Great News: ESPN Gives Terrible Grade On Dolphins Offseason
At this point, ESPN offers info best left at the bottom of the sea.
ESPN: the leader in sports entertainment… bring in the clowns.
Phinsnews recently wrote about how the sportsbooks gave Miami little respect with a prediction of 7.5 regular-season wins total and no playoffs in 2017.
Now we can add another doubter to the list: ESPN.
ESPN has not been kind to the Dolphins since the days of Dan Marino…most of which is earned because Miami has not been very well most of the last two decades.
However, ESPN seems to have some kind of weird fixation on some teams. The Pats love affair I get. But one of their sweethearts is a head-scratcher: The New York Jets.
They were bad last year and should be even worse this year, but for whatever reason ESPN loves to hype up and whisper sweet nothing about their of the Jets.
Maybe a head honcho at ESPN is a closet Jest fan or friend of Jets owner Woody Johnson?
Whatever.
ESPN released their offseason report card and analyst Bill Barnwell gave the Dolphins the worst grade of any AFC East team, with a D+.
ESPN A leader in sports information excrement
Armando Salguero wrote an excellent repudiation to Barnwell’s (and by extension ESPN) ability to assess the Dolphins. You can find it here. It’s a good read that demonstrates why ESPN is on its way to being called the Titanic.
The other AFCE grades were: Patriots B, the Bills B, and Jets a C+.
Personally, I think most pay per head review sites think the Patriots should get a good grade because they did an excellent job of making trades and getting players that should make them even better–which is downright scary, considering they went 14-2 last year and won the Super Bowl.
Then I would say that Miami should at least deserve a B for going out and getting guys at positions that were desperately thin at and for resigning our productive players.
Isn’t that what you are supposed to do in the off-season, fill positions of need and try to resign you better players?
The biggest complaint by Barnwell was that Miami overspent to keep their own players.
I totally disagree, because each player they paid could have received a more lucrative deal somewhere else, but instead they were willing to take a home town discount to stay in Miami–albeit that home town discount included a lot of guaranteed money.
Also, what’s the problem with paying good and productive players such as Stills and Branch? It shows the rest of the players on the team that the organization values hard work and production, and if a player produces, then he’ll get rewarded.
ESPN: ‘Sports fans are dummies… treat them as such, they won’t know the difference.’
Isn’t building in the right way to build a team? Also, how can you even say with certainty that we overpaid for someone until after you see them play next year? Didn’t he say the same thing about Cameron Wake last year? Or that the trade back with the Eagles was a loser?
In the end, after reading Salguero’s article it’s clear at ESPN you don’t need stinkin’ facts or a proven track record, the reality is what ESPN tells you. Slurp it up, dummy. Like it and believe it.
ESPN is sinking fast because its model of mixing politics with a bubble-gum approach to sports, along with a history of flop information has them in a nosedive. So, it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling deep down that they gave the Dolphins a D+. Given ESPN’s track record and trajectory, the offseason grade will end up an A+. Go Fins!!!
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How does a team quiet the critics? By winning games.
The top five games this season are listed below. In order to win the offensive line must be at 80% or better and must understand who and how to double team, they must focus on rushing the ball 40 carries each of these games, they must have two running backs in the backfield who knows who to block, Each receiver must block their defender out of the play.
We need plays where some of the defensive linemen can rush for short yardage.
We need some plays using Tony Lippett as receiver.
We need special teams to gain minimum 40 yards.
We need the Defense to be “Pro Active”, Smart and dominating for 60 minutes.
The Miami Dolphins are focus so much on passing creating 4 to 5 receivers just on the field not knowing how are who to block. The strategy is to keep the opposing QB’s offense on the bench by burning up the clock and playing a tough defense.
Now every body in the league is aware of the Dolphins 30 YEARS PASSING GAME and really have know problems shutting it down when it counts i.e. QB hurried, QB interception, QB Sacks, QB Fumbles. Opposing Defenses are afraid of Jay Ajayi and undrafted RB De’Veon Smith from Michigan in the same backfield together understanding who and how to block. Rushing these two guys 40 carries a game will make the Dolphins a top five offense and should give the passing game a chance.
Why each player must know who and how to block.
https://thedeependmiami.com/2016/12/15/ready-to-bounce-back-why-jay-ajayi-is-primed-to-produce-in-the-dolphins-playoff-hunt/
Game 6 @ Atlanta
Game 8 @ Baltimore
Game 10 @ Carolina
Game 12 @ New England
Game 16 @ Kansas City
The NFL League teams have seen the Miami Dolphin’s 30 years of passing with 30 QB’s with (spread offenses with one or “NO” running backs in the backfield. The offensive line is wounded going into this season and everybody must understand how to double team and block. With the Dolphins there are too many offensive players missing blocks and don’t know who to blocks. I see the Dolphins throwing 3 interception against each one of teams listed above if they decide to abandoned the run and have a shoot out. There are no easy games but we can Win as a team.
Check out this evaluation/grade of the ESPN reporter’s grade, nice read.
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/armando-salguero/article151110942.html
I wouldn’t give us that bad of a grade but I wouldn’t give them a good one either. If we would have gotten a stud guard in FA or taken Lamp in the first. Or taken Foster in the first and a guard in the second. I think we paid to much for branch even though I like him. We let Brown go to Washington fairly cheap and we will probably have MLB’s at all 3 spots. The extension for Jones was great but still nothing with Landry. Starting to worry they think he can be replaced. He is the heart of the offense. Grade C overall. How many players have we drafted or signed to play a different position or just a different scheme and it failed
Oddly Samson, I agree and disagree with you at once. To me, for this season at least, Asiata is the most crucial piece of the puzzle to come from the draft. We have two quality LB’s and DE’s–although we do need more. But at G we are under some huge ? marks. If Pouncey goes down it will stress this G core even further. If Asiata pans out to be a quality starter and given he was picked up in the 5th will put huge gusts in the sails of this season. I see him a RG. If he is a road-grader… look out. It also means Miami can find G’s later in the draft and that would be a beautiful thing.
Landry is not just the heart of the offense but the entire team. Miami should be doing whatever they have to get him locked up for the longterm. Miami still has around $18 million in cap space for this season, so why not use some of that by giving Landry a long term contract. He clearly deserves a raise and if we want to keep him we are going to have to probably give him at least a $60+ million dollar contract, so why not use some of this years cap space towards it?
Drafting McMillan instead of paying Brown earns an “A” by itself. Cheaper, younger, more athletic, higher ceiling.
Good point, Dunner.
…no fan of Brown but by no means sold on McMillan …Harris is another story but only if they give him a shot at LB instead of doing a Dion Jordan on him …imnsho of course