2023 Miami Dolphins: All The Way In

[sodenj5]

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]

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]

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]

View: https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1635409690795585536?cxt=HHwWgMDRod6ckrItAAAA

 

[sodenj5]

View: https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1635409690795585536?cxt=HHwWgMDRod6ckrItAAAA

This is a massive W. Long is a very good young LB, and outstanding in coverage, which Baker and Roberts are not.

View: https://twitter.com/fb_filmanalysis/status/1635410579405017090?s=46

 

[JM3]

This is a massive W. Long is a very good young LB, and outstanding in coverage, which Baker and Roberts are not.

View: https://twitter.com/SportsGrid/status/1635410507837628418

 

[JM3]

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]

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]

thanks for signing a good backup QB

 

[j-man]

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]

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]

View: https://twitter.com/flasportsbuzz/status/1635642342991429636?s=46


Update on Miami’s cap after reworking Ramsey’s deal.

 

[pdaj]

Mostert's back! 5.6 million over years. Up to 7.6 with incentives. 2.2 guaranteed. Very solid move.

 

[sodenj5]

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.

 

[sodenj5]

Running it back at running back.

View: https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1635708463048163335?s=46

 

[sodenj5]

View: https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/1636098710617595907?s=46


Miami signs DeShon Elliott, who should probably figure into the rotation assuming Brandon Jones is healthy.

I personally would rather a signing like Elliott over Poyer, who is going back to the Bills.

 

[sodenj5]

Myles Gaskin coming back, also Miami claimed Freddie Swain off of waivers.

View: https://twitter.com/tompelissero/status/1636103528362958848?s=46


View: https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1636103670046552065?s=46

 

[sodenj5]

Braxton Berrios coming home to Miami. Love this from the perspective of Miami was awful at kick returning and punt returning last season. Berrios is one of the best in the league.

View: https://twitter.com/flasportsbuzz/status/1636403371941797889?s=46

 

[pdaj]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I’m irrationally happy about this:

View: https://twitter.com/davidfurones_/status/1638228401637957632?s=46


Van Ginkel is one of those dudes that is always around the ball and seems to always be making plays, whether on defense or on special teams.

From what I’ve read today, Fangio reached out to AVG personally to let him know he wanted him back on the roster.

 

[sodenj5]

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]

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.

 

[rodderick]

I can recall some players talking about how the Patriots are unique in how much they incorporate squats into their training program.

 

[Justthetippett]

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]

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]

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]

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]

‘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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Granite Sox]

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…

 

[rodderick]

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…

They got a B+ in strength staff, but only five teams in the league received a lower grade than A- in that category.

 

[sodenj5]

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]

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]

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.