2023 Dolphins: Greatest Show on Surf

sodenj5

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I was surprised at how ... disinterested? ... Teddy seemed to be in football last year. I became a Mike White fan last season. Great arm, accurate, athletic. Has that "energy" you love to see from a backup QB, as well. Seeing him and Skylar compete for the primary backup roll will be fun. 8 million seems reasonable. I wonder if a part of that includes incentives.

Would imagine it’s up to 8 based off of playing time incentives. Agreed, it felt like Teddy was mostly there for the Miami vibes and sunshine.

He got shafted a bit on his first game versus the Jets as he got “concussed” a few plays in, but I never sensed any type of urgency of him trying to seize his moment in Miami’s offense with Tua going down multiple times.

White has that moxie that you want to see in a guy that usually gets tossed into a crappy situation. I would imagine that they might still keep Skylar and carry three QBs again, as they were down to QB3 at several points last year.
 

luckiestman

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White will come in and get those fast guys the ball. This kind of sucks. If Jets don’t get Rodgers or Lamar who knows wtf happens.
 

sodenj5

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White will come in and get those fast guys the ball. This kind of sucks. If Jets don’t get Rodgers or Lamar who knows wtf happens.
Zach Wilson is still on the roster.

Rodgers makes some sense as he’s a pure mercenary rental for a season or two. I think the fact that we haven’t heard Rodgers’s decision yet is signaling retirement, IMO.

Lamar would be a tougher pill to swallow because the Jets have to give up two firsts and likely a record setting fully guaranteed deal. Also the Ravens are extremely likely to match any deal another team negotiates, they’re just letting the market dictate Lamar’s value for him.
 

JM3

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Both Ruiz & Sharp are pro-Long:

View: https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1635418948362534912?cxt=HHwWgIC8wcy3lrItAAAA


Best value: David Long Jr.
Expected deal value (via PFF): $10 million APY, four years

Long isn’t a finished product and his 2022 season, which was cut short by injuries, was his first as a full-time starter. But he’s an instinctive linebacker who can defend the run, drop into coverage, and rush the passer when asked. And playing in Tennessee’s dynamic defense should have him prepared to play in any scheme.
https://www.theringer.com/2023/3/13/23633460/guide-to-2023-nfl-free-agency-lamar-jackson-orlando-brown-jamel-dean-jessie-bates-tremaine-edmunds
 

Anthologos

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Dolphins look poised to make a real AFC run. Lots of smart signings and solid moves. As much as I hate it, have to say I wish them well.
This sort of awesome offseason can backfire without subsequent success of course. But whatever happens, I hope Tua stays healthy. I may root for failure, but never for injury, especially to the brain.
May Mike White never see a start and feel angry that he didn’t go to the poor Patriots! :)
 

j-man

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miami shouild make a push for WR J Myers NE if anything to drive up the price but dude wouild fit great in your off
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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miami shouild make a push for WR J Myers NE if anything to drive up the price but dude wouild fit great in your off
Seems like a pretty poor use of resources when you already have two top 25 WRs on the roster.
 

sodenj5

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Mostert's back! 5.6 million over years. Up to 7.6 with incentives. 2.2 guaranteed. Very solid move.
Mostert was very good value last season. It felt like once they brought in Jeff Wilson and he carried slightly less of the load, he started breaking off big runs again. He set a career high last season in snaps and total yards, and played 16 of Miami’s 18 games.

I think he always comes with the caveat of “if he stays healthy” but bringing him back, pairing him with another back (maybe Wilson again), and hopefully drafting another back should leave Miami in good shape.
 

pdaj

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Firstly, I'm elated to have the Mostert/Wilson tandem back. The Cook/Henry talk was fun, but considering the money spent elsewhere (WR/CB), you're not going to get a bigger bang for your buck. I'm a flat-out Wilson stan -- he's as close to a dual back as Miami will have on the roster. Injuries for both Mostert/Wilson remain a concern, so perhaps a RB will be drafted with one of their few selections (6th/7th). Ahmed did look good in limited action last season.

As for Berrios, in addition to the KR/PR skill noted, I think this dude could eat in the passing game, as well. He's speedy, tough, and a good route runner. With Cheetah/Waddle doing their thing, he's going to have plenty of opportunities. This dude's a Tua type of wideout.
 

sodenj5

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After Morstead announced he’s signing with the Jets, Miami announces they’ve signed former Pro Bowl and All Pro Patriot Jake Bailey.

