Here's some stats from 2005.... AFC Total Defense Rank ------------------------ Miami - 9th / New England - 12th Pass Defense : -------------- Miami - 10th / New England - 16th Rush Defense : -------------- Miami - 9th / New England - 5th Scoring Defense : ---------------- Miami - 8th / New England - 10th Total INT's : ------------ Miami - 14 / New England - 10 Total Sacks : ------------ Miami - 49 / New England - 33 ======================= Looking at those stats, it's tough to argue who had the better defense. But Miami leads in every catagory except one{Rush defense}. As far as the front 7, look at the difference in the amount of sacks, that's a very telling statistic when comparing the two teams front 7 in my opinion.... The bottom line is that the Jets got weaker on the DL, and in the secondary losing those two players. Abraham will be missed big time in my opinion, and if the Jets plan on going with B. Thomas, good luck with that....
That makes sense. Stronger team = worse record. Ok............. IMO the Phinz and Pats will be neck and neck the entire season. The Jets and Bills season's will be over by week 8.....
You are ignoring the fact that New England had major injury problems last season. When healthy, their defense is head and shoulders above the Miami defense. Our secondary is fine. We lost Law, who is on the downside of his career and overrated, but gained Dyson, who is in the prime of his career and was a starting CB for a Superbowl team last season. Losing Abe hurts our pass rush, but we did sign a few role players on the DL to help us out. Also, if you look back at the stats, Ellis has always performed at a much higher level when Abe is out of the lineup.
Gee what a surprise, a Dolphins fan thinks they will win the division.. Here is my prediction for the AFCE: 1. Pats - 10-6 2. Jets - 7-9 3. Dolphins - 7-9 4. Bills - 4-12
I know they'll draft QB's once there roster is set. Randy Mueller is on that wants to draft a QB every year and develop them. He once had Aaron Brooks, Marc bulger, and Jake Delhomme on his roster at the same time with the Saints. You are probably right about Pepper being around less, I was thinking about how old Steve McNair is.
Some fans will never get that the game is not all about numbers. I'd rather have the guy who puts up mediocre #s and wins than the guy who puts up great #s and loses. no I don't think Gus is better BUT Gus is alot chaper and I think you could ahve waited a little while and maybe could have gotten McNair who is by far a better QB than Culpepper. and you are saying this wasn't a bad offseason?:rofl: Will Allen is the "crown jewel" of your FA class- that's all we need to know. Isn't it ineterestng that 2 years ago we were a kick away from the AFC title Game w/o both Abe and law. We still have a ton of talent on D, we are running a new system and it may take some time to adjust but our D has the makings of a goone one and obviously alot better than last year. Sometimes you can be better and not have as good a record. We were better at 9-7 in 2002 than we were at 10-6 in 2001. You had a very soft sched down the stretch which to your credit you took advantage of but who knows how it plays out this year. Your sched could be easier or more difficult, you could be a better team w/ a worse record or a worse team w/ a better record. Only time will tell. Sort of like Miami's was last year? I can see the Jets having a season like Miami last year, winning some games early then struggling out of the race before the pressure comes off and we get it going down the stretch building some momentum for '07. As long as Brady is healthy you won't be neck and neck w/ NE all year.
I'm guessing the Dolphins win 8 or 9 games and finish second at this point. The AFC East is no longer a strong division and the odds on two teams making the playoffs from the East is low. If the Dolphins want to make the playoffs next year they probably have to dethrone the Pats as the class of the division. It says here that they are not up to that task. Likely playoff spots by division next year: AFC East - 1 (New England) AFC North - 2 (Pittsburgh and either Baltimore or Cincinnati) AFC South - 1 (Indy) AFC West -2 (Denver and either San Diego or Kansas City) Maybe Jacksonville will take the second spot from the West but I kind of doubt it. I make Miami about a 20% shot at the playoffs at this point.
