Jimmy Johnson, former GMs and players are all in on Dolphins. Even talking dynasty.
Everywhere you turn, there’s someone praising the Miami Dolphins offseason.
From former coaches (Jimmy Johnson) to former executives (Charley Casserly, Louis Riddick and Gil Brandt) to former players (Steve Smith, Nate Burleson, Marcus Spears) to analytics web sites, the Dolphins have become the darling of NFL media.
Now let’s be clear: None of these people are asserting the Dolphins are going to make the playoffs this season, let alone win the Super Bowl. Among television commentators, only former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick has gone as far as to call them a playoff contender.
But there has been a steady wave of positive press from national pundits.
“All their needs, they addressed,” Smith Sr., the former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens five-time Pro Bowl receiver, said on NFL Network. “There are no longer any question marks with these guys. They did an excellent job filling these voids. It’s going to be pretty special.”
For Johnson, the former Dolphins coach, the reason for optimism starts with coach Brian Flores.
“The first thing you look at is the coaching,” Johnson said in his role as a Fox NFL analyst. “I think Brian Flores showed at the end of the year that he can win; he can coach football. Now do they have the talent? They brought in a tremendous amount of talent. Byron Jones coming in from Dallas, they’ll have as good a secondary as there is in the division, maybe in the league.
“Now you’ve got the young quarterback with Tua [Tagovailoa]. Four of the first six games are on the road, but I think Fitzpatrick can be a nice transition those first few weeks until Tua steps in there, maybe more than a couple weeks. Maybe the whole season. Who knows?
“But I think with the talent of Tua, he’s going to be in the lineup eventually. They’ve got the pass rusher Kyle Van Noy. They brought in a lot of players, a couple of tackles to shore up the offensive line. They brought in the center from New England [Ted Karras]. Offensive line should be strong. They are going to have a talented football team and we know they’re well coached. So hey, they may not be ready this year, but I think they’ll eventually challenge.”
Howie Long, Johnson’s Fox colleague, also sees a bright future for the Dolphins: “Miami made big strides with the draft. They have added up on young talent.”
Former Redskins and Texas general manager and current NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly said the Dolphins improved the most of any team this offseason.
Former NFL receiver Nate Burleson, who played 11 years in the league and is now a studio analyst for CBS and NFL Network, agrees that the Dolphins are the most improved team and went a step further, surprisingly asserting that beyond Kansas City, the Dolphins have the best chance of becoming a dynasty.
“I know some people are saying you’re the ridiculous-take guy,” Burleson said on NFL Network this past week. “I was trying to figure out some parallels between the dynasty that we’re used to seeing, which is the Patriots and when that started, and something that’s in a similar place. It could fall apart for Baltimore [and]... San Francisco. We have seen teams struggle to get back….
“What about the Dolphins? Let’s start at the starting quarterback position. There was that old vet with the young [Tom] Brady. There was [Drew] Bledsoe and Brady. There’s Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick] and there’s also Tua. Fitzpatrick is a guy that’s going to lead the way. Tua is the guy that needs to prove himself, just like Brady needed to prove himself….
“They add to the offensive line with the first couple of picks. They go get a running game to help with the young quarterback, kind of like the Patriots did back in the day.
“What about the coaching staff? You have a [defensive coordinator], who was coached and mentored by an absolute legend. That’s [Bill] Belichick and [Bill] Parcells. How about Brian Flores with Belichick? The similarities are there …
“What about the season? They were terrible last year; they went 5-11. Do you know what the Patriots were before they won their first Super Bowl. They were 5-11. ...
“Right now, the Miami Dolphins have all the pieces. If you know how the Patriots set up their dynasty, right now the Miami Dolphins are in position to do that. Let’s not act like Tua ain’t a winner. Tua has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks.”
As for the analytics sites, Pro Football Focus said Miami is the second-most improved team in football, behind the Arizona Cardinals, and used a complex formula to assert that the Dolphins have a 36.7 percent chance of making the playoffs.
As PFF writer Eric Eager noted, metrics show Jones was “the third-most valuable cornerback in the NFL over the past two seasons” and with Jones, Xavien Howard and first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene, it gives “Brian Flores the kind of secondary he enjoyed while winning Super Bowls with the Patriots last decade.
“On the offensive side, the selection of Tua Tagovailoa significantly lifts the floor for them at the league’s most important position. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been pretty good the past two seasons, generating more than three wins above replacement (16th among quarterbacks) despite playing only 1,305 snaps.
“His individual floor is very low, but the presence of Tua means the Dolphins very likely won’t experience the lowest of lows, which should help them against a schedule that will likely include games against Jarrett Stidham (twice), Josh Allen (twice), Sam Darnold (twice), Gardner Minshew, Drew Lock, Tyrod Taylor, Jared Goff and Joe Burrow.”
Seldom will you find such optimism about a team that most betting sites predict will win no more than six games. But for at least for the spring and summer, the Dolphins are consistently being called winners.
Here’s our Thursday night Dolphins six-pack of nuggets.
Here’s my Friday Heat notebook with some information on Bam Adebayo’s contract situation.