Miami was abysmal on special teams. Morstead was very good, but I am glad that they’ve taken active steps to improve it so far. Sanders probably needs a legit leg to compete with him at camp.
 

tims4wins

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After Morstead announced he’s signing with the Jets, Miami announces they’ve signed former Pro Bowl and All Pro Patriot Jake Bailey.

Miami was abysmal on special teams. Morstead was very good, but I am glad that they’ve taken active steps to improve it so far. Sanders probably needs a legit leg to compete with him at camp.
Active steps to improve it? There's a reason the Pats cut Bailey. If you popped into our game threads during non-Miami games, you'd have seen it up close and personal. He was next level AWFUL this year.
 

sodenj5

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Active steps to improve it? There's a reason the Pats cut Bailey. If you popped into our game threads during non-Miami games, you'd have seen it up close and personal. He was next level AWFUL this year.
Wasn’t he injured and then mysteriously suspended? I’m willing to roll the dice on a guy that’s 25 bouncing back.
 

tims4wins

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Wasn’t he injured and then mysteriously suspended? I’m willing to roll the dice on a guy that’s 25 bouncing back.
Correct on both points. There is definitely a chance he bounces back. There is also a chance he is never the same.
 

sodenj5

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Jake Bailey spoke to the Miami media today, and he essentially said that he was injured last year trying to adhere to the Patriots training program and adding squatting into his routine.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/03/22/dolphins-punter-jake-bailey-cited-confusion-in-discussing-patriots-suspension/70037516007/

Said it’s something he’s never really done before and his accuracy suffered as a result.

I may be remembering incorrectly, but hadn’t Brady spoken pretty openly about the Patriots training methodology being pretty antiquated?
 

Shelterdog

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Jake Bailey spoke to the Miami media today, and he essentially said that he was injured last year trying to adhere to the Patriots training program and adding squatting into his routine.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/03/22/dolphins-punter-jake-bailey-cited-confusion-in-discussing-patriots-suspension/70037516007/

Said it’s something he’s never really done before and his accuracy suffered as a result.

I may be remembering incorrectly, but hadn’t Brady spoken pretty openly about the Patriots training methodology being pretty antiquated?
I don't know if he said it was antiquated or if it was that open, but Brady definitely wanted to move aware from heavy lifting and more into his bands and pliability. This was also apparently a big issue with Gronk. I'm not sure if we really know if Brady thought that the emphasis on squats etc was a problem when it came to most NFL players or simply that he as an older veteran, QB, etc had different needs

I'm not a trainer but I am a little dubious on the advantage of heavy squats for a punter.
 
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Justthetippett

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I don't know if he said it was antiquated or if it was that open, but Brady definitely wanted to move aware from heavy lifting and more into his bands and pliability. This was also apparently a big issue with Gronk. I'm not sure if we really know if Brady thought that the emphasis on squats etc was a problem when it came to most NFL players or simply that he as an older veteran, QB, etc had different needs

I'm not a trainer but I am a little dubious on the advantage of heavy squats for a punter.
With good technique and reasonable weights that didn't force that technique to fall apart I can't imagine squats doing too much damage. But I'm very surprised they would make any player do a lift they weren't comfortable with or that had a negative impact on performance. That would be a really bad way to run a team in the 50s, let alone today, which makes it likely there's a bit more to the story.
 

Shelterdog

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I can recall some players talking about how the Patriots are unique in how much they incorporate squats into their training program.
I've seen the same kind of thing over the years. Here's a quote after the Atlanta super bowl where Slater says the Pats were squatting 80 percent of their maxes the week before the superbowl. I don't know what other teams to but the Pats definitely do a lot of heavy squats.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2017/02/06/bill-belichick-super-bowl-2017-new-england/97540150/
 

sodenj5

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I don't know if he said it was antiquated or if it was that open, but Brady definitely wanted to move aware from heavy lifting and more into his bands and pliability. This was also apparently a big issue with Gronk. I'm not sure if we really know if Brady thought that the emphasis on squats etc was a problem when it came to most NFL players or simply that he as an older veteran, QB, etc had different needs

I'm not a trainer but I am a little dubious on the advantage of heavy squats for a punter.
One thing I found pretty interesting is when Joe Thomas retired, he started deadlifting and said he had never deadlifted at either the college or NFL level ever. Everything he trained was based around explosive movements, more Olympic lifts, not just pure strength.

I thought I remembered something along the lines of Brady saying (paraphrasing) “Bill’s answer to everything is do more squats.” There are certain positions where strength and size matters, but punter would not qualify in that regard, and it would be pretty dubious if they managed to injure the highest paid punter in the league by having him to do powerlifting he wasn’t familiar with.
 

