2014 Miami Dolphins Offense Roster Projection

""THEY'RE BACK""!!

In ten days The Miami Dolphins officially open training camp 2014 with a report date of July 24th, their first fully uniformed practice is Friday, July 25th. Miami's first pre-season game is 14 days later at Atlanta on Friday August 8th. The Bubble Boys offered below need to be paid special attention to between now and those first few pre-season games.

This is the fans opportunity to re-familiarize ones self with the names and numbers (Old & New) of our beloved favorite team. ""IT'S TIME"" to start figuring out how many players the Fins should carry at each position as well as discussing who we as individuals and/or as a community would prefer to see in or out of The Miami Dolphins Lineup.

So, Here We Go !


TOTAL OFFENSE ROSTER SPOT PROJECTIONS (23)


QUARTERBACKS (3)
17 Ryan Tannehill
8 Matt Moore
7 Pat Devlin

(Outside Lookin'In)
4 Brock Jensen, QB, 6-3, 223, 23, R, North Dakota State


Offensive Line (8).

CENTER (1)
51 Mike Pouncey (Injured, Hip Surgery) Earliest return date suggested is Week Five.

GUARDS (4)
64 Shelley Smith Rams Free Agent (Can play Center)
67 Daryn Colledge Cardinals Free Agent (has started 124 of 128 career games)
70 Dallas Thomas Dolphins
77 Billy Turner (ROOKIE)

TACKLE (3)
71 Branden Albert Chiefs Free Agent
72 Ja'Wuan James (ROOKIE)
74 Jason Fox Lions Free Agent


If the Dolphins star Center Mike Pouncey were to be relegated to the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list through the NFL's mandated first SIX GAMES?

TWO potential roster spot openings would become available for any one squad listed below (OL or RB or TE or WR)! While on the PUP list, Pouncey would be excluded from counting toward the active 46 man game day roster! Otherwise, all four squads can be afforded just the one necessary Bubble addition, (if that)!

(ON THE BUBBLE) offensive Lineman. Currently! Room for ONE ! Two?

65 Sam Brenner, C, 6-2, 310, 24, 2, Dolphins
61 Tyler Larsen, C, 6-4, 313, 23, R, Utah State
69 Samuel Longo, C, 6-5, 305, 22, R, Cincinnati

75 Nate Garner, OL, 6-7, 325, 29, 7, Dolphins
63 Davonte Wallace, OL, 6-3, 308, 22, R, New Mex St.
62 Evan Finkenberg, OL, 6-4, 300, 23, R, Arizona State

66 David Arkin, G, 6-5, 310, 26, 3, Dolphins
60 Michael Philipp, T, 6-4, 328, 22, R, Oregon State


RUNNING BACK (2)
28 Knowshon Moreno Bronco Free Agent
26 Lamar Miller

(ON THE BUBBLE RB), room for ONE. Two?
33 Daniel Thomas, 6-1, 233, 26, 4, Dolphins
34 Marcus Thigpen, 5-9, 195, 28, 3, Dolphins
23 Mike Gillislee, 5-11, 208, 23, 2, Dolphins
5 Damien Williams, 5-11, 222, 22, R, Oklahoma
3 Orleans Darkwa, 6-0, 210, 22, R, Tulane


TIGHT ENDS (2)
42 Charles Clay
80 Dion Sims

(ON THE BUBBLE TE), room for ONE. Two?
84 Michael Egnew, 6-5, 255, 24, 3, Dolphins
86 Kyle Miller, 6-5, 262, 26, 2, Dolphins
88 Arthur Lynch, 6-4, 258, 24, R, Georgia
89 Harold Hoskins, 6-2, 253, 22, R, Marshall


RECEIVERS (4)
11 Mike Wallace
10 Brandon Gibson
82 Brian Hartline
14 Jarvis Landry (ROOKIE)

(ON THE BUBBLE WR), room for ONE. Two?
1 Damian Williams, 6-1, 193, 26, 5, Titans
81 Stephen Williams, 6-5, 208, 28, 4, Seahawks
19 Armon Binns, 6-3, 211, 24, 3, Dolphins
18 Rishard Matthews, 6-0, 210, 24, 3, Dolphins

