See that alliteration in the title? That's some fine writing you done did dere Dan. Anyway, this isn't an article praising my highly skilled writing. Nor is it about draft prospects from some random city, like oh, I don't know, Philadelphia or something. This is about our beloved Miami Dolphins and how this is the year we finally get back to the playoffs.
During the 2013 NFL season, we saw our Dolphins get off to a 3-0 start, only to see our clubhouse crumble from within. The infamous Incognito-Martin scandal left our offensive line decimated, looking like fish out of water (or Dolphins out of water. Right? Right? Just a little South Beach humor), with little to no help for second year quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Rebuilding that line is obviously item number one on the front office's to-do list. Establishing a strong line upfront will help prevent the stagnation of Tannehill's growth.
Speaking of Tannehill, he will now be entering his third NFL season. While not mentioned in the same breath as other quarterbacks from his draft class, such as Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and RG3, he is still a very capable quarterback who showed signs of improvement from his rookie year. He threw just shy of 4,000 yards and had 24 TDs against his 17 INTs, and looked very comfortable in the Dolphins' Echolocation offense. However, he was sacked 58 times on the season! That's ten more times than the second most sacked QB, Joe Flacco, who was sacked 48 times on the year. To put that in perspective, Flacco finished closer to the 13th most sacked QB than he did to Tannehill.
To hammer the point home once more, the Dolphins need to upgrade their offensive line, and they need to do it badly. The Dolphins started to address Incognito and Martin's departures by signing veteran tackle Branden Albert from the Kansas City Chiefs, but still have some work to do, and should look to find those needs in the draft.
The Dolphins were able to sign Knowshon Moreno to add to their running back core, which should keep defenders occupied a split second longer for Tannehill to release some deeper passes. With a speedster such as Mike Wallace on the team, not even the most determined whaler can chase that dolphin down.
Outside of those two, and veteran receiver Brian Hartline, the Dolphins could use another skilled receiver. Miami should easily find one in this deep draft class. Right now, a lot of sources indicate the Dolphins going for an offensive lineman, such as Notre Dame's Zach Martin (I know the last lineman named Martin didn't work out so well, but we swear it will be different this time). But The Ireland-less Dolphins could just as easily justify going for a top receiver, such as LSU's Odell Beckham.
While they will always have to deal with outside threats, such as the New England Patriots, Richie Incognito, and angry Japanese men, the Dolphins should be able to prosper in 2014 with a little draft day work , and a little help from American activists. In a conference that was so wide open last season, the Dolphins can easily secure a playoff spot with some strong signings.
By: Dan Tana-Santana
Follow us on twitter @SouthBeachBeat
Speaking of Tannehill, he will now be entering his third NFL season. While not mentioned in the same breath as other quarterbacks from his draft class, such as Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and RG3, he is still a very capable quarterback who showed signs of improvement from his rookie year. He threw just shy of 4,000 yards and had 24 TDs against his 17 INTs, and looked very comfortable in the Dolphins' Echolocation offense. However, he was sacked 58 times on the season! That's ten more times than the second most sacked QB, Joe Flacco, who was sacked 48 times on the year. To put that in perspective, Flacco finished closer to the 13th most sacked QB than he did to Tannehill.
To hammer the point home once more, the Dolphins need to upgrade their offensive line, and they need to do it badly. The Dolphins started to address Incognito and Martin's departures by signing veteran tackle Branden Albert from the Kansas City Chiefs, but still have some work to do, and should look to find those needs in the draft.
The Dolphins were able to sign Knowshon Moreno to add to their running back core, which should keep defenders occupied a split second longer for Tannehill to release some deeper passes. With a speedster such as Mike Wallace on the team, not even the most determined whaler can chase that dolphin down.
Outside of those two, and veteran receiver Brian Hartline, the Dolphins could use another skilled receiver. Miami should easily find one in this deep draft class. Right now, a lot of sources indicate the Dolphins going for an offensive lineman, such as Notre Dame's Zach Martin (I know the last lineman named Martin didn't work out so well, but we swear it will be different this time). But The Ireland-less Dolphins could just as easily justify going for a top receiver, such as LSU's Odell Beckham.
While they will always have to deal with outside threats, such as the New England Patriots, Richie Incognito, and angry Japanese men, the Dolphins should be able to prosper in 2014 with a little draft day work , and a little help from American activists. In a conference that was so wide open last season, the Dolphins can easily secure a playoff spot with some strong signings.
By: Dan Tana-Santana
Follow us on twitter @SouthBeachBeat
