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It may be a matter of a few games before some Defense Coordinator facing the Miami Dolphins, tests the deep wide receivers on the Dolphins roster, not to mention QB Ryan Tannehill's supposed improved ability to get rid of the ball in a hurry. When and if they do, remains to be seen, because while this approach proved to be successful against Miami's young quarterback and less than stellar offensive line last year, the fact is Tannehill's ability and instincts are said to have become much improved and sharper this year, and combined with a refurbished corps of wide receivers, this may not be a chance many DCs seek to take. What about the offensive line? Changes to the OL were not as many as expected by analysts and wished for by the more educated fan, and this may be the reason, Defensive Coordinators planning to face the Dolphins, may wish to test and try to expose Miami's seemingly perennial Achilles' heel. It is all speculative thinking for now, because the start of the NFL regular season is still a few days away.

Wholesale changes were made at every level by the Dolphins owner Stephen Ross during the offseason, including the hiring of former New York Jets General Manager, Mike Tannenbaum as the Dolphins' Executive Vice-President of Football Operations. Changes to the aforementioned corps of wide receivers, defensive line, punter, and even the stadium itself were also made as Mr. Ross shows once again, he is serious and committed to the team and the South Florida area. The elephant in the room for the Miami Dolphins, remains their inability or unwillingness to make the offensive line a priority, especially with divisional foes like Buffalo, New England and the Jets emerging, at least on paper for now, as formidable pass rushing teams.

Taking a chance and rushing the Dolphins' QB could also prove costly and when Miami's receiving threat is analyzed, a DC may not wish to stack the box and or blitz with their safeties, leaving this young sure handed speedsters man on man, while trying to bring down a proven mobile QB like Tannehill. Therein lies the success or failure of Miami's season, the problem for the Dolphins however is that the OL not only failed to improve, but actually got worse and divisional rivals like the Jets, have players who can easily cover the best of the best with man on man coverage.

Looking at the Dolphins offensive line, there are adequate veterans who did not return like left guard Daryn Colledge and improvised center Samson Satele. The Dolphins have decided instead that using 3rd year Dallas Thomas as a left guard in the absence of Jason Fox who is recovering from injuries is their better option, but unless Branden Albert is back from last year's injury, it will Thomas who protects Tannehill's blind side and that is a scary thought for fans of Miami's quarterback. Center Mike Pouncey, can only perhaps help one of the guards against rushing defenders at a time, thus teams with strong DTs or willing to send in their safeties on a blitz, should have relative ease in applying pressure or flushing Tannehill out from the pocket, especially when taking the snap from under center. Teams may be wise to consider, that Flushing #17 out isn't necessarily a good thing, since Miami's 96 Million Dollar man, can be deadly accurate while on the move and can also make teams pay with his legs.

Defensively, the Dolphins have achieved a near elite status before the 1st play of the regular season, with what may very well be a historically great defensive front. It is still the secondary and linebacker units that worry some analysts and Dolphin fans. Teams who tend to struggle under pressure may find the Dolphins pass rush too much to deal with and eventually lose their composure. Cameron Wake, Ndamukong Suh, Earl Mitchell and Olivier Vernon are certainly destined to become one of if not the best defensive front four, to ever play on the same team.

In The End

Miami will play eight of the sixteen game season, against top ranked defenses, made of 6 of those eight games, against top elite defenses, and to compound the the Dolphins quest for a play off bid challenge, is the fact those very six games are against divisional foes. Giving some hope to the average Dolphin fan is the fact that 4 of those games will be against teams with plenty of questions on their offensive side. Only the New England Patriots have an established dynasty in the division and have very few questions to answer on either side of the ball. How Miami chooses to defend against Pats quarterback Tom Brady's offense may be telling. Miami's only chance against the Pats is to put on an aggressive defensive performance against Brady while executing flawlessly on offense.

Based on the defenses the Dolphins will face this year, and the continuing OL weaknesses which plague the team, one could say Miami is in line for yet another mediocre .500 season, but with Bill Lazor as the Dolphins Offensive Coordinator, Ryan Tanehill's ever improving skillset, the running ability of Lamar Miller, and a young group of skilled and determined receivers, it would not be smart to make assumptions solely based on their rivals ability. This writer projects that at the end of the 2015 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins' record will be 9-7, which may or may not be good enough for the playoffs, depending on how crowded that “back door” playoff access becomes in January.