NFL training camps are on the schedule to reopen in less than two months. Like most fans, I’m very excited for football to resume. The Miami Dolphins had a very productive offseason bringing in some free agents and added a lot of young talent in the draft with the massive amount of draft picks they had. The Dolphins are heading into year two of their rebuilding process after tearing down the roster a year ago. They ended the season on a very high note beating the New England Patriots in Foxborough, where the Patriots were playing for the number two seed and the Dolphins were just ending their season. The win in Foxborough has given fans hope that the Dolphins are heading in the right direction under coach Brian Flores after a disastrous first month of the season. Despite lacking in talent, Flores had his team competing, fighting hard, and winning more games than anyone would have imagined after a nightmarish start. And heading into 2020 the Dolphins should embrace the underdog role.

The Dolphins entered this offseason with the most money of any team in the NFL to spend and had 14 draft picks including 3 in the first round alone. The Dolphins spent money on free agents Byron Jones, Kyle Van Noy, and Shaq Lawson on defense while adding Erik Flowers and Ted Karras to the offensive line. In the draft, the Dolphins took the guy they believe will be their franchise quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa and he is a great talent but is coming off a broken hip last year. The Dolphins obviously felt comfortable with his recovery taking him with the 5th pick overall. The Dolphins continued the draft and build the trenches of the team by taking offensive linemen Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt, and Solomon Kindley. On the defensive line, they took Raekwon Davis, Curtis Weaver, and  Jason Strowbridge. The Dolphins made a conscious effort to find a young quarterback and build in the trenches something this team hasn’t done in years.

Yet with despite all of the upgrades the Dolphins have made this offseason to improve the team, many nations experts don’t believe it’s significant enough to produce more wins this year. ESPN has projected the Dolphins to finish 6-10 and last in the AFC East. A lot of other experts around feel the same way. Some feel the Dolphins are a year away from becoming a contender. Maybe it’s because the Dolphins have a very young football team. The Dolphins only have one player on their roster 30 years old or older and that’s quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. With youth comes growing pains and maybe they feel that could limit them from winning some games. A fair argument I admit. With all of the changes, maybe it’s because some feel it will take time for the players to work together. Whatever the reason is the Dolphins should embrace this role. Year after year teams has gone from worst to first or at the very least contended for a playoff spot. I’m not saying that will be the Dolphins this year, but why not?

The AFC East is not exactly the strongest division in the league. The Patriots lost their hall of fame quarterback in Tom Brady and for the first time in almost 20 years, they will have someone else going into the season as their quarterback so they will probably take a step back. The Buffalo Bills flew under the radar last year and made the playoffs with a 10-6. The thing is they aren’t going to sneak up on people this year. They are considered by many the favorites to win the division and there is good reason, but they will have expectations this year, and can they handle them is the question. I don’t think the Bills are as good as everyone says. Yes, they have a talented roster, but last year they had a soft schedule and they only beat one team that was in the playoffs. It wasn’t the Patriots. It was the Tennessee Titans before they switched quarterbacks and went on a run to the AFC Championship game with our former quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins beat 2 teams that were in the playoffs in spite of their lack of talent the Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bills do return a very good defense and a talented their year quarterback in Josh Allen, but Allen is inaccurate and does have a tendency to turn the ball over, make silly mistakes, and miss open receivers. They did add Stephon Diggs to give him a number 1 receiver, but accuracy is something you have or you don’t and when the game is on the line he hasn’t hit those tight-window throws. The New York Jets are another under the radar team. After a slow start, they finished strong to finish 7-9 and will be returning a young quarterback in Sam Darnold. The Jets also made a commitment to upgrade their offensive line as they were just as bad as the Dolphins in that department. The problem with the Jets is will their coach Adam Gase screw things up and lose his team as he did with the Dolphins. They also have a quarterback question in will Darnold take another step just like Allen. This division doesn’t have a dominant team and the Dolphins can compete with them.

The Dolphins schedule is tough, but it’s tough for everyone in the AFC East. The Dolphins will play the reigning NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, and the reigning Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs so it won’t be easy.

The key this year will be how the offensive line comes together with some of their additions. Jackson was drafted to be the left tackle, but he’s also 21 years old so he will have a learning curve. Hunt seems to be the most plugin and play guy to play right tackle or guard. If they come together to go along with Flowers, Karras, and Jesse Davis, this should be a good group moving forward. I’m really excited about the secondary with the addition of Jones to go with Xavien Howard. If healthy, those guys can match up with any group of receivers in the league and with the NFL being a passing league you can never have enough corners. The biggest question as always revolves around our quarterback situation. Fitzpatrick will start the season, but will we see Tagovailoa before the season ends? Fitzpatrick’s history says he doesn’t put together two good years so going by that he could struggle so might see Tagovailoa and if we do it will be exciting. Tagovailoa is the most accurate thrower I have seen coming out of college in a long time. I’m nervous about the injury, but let’s be real every quarterback is one hit away period. The Dolphins needed to take a chance despite his injury history. He gives this franchise hope moving forward which is something this team hasn’t had since Dan Marino retired.

The Dolphins have a young team with a lot of potential and they should embrace this underdog role. A younger team is hungrier and they should be hungry to go out and play hard. Coach Flores runs a tight ship and well-disciplined this team will be better with the talent they added. They very well could surprise people just like the Bills did a year ago. Only time will tell, but they should embrace the challenge ahead of them as the underdog.

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