The Miami Dolphins reported to training camp on July 24 at the Doctors Hospital Training Facility in Davie, Fla. This is a big year for head coach Joe Philbin and quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the team finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
The Dolphins were 8-6 and appeared headed to a playoff berth after defeating the New England Patriots in week 15, but Miami lost their final two games and missed the playoff entirely. Now the Dolphins enter 2014 with a number of questions. Here are the top five questions heading into camp on Thursday.
1. How much has this offensive line improved?
The biggest issue the Dolphins had last season was their inability to protect Tannehill. The offensive line gave up a franchise-record 58 sacks. Yes the team signed tackle Branden Albert and drafted Ju’Wuan James and Billy Turner, but it is hard to completely rebuild an offensive line and come together without playing one game together previously. Not to mention Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey, will likely miss the first four games of the season as he recovers from hip surgery. Philbin and new offensive line coach John Benton will have has their hands full because not only do they have the job of putting this offensive line together, they have to prepare the offensive line for the Dolphins Week One opener against the New England Patriots. Good Luck!
2. Can the offense improve under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor?
Let’s be honest, last year’s offensive coordinator Mike Sherman’s play calling was predicable to say the least. The “Go and “Go-Go” snap cadence had many Dolphin fans scratching their heads as it was completely obvious to everyone what the Dolphins were was going to do.
Miami finished 25th in total offense last season and fired Sherman. The team replaced him with Bill Lazor, who was the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
Lazor will bring a much faster, up-tempo offense to the Dolphins. Players were happy with the new offensive scheme during organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamps. How quickly can the team adjust to the new offense and make it work during training camp and the preseason will be the determining factor.
3. Who will be the starting running back?
The Dolphins finished 25th in rushing in 2013. So to improve the running game, the team decided to sign free-agent Knowshon Moreno, who rushed for 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns a season ago. Moreno was expected to become the Dolphins starting running back, but as of right now, that remains a big question.
Moreno arrived at Dolphins’ OTAs overweight and was outplayed by last year’s starter Lamer Miller, who received the majority of the first-team reps. It was later discover that Moreno needed to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, which would keep him out four to five weeks. Moreno could miss the start of Dolphins training camp, so that could put him even more behind the eight ball in regards of becoming the starter in Week 1 against New England. Miami needs to see more out of Moreno if he wants to get more carries in Lazor’s new offense.
4. Will moving Koa Misi to middle linebacker improve the defense?
Misi is a very athletic linebacker and moving him to the middle should benefit Dannell Ellerbe as he will go back to his natural position at outside linebacker. The problem is Misi never played middle linebacker with the Dolphins or during college at the University of Utah. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to being responsible for play calls on defense and making sure players are where they are supposed to be.
5. Can Ryan Tannehill continue his upward trend?
Tannehill showed big improvements in his second year in the NFL as he threw for 3,913 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also threw 17 interceptions and was very inconsistent in certain moments throughout the season.
Though there were still some issues with Tannehill’s deep passing accuracy when I observed him during OTAs, the overall result were encouraging.
The Dolphins have went out and gotten Tannehill weapons at receiver, addressed the offensive line, and hired a new offensive coordinator, so 2014 is a make or break season for him. While everyone has their opinion on if Tannehill is a franchise quarterback, we won’t really know the answer to that until after the 2014 season.
