Quarter Review: Progress and Potential
The Miami Dolphins are 1 – 3 right now, and the fan base as well as the team is not the happiest with the record through the first four games. The games against the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills specifically are frustrating, as both games were very competitive and came down to just a few plays. The Dolphins still get little media attention, and the sports world greatly underestimates the team which was evident with all analysts picking the Jacksonville Jaguars in their showdown on Thursday night. However, success is not built overnight, and the Dolphins have shown tremendous progress and potential in the first quarter of the season. This is a young team with a lot of new faces, and they had very little time to prepare this offseason, yet they have been competitive in every single matchup. Two of the losses were against teams that are still undefeated, and both those games were close. The important thing is that this team is moving in the right direction and showing a lot of promise.
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The biggest bright spot of this team is its young and revamped offensive line. Rookies Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley both start on the offensive the line, and the unit has performed well through this first part of the season. Keep in mind these are against well-coached defenses too in the Bills, Seahawks, and Patriots. This is amazing to see so early in the season because last year the Dolphins’ offensive line was one of the worst in the league. It seemed our offensive could never get started because the offensive line had so many issues. Everyone expected improvements this season but to have this much success with so little preparation is really encouraging. This shows that we drafted the right guys and brought in the right guys. Guard Ereck Flowers and center Ted Karras were both free agents that the Dolphins brought in this season, and both have been great leaders and good contributors early. Jackson, Kindley, and Robert Hunt were all drafted in this year’s draft, and it is going to be exciting to see these young guys grow together.
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On the defensive side of the ball, the Dolphins have shown resilience and steady improvement. In week two against the Buffalo Bills, star cornerback Byron Jones exited the game early with an injury and he has yet to return to the field. Hopefully, Jones can come back to the team in this week’s game against San Francisco, but even without him, the defense has played well against some good offenses. Although statistically the defense may not be ranked in the top tier, this defense has competed and stopped some of the best offenses in the league. Throughout the Seattle game, the Dolphins defense came up big whether it was Shaq Lawson’s sack or Xavien Howard’s interception this team stopped Russell Wilson. Not to mention, the defense’s dominant performance against the Jaguars. In that game, the team never gave up the lead, had one interception, and four sacks. With this defense being so new and young, blow up plays and mistakes are going to happen. This defense is getting better week by week and will only get better with Jones’ return.
As new players get more comfortable and experienced in the system, the better and more consistent they will play on the field. There are bright spots on both sides of the ball and a ton of untapped potential on this roster still. The Dolphins will have easier matchups and start executing their game plan better as the season goes on putting them in a great position to win more games. The Dolphins’ are a completely different team than they were last year, and the future is bright.