McNair???...That's just absurd in my opinion. Are you sure you're not being administered heavy doses of mind altering medication in any way???... Hey, the only spots that needed depth have been addressed. They may not be great players, but under strong coaching they should be no worse than what we had success with in 2005. Can you debate that since we really didn't lose any players of major significance{Madison really being the only one}??.... By the way, we also added FB F. Beasley, and yes he's considered one of the best blocking FB's in the NFL. Just wait until he starts opening up some lanes, our running game will cfloursh w/ Culpepper based on the defenses having to respect the deep threat he brings. I can't wait.... You have a solid D, no doubt about it. I'm not sure how they'll adjust to the loss of Abe / Law / DC Henderson, but the run defense still has huge questionmarks, and certainly leaves something to be desired. You were 29th in the NFL last year, and didn't add any standouts to help fix it during FA or the draft. Plus, DRob isn't all he was hyped up to be since being drafted. I see a big hole in the middle of the Jets DL in 2006..... Sure it can happen, and it does, but it's not a common occurance. Injuries can also set you back one season to the next.... I think the Jets will be competitive, they always are, but when all is said and done, they'll be fighting for 3td place this year. As for Miami vs New England, how many games did we finish behind them last year??...w / Frerotte at QB no less. We're always in the hunt, and even in 2004 at 4-12, our worst season in over like 30 years, we were still able to beat them. The Pats reign is over, there's a new sheriff in town, and his name is Nick Saban....
Culpepper is a Bum. Without an incredible wide out to catch his inaccurate passes. Yes, the guy has a cannon, but since he destroyed his leg he wont be able to run as nearly hard as he used to. He might get better in a few years when he can run again, and when Miami get him a receiver with good hands.
The Dolphins should have had more sacks because New England ran a 3-4 last year. The 3-4 generally puts less pressure on the quarterback. Were you the Dolphins fan who recently stated Abraham wasn't worth a 1st round pick, implying he's not very good? Now when it's convenient for you to praise Abraham, you change your tune.
...just remember silly, overconfident (as usual), fin fans, it was just one short year ago the predictions were totally opposite and look how that turned out. Just like the Jets were ravaged by injuries, so could the fins. I never bought into the Jets as legitimate SB contenders last year, even while healthy. Now, having said that, last years Jets team was a more realistic team to go 'deep' into the playoffs than this years Dolphin team. For a team that in the fans' eyes is a SB team every year you should be used to the chronic dissappointment year in year out....
Culpepper has one of the highest passing %'s in the NFL. And Chris Chambers has great hands. Other than that, your points were all well thought out.
I think both sides are exadurating here. Culpepper is obviously way more talented than Frerotte - there's no denying this. He hasn't really proven he can be dominant without Randy Moss though. Chambers is probably better than any receiver the Vikings had last year but lets face it he's not going to get the kind of attention Moss does. The fins run game is definitely better than the vikings had so that should leave some more room for the passing game. I predict Culpepper will make the fins offense better than last season, but not dominant. The fins defense didn't get any better, probably worse. They may give the Pats a bit of a run but if Brady is healthy, the Pats win the division.
People keep pointing that Daunte lost in the playoff, but they fail to realise that you need good defense and good running game to succeed in the playoff, wich Minni didn't have. If saban got good production out of Frerotte, just imagine what he can get out of Daunte. As far as the off season goes, we've added 4 former 1st round pick, solidified our depth and filled all the holes, did we get any franchise player, no, but a handfull of quality vet.
...he did help his team win a postseason game at Lambeau Field. I think Culpepper will be mostly good in the regular season, but will usually bite in the playoffs. Perfect Dolphins player.
No Ricky in 2006 and the jury is still out on whether or not Ronnie Brown can carry a load in the NFL. Based on last year the answer is no, but then again he's young. I'd be really surprised if the Dolphins running game manages to put up even as good numbers as it did last year.
Not really. The Pats have been at or near the top of the league in sacks before ('03 & '04), but in '05 they lost too much up the gut in the first 10 games of the season, with Johnson retiring unexpectedly before camp, and losing Bruschi, Harrison, and Seymour out for much of the time. Mangini didn't have the horses to get after the QB with Beisel and Brown in the middle, and the secondary in tatters. He had to be pushed by BB and the players to get more aggressive when he had his front 7 healthy by late November. Then the sacks began to come. When healthy, the Pats will average 45 sacks a year, with no more than 10 for any single player, along with a ton of QB pressures. Thats the beauty of BB's 3-4. If executed correctly, the QB & OL don't know where the pressure is coming from. Thats how they, unlike most teams, don't need a speed rusher to generate sacks.