Shelterdog

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One thing I found pretty interesting is when Joe Thomas retired, he started deadlifting and said he had never deadlifted at either the college or NFL level ever. Everything he trained was based around explosive movements, more Olympic lifts, not just pure strength.

I thought I remembered something along the lines of Brady saying (paraphrasing) “Bill’s answer to everything is do more squats.” There are certain positions where strength and size matters, but punter would not qualify in that regard, and it would be pretty dubious if they managed to injure the highest paid punter in the league by having him to do powerlifting he wasn’t familiar with.
I do think the strength programs very pretty dramatically. The strength coach at stanford when Bailey was there was kind of a legend (who got fired under some weird still unknown circumstances) and he basically never benched or squatted and rarely used heavy weights. Bill obviously feels differently. I'm not sure what the right answer is.

I do agree with pretty much everything you say except that squats really shouldn't be that hard to teach a pro athlete to so safely. (The wisdom of supposedly heavy squats for punters, that's a different question.)
 

Mystic Merlin

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‘Adhere.’

That’s a slippery adjective. I almost read it into the article’s transcript of Bailey’s actual comments until I re-read the article.
 

BigJimEd

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Here is Bailey's quote about squatting from the article:
"A lot of it had to do with squatting a ton," Bailey said of a seasonlong injury. "I did not grow up squatting, loading my back with back squats. I didn't do it at all in college. I tried to be more a part of the program. And it just really backfired the whole season I was doing it. It really made my accuracy struggle. And it just was kind of a sad, sad thing to have happen. I haven't squatted since really week 15 or 16 and feel pretty good."
 

Cellar-Door

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Here is Bailey's quote about squatting from the article:
yeah, I was wondering how having to squat suddenly became a problem in his 4th season with the team. That quote makes it sound like he decided to join in the non-specialist weight regimen and screwed it up.
 

sodenj5

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yeah, I was wondering how having to squat suddenly became a problem in his 4th season with the team. That quote makes it sound like he decided to join in the non-specialist weight regimen and screwed it up.
Or that the specialists have had to squat, he had resisted up to that point, and decided to go with what they had been telling him to do all along.

That was the vibe that I was getting, but I also know nothing.
 

rodderick

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Yeah, I don't think the Pats are making Tom Platz leg workouts mandatory for specialists, seems like Bailey thought it would help, it screwed him up and the team wasn't on the same page about the time it'd take for him to recover. If I had to guess he was healthy enough to play but wasn't near 100%, knew he'd suck and didn't want to put more bad film out there leading up to free agency.
 

sodenj5

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And yet in the recent NFLPA survey, the Pats S&C coaches received a B+ grade, the second highest grade the team received. Maybe it’s a position thing…
When the second highest grade they received is one of the worst qualifiers in the league, it probably should tell you something about the organization. Their weight room also received a D, 31st in the league, which should probably suggest there’s some validity to what Bailey was saying.

Amenities might not matter to fans, it might have zero correlation with winning, but the players at least notice. It appears the Pats have been coasting by on mystique and aura for a while now. Maybe the upgrades to the stadium and facilities currently underway help change that.
 

Shelterdog

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When the second highest grade they received is one of the worst qualifiers in the league, it probably should tell you something about the organization. Their weight room also received a D, 31st in the league, which should probably suggest there’s some validity to what Bailey was saying.

Amenities might not matter to fans, it might have zero correlation with winning, but the players at least notice. It appears the Pats have been coasting by on mystique and aura for a while now. Maybe the upgrades to the stadium and facilities currently underway help change that.
I'm not particularly worried--I see very little evidence that the Pats have training related issues hurting their performance and the issue here is simply that Jake Bailey doesn't like squats but programmatically they're fine. (Offensive coordinator problems, the hangover from bad drafts 2016-19, yeah they have that). Hopefully the Pats are being thoughtful about staying on the cutting edge of performance conditioning.
 

Justthetippett

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Players want to get their best performance (for the personal and team reward of winning, plus the economic benefits) and to feel like they are being put in a position to succeed. I think having a super shiny weight room is peripheral to all of that but a misguided training program could (if true) be a real problem.
 

lexrageorge

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When the second highest grade they received is one of the worst qualifiers in the league, it probably should tell you something about the organization. Their weight room also received a D, 31st in the league, which should probably suggest there’s some validity to what Bailey was saying.

Amenities might not matter to fans, it might have zero correlation with winning, but the players at least notice. It appears the Pats have been coasting by on mystique and aura for a while now. Maybe the upgrades to the stadium and facilities currently underway help change that.
I think there are some things being taken out of context here, as there was no "curve" to the grading scale.

