Submission Number 12

Our second article of the day comes from B.L.

The offseason for the Miami Dolphins offseason has had plenty of criticism.  They let go of a lot of players that were solid starters last year, replacing them with rookies, a couple free agents, and unheralded role players off last year’s club.  They had what many called a, “meat and potatoes” draft, preceded by the big trade for Brandon Marshall.

Myself, like many others, was left wondering what in the heck the Tri-Fecta was doing.  Who were all these draft picks?  Why did they sign a guard known more for his temper than his technique?  Why in the world did they let a Dolphin Legend in Jason Taylor walk away to the team Dolfans love to hate?  Did you almost black out like I did when the Dolphins traded down from 12 to 28, only to hear Commissioner Goddell say the words, “Jared Odrick, Defensive Tackle, Penn St?”

After locking myself in my house, reading blog after blog, watching all the post draft shows, and hearing all the draft grades given out, I came to a conclusion, Miami now has an identity!

If you look up and down Miami’s roster, there is one commonality with all of their players, they are HUGE.  This roster is filled with big, strong, physical, high energy, smart players with good character.  Miami is one of the biggest teams in the NFL, and the men who put this roster together did this on purpose.

Miami is built to wear teams down over the course of a game.  They are physical as well.  Teams are going to remember when they play the Dolphins, not so much by the score, but by how sore they will be in the days following the game.  They are going to punish teams with their size and physicality.  It’s clear to see what the intentions were when this roster was assembled over the past couple years.  A nice thrown in (or it could be a calculated thing) is that a lot of their players come from the cold weathered Big 10 and Mountain West Conferences.

Miami can now match up with the powers in the AFC.  They have the size to wear teams down, and play in any weather condition Mother Nature throws at them.  They scored plenty of points last season despite losing their starting QB and RB, filling holes in their O-Line due to injuries, and not having a true number 1 receiver.  Their main problem was the defense.  They did a lot of addition by subtraction with most of the players they cut, and they added one of the best defensive minds in new DC Mike Nolan.  If the rookies and second year players step up, the defense will be dramatically improved.

With their division boasting teams from the ever so cold northeast, the Dolphins should feel right at home playing in the cold during the playoff stretch with their Big, Tough, Physical, I’m going to punch you in the mouth, knock you down and you better not get up team!!  Man……is September ever going to get here?