Outside Lookin'In WR.
15 Kevin Cone, 6-2, 216, 26, 4, Falcons
87 Ryan Spadola, 6-1, 201, 23, 1, Dolphins
16 Gerald Ford, 6-3, 223, 23, R, Valdosta State
83 Matt Hazel, 6-1, 198, 22, R, Cstl Car
85 Rantavious Wooten, 5-9, 178, 24, R, Georgia



So it seems as though that it would be quite the trick to go with just 8 Offensive Lineman, if Mike Pouncey were to count as one of the Eight/23/46! In such a case. The Dolphins would actually be going with only two active OLine reserves!

Miami has to bring at least ONE from the OLine Bubble in order to field an active eight. Several of the Dolphins OLine prospects are able to play multiple OLine positions, (including Center). Do the Fins bring just one OLineman up from the bubble, who is he, and/or who are they if more than one is your desire toward the active 46?

How Bout the running back position?
Can the Dolphins possibly get by with just one bubble guy to total only three running backs?
Running Back seems to be the position that most requires TWO from the bubble. YES?

However, (According to this projection)! Miami's offense is likely to need at least One Bubble Player for each of the Four individual squads while appearing to have just Four offensive roster openings. Do they short the current Tight End (2), or Wide Receiver (4) from an additional bubble guy in order to assure themselves of carrying Four Running Backs? Who makes the active game day 46 at running back?

Which Bubbles Float To The Top For You?
The Miami Dolphins presently have room for Four Bubble Prospects to total 23 offensive players!

Five Bubble Guys! If Pouncey goes to the PUP through week SEVEN? The 6 game PUP list means just that, ""SIX GAMES"", which suggest that Pouncey would not be eligible to return until week eight/game seven (due to the unfortunate timing of our bye week).

Coincidentally, Miami's starting Center's week five suggested return happens to fall upon the Dolphins Bye. Therefore, Pouncey is not likely to return at full strength to the active roster prior to week six and/or game five to begin with, even if he is kept on the active roster! Should Mike Pouncey go to the PUP and be deemed unavailable for two games more than the injuries earliest suggested game five return to the field? Or do the Fins go without the fifth bubble option for at least one forth of the season?


Thanks for an Open-Minded Read, and we look forward to your angle of view : )) !!
GOFINS!!!




SPECIAL TEAMS TOTAL (3)
9 Caleb Sturgis
2 Brandon Fields
92 John Denney


TOTAL DEFENSE (20). To Be Continued!

Why Miami's Offense Will Be Much Improved In 2014

I have wanted to say something for a while now about what I thought the Bill Lazor hiring was going to do for this Dolphins team. But moving 300 miles and health issues have prevented me from doing so. Seeing Patrick Tarell's recent article on Lazor motivated my writing this piece so if you don't like it, take it up with him. (Joking of course, Pat).

I had a bunch of facts and figures accumulated about Lazor. From his short stint with the Eagles. His previous pro and college coaching history, all the way back to his college years as a quarter back at Cornell University. Seems I have lost some of the research in the move, so I'm not going to try to bore you with too many stats and info that only offer possibilities and tendencies, anyway.

Like Patrick said, it appears Miami decided to break away from their previous practice which mandated going with an OC that had plenty of game film and history, which brought us the likes of Henning and Sherman in recent years. We took a chance on a relative unknown to try and shake thing up, so to speak.

Tannehill has done well to make the improvements he has last year with a poor offensive line, below average running game and a OC that could no longer stay on top of the game, adjust to changing circumstances or further develop Ryan's skill set to take him to the next level.

Enter Bill Lazor. And just when we were looking for someone who could jump start our Plain Jane, predictable offense, too. Someone who could also get our QB to make better decisions, develop a stronger sense of pocket awareness and hone his ball skills. (The long ball in particular)! Judging from his history as an OC and more importantly, a QB Coach, he has demonstrated a unique capacity to make the best use of the talent he has to work with and elevate quarter back play in a very short period of time. He fulfills both needs, very well.

