Dolphins finish 7-9 .... again.

Thus ends another losing season for the Miami Dolphins as the New England Patriots never dropped a sweat-bead during their 28-0 beat-down of our beloved team. What it showed us all is that after 5 years of rebuilding during the Parcells/Ireland regime, we are no closer to bridging the talent gap between our Miami Dolphins and the division owning New England Patriots.

On the bright side, the Dolphins are the 2nd youngest team in the NFL, and it appears that Belichick has finally put together a good defense to go with Brady who has been carrying his team for a while. So, did anyone really expect us to win that game? We did play better than the Texans did against these same Patriots.

And, Ryan Tannehill looks to be our future. I like his accuracy, his ability to take off and run with the ball with vision, his ability too make quick decisions, and his ability to throw accurately on the run. Now, let's get him another target to throw to and a cohesive offensive line that can play consistently from one game to the next.

The Dolphins pick 12th in the upcoming draft and that is good news as far as having the option to select the better players available to us in the draft. Unfortunately, it also tells us that we are the 12th worst team in the NFL. Or, there are 20 better teams out there. 5 years of rebuilding and this is what we have. There is still a lot of work to do and it appears there is progress being made ... but at a snail's pace.

Who is to blame?

Since Jeff Ireland has only really had full control of the last two draft and free agent periods, a lot of fans in Dolphinland are willing to say that it's only been a 2 year rebuilding program. I can understand that and almost get on board with that.  I am also willing to give Jeff Ireland another year as I have been encouraged by his two drafts, but can all of our problems really be on Bill Parcells who rebuilt programs that that had playoff success after he left? Are the Dolphins the only team that he has failed at? You see, that has me scratching my head on this. Even though Parcells has admitted to making the moves the first 3 years, can Ireland get a 3 year mulligan? I really don't think so. I'm not brain dead.

Anyways, one thing that is certain is that the Dolphins must get better on the offensive line. Tannehill threw some sweet passes in the game, but he only had three seconds to throw the ball on most passing plays as the pocket collapsed as soon as the ball was snapped. To me, that makes me more impressed with Tannehill.  The Dolphins must find a Right Tackle in the offseason. Garner is not the answer.

Also, we noticed at times that there was no one open to throw to on some plays. Ireland's biggest failure this year was not having a replacement for Brandon Marshall. Maybe he believed the Kewl Aid that new head coach Philben when he said that his offense does not need playmakering wide receivers. Yeah, right.

So, the upcoming 2013NFL Draft is what we have to look forward to ... and, oh yes ... the logo change. It is my hope that our organization does not throw salt into the wound by putting together a logo that we cannot be proud of wearing and showing off. I do not mind an aggressive change such as the below image that was created a few years ago (by Nike?).

NFL Draft Order

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Miami's Picks

These are the picks that the Miami Dolphins have going into the 2013 NFL Draft:

1st Round (Assigned – #12 Overall)
2nd Round (Assigned – #42 Overall)
2nd Round (Colts – #56 Overall)
3rd Round (Assigned – #77 Overall)
3rd Round (Chicago – #82 Overall)
4th Round (Assigned)
5th Round (Assigned)
6th Round (Colts – Conditional)
7th Round (Assigned)

These picks have been traded away:

6th Round (San Francisco)

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Miami's first round picks since 1999.

Wanny: 2001-2004
Saban: 2005-2006
Mueller/Cameron: 2007
Parcells/Ireland: 2008-2010
Ireland: 2011-present

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The 7-8 Miami Dolphins conclude their 2012 NFL season on the road against the 11-4 New England Patriots in a pivotol game for the Patriots and their chances to possibly secure homefield advantage thru out the playoffs.  New Enlgand needs both Houston and Denver to lose to have this happen.  Meanwhile, the Dolphins are trying to avoid another losing season, which would be their first since 2008.

Let's take a quick look at how the teams matchup.

The Dolphins come into the game ranked 26th in total offense generating 315.2 yards per game.  They come in ranked 26th in passing offense at 198.2 yards per game, while ranking 13th in rushing offense at 117.0 yards per game.  The Dolphins are scoring 19.2 points per game.  They face a New England defense that ranks 27th in total defense giving up 381.1 yards per game.  They rank 29th in pass defense giving up 275.5 yards per game, while ranking 12th in rush defense giving up 105.5 yards per game.  The Patriots are giving up 22.1 points per game, which ranks 17th.

Just some brief thoughts on the offense moving forward,  as rookie QB Ryan Tannehill had a succesful 1st year in my opinion.  He had his ups and downs, but overall the kid showed nice development and had 2 signature wins, against Seattle at home and Cincinnati on the road.  Getting the Patriots on the road today would be very NICE.  There is a lot to like about Ryan, but he definitely has room to grow from an accuracy standpoint and overall, but I am happy with his first year as a professional.  The biggest needs for this offense is at wide receiver, as this team needs a true #1.  RB Reggie Bush is one of the few playmakers on the offense and I hope the parties can come to an agreement on a contract extension, and the Dolphins have said they want to bring Reggie back, at a cost the team is comfortable with.  There is still questions of whether the Dolphins have a TE that can stretch the field and OLT Jake Long is probably playing his last game as a Dolphin.  If so, an ORT will be bought in to provide competition for ORT Nate Garner, while Jonathan Martin will be the new OLT.  Playmakers are needed first and formost.

Switching to the other side of the ball, Miami comes into the game ranked 18th in total defense giving up 351.0 yards per game.  Miami ranks 25th in pass defense giving up 246.5 yards per game, while giving up 104.5 yards per game against the run, which ranks 10th.  The Dolphins are giving up 19.3 points per game, which ranks 6th.  They face the most potent offense in the NFL once again as the Patriots rank 1st in total offense generated at 426.9 yards per game.  They rank 4th in pass offense at 292.4 yards per game and rank 8th in rush offense generating 134.5 yards per game.  New England is the top scoring offense in the league at 35.3 points per game.

Some thoughts on the Dolphins defense, and the main thing I see needing to be added with this unit is cornerbacks and a SS that you can team with developing stud FS Reshad Jones.  Also, while the Dolphins ranks in the top 10 in sacks, a complimentary OLB/DE opposite of Cameron Wake is still needed.  DT Randy Starks is a free agent and I believe signing Randy is big.  DT that can anchor against the run and provide interior pass rush are precious, and Randy has been rock solid while with the Dolphins.  Overall, this is a very solid unit, top 10 in the most important stat defensively, points allowed.  But this unit has got to generate more tunrovers going into 2013.

It would be great to close the 2012 year with a win on the road at New England.  The Dolphins battled New England to the end in a 23-16 lost a few weeks ago in Miami, and the Dolphins did a tremendous job containing the potent Patriots offense.  But I can't lie, as my thoughts have moved on to the Senior Bowl, Combine and Free Agency.

For the last time in 2012, Go Dolphins......