Miami Dolphins Projected 53/65 Man Roster, (Pre-Training-Camp 2018)

"""ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL"""??

The NFL and Miami Dolphins 2018 season has finally arrived. Much has taken place over the last seven-plus months. It appears as though that The Dolphins will start 13 different players, and have a bunch more depth throughout the season than that of o17's game one/season.

Presently, Miami has 99 player prospects.
Upon regular season gamedays 46 players are permitted to dress/play. Not sure about these days, but there was a time that 47 could dress, (if the 47th was a third QB). Either-way. 53 players make the final roster, and will put themselves in position to be named one of those 46 game day players each week. Players 54 - 65 become part of the team as Practice and/or Developmental Squad prospects. The #'s included below are Jersey numbers for TC/Pre/Reg & Post Season game viewing identification, and ""Civil, Un-Biased, Reasonable Observations""!!

Training Camp begins this Thursday 7-26, and just two measly weeks later, Your Miami Dolphins will be playing their first preseason football game of 2018.

So here are some (personally projected) names & numbers to watch over the next 6 weeks to six months.


Special Teams (3)
K #7 Jason Sanders (Rookie)
P #2 Matt Hack
LS #92 John Denney
____________________________

OFFENSE (24)

Offensive-Line (10)

LT #78 Laremy Tunsil

LG #71 Josh Sitton (FA Newcomer)

C #67 Daniel Kilgore (FA Newcomer)

RG/T #77 Jesse Davis

RT #70 Ju'Waun James

OL Reserves
T/G #79 Sam Young
T/G #72 Eric Smith
G/C #62 Ted Larsen
C/G #64 Jake Brendel
G    #68 Isaac Asiata (?)


Tight-End (3)
#86 Mike Gesicki (Rookie)
#46 Durham Smythe (Rookie)
#48 MarQueis Gray


Wide-Receiver (5)
#11 DeVante Parker
#10 Kenny Stills
#19 Jakeem Grant
#80 Danny Amendola (FA Newcomer)
#15 Albert Wilson (FA Newcomer)


Running-Back (3)
#32 Kenyan Drake
#21 Frank Gore (FA Newcomer)
#33 Kalen Ballage (Rookie)


Quarterback (3)
#17 Ryan Tannehill
#8  Brock Osweiler
#9 David Fales

_________________________________

DEFENSE (25)

Safety (4)
#29 Minkah Fitzpatrick (Rookie S/CB/LB)
#20 Rashad Jones
#22 TJ McDonald
#35 Walt Aikens


Corner-Back (5)
#25 Xavien Howard
#30 Cordrea Tankersley
#28 Bobby McCain
#36 Tony Lippett
#31 Cornell Armstrong (Rookie)


Line-Backer (6)
#47 Kiko Alonso
#52 Raekwon McMillan
#44 Stephone Anthony
#59 Chase Allen
#55 Jerome Baker (Rookie)
#45 Mike Hull


Defensive-Tackle-Rotation (5)
#93 Akeem Spence (FA Newcomer)
#97 Jordan Phillips (contract year)
#56 Davon Godchaux
#96 Vincent Taylor
#98 Gabe Wright


Defensive-End-Rotation (5)
#94 Robert Quinn (FA Newcomer)
#91 Cam Wake
#50 Andre Branch
#90 Charles Harris
#95 William Hayes DE/DT

TOTAL 52
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Roster Spot 53 is a toss-up between several possibilities for various reasons at various positions, be it a safety-net, an immediate desire, and/or a long-term resolution.

The 53rd roster position as well as (in most cases) practice squad spots 54 - 65 could go to a 6th WR.
#82 Francis Owusu (stature clone to DeVante Parker)
#88 Leonte Carroo

A 4th TE.
#89 Gavin Escobar (FA Newcomer, not PS eligible)
#85 AJ Derby
#83 Thomas Duarte

A 4th RB
#34 Sinorice Perry

An 11th OL
#74 Zach Sterup

A 5th Safety/10th DB.
#23 Jordan Lucas
#26 Maurice Smith

A 6th CB/10th DB
#24 Torry McTyer
#1 Jalen Davis (Rookie)

A 7th LB.
#51 Quentin Poling (Rookie)

Or, A 6th DE due to (CWake turning 37, Hayes 34, while 30 year old Branch is scheduled to make 10-plus million come 2019). The Two biggest, most youthful by far DE's on the present squad are
#75 Cameron Malveaux (23, 6-5, 265)
#76 Jonathan Woodard (24, 6-6, 271)

TOTAL 66 of 65 available spots.
________________________________


Others (to name a few) working for an opportunity into the top 65 include.