Christ. The guy has a Bachelor's Degree of Science in Human Development and Family Studies? I don't know what all that degree stuff means but he obviously has an ability to communicate, break things down to a rudimentary level that makes it easier for others to learn and understand. His contributions in a single season to a Philadelphia Eagles second year QB, Nick Foles were nothing short of miraculous.

I know some of you may be thinking, but what does his one year success with the Eagles mean for us? Just because the Eagles went to the playoffs their first year under Chip Kelly's fast paced, exceptionally well balanced offense doesn't mean we are destined to do the same. Besides, Philadelphia was already trending in that direction anyway, right? NO!

A few quick facts and figures from NFL.com to consider: (Mind you I'm talking about their 2012 figures versus our 2013 as a reference point to show the state of both offenses before Bill Lazor came to the franchise).

The Eagles in 2012 were a middle of the pack team that scored only 280 points. Overall offensively, they were ranked 16th. Ran 1,079 plays, averaging 5.3 yards per play. Had 37 fumbles, (22 of which they lost) and a Take Away of -24.

Passing, they were ranked 13th. (We were ranked 26th).

618 attempts. Completing 59.4%

Averaging 6.6 yards per play

18 TD's, 15 INT's, 48 Sacks and a rating of 78.6

This was the passing attack Bill Lazor inherited. He also had Michael Vick for a QB, too.

Rushing, they were ranked 13th as well. (We were ranked 17th).

413 attempts for 1,879 yards and a 4.5 yard average.

10 TD's, 18 fumbles.

In his 20 years of coaching, (12 at the College level and 8 with NFL teams) Bill Lazor has immediately improved the QB play, (12 years as a QB Coach) or total team offensive performance, (5 years as an OC) with every organization he has been with. He has also coached up RB's, TE's, WR's and even did a little recruiting early on in his career. (This last fact tells me he should know a little something about spotting and developing player talent).

Why do I think he is going to make dramatic improvements with the Dolphins? Well, for one, we have a lot of room to get better. (More so than the Eagles, anyway). I know that sounds kind of lame. In most statistical categories they were a better offensive team in 2012 than we were in 2013. We did score more points (317 vs their 280) had fewer turn overs, (-2 vs. -24 in T. O.'s) and a slightly higher passing game rating, (80.1 vs. 78.6). We only threw for 204 fewer yards and 439 less rushing yards on the season, too.

An area of concern was the ratio of passing to rushing plays for us in 2013. It was a woeful 65/35% split. We threw 593 plays to their 618, and ran only 349 times while they tried to run significantly more at 413. Neither of us were balanced in our attack, at all. Something opposing defenses were able to key on as both our clubs suffered an inordinate amount of sacks. 58 for us and 48 for them.

An interesting side note: Despite their have a balanced attack in 2013 they still gave up 46 sacks which means they too, were having pass protection issues. What is more amazing is that they still wound up with an incredible overall TD to INT ratio of 39 to 9. And since their veteran QB Michael Vick went down to injury early on, Nick Foles played the bulk of season, sustaining 28 of those sacks and still tossed an unbelievable 27 TD's to a measly 2 INT's. (Due to Lazor's tutelage and having the league’s best running game to help take the heat off of him). Bill was able to take a second year QB and help him achieve unheard results on the field of play.

What makes me think he can do, at least, an equally masterful job with Tannehill? For one thing Ryan is entering his third NFL season, (while Foles was in his second year when Lazor got a hold of him). Production-wise, Tannehill actually cracked the top ten QB's in the league last year. In 2012 Foley was ranked 40th, Vick was 27th. Ryan Tannehill was ranked 22nd his first year out of the gate. (which is exactly what Foles was able to do in under Lazor in 2013). So Nick Foles went from 40th to 22nd while Tannehill went from 22nd to 10th in their respective first two years with the NFL.

All in all, I think Ryan is a tougher, more athletic QB than Foles. I'm sure Lazor will utilize his running skills to our advantage, as well. He is a better prospect to work with than Foles, has more Pro experience under his belt, (much of it being pressured, hit and sacked) and shouldn't take too much more mentoring to get him over the top and have a breakout season.

