5 Reasons for Dolphins fans to be Quietly Confident before 2020 Season

2019 was a tough season for fans of the Miami Dolphins who had to watch their side fall to seven successive defeats at the start of the campaign, at one point looking dead set to become the 3rd team in NFL history to go 0-16.

Fortunately, things improved in the second half of the season, sparking claims that the team intentionally lost their early games to guarantee better draft picks. The Dolphins won five and lost four of their last nine games to finish the season with a 5-11 record.

The odds makers suggest, (we recommend visiting OLBG’s page on legal bookmakers) there is plenty for Dolphins fans to be optimistic about heading into NFL 2020. In this article we’ll look at 5 reasons why fans can be hopeful of a much better showing than last season from their team.

• Free Agents Add Experience

The Dolphins have been busy in the off-season adding to their roster and have seemingly set their sights on adding more experience to their line-up. Former Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Jones was the standout signing in the free agent department, joining the Dolphins for the biggest contract in NFL history for a cornerback.

In addition to that the Dolphins have added edge rusher Shaq Lawson and line backer Kyle Van Noy to their ranks. There is no shortage of talent in the franchise’s new additions, and with the arrival of Byron Jones the Dolphins have boosted the experience in their ranks.

Jones and fellow veteran Xavien Howard look set to form an elite duo with the Dolphins next season, which will be cause for optimism for fans. There was an element of naivety to the team last year, so wise heads should help to settle some of those concerns.

• Hopes High for Jordan Howard

One of the standouts moves of the off-season anywhere was the arrival of Jordan Howard at the Baptist Health Training Facility from Philadelphia. The former Pro Bowl running back has ability and attitude in absolute buckets.

In Howard’s four NFL seasons to date he has put up an average of over 1,100 total yards and will be looking to improve upon that in Miami. Howard is an undoubted upgrade on last season’s running back Kalen Ballage and at the very least should be able to get Dolphins fans out of their seats in excitement.

Rookie eleventh-round pick Malcolm Perry is also very highly regarded in NFL circles and could surprise a few defences throughout the season.

Jordan Howard will add much-needed power, pace and excitement to the Miami Dolphins ranks

• Brian Flores Seems the Real Deal

Finally, there is a Bill Belichick assistant that actually seems the real deal in his own right as a head coach. Flores’ name may be associated with the Dolphins poor start last season but it’s important to remember that he took a team that were being widely condemned as the worst in NFL history at one point and made those claims look ridiculous at the end of the campaign.

After going 0-7 the Dolphins didn’t even finish the season as the worst team in NFL and even had a say on the Super Bowl, upsetting the New England Patriots to allow the Kansas City Chiefs to sneak into No.2 AFC seed and bye.

Flores clearly has talent when it comes to getting the most out of his players, inspiring performances out of several very limited players last term. This time round, Flores has a deeper roster to choose from with far better players at his disposal.

If the 39-year-old coach can integrate his new arrivals well then there is every chance that he will get great things out of his team this season.

• Tua Tagovailoa Marks a Bright New Dawn

After a horrible couple of decades for the Miami Dolphins, things finally start to be looking up and improving. One of the major reasons for optimism is the acquisition of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the franchise’s most exciting prospect since 1983, when they drafted Dan Marino in the first round.

Tagovailoa struggled with a hip injury last season and there were concerns that that injury could linger on into NFL 2020 and play havoc with the Dolphins seasons. Fortunately, rumours coming out of the franchise suggest that there is cause for cautious optimism regarding the quarterback’s return to competitive action.

If fitness is no issue for Tagovailoa this season, he will most likely be one of the Dolphins key players, taking the burden off of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s already aching back. Last season the 37-year-old was the Dolphins leading rusher, which is a sign of just how overworked he was last year.

• The Return of Chan Gailey

As alluded to in the previous point, the Dolphins offensive game last season was nothing short of spectacularly bad. The fact that 37-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick seemingly had twice the pace of anyone in the offence was real concern for Dolphins fans.

This season, Fitzpatrick will drop back as the bridge quarterback whilst DeVante Parker returning from injury will inject some much-needed pace into the line-up. Dolphins fans will have fond memories of returning offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, who helped the franchise to their last playoff victory nearly 20 years ago.

Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt and Solomon Kindley all came in in the first four rounds of the draft and will provide Gailey with plenty of options to choose from over the course of the season. Gailey might not transform the Dolphins into an offensive powerhouse in 2020, but he will surely improve upon their showing from last season.