5 Reasons Miami Dolphins Fans Should Be in Panic Mode This Offseason
Looking at their season, the Miami Dolphins and their fans have the least amount to panic about this offseason. They have a young team that showed this season they can find ways to win. There are a ton of great free agents this offseason that can fit their schemes. They’ve got the cap space to sign a few key playmakers with double-digit picks in this year’s draft which includes 5 in the top 50. However, there are also things they need to fix.
Quarterback
It doesn’t matter if you’re sold on Tua Tagovailoa or not, the Dolphins have issues to address at quarterback. There’s a good chance that if Ryan Fitzpatrick was healthy this Sunday, Miami would have had to bench their rookie for the third time this season an option that might not be available next year. Unless Ryan Fitzpatrick resigns with Miami, they’ll need to draft Tagovailoa’s backup which will shake confidence, or they’ll need to bring in a veteran who can have the same moxie as Fitz.
Paying Their Defense
The defense was the highlight of this season. Clearly, Flores knows that defense wins championships as well as overcomes a struggling offense. Their defense wasn’t a championship defense but they were on the right track. With Miami going from ranked 32nd to 6th this season means that guys did their part. That kind of production will mean guys want to get paid. Miami signed plenty of 1 and 2-year deals, but now its time to pony up to keep that defense together.
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Upgrading The Offense
Miami has a handful of solid prospects that over-performed this season. Lynn Bowden Jr came on late in the season and was a surprise for the offense. Isiah Ford was a welcomed edition back to the team. Mack Hollins came up big against the Raiders with his final catch. The downside of course is while they were playmakers, they were inconsistent and rarely changed games and that’s not their fault. They made the most out of the opportunities they were given, but they’re players who have breakout seasons 2-3 years into developing and they were asked to put the team on their backs at times. The Dolphins need game-changing playmakers who can consistently do more than just move the chains.
Keeping Up With the Division
Buffalo handed Miami their backsides on Sunday to finish the season. The Bills are a young team with talent that will be around for a few more seasons. If Miami wants to be a competitor they need to find the answer to what the Bills pulled off in that game. The Patriots might have finished at 7-9 but there were many games they were competitive this year. They’ll have the cap space to bring in a quarterback as well as draft the future. The Jets had an awful season but played below their talent level. They too have a ton of cap space as well as the #2 pick overall. If the Dolphins want to stay competitive, they’ll need to keep hitting home runs in free agency and drafts.
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Letting Success Go To Their Heads
Miami outperformed many predictions in the second year of their rebuild. After seeing how they finished the 2019 campaign and seeing success in 2020 it’ll be easy to think they’re on their way to the Super Bowl soon. However, there were many holes this year that went overlooked by a team that found ways to win. The defense kept them in a few games and opponents’ mistakes won them a few. If they can’t fix the mistakes, those close games easily could swing the other way. They never blew teams out of the water or had the pace that can keep up with the high scoring offenses. Ball control and field position won them games, but teams like Buffalo and KC are standing in their way. Both of those two can move the ball easily downfield and Miami needs to do the same.
Dolphins fans should be happy to get a 10 win season. Can they make it to the 11, 12, or 13 win plateau that will solidify them in next year’s playoffs?
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