Sure Bill Lazor is an OC, not a QB Coach anymore, but you can bet he will have some impact on Tannehill's performance in his third year with the club. And since Bill has been given a free reign as the OC, (one of the conditions of his coming to us) he can better build and create an offense around our QB that will be more productive.

He is sure to bring some of his experience with Chip Kelly's fast paced offense. He is well versed in the type of West Coast Offense Joe Philbin wants to run. He will have a better offensive line that has some solid pieces now to pass protect and do a better job of opening up holes (zone blocking) than he did in Philly. Our receivers and ball carriers should be on par with what the Eagles had on their squad. (Especially the receiving corps).

Bill Lazor is young, hungry, original and creative. He has played under some top notch Coaches over the years and has a superb grasp of the game. (Especially the QB position). More so than most OC's in the league. He is out to prove something now that he has been given an opportunity to be an OC.

So far, it seems like Miami's offensive players are happy and excited with the style of offense Bill wants to install this season. This will be the first time he will be calling the offensive plays in his career, too. As many years as Philbin was an Offensive Coordinator for Green Bay, he never called his own plays, either. (I see this as another bonus since defenses will not have any prior history to draw upon). It beats the devil out of the, "Go Go" counts and stock formations that were etched in stone and easily readable by defenses, last season.

An up tempo, unpredictable offense that moves its players around to create confusion and mismatches will have a better chance to dictate to the defense instead of taking what the defense gives them. It would be nice to see a high flying, potent offense taking the field this year. This team is overdue for some offensive football excitement. And I mean some really obscene offensive football, too!

We already have a defense that is capable of creating turn overs and stopping people. (When they aren't forced to be on the field for extended periods of time because the offense cannot hang onto the ball, sustain drives or generate points). A stronger offense will only improve the defense's level of play, too.

They say we have a brutal schedule again this year. They said the same thing last year when we opened the season against three playoff caliber teams and went 3 and 0. We beat the Colts, Bengals, Chargers and Steelers. (All of which were potential playoff teams). One more win would have gotten us to the post season arena.

Chip Kelly and his OC will get most of the credit for the Eagles sudden offensive turn around. But nothing was more impressive than what Nick Foles, (with Bill Lazor's guidance) did to wind up with a 119.2 passer rating and a ratio of 27 TD's to 2 INT's during his 11 game stint.

I believe a couple of more wins in 2014 will get us into the playoffs, for sure. It is entirely possible if we can manage to score an average of 5 more points per game. (Remember, 9 of the 12 teams that went into the post season in 2013 scored 400 points or more to get there). If the Eagles can go from 280 points in 2012 to 442 points in 2013, we should be able to go from 317 to around 400. That is all it will take for Miami to be relevant again folks. Glad we got Mr. Lazor on our side to help make that happen.

Bill Lazor's Miami Dolphin Offense is All About Tempo

The mentality Bill Lazor brings from Philadelphia is what head coach Joe Philbin hopes will make the Miami Dolphin offense blossom.

Nepotism runs deep in NFL circles where a constant churning of coaches and coordinators turns the scolded dog coach of today into a coordinator somewhere else tomorrow. In the eyes of coaches that spend a lifetime watching film, there simply is not much difference from one scheme to the next in the National Football League.

It is easy to understand why rookie coach Joe Philbin turned to the good old boy network and hired Mike Sherman to run his offense. As a former professional and collegiate head coach, Sherman had experience on many levels. Even though he failed in both Green Bay and Texas A&M, the decision to hire him as a coordinator was not a bad one. Why enter the treacherous waters of the NFL alone when your mentor is available and willing to help navigate.

The problem is the NFL has two distinct sides, one at practice and one on game-day. The practice side is where knowledge gained from years of experience teaches and nurtures. Practice repetition enables learning and is vital as the game compounds in intricacy over years of development from grade school to the pros. Practice methodology slows down the process of learning and instills fundamentals.

Game-day affords no such luxury. The heat of the game is a quick twitch affair where decisions must come at lightning speed. Any glitch in processing, like forgetting the running game or forcing the passing game is quickly detected by defensive coaches who instantly exploit the tendency.

