Final Standings...a sneak preview

[primetime]

Will Allen is better than Sam Madison? Yeah, right. Your secondary is downgraded, starting a rookie and Will Allen.

 

[Jacky Roberts]

First off, our first team was beating up on your first team until you guys decided to pull the plug on that idea.

How much did Tom Brady play in that game? What about Dillon? Miami played that game like it was the Super Bowl while New England played it like a mid-week August scrimmage and NE still should have won. You guys are overrating Miami big time. No o-line and a patchwork secