Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
In your own words and observations, please share what you would like to see happen with your home team or the teams you tend to root for and watch almost on a weekly basis
I have several teams I want to examine/look further into and by the end it will enable some of us to have a more complete picture of how things are going to appear
Some of you have a 2nd, 3rd and 4th team you enjoy watching so feel free to jump in and fire away.
I will lead with an example of some quick notes, what the team needs to try for say the next 2-3 steps to improve the team as quickly as possible.
Miami Dolphins
-Head Coach Mike McDaniel - Year 4 in 2025, zero Playoff victories, last season he had his worst record (8-9) and should be under close scrutiny for the '25 season, under contract thru '28
The OC is Frank Smith but I doubt it matters, MM does most of the play calling and game planning himself. Weaver is the DC and will be entering Year 2, I'll discuss the Defense in more detail ahead.
QB - Tua Tags is the starter in 2025 and likely 2026 so you are likely to see the QB1 spot go down for any numerous reasons but Tua sustained another major concussion this year and you do wonder what the Dolphins might be thinking about. Yeah they inked him to 4yr/$210M+ but there are ways for them to shorten this up. I could see a restructure almost immediately to dissolve the auto '26 salary. Tua has no guaranteed money in 2026 and it's like $50M against the cap vs save $40M parting ways, we'll see what happens.
Miami would be wise to draft a back up QB somewhere after the 1st or 2nd round, they need to have a back up that's cheap and can also progress and learn and perhaps be there in case Tua gets injured again which in all likelihood is bound to happen when you read his medical chart and previous injuries.
RB - This is one of Miami's strengths. They have Achane and Wright, they don't need to spend a penny more on this position except maybe a late round pick or UDFA, even Mostert might need to be cut.
WR - Hill suddenly wants to stay and cash his $30M per season, remarkable. Waddle is an overpaid WR2 that gets WR1 hype. He has had B2B subpar seasons and yet everyone is still red hot on this guy. Miami is top heavy at WR and because they pay the combo about $55M+ and then you add Tua at $50M, Phins are not going to be adding a lot at WR. Plus they have a rookie from last season, Malik Washington that they want to bring along and hopefully turn into their WR3. Injuries can bring this unit down quickly some infused talent at WR4/5/6 would be nice but a luxury this team cannot entertain
TE - Smith is under contract but Miami might want to extend him further. He should not be Miami's lead receiver most weeks but he's open a lot with such speed at receiver around him. Smythe is going to be cut and I could see Miami going Tight End in the Draft if they can add some picks and find something in the 2nd-3rd.
OL - Armstead and Jackson are set at Tackle for now, Paul was drafted last season and that's your trio right now. Nobody is taking Armstead's job soI say he stays for now. No guaranteed money and his salary is actually decent at around $12-$15M right now. Jackson was not having a great season when he went down last year, Tua's blind side is this Right Tackle spot.
Where Miami needs help is inside at both the LG and RG spot. Brewer is the starting Center and is undersized but ranks fairly high on PFF.
Miami is likely going to snag at least 1 OL in the 1st-2nd Round of the NFL Draft, they could possible fill the Guard spots like most normal teams in the 4th-6th rounds but it's the Phins...
Miami does not have the cap space to go out and do a ton trying to fill their holes. It would be wise if they tried to plug a couple of big holes on both sides of the Lines and do it thru the Draft
Edge: Chop was drafted in the 1st, mix of good and bad, hoping to see some more improvement in Year 2. Chubb is likely to get cut after missing all of 2024, at best a restructure. Phillips coming back from another injury. Miami is a candidate to take an Edge rusher in the Draft, most teams are. It's not the most pressing need but it wouldn't hurt to add something there
IDL - Miami needs to try and invest thru the Draft. There are some very good Defensive Tackles that Miami can look at. They won't be sexy picks or get a lot more pressure on the QB but it will plug up and stop teams on short yardage to force more punts and get the offense on the field more often.
LBs - Brooks is going to be released, Miami will try and address 1 LB position thru free agency after they free up some cap space in the coming weeks.
DBs -Ramsey and Fuller will return and start at both corner spots. Miami will sign or put the franchise tag on Holland, they can't afford to open holes in the Secondary. Miami has some other DBs including Storm Duck and I feel like the Phins are above average in the Secondary overall, a little more help from the Edge rushers and Miami will appear better at stopping the pass.
Overall: Miami has great weapons at the skill positions so logic would tell you their biggest needs are along their OL
They should want to build the strongest OL possible to protect Tua and exploit a couple RBs/WRs
Why it has taken them this long to figure it out is a mystery and I'm still not convinced they will do the right thing, more likely they just keep applying band aids
Biggest needs: LG/RG, IDL/NT, LB/EDGE
I have several teams I want to examine/look further into and by the end it will enable some of us to have a more complete picture of how things are going to appear
Some of you have a 2nd, 3rd and 4th team you enjoy watching so feel free to jump in and fire away.