The strength program grades across the league were mostly very high; even the Pats got a good grade. In other areas, the Pats may have gotten lower than a B+, but were still among the upper half in the league.

As for the weight room facilities (where the Pats got a D), the team announced that they would be doing a major renovation this offseason, and that announcement occurred long before these grades were released. And while the 2 categories of facilities and program were graded separately, it's understandable that a team with subpar facilities would struggle to lead the league in overall program.

As for Bailey, doing the squats obviously didn't work out for him, but there are definitely details missing from his story. Did he do them his entire time in New England, or just decided to do them last season? Did he feel forced into it by the coaching staff? Or did some other kickers recommend it? All I know is that very few players that get cut by the Pats go on to have productive careers elsewhere, so we'll see if Bailey is an exception.
 

sodenj5

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Tyreek retiring in three years matters more to him than it does to any Dolphins fan. We all know he isn’t sticking around much longer than that.

Guys like Wilkins, Waddle, Holland, Phillips and Tua will all be on new money deals and guys like Tyreek, Armstead, Ramsey, and Howard will almost certainly be gone in that timeframe.

Their window truly is right now and then they’re going to do a soft reset. They’ve wisely structured most of their deals so that they aren’t going to be in cap hell, they’ll just be moving on from a bunch of their expensive veterans around the time Tua will need a new contract.
 

sodenj5

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Dolphins adding Chosen Robbie Anderson on a one year deal.

View: https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/1647595745455816705?s=46


I’ve seen some backlash to this signing on Twitter. I don’t understand the hate. He’s cheap insurance against a Waddle or Hill injury, and is likely the third best receiver on the roster. Being the tertiary option for an offense is probably where you want Robbie Anderson. He isn’t a primary threat, but when you have to defend Hill and Waddle, he’ll see some favorable matchups.

Worst case scenario is he gets cut in camp. Best case, he’s a useful depth piece.
 

sodenj5

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Draft Week is upon us. Peter King dropped some speculation about Miami and Jahmyr Gibbs this morning.

View: https://twitter.com/houtz/status/1650467827596382209?s=46


Would imagine Miami gives up 51 and probably next year’s second round pick as well in a trade up to the end of the first round.

Last week, Grier said in his press conference that they’ve had multiple conversations with teams looking to trade down at the end of the first already.

There’s also been multiple sources today on Twitter saying the buzz around Gibbs is someone is taking him in the first round.

RB seems like a luxury pick, but Miami is in “cherry-on-top” mode. They still have some holes to fill, but Gibbs might be the most dynamic back in the draft, and probably the best scheme fit for Miami.
 

sodenj5

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Miami finally got in the board last night, selecting Cam Smith and Devon Achane.

I’ll start with Smith. Most everyone was surprised Miami went CB, as it’s one of the deepest spots on the roster, but we also felt that way last season and we were left scraping the bottom of the barrel in the end. Players of higher need were on the board at that point, notably Darnell Washington or Tucker Kraft.

I think passing on TE was pretty instructive on how McDaniel values the position within the current roster construction. Miami had one of the best offenses in the league last year and Mike Gesicki was barely a factor. There’s only one ball to go around and when Hill and Waddle dominate the target share, the TE isn’t even really the tertiary option within the passing game.

Also makes sense to look at the roster and know that in two years, there’s a decent chance both Ramsey and Howard won’t be here, and someone is going to need to fill that void eventually. Behind them, Kohou was excellent last year and will probably be 3rd or 4th on the depth chart. Needham is coming off an Achilles, and everyone else behind them is filler. You’re a Xavien Howard groin pull away from being in an undesirable position again.

The pick we as Dolphins fans should really be excited about is Devon Achane. The guy is a legitimate track star, and that isn’t hyperbole. Obviously a bit undersized and isn’t a prototypical bell cow, but has speed for days and has really outstanding ability as a pass catcher. Some scouts think he can play WR full time. He’s the long term Raheem Mostert replacement, but will also be interesting to see Mike McDaniel scheme him up some different looks because he can run bubbles and jet sweeps and give defenses some headaches when you have all of that speed on the field at the same time to account for.

I think Miami circles back and address TE and OL today. Grier also said last night that the roster isn’t complete after the draft and they’re still going to pursue free agents.
 

sodenj5

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Was just listening to a Dolphins podcast and heard a very valid point regarding Cam Smith that I hadn’t really considered.

If Fangio wants to use Ramsey more in the star role depending on matchups, Cam Smith might be the guy that plays boundary when they kick Ramsey inside. That may lead to more snaps for him then you would assume at first blush.