Time for the Dolphins to move on and prioritize this offseason
It’s time for us all to put the 2013 season behind us and start looking towards 2014. There are some positive things to takeaway from the 2013 season:
– The Dolphins record was better than the year before (7-9 to 8-8)
– Ryan Tannehill struggled with the deep ball, but overall I felt he improved from his rookie season
– Charles Clay emerged as a matchup problem for defenses
– Olivier Vernon overachieved collecting 11.5 sacks
– Dion Jordan, though woefully underplayed, showed flashes that he can make a big impact (i.e. hitting Matt Ryan and forcing the game-sealing INT)
Okay so there weren’t THAT many positives. But the most important thing is that we saw progress in Ryan Tannehill. He doubled his TDs from ’12 to ’13 (from 12 to 24) and threw for over 700 yards more in ’13. He did most of this without a running game. Remember, there were a few games when the Dolphins rushed for under 25 yards? So we saw him start to take the reigns. I was disappointed in how Tannehill played the last 2 weeks of the season. Great QBs do not allow their team to get shutout against the Bills with the playoffs on the line, or put up only 7 points against the Jets, at home….with the playoffs on the line.
I think Tannehill will benefit GREATLY from having Bill Lazor has his new offensive coordinator. Lazor helped Nick Foles last year and will help Tannehill next year. Remember, for the last 6 years Tannehill has been tied to Mike Sherman, so a new voice and teacher will probably be a welcomed change. Time will tell, but I expect to see Tannehill take the next step in 2014.
Yes, Tannehill will be the key to the 2014 season, but the Dolphins must use this offseason to put more pieces around him. Ya know, like a line that can block for him and a running game that can pick up a 3rd and 1 once in a while! It will be fascinating to watch the Dolphins maneuver this offseason because for the first time in a long time, someone new is doing the maneuvering.