When the offense sputters fans are left exasperated, screaming for the quarterback to pick up the pace or check down, but many times the hesitation does not come from the field. It is high up in the coaches’ box where fumbling and bumbling occurs unknown to fans cheering in the stadium or glued to the TV at home.

Philbin knew… His headset told a story fans will never know and the reality must have troubled him deeply.

His mentor was no longer up to speed with game-day.

The presumption Boss Ross made the decision to retire Mike Sherman because Philbin was incapable of firing his mentor is incorrect. From the outside, it is only possible to speculate what goes on inside Dolphin headquarters, yet the hiring of Bill Lazor hints at Joe Philbin’s thought process.

Philbin is a film junky. A film junky who was connected to the headset on game-day. The stammering in his ears matched the stammering on film and he knew what he must do. It’s a cruel world when staying on a career path means ending the career of someone close to you. Sherman made it easier on Philbin because he knew he had lost a step. The film does not lie and Sherman could not hide from the tape.

Philbin made an interesting move when he chose Bill Lazor as his offensive coordinator. He broke from the path of least resistance and did not hire a retread.

Hiring a veteran NFL coach is the easiest thing for a film junky to do, why? It’s on film, Philbin has data on film telling him what to expect from every veteran coach. There is no film on Lazor, no comfort zone of what to expect, only the gut hunch that this coach has something special setting him apart from all those that have failed before him.

The pace of the game is what was nagging Philbin... Sputtering and stuttering is not attacking. Hesitation is a symptom of reaction not pro-action and by hesitating, the flow of the game was dictated to Miami.

It’s not passing or running or an even split that makes one offense better than the next, those differences come from the best use of available talent and match-ups. A good offense attacks and dictates the flow by using every means available in rapid succession.

Chip Kelly is not utilizing some crazy scheme. As previously noted, there is not much variation between schemes in the NFL. Chip Kelly is simply attacking. An up-tempo force dictating game speed, keeping the defense in reactive mode is the distinctive quality of a great offense. Joe Philbin knows this, he’s a film junky, and not one interview with Philbin goes by without the word "film" mentioned several times.

Lazor was not signed to copy Kelly’s offense; he was signed to copy Kelly’s approach to offense. Joe Philbin recognized what he heard in the headphones and what he saw on tape, an offense constantly falling behind the tempo of the defense. He knows what he wants and it shows in the way the Dolphins practice in rapid-fire two-groups-at-once sessions, but his OC and consequently his QB could not keep up on game-day.

It’s hard to determine even after two seasons whether Ryan Tannehill is actually any good or not. The image of him waiting for plays while confusion reigned in the coaches’ box was clear when watching most Miami games. The extenuating circumstances brought about by Jonathan Martin only helped to hide the reality and is the perfect excuse for accepting sluggish play. Philbin could have successfully parleyed a justification for his friend and mentor using the bully excuse, but in the end, he chose to let him go.

His mentor was no longer up to speed with game-day.

Like many people, coaches often misplace personal loyalty with the realities of being a professional. There must be a distinct line between work and personal life because blurring that line leads to decisions that are not in the best interest of either. Nepotism in the form of a constantly revolving coaching procession stems from living to work, instead of working to live.

The easiest thing for Joe Philbin to do would have been to bring in a member of his coaching fraternity.

He didn't because he understood that tempo on game-day is the key to great offenses and the best coaches he knows are still employed. That restriction turned him toward a younger coach raised on the high speed mantra. While the offense is still a reflection of greatness or ineptitude at the quarterback position, at least that observation will no longer be obstructed by stutters and stammers in the coaches’ box.

Mike Sherman was a good man and an excellent coach unfortunately, he was no longer up to speed with game-day.

Welcome to Miami Bill Lazor! No worries about how many running plays or how many passing plays, those stats are for talking heads. Being offensive is about attacking weaknesses in rapid succession.

The tape won't lie about a Miami dolphin team attacking on offense. It will reflect quite clearly in the win column. The question is...

Is Bill Lazor up to speed with game-day?