QB Bryce Petty (FA Newcomer)
OL Mike Matthews (Rookie)
T David Stienmentz (Rookie)
T Roubbens Joseph (Rookie)
RB Brandon Radcliff (Rookie)
WR Isiah Ford
WR Drew Morgan
WR Malcolm Lewis
WR Rashawn Scott
LB Cayson Collins (Rookie)
LB Mike McCray (Rookie)
DT Jamiyus Pittman (Rookie)
DT Anthony Moten (Rookie)
Along with 20 others not mentioned.


And of course.
The entire league will be cutting some 1000 players over the next 6 weeks for The Miami Dolphins to sift through!!


What would you suggest differently for spots 1 - 52 ??

Who would you suggest for the 53rd spot ??

Who would be your 54 - 65 practice squad players ??

Who below 65 makes the leap into 65 ??


Rookies reported on 7-18.
Veterans report on 7-25.
Training Camp begins 7-26.
The HOF game is Thursday 8-2.
Miami's first preseason game is 8-9.


GOFINS!!!

2018 Miami Dolphins Starting Roster MakeOver!!

The 2017 Miami Dolphins waded their way through an unparalleled chain of events that began upon the final preseason game and continued on a weekly basis through week 11!

It started with a catastrophe, was followed by uncontrolable disasters which precedded a number of rediculous off the field calamities. An inside of doors snow blizzard, in Miami? A proven LB of high character goes AWOL, and another gets the drunk & disorderly handcuffs? A cancelled week one & Bye Week 11? The Dolphins were done before even getting started, and they were most definitely worn beyond worn over the season's final 6 games! And after the week one disaster, tropical storms continued to soak Miami into the seasons final third!!

You remember the field conditions in Miami for their first six or so of eight home games? DISGUSTINGLY EMBARRASING!! As was the final tally of 6 - 10..

Our team was not only challenged via all the above and then some.. They were severely lacking (due to injuries for the most part) at the CB, LB, TE & OL positions from beginning to end, and ohh yea at QB too !!

The Miami Dolphins can't control what's beyond their control !!

So they went above and beyond in taking command of what they can control with fresh, proven, Highly qualified personnel throughout the coaching staff and on the roster/field !!

They went so drastically deep into changing what takes place on the field of 6 - 10 team, that (compared to game one starters of 2017).. The probability is extremely high for THIRTEEN (if not 14) different starters taking the field in week one of 2018! Lucky 13, thats more than one half of a 25 man starting roster!

So here's how some of it is visualized from one Miami Dolphins Fans Perspective..

2017 Miami Dolphins Game One Starters,
and ( The Replacements ) Projected for 2018.

OFFENSE

QB Jay Cutler,      ( Ryan Tannehill )
LT Laremy Tunsil
LG Anthony Steen, (Josh Sitton)
C   Mike Pouncey,  (Danial Kilgore)
RG Jermon Bushrod, (Jesse Davis)
RT JuWaun James
RB Jay Ajayi,    (Frank Gore/Kenyan Drake, and rookie Kalen Ballage)
WR DeVante Parker
SR  Jarvis Landry, (Danny Amendola/Albert Wilson/Jakeem Grant)
WR Kenny Stills
TE Julius Thomas, (Rookies Mike Gesicki/Durham Smythe)

Miami's 2018 offense would be very likely to stomp 2017's TEAM into lost & forgotten obliteration!


DEFENSE

FS Nate Allen, (TJ McDonald/Minkah Fitzpatrick)
SS Rashad Jones
DE Andre Branch, (Robert Quinn/Charles Harris)
DT Jordan Phillips
DT Ndamukong Suh, (Davon Godchaux, William Hayes, Akeem Spence, Vincent Taylor)
DE Cameron Wake
OLB Kiko Alonso
MLB Mike Hull,  ( Raekwon McMillan )
OLB  Chase Allen, (Stephone Anthony/rookie Jerome Baker/CAllen/MHull, and another rookie Quinton Poling) etc.
CB  Xavien Howard
CB  Byron Maxwell, ( Minkah Fitzpatrick/Cordrea Tankersley/Tony Lippett)

Minus the third LB Base Defense
Slot = Bobby McCain/Tank/Fitz/Lipp, and rookie Cornell Armstrong etc..


SPECIAL TEAMS

LS John Denney
P   Matt Haack
K  Cody Parkey,  ( Jason Sanders )


I have Minkah Fitzpatrick (over the seasons duration) starting at any one of seven different Defensive positions via ( S X 2, CB X 3, LB X 2 ). For game one, play one, if they start in base 4-3, I see him starting over Cordrea Tankersley opposite of Xavian Howard..

