The Search for More Yards and Points

When your starting quarterback goes down in training camp your season tends to be lost.  The Miami Dolphins experienced this scenario when quarterback Ryan Tannehill went down for the season early in camp.  Rather than pack it in and experience the 3-13 season, the Dolphins grabbed Jay Cutler out of retirement to pilot the team.

A 6-10 season is by no means a success, but it did keep head coach Adam Gase from having to coach a season in which the franchise hit rock bottom.  The climb back to the playoffs for 2018 starts with getting the offense back on track.

The Dolphins offense finished 25th in the NFL.  While that sounds like a fall from where they were in 2016 as a playoff team, the Dolphins had previously ranked 24th.  The simple truth is that Miami did not catch the same breaks in 2017 that they did the previous season.

The Dolphins were a -17 in point differential in 2016 despite their 10-6 record.  2017 was marked by a defense that was statistically better in total yards allowed yet allowed more points to be scored.  The offense was essentially the same in terms of total yards in 2017 compared to 2016, yet scored fewer points.

Does a healthy Ryan Tannehill change the offense enough to rise back up the yardage and point totals in the NFL?  The 2014 Dolphins under Tannehill finished 11th in the NFL in total points, which has been their best finish since 2001.  Getting at least back to that point would provide the amount of points for the Dolphins to be a playoff team again.

Miami does have some challenges this offseason.  They hold a limited amount of cap space and must re-sign receiver Jarvis Landry in free agency.  Losing any amount of offense will defeat the purpose of the offseason goal.

Offensive Ranking: 25th

Defensive Ranking: 16th

Key Free Agents:  

Jarvis Landry - WR - Caught 112 passes in 2017 for 987 yards and nine touchdowns.  Landry has 400 catches over his first four seasons, putting him in the statistical category of Antonio Brown and Julio Jones.

Matt Moore - QB - Excellent backup quarterback who is capable of winning a game if called upon during the season.

Damien Williams - RB - A solid player who can do a little of everything.  Has been a quality player over the past four seasons.

Michael Thomas - FS - One of the best special teams players in the NFL.  Excels on coverage units.

Potential Cuts/Restructures:  

Julius Thomas - TE - Caught 41 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns last season.  Given the Dolphins cap issues, the team can release him rather than allocating $6.6M in space to Thomas.  Cap savings: $4.6M

Ja'waun James - RT - The Dolphins do not look to honor the 5th year option on James' contract.  Releasing James before the start of the new league year will open up a considerable about of cap space.  Cap savings: $9.3M