Dolphins poised to take step or regress?
Last year, the Miami Dolphins came out of nowhere to reach the playoffs for just the third time since 2000. Miami started 1-4 under first-time head coach Adam Gase before rattling off a 9-2 record to finish the season, earning the sixth seed.
In the playoffs, the Dolphins were knocked out of the Wild Card round by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-12. The offseason was relatively quiet for Miami, which mostly stayed status quo. The front office did trade away left tackle Branden Albert for tight end Julius Thomas, but outside of that minor move, the Dolphins hit training camp looking very much the same as a year ago.
Then Ryan Tannehill went down on a non-contact injury at the start of camp. Tannehill had re-injured his ACL, the same one that he hurt in December but declined surgery, this time landing him on the injured reserve list. Instead of going with backup quarterback Matt Moore, the team decided to turn to Jay Cutler, a familiar face for Gase. Gase worked with Cutler when the two were in Chicago with the Bears, giving the signal-caller familiarity with the playbook.
All that said, are the Dolphins good enough to make another playoff run in the playoffs? It’s tough to see.
The AFC isn’t good, and Miami has the benefit of playing against the AFC East. While having to deal with the New England Patriots means that only a wild card berth is on the table, the presences of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets mean four wins.
However, the Dolphins also have to play against the NFC South and the AFC West. In addition, it appears that Miami won’t have a true bye week this year, with Hurricane Irma threatening to force a postponement of its Week 1 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Of course, at this juncture, that should be the least of anybody’s concerns.
“The league will continue to examine other options, including playing the game this Sunday at a neutral site or in Miami later this season, and will provide an update on that decision as soon as possible,” the league said in a statement.
The AFC, as a whole, is fairly weak. The Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs are all going to the playoffs barring disaster, while the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans are better teams than the Dolphins. After that, Miami belongs in a group with the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, all fighting for a single spot.
Miami has a long road ahead with Cutler coming out of the rocking chair and a defense without much talent in the back seven, but Gase is a legitimate coach and the offense has stars on the outside.
The Dolphins have a shot to get into the playoffs once more, something that hasn’t been the case for years.