Anyone remember the name Byron Maxwell?? Man he went from the one, to the two, to being inactive in o17’s first 3 weeks which was when rookie Tankersley took over and did pretty well..

Maxwell never played another down and was released a month later..

I think that Tank is pretty damn good, but Fitz teamed up with X makes for a total shutdown tandem at CB!!!

As far as who ended-up as o17 DB starters. Tankersley (last witnessed) would appear to be the weakest link, (though he’s not weak in any sense). It's just that it's quite apparent that Fitzpatrick offers farr more proven talents, and skills..

That would be my basic Defensive lineup for getting the best 7 on the back-end, play one..

But of course. There is also the possibility that Minkah Fitzpatrick may very well start at one of the other 6 positions he excels at? Shoot Saban suggest that #29 Fitz could even play MLB in certain situations, (which makes 8 different positions he can morph into) while Butterfly-Bellied-Brady is at the LOS attempting to dissect !!

The other positional player that Minkah may likely be a better option to start for would be the third LB (whoever that may endup being among numerous previously mentioned qualified candidates)..

While (if not a true OLB starting at that spot)? One of either Fitzpatrick or TJ McDonald could start/play/lineup at an OLB's vicinity with the other at FS..

An order to get the 7 best of the back-end on the field, game one, play one, and throughout the season.. Should make for quite the confusing puzzle for offensive opponents!!

TJ McDonald an established/proven/productive/deserving player & First Round Pick Minkah Fitzpatrick should both start somewhere !!

So in the 4-3 base game one, play one,
I have TJ'Mc at FS, & Minkah in place of Tankersley at CB.



Or.
(My Goodness, Fitzpatrick brings with him soooo many alternative options)..
It's mind boggling!!



Fitz at FS & TMc at OLB?

But (in that moment) who knows? Perhaps one of them true OLB’s (Jerome Baker etc) blows the doors off TMc at OLB for the game one, play one start?

Of course a lot will depend on how the Titans lineup.. In o17 Miami started in the base 4-3 against them..

With get this at LB
Kiko, Maualuga, Timmons

Hmmm..
Think The Dolphins are a little better off at LB, DB, overall defense, TE, OL, and ohh yea QB ??

Not a headscratcher, DATTS’FER'SURE!!

I BELIEVE that The Swiss Army Knife, Jack & Master of All Football Trades, and true leader Minkah Fitzpatrick will be farrr more valuable than the one dimensional Suh as the Future Franchise Face of the Defense!!

And we’ll have him for 5 years for the cost of one year with what we were scheduled to pay Suh!!!

Loved Suh (zero disrepect intended), but Minkah Fitzpatrick (from Anywhere and Everywhere) will be farrr more impactful and indecipherable !!

The Miami Dolphins 2018 Defense could very well become the class of the AFC East!


What Are Your Thought's 3 months before kickoff ??


GOFINS!!!

Sorry Mel - The Miami Dolphins Stole this Draft

The pundits are unhappy the Miami Dolphins did not sell their collective souls to draft a quarterback… Mel Kiper, an admitted Ravens fan, praised his team for selling out to pick QB Lamar Jackson with the 32nd pick. He then panned the Dolphins for not drafting a QB and gave them the worst draft grade of any team.

Mel was asked which player he liked before the draft, his answer – “It's so tough to answer because I have to think about team needs, how each prospect fits into those needs and realistic draft positions.”

Funny how when “their” team is on the clock, even the “experts” forget their own words. Kiper famously said, “Lamar Jackson had a lot of "layups" in Louisville's offense,” when comparing Jackson to Josh Allen. He didn’t think Lamar Jackson would develop into an NFL QB. That was before the Ravens drafted the Louisville Heisman Trophy winner and now, Mel has nothing but praise for Ozzie Newsome.

QB's running around on NFL fields is not the recipe for long and fruitful careers.

The examples are plentiful, but the prefect one is RG3. Jackson is so close in stature to RG3 that it’s scary. Most NFL GMs put on their psychology hat and remembered, “Past performance is the best predictor of future success.” Jackson lasted until 32 for that reason. Miami, along with 30 other teams were not going to risk making the same mistake.

The bottom line is, Miami fans do not care what Mel Kiper, ProFootballFocus or whomever have to say about the Miami Dolphin draft. These fans have grown numb to easy pot-shots from outsiders that don’t have to play New England twice a year.

Miami fans are a resilient and self-sufficient bunch that actually understand what Mel meant with, “think about team needs, how each prospect fits into those needs and realistic draft positions.”

Building up to the draft, this writer penned several articles detailing the issues that led to the Miami Dolphin's 6-10 season. The most annoying line that seems to have become an off-hand fact is that suddenly, Ryan Tannehill is an injury prone QB.