I will lead with an example of some quick notes, what the team needs to try for say the next 2-3 steps to improve the team as quickly as possible.
Miami Dolphins
-Head Coach Mike McDaniel - Year 4 in 2025, zero Playoff victories, last season he had his worst record (8-9) and should be under close scrutiny for the '25 season, under contract thru '28
The OC is Frank Smith but I doubt it matters, MM does most of the play calling and game planning himself. Weaver is the DC and will be entering Year 2, I'll discuss the Defense in more detail ahead.
QB - Tua Tags is the starter in 2025 and likely 2026 so you are likely to see the QB1 spot go down for any numerous reasons but Tua sustained another major concussion this year and you do wonder what the Dolphins might be thinking about. Yeah they inked him to 4yr/$210M+ but there are ways for them to shorten this up. I could see a restructure almost immediately to dissolve the auto '26 salary. Tua has no guaranteed money in 2026 and it's like $50M against the cap vs save $40M parting ways, we'll see what happens.
Miami would be wise to draft a back up QB somewhere after the 1st or 2nd round, they need to have a back up that's cheap and can also progress and learn and perhaps be there in case Tua gets injured again which in all likelihood is bound to happen when you read his medical chart and previous injuries.
RB - This is one of Miami's strengths. They have Achane and Wright, they don't need to spend a penny more on this position except maybe a late round pick or UDFA, even Mostert might need to be cut.
WR - Hill suddenly wants to stay and cash his $30M per season, remarkable. Waddle is an overpaid WR2 that gets WR1 hype. He has had B2B subpar seasons and yet everyone is still red hot on this guy. Miami is top heavy at WR and because they pay the combo about $55M+ and then you add Tua at $50M, Phins are not going to be adding a lot at WR. Plus they have a rookie from last season, Malik Washington that they want to bring along and hopefully turn into their WR3. Injuries can bring this unit down quickly some infused talent at WR4/5/6 would be nice but a luxury this team cannot entertain
TE - Smith is under contract but Miami might want to extend him further. He should not be Miami's lead receiver most weeks but he's open a lot with such speed at receiver around him. Smythe is going to be cut and I could see Miami going Tight End in the Draft if they can add some picks and find something in the 2nd-3rd.
OL - Armstead and Jackson are set at Tackle for now, Paul was drafted last season and that's your trio right now. Nobody is taking Armstead's job soI say he stays for now. No guaranteed money and his salary is actually decent at around $12-$15M right now. Jackson was not having a great season when he went down last year, Tua's blind side is this Right Tackle spot.
Where Miami needs help is inside at both the LG and RG spot. Brewer is the starting Center and is undersized but ranks fairly high on PFF.
Miami is likely going to snag at least 1 OL in the 1st-2nd Round of the NFL Draft, they could possible fill the Guard spots like most normal teams in the 4th-6th rounds but it's the Phins...
Miami does not have the cap space to go out and do a ton trying to fill their holes. It would be wise if they tried to plug a couple of big holes on both sides of the Lines and do it thru the Draft
Edge: Chop was drafted in the 1st, mix of good and bad, hoping to see some more improvement in Year 2. Chubb is likely to get cut after missing all of 2024, at best a restructure. Phillips coming back from another injury. Miami is a candidate to take an Edge rusher in the Draft, most teams are. It's not the most pressing need but it wouldn't hurt to add something there
IDL - Miami needs to try and invest thru the Draft. There are some very good Defensive Tackles that Miami can look at. They won't be sexy picks or get a lot more pressure on the QB but it will plug up and stop teams on short yardage to force more punts and get the offense on the field more often.
LBs - Brooks is going to be released, Miami will try and address 1 LB position thru free agency after they free up some cap space in the coming weeks.
DBs -Ramsey and Fuller will return and start at both corner spots. Miami will sign or put the franchise tag on Holland, they can't afford to open holes in the Secondary. Miami has some other DBs including Storm Duck and I feel like the Phins are above average in the Secondary overall, a little more help from the Edge rushers and Miami will appear better at stopping the pass.
Overall: Miami has great weapons at the skill positions so logic would tell you their biggest needs are along their OL
They should want to build the strongest OL possible to protect Tua and exploit a couple RBs/WRs
Why it has taken them this long to figure it out is a mystery and I'm still not convinced they will do the right thing, more likely they just keep applying band aids
Biggest needs: LG/RG, IDL/NT, LB/EDGE