Five reasons why the Dolphins will make the 2018 NFL playoffs

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Five reasons why the Dolphins will make the 2018 NFL playoffs Published: Jul 18, 2018 at 04:09 AM NFL.com Writer Adam Gase's first two seasons in Miami were rather interesting. Made the playoffs as a rookie head coach in 2016. I know a lot of fans were left howling about their former offensive coordinator. "Why didn't we keep this guy and let John Fox walk out the door? That should have been us!" The second year wasn't as great. was lost to in the preseason, and the spiraled. was brought in to rescue the team. And you could sum that move up right here: Jay Cutler didn't care about looking convincing in the wildcat and it was amazing Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) fans saw this and said, "I'm so glad we didn't keep ... just kidding. We still love him more than Fox." (And besides, Cutler's positioning there was all by design, ) So, what's up for Year 3? The team got rid of some high-priced talent, like and . Those are the kinds of moves that get the fan base irritated, but then, a couple of weeks into the season, the fans will be thinking to themselves, Kind of like the futon you kept after college. I don't know if it was nostalgia or what that compelled you to keep it, but once it was out of your life, you were better off. The same will be true of the , who could be a surprise playoff contender. Here are five reasons why: 1) Ryan Tannehill thrives post-injury Tannehill is never going to be the quarterback who thrills the fantasy dorks among us. I pa sed on him in a super-flex league where you can start two quarterbacks. Could that have been a miscalculation on my part? Tannehill has a career pa ser rating of 86.5. Not bad. His pa ser rating was 93.5 in his first season with Gase. Which was better. And remember, he wasn't at work last year, so it's not like he could be blamed Bruno Caboclo Jersey for that debacle. Though I feel like people still try to do that. But here's my thing: Tannehill is a good quarterback. My favorite memory of Tannehill came during the ' at home in 2016. I thought this was one of his best games. He didn't throw a touchdown pa s (so I know this seems weird), but he made a lot of plays that kept the ' offense moving that day. Obviously, many will remember running for what I believe was 783 yards in the game. ( ) But Tannehill was in command. He threw the ball 32 times and completed 75 percent of his chances. Moved well in the pocket. The thing about Tannehill is that he's the kind of quarterback you can win with, because he does some things well. Don't listen to the people who will flame me on Twitter with the Tannehill slander. 2) This is the year for DeVante Parker Ha ha ha. Just kidding. 2) Frank Gore continues to do what he does My daughter is 3 right now. (Unle s you work at Disneyland; then she's totally 2, and you can please continue to let her in for free.) I look forward to a time, 15 years from now, when I get to tell her what it was like to watch play in the NFL. And then she's going to say, "I know, Dad, he's still playing in the league . In fact, he just rushed for 1,000 yards last season." I jest. Barely. Gore is back in Miami, where he played collegiately. It's kind of a pity he's not getting the narrative treatment some running backs would get. (Looking at you, Jerome Bettis. Did you know Bettis is from Detroit, and his last game was a ?) Neverthele s, Gore joins a talented backfield that includes , whom everyone wants to overdraft in fantasy. (Don't.) We should know by now that Gore, who has posted 960 rushing yards or more for seven straight seasons and in 11 of his 13 NFL campaigns, with nine 1,000-yard seasons to his name, is going to end up being the lead back. He's going to get a grand rushing the football. And you should all be happy with it. There needs to be some improvement on the offensive line, though. has the unit ranked 20th in the league. Which isn't bad. But it could also improve if new addition can remain injury free. is gone, but he had a down year. is the new starting center. Wait a minute. The ' starting running back is Gore. But the center is Kilgore? Like, his blocking is going to kill Gore? Am I the only one worried about that? I am? Oh, good. 3) Robert Quinn and Bert Wilson are adequate replacements It's been a long time since , who was acquired in a trade with the , had 19 sacks in 2013. "Breaking Bad" was still on the air. (Although, I think it's still on Netflix, so does it really ever go away?) He had a nice stretch from Week 10 through Week 13 last season in Los Angeles, during which he collected six of his 8.5 sacks and generally made life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. But that's the type of rhetoric that gets general managers fired. The "on pace" people who like to take a small sample size and think it speaks for the whole season. When GMs do that, I tune them out like my comic friends who like James Harden Jersey to talk about their showcase auditions. Still, a return to form from the defensive end would help blunt the impact of losing Suh up front. My guy -- a former receiver who signed with the in March -- is another one of those players who has played masterfully in stretches. And you start thinking to yourself, this guy would be amazing if they would just give him his own gig. I feel adamantly about that. In fact, the last time I was this adamant, I had just watched Bill Hader in "Adventureland" and thought he should have his own starring vehicle. And gue s what? He was just nominated for an Emmy for "Barry." So, sometimes there are happy endings here. And maybe Wilson and fellow signee can follow suit in filling the pa s-catching void left by the trade of Landry. 4) Xavien Howard emerges as a star in the secondary ... I'll make a bold prediction and say Howard is going to be the next great cornerback. He was ranked the sixth-best cornerback in the NFL using Next Gen Stats. I know sixth doesn't seem all that impre sive, but when you look at the list of names ahead of him -- , , , and -- you're like, damn, that's a pretty good short list to be a part of. Like, hey, it's just an honor to get nominated. If you're not familiar with Howard, you can go ahead and check out against on "Monday Night Football" last season. Cooks was targeted six times when covered by Howard. There were just two completions -- and both of them went to Howard. It's the kind of breakout performance that gets people talking about you. And it's clear the strength of the team is going to be in the secondary. This is probably why Miami was so willing to part with some David Nwaba Jersey of its high-priced a sets up front -- like Suh -- knowing full well the back end was going to be protected by Howard. 5) ... and so does Minkah Fitzpatrick Providing some extra punch in the secondary is Fitzpatrick, a top-10 talent who fell to Miami at No. 11 overall in the 2018 , with so many quarterbacks flying off the board. In fact, we'll never know if the would have selected had the not nabbed him with the pick prior. No matter -- Miami has Fitzpatrick now. And one of the weakne ses from last year (the allowed opposing quarterbacks to post a 94.8 pa ser rating, one of the highest marks in the league) will become the strength of this team. And it's not just Howard and Fitzpatrick. , (when he returns from a torn Achilles), , and will all do their part. So, it's not totally outlandish to believe Gase can lead the back to the playoffs in Year 3. Outlandish would be saying that would become a reality TV star and ... wait, . So this bodes well for you. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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