Tannehill and the Dolphins are guilty of thinking experimental science (stem cell therapy) is magic.

It’s not…

Guilty as charged, but injury prone? Tannehill was an ironman prior to a cheap Calais Campbell knee shot. The stem cell experiment didn’t work and Tannehill subsequently had the same surgery nearly every player wearing an NFL uniform has had at one time or another. Tom Brady’s been wearing that brace since the last time Miami won the AFC East.

If past performance is the best predictor of future success, Tannehill will be fine.

Whether Mel Kiper likes Ryan Tannehill is a completely different issue, many Miami fans will agree with that sentiment. Using the term “injury prone” is a ridiculous cop out, if you don’t like Tannehill just say it Mel, you won’t hurt our feelings.

The men whose jobs are on the line - Adam Gase, Mike Tannenbaum and Chris Grier have the belief that Ryan Tannehill will continue where he left off prior to his knee injury. The Dolphins felt they had too many holes they needed to fill and could not afford to essentially give up their whole draft for an unknown rookie QB.

The Dolphins were perfectly willing to allow one of the top four QBs to fall to the 11th pick. The Arizona Cardinals sent the No. 15 pick, a 3rd-round pick (No. 79) and a fifth-round selection (No. 152) to the Oakland Raiders to jump ahead of Miami and take Josh Rosen. Carson Palmer was 38 years old and retired from the Cardinals who were left with Sam Bradford - Now you’re talking injury prone.

No matter what the pundits believe, the Cardinals were desperate for a QB and the Dolphins were not. It’s as simple as that.

In two previous articles:

http://www.dolphinshout.com/2018/01/miami-dolphins-are-playing-wrong-defense.html

http://www.dolphinshout.com/2018/01/the-miami-dolphins-need-beast-at-tight.html

The real issues that led to Miami’s demise, aside from Jay Cutler being Jay Cutler, were evident by the end of the 2017 season.

The Dolphins allowed 94 catches by tight ends, the most in the league. Only Oakland allowed more tight end receiving yards (1034 to 1038) than Miami. Tight ends scored 10 touchdowns against the Dolphins, tied with Cleveland for second-most and behind only the Giants (13).

The league is evolving and Miami was not: The Patriots had 221 snaps in Dime (6-DB) Personnel and an astounding 161 snaps in Prevent (7-DB). Miami had SEVEN total snaps in a Dime defense. The Patriots faced 3rd & 10 or more on 54 snaps this year and yet they played 6 or more DBs on 382 snaps.

The Miami Dolphins used the Dime package only 7 times…

It’s humorous to hear the talking heads berate the Miami Dolphins for picking Minkah Fitzpatrick in the first round. Maybe lining up only 7 times in a dime package is a tiny clue to what Miami REALLY needed.

It’s also humorous to hear how Fitzpatrick will displace T.J. McDonald in the defensive backfield. Stats are for losers, but 7 times versus NE’s 161 times and a total of 382 snaps with 6 or more DBs.

T.J. and Minkah will be playing alongside one another a whole lot in 2018.

NFL teams are not “supposed” to draft for needs but one thing is very clear, Fitzpatrick was a much greater need than drafting Tannehill’s future replacement.

The Miami Dolphins literally had no starting TE prior to the draft. Julius Thomas caught 4 TD passes for Miami and that’s it. The Eagles? 14… The Patriots, 10. Of the TEs with the most TD receptions, 4 of the top 5 were on playoff teams and 2 were in the Super Bowl.

The Dolphins cut Julius Thomas and Anthony Fasano retired… Miami threw out the old axiom of not going into the draft with a need so the team could select the “best player available.”

What were they going to do, hide it? Tight Ends haven’t existed in Miami since long before Mad Dog opened the pearly gates.

The pundits are still stomping for Mason Rudolph but the sight of Mike Gesicki in Dolphin teal warms the heart of any true Miami fan.

The Dolphins did not only draft exactly what they needed, but they actually followed the Jimmy Johnson credo and doubled down! They selected coverage LB Jerome Baker in the 3rd round and the Kelly green hulk TE Durham Smythe in the 4th round. (Hey Paul, any relation?)

Kalen Ballage in the 4th as the bruising RB to spell Kenyan Drake. They added CB Cornell Armstrong and LB Quentin Poling in the 6th, along with a kicker, Jason Sanders in the 7th.

Mel Kiper can grade Miami wherever he likes…

At the beginning of the day, this Miami fan is smiling.

At the end of the day, Mel Kiper can explain trading away Jarome Baker and Durham Smythe for Lamar Jackson to sit on the bench for a few years.

Hey he’s the expert after all…