Quarterbacks: F. Tannehill played in eleven games last year and had maybe only two good games out of those eleven. I thought of putting Osweiler on my impact analysis after the Bears game but I am of the belief that a quarterback has to take care of the ball and he turned it over twice in that game.
Running Backs: D. You know, I think this was a coaching problem more than it was a player problem. We had a lot of talented players in this unit and when you run the ball less than 20 times a game most weeks, you are setting yourself up to fail. Fundamental Football still applies in a pass-happy league today.
Wide Receivers: C. I had serious concerns after Jarvis Landry was traded away. But, this unit did okay. It wasn’t great but Wilson and Amendola appeared to be picking up the slack.
Tight Ends: F. So much was invested in this position over the course of three years and the results were didly. You need, maybe, one or two healthy TEs on your roster, that’s it. You don’t need a blocking TE if you take care of the offensive line.
Offensive line: D. They did okay for the first six games and I guess, injuries just did them in. I wish they could have invested a little more on that interior in the offseason but they didn’t and they paid the price for that.
Defensive line: BÂ I’m probably in the minority on this but with the exception of Godchaux, Taylor and Harris, this was an aging group. It was amazing when they did perform well. Wake was inconsistent. Taylor and Hayes ended up on injured reserve. Quinn, Godchaux, Branch and Harris took too long to get going, but once they did, they did well. I thought about putting Jonathan Woodard on my impact analysis after the Bears game but Mitch Trubisky walked all over us that game so I decided not to include him. The pass-rush needed to be there more.
Linebackers: D. This unit still had some holes in it but I still expected some improvement in our run defense this year and just never got it. Alonso was probably the most consistent of the trio. Baker and McMillian took too long to get going but they both were essentially rookies at their job so you gotta give them some slack.
Defensive Backs: A. This is our pride and joy, ladies and gentlemen. Everytime, I needed them to step up, they did. McDonald, Fitzpatrick, and McCain all did good. Jones was inconsistent. Howard did well at the start of the year and just fell flat for me. Even special teams captain Walt Aikens and late season pick-up Jalen Davis made my impact analysis once.
Special Teams: B. I need to do a better job analyzing this unit but even so they did well. Sanders did well for the first half of the season. Haack was consistent throughout the year.
Overall Team Grade: C. The offense is what killed this team this year. I mean, the wide receivers were average at best. The quarterback position was inconsistent and there was absolutely no excuse for how poorly the running game and the redzone offense was. Too much talent for such an underperformance. Average team with average results deserves an average grade.
