Jun 12, 2013; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (left) talks with quarterback Tim Tebow (right) during minicamp at the practice fields of Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins don’t have Tom Brady but Tom Brady doesn’t have Mike Wallace and questions surround the availability of top TE Rob Gronkowski.  Now word is filtering out of New England that Aaron Hernandez is in some hot water stemming from a close associates death and a shooting in Florida that Hernandez was involved with.  While both TE’s are huge parts of the New England Patriots offense, it’s the Miami offense that may have experts scratching their heads over who will ultimately sit atop the AFC East version of “Game of Thrones“.

For years the Patriots have ruled supreme, a minor hiccup in Bill Parcells first year in Miami saw the Patriots drop to second place albeit by tie-breakers and no Tom Brady but they have since returned and lost in the Super Bowl since.  The Patriots are the perennial favorites to win it all when it comes to the division and for the most part the entire AFC.  The Dolphins are not there and it would not be a stretch to argue they are far from being there.  No matter what a team does in the off-season, until they perform on the field, nothing really matters.

Still, you can compare two teams and call it what it is.  An early comparison.  The chips will lie where they fall once the season begins.  Ryan Tannehill has not yet had the meteoric rise that Tom Brady had and it’s hard to imagine he will but the Dolphins have improved the team around him.  Michael Wallace is a deep threat option which on paper should free Brian Hartline on the other side.  Include Brandon Gibson and Dustin Keller into the equation and the Dolphins have a formidable offense.  You can’t compare apples to apples here.  The Dolphins offense will not play against the Patriots offense.

The Pat’s defense has been good but they haven’t been great and questions continue to linger especially in the secondary.  The Patriots haven’t been able to lock down the positions as well as they hoped and while they have received great play from their LB’s they have not nearly enough from their front line and that front line will be asked to collapse the pocket on Tannehill and stop the Dolphins faster paced offense.  The Dolphins have been unable for their part to stop the Patriots offense at all as well.  Unfortunately, it may be for a lack of play makers on the Patriots than anything else if it happens this year.

With Wes Welker gone the Patriots are hoping that Danny Amendola will step into the number one target role.  Amendola can handle the slot and the outside but he also can be brittle.  Last season he missed considerable time twice with broken clavicles.  Injury is a serious concern for the Patriots.   Not his talent.  From Amendola the Patriots are relying on six year journeyman WR Michael Jenkins and Lavelle Hawkins to go with a couple of freshman as they enter the last month before training camp begins.

With the injury problems to Gronkowski and possible legal problems for Hernandez the Patriots could become thinner very quickly.  Where they do have talent is at the RB position and they may be forced to move towards a running attack that they were not planning for.  While power back Legaratte Blount has not impressed in OTA’s, Stevan Ridley and Branden Bolden are returning after having solid years.  The problem is the Patriots are a passing team and rely on high scoring affairs to mask their defensive inequities.  It’s an opening that a good training camp could give the Dolphins an opportunity to expose.

Every year is a battle but the Patriots have found every year that the battle resides after the season has ended, this year, that battle may rage from start to finish.  The Dolphins have gotten stronger…on paper.  The Patriots not so much.  On paper as well.

Jun 11, 2013; Davie, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin looks on during practice at the Doctors Hospital Training Facility at Nova Southeastern University. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins are entertaining recently released FB Vonta Leach.  They are rumored to have interest in recently released RB Willis McGahee.  They just added two invitees from their final mini-camp.  In other words, the Miami Dolphins are far from done making over the 2013 roster.  While the off-season moves that have landed Mike Wallace, Brent Grimes, Dustin Keller, and more has primed the Dolphins to go hard in 2013, the question that no one seems to be asking is what happens in 2014?

The Dolphins are not in salary cap hell come 2014 but they will have more than a few major holes to fill.  Consider that Grimes, Tyson Clabo, Keller, Vaughn Martin, Chris Clemons, Austin Spitler, Lance Louis, and even franchise tagged Randy Starks are all on one year deals to say nothing of the impending free agent class of 2014.  The Dolphins will enter the season with a lot of talent playing on short deals with varying degrees of injury recovery and question marks.  It appears as though the Dolphins want to “Win it now” but this isn’t a team 100% built to win it all in one season.

This is not to say that the 2014 season is going to be a total loss or forfeit.  If Ryan Tannehill can become the QB everyone expects him to be and some of the other free agents continue to compete at the level they are expected to be at, the Dolphins will be in good shape but will have holes to fill nonetheless.  Today the Dolphins inked 3rd rounder Dallas Thomas who could grow into the future LG and thus replace Ritchie Incognito.  The Dolphins could opt to re-sign any number of the above mentioned after seeing they have fully recovered from last seasons injuries.  Or they could simply go in an entirely different direction and try and replace those departing through the draft.

Of course it’s also entirely possible that should the Dolphins fail to capitalize on Stephen Ross’ financial investment this season that the man who bought these groceries could be replaced and thus a whole new look could be coming to Miami once again.   With OTA’s over and mini-camp completed the Dolphins next joint team action will be training camp in late July.  The pads will be on and the hitting will begin.  What comes out of those practices will go a long way in determining the course of the 2013 team.

The Dolphins will play one extra pre-season game this year as they face the Dallas Cowboys August, 4th in the HOF game.  That may be a good thing as this team stands to benefit from the extra in-game reps.  Even in a meaningless throw away game.  While the HOF game is normally ridiculed, the speed, tempo, and the fact that there is actually tackling, goes a long way to get a team ready for the season and the Dolphins need everything they can get.

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