The 2017 NFL regular season is right around the corner. So what do we see when it comes to head coach Adam Gase and his Miami Dolphins?
At this time last year, the Miami Dolphins were headed into another season with yet another new head coach. That along with the fact that the team had not posted a winning campaign nor reached the playoffs since 2008. Led by quarterback Ryan Tannehill and a shaky defensive unit, the new sideline leader saw his team drop four of its first five contests. The club entered a Week 6 clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers sporting a 1-4 record. The stage was set for another long year.
And then, it became the Jay Ajayi show. The Dolphins rolled the eventual AFC North champions, 30-15. That came thanks to 204 rushing yards and two touchdowns from the then second-year running back. It proved not to be a fluke of an outing as the Buffalo Bills visited South Florida one Sunday later and Ajayi went off for 214 yards on the ground and one more score in a 28-25 victory. Before you could say Ndamukong Suh, Gase’s club rolled off six consecutive wins. And by season’s end, the Dolphins capped off a 9-2 run, They were headed to the postseason for the first time since ’08.
Of course, the stretch run for the team did not include Tannehill. He was replaced by Matt Moore after the five-year pro went down with a knee injury. And unfortunately for Gase and company, the 2017 season won’t include their regular starting quarterback at all. He’s on the shelf for the year. But rather than elevating Moore to the top spot, the one-time Chicago Bears offensive coordinator talked an old friend out of retirement and the Fox-TV broadcasting booth.
Enter 11-year quarterback Jay Cutler, who owns one of the strongest arms in the game but has also been one of the most criticized performers in the NFL. But his relationship with Gase (the duo was together in the Windy City for one year in 2015) was the reason he’s now in South Florida. And he knows he has quite the talented trio of wide receivers in Kenny Stills, Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker. The latter had a 72-yard reception in the team’s Week 3 preseason loss at Philadelphia.
“You watch him run, you watch him move, you watch his ability with the ball in the air, and you kind of know what you’ve got pretty quickly,” said the veteran signal-caller to Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.
All told, the strong-armed passer likes his entire pass-catching corps, including tight end Julius Thomas. The team obtained the two-time Pro Bowler via an offseason trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. “They’re really good players,” stated Cutler. “They’re going to get open. They’re going to create opportunities for themselves. It’s my job to get them the ball.”
That’s all well and good. But the real problem for the Miami Dolphins in recent years has been the play of a defensive unit that has brought in its share of talent, most notably via free agency. But it certainly hasn’t translated into production on the field. In 2016, under coordinator Vance Joseph (now the head coach of the Denver Broncos) led a unit that finished 29th in the league in total yards per game allowed.
Consider that the Dolphins, with stars such as defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and Pro Bowl end Cameron Wake up front, were as porous against the run as they were, it’s somewhat mystifying. A year ago, only the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns, who combined for a total of three wins in ’16, surrendered more rushing yards than Gase’s squad.
To the team’s credit, they addressed these matters in the offseason. Via a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, they added veteran defensive end William Hayes. Next to Suh is now rookie Davon Godchaux. The fifth-round pick from LSU has outplayed talented but disappointing Jordan Phillips, a 2015 second-round selection. Miami added a total of three defensive linemen in April’s draft, including first-round end Charles Harris (Missouri).
The club used a second-round pick on Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan. He looked like the starter in the middle but is now expected to miss the entire season with a knee injury. The team added former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga and earlier this year signed veteran defenders such as linebacker Lawrence Timmons (Pittsburgh Steelers) and safety Nate Allen (Oakland Raiders).
So with Cutler behind center, a solid ground game led by Ajayi and a more-than-adequate receiving corps, the Miami Dolphins are pretty set when it comes to scoring points. But will the team’s defensive deficiencies eventually derail a second straight trip to the playoffs?
X-Factor
As previously mentioned, we are well aware of the fact that the Miami Dolphins are pretty loaded at the wide receiver position. They have a very complimentary trifecta in Landry, Stills and Parker. But they were also looking to upgrade the tight end position this offseason. They did so by acquiring Julius Thomas from the Jacksonville Jaguars for left tackle Branden Albert. The latter then opted for retirement, changed his mind and was subsequently cut loose by Doug Marrone’s team.
You will recall the rapport that Jay Cutler had with both Martellus Bennett and Zach Miller in Chicago in 2015. That season, the latter led the Bears with five touchdown grabs – all from Cutler. That season, Bennett was limited to only 11 games. But he hauled in 53 passes for 439 yards and three scores. With opposing defenses focusing on the wideouts in passing situations, Thomas promises to have a major impact.
Best case
Can Cutler can recapture the form he has with Gase in Chicago in 2015? That season, he hit on a career-best 64.4 percent of his throws. He connected for nearly twice as many touchdowns (21) as interceptions (11). He also showed a lot of poise in crucial situations, orchestrating his share of fourth-quarter heroics. That despite the fact the team was 6-9 with him as the starter. It’s cutting down on the miscues that’s important.
Conversely, the Dolphins have to be much more efficient when it comes to turning over the opposition. Yes, they came up with 25 takeaways in 2016. But they haven’t forced at least 30 opponent mistakes in one season since 2008. A higher turnover differential this season combined with an effective offense is certainly in the cards. That may be easier said than done when you have Cutler’s history in mind. However, he was very much a different quarterback with Gase at the offensive controls. And he has looked very comfortable this summer in a brief time period.
Worst case
Despite that 9-2 finish from a year ago, there were still some ominous signs when it came to the Dolphins’ defense. In the two losses, Miami was smoked by the Baltimore Ravens (38-6) and New England Patriots (35-14). In the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers toyed with the club. Mike Tomlin’s squad scored two quick touchdowns in the first quarter on the way to a 30-12 win.
So is Miami’s defense really ready to elevate its game? Despite some key additions via free agency and the draft, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the defense was only marginally better than some of its recent predecessors. It’s not inconceivable that this team gets off to another slow start due to some of the changes at quarterback and the offensive front. And this time, the Dolphins may not get themselves out of that early hole.
Final word
Are the Miami Dolphins or any team in the AFC East actually capable of catching the powerhouse Patriots? It seems like an awfully tall task for the entire league, much less this club as well as the Bills and Jets. But Gase’s team can continue to make upward strides and that appears to be the case this year. The Dolphins do clearly look like the second-best team among this group.
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That being said, does this club have enough to make another playoff appearance? The defense still has a lot of question marks and that could catch up with Gase’s squad, regardless of how the quarterback plays.