Chris Grier isn't a perfect general manager, but he does not deserve to be fired.

Dolphins Rebuild Still on Schedule Despite Win Streak.

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This win streak has Miami Dolphin fans feeling some kind of way.  All of the emotions were on display this past Sunday as I took an unfortunate stroll through Twitter.  That win against the Indianapolis Colts essentially ended the pursuit for Alabama signal caller Tua Tagovailoa in the eyes of many Dolphin fans.

First of all, that is not true.  Circumstances are conspiring to give Miami another shot at Tua Tagovailoa.  Joe Burrow has the hype train rolling and took a giant step toward the Heisman Trophy, and an extended post season with his win at Bryant-Denny Stadium.  It is conceivable that Joe Burrow is QB1 and Tua drops right into Miami’s lap.  On the information side of this, after consulting with a league source, the “thinking” in league circles is that Tua Tagovailoa has nowhere near a consensus among NFL front offices as QB1 and this source speculates that “maybe” half of NFL teams view him as the best Quarterback in this class.

There are two silver linings to this resurgence.  The first is that Brian Flores is somehow finding NFL wins with a team that is sporting several units that belong in the XFL.  The second is that the base of players they will add to this offseason is growing, ever so slightly, but growing nonetheless.

 

So let me offer some optimism.  The 2018 Oakland Raiders were 4-12, having made over parts of the team under John Gruden’s first year as coach.  Not much of it took and a quick reboot was in order.  Trades of top performers, Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper made their immediate direction rather clear. (Is this starting to sound familiar?)  The Raiders then took to the 2019 offseason with 3 first round picks and massive amounts of cap space (sound really familiar now?).  After adding 27 new players and 14 new starters through free agency and the draft, the Raiders are not only a playoff contender, they also play an exciting brand of Football, just in time for their move to Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Dolphins will need to duplicate some of that success to achieve the same thing (competency and contention).

So let’s evaluate what’s in the cupboard before this offseason. A quarterback will be drafted in the first round, and Ryan Fitzpatrick is the perfect backup/mentor for that draft pick.  I believe the Josh Rosen experiment is near over.  The running backs group needs a headliner, but the rest of the group is pedestrian and could use a look or two.  The tight ends are developing with Mike Gesicki taking a big leap this year, and the wide receivers unit is near complete.  The offensive line is a considerable mess and deserves a complete overhaul with maybe one holdover (Jesse Davis).

On defense is where the most work is needed.  The secondary is a barren landscape, populated with journeymen, street free agents, one super star and one fading performer (Bobby McCain).  In recent weeks, Coach Brian Flores and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham have managed to get above average play out of Eric Rowe as a Free Safety,  Nik Needham in a series of roles, Jomal Wiltz as a slot guy, and Ken Crawley as a boundary corner.

If this coaching staff is now demonstrating that odd skill of squeezing every ounce of detailed, smart play they can get from a non-descript no-name group like the New England Patriots often do, then they have really found something.

The linebackers are a near complete unit with Raekwon McMillan emerging as one of the best interior backers in the NFL, Jerome Baker paying dividends on his promise, and Vince Biegel coming off the edge effectively.  The Defensive line is a group of players that recognize and play their roles well.  The defensive tackles might be a strength with Cristian Wilkins coming on strong and Davon Godchaux having another steady season.

 

 

 

 

One door closes (Tua, but not really) and another opens.  What once looked like a daunting task, has a more defined mission.  All the while we were thinking that 0-16 or 1-15 was necessary to obtain the QB of your choice, circumstances have changed to demonstrate that the work load, while large, is not overwhelming or insurmountable.


Alfredo Arteaga (@Alf_Arteaga) is one-third of the trio that does the Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) podcast.

Player development key to Manny Diaz tenure in Miami

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The Miami Hurricanes are coming off a high after two straight impressive road wins at Pittsburgh and Florida State. They have already impressed before when they defeated ranked Virginia but that came before the Georgia Tech loss.

“We’d be very foolish, given some of our past performances, to think we’ve got everything figured out,” Miami head coach Manny Diaz said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “We know hard work and attention to detail give us a chance to win.”

The defense took a hit after safely Bubba Bolden’s injury removed him from the remainder of the season. He intercepted a pass in Miami’s 27-10 win against Florida State and fellow safety Gurvan Hall leaped in celebration and crashed into him, causing him to landed awkwardly and suffer an apparent ankle injury.

“Unfortunately, he’ll be out for the season, which is tough on our defense because he was really, really starting to play at a very high level,” Diaz said. “We’ll have to do what we always do. We’ll rely on the depth we have at the safety position and move on.”

Part of that depth includes veteran safety Rob Knowles, who has already played a vital role to the defense. Diaz considered the senior safety as “a testament to player development.” 

“Rob Knowles is so important to our football team,” Diaz said. “I don’t know where we’d be without him. I don’t know how many wins we’d have without him.”

Player development has been the theme of the press conference, something that may seem like a lost art in college football when players who are recruited to be starters lose their time and transfer somewhere else in search of that opportunity. 

He’s the guy right now in college football that’s not sticking and staying,” Diaz said. “He’s the guy that doesn’t look player development in the eye that wants to leave and wants to go someplace else because of the assumption that it will be easier somewhere else.”

Diaz said Knowles is more athletic that he’s ever been and other players have followed suit. To him, recruiting is half the battle, development is the more crucial half.

“Not all players walk on to campus ready to play from Day 1,” Diaz said, “but it’s our jobs as coaches to get them to be the best versions of themselves that they can be.

Another example is redshirt freshman defensive end Greg Rousseau, who won ACC defensive lineman of the week after posting a career-high four sacks, a career-high five tackles for loss and a career-high eight tackles against Florida State.

“Greg’s a guy that didn’t know a whole lot about playing defensive end when he came here,” Diaz said. “And obviously he had to spend some time being hurt, so getting a guy like that to transform his body. The way he looks now is not the way he looked when he was dropped off on our campus 18 months ago.”

Junior running back DeeJay Dallas rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown along with 44 receiving yards against Florida State. Surprisingly enough, being Miami’s featured back wasn’t the original plan when he came to campus. He was a high school quarterback when he committed to Miami.

“You always try to find ways to get these guys to maximize their potential and thats one of the things we take as much pride on as a coach,” Diaz said. “Coaches a lot of times like to beat their chest about this one was a first rounder, this guy was a first rounder. Sometimes getting that guy that became an undrafted free agent that was not gonna be that, one of the most awesome stories in the last three-four years was Adrian Colbert. He’s still in the National Football League and was left basically out of football at Texas and came here and had a great 2016. As coaches you just love advancing those guys, just getting them to be the best they can be, whatever’s out there for them. That’s as much of a success story as a guy that becomes a first rounder.”

The Hurricanes will be closing out the home slate of the season on Saturday with a Louisville team that is coming out of a bye week. It will be both their homecoming and senior day.

“We play a very dangerous Louisville team that had a week off to do nothing but think about the Miami Hurricanes,” Diaz said.