in Mike Gillislee from Florida. Thomas may be on his way out if he can’t stop losing the ball, and he needs to start being that short yardage back that the Dolphins needed. Carpenter,who  had the chance to win a couple of games for the Dolphins in 2012, He missed three field goals that are very makable early on in the season in clutch situations. The Dolphins picked a kicker in the 5th round to compete with Carpenter, if he can’t make the plays he needs to, his days in Miami are also numbered.