The route the Dolphins are taking is an interesting one

The Miami Dolphins are upping the “ante” so to speak as their attempt to turn the franchise into a winner is getting more interesting.

Vegas set Miami’s over / under at 5.5 wins. Sports Illustrated just recently predicted 3.

We won 6 with Jay Cutler and Matt Moore leading the offense, so how is it possible we regress?

Clearly, the thinking is the talent we lost is not equal to the talent gained. On the surface from a name recognition standpoint, I get it. Ndamukong Suh and Jarvis Landry were excellent players. There’s no getting around that. We can talk about culture and leadership until we are blue in the face, but anyone with a pulse who has watched this team knows their losses will be felt. I also believe losing Michael Thomas was a blow to our special team units.

Life goes on, however, and the team has added some key pieces. They’ve added players who not only know how to win but walk the walk. Something both Landry and Suh struggled with at times, especially in the way of penalties.

This is Gase’s team now. That can’t be overemphasized. These 11 players are the only holdovers from Philbin’s tenure. That’s no more than 20.7% of the 53 man roster assuming all make it to the opening game.

John Denney
Walk Aikens
Ja’Wuan James
Rashad Jones
Tony Lippett
Bobby McCain
DeVante Parker
Jordan Phillips
Kenny Stills
Ryan Tannehill
Cameron Wake

It’s June, and it’s about this time every season we envision the draft picks making a huge impact. History says it probably won’t have the impact we’d like.

That said, it’s hard not to imagine Minkah Fitzpatrick not helping the defense, and Mike Gesicki, and Kalen Ballage not helping on the other side of the ball. Jerome Baker is athletic, and could also contribute to make our defense a little stronger on 3rd down.

A team is only as good as the sum of its parts. We’re a deeper team, especially on offense. We’re also a faster team on both sides of the ball.

On offense, this is the fastest unit I can ever recall in all my years of watching this team. Speed scares defenses and Miami will have it at most every skill position. Even if they go 4 receivers deep they’ll be mighty fast. You know Tannehill has to be excited about the possibilities, even without Jarvis Landry.

The main concern as always is the offensive line. Will Kilgore and Sitton solidify the unit? Can Tunsil take the next step? Will James show consistency? Will Davis lock down the RG spot? Will our OL improve in opening up the running lanes? All questions we’ll have to wait out. They’ll have something to say about that speed having the impact it could potentially have.

There are still some issues on the defensive side of the ball and we’re a little thinner than is ideal, but if the injuries don’t mount up we should be at least competitive. Having McMillan back will certainly help.

This team has a lot of questions heading into the summer, but I do see the vision. I see a plan. Something I’ve not seen in ages.

All that’s left to do is hope Tannehill can operate the offense effectively, and Gase’s vision plays out according to his script.

I’m not sure we’re ready to challenge the best, but I feel pretty confident this team will be over that Vegas win total. I’m excited to see the completed picture. I hope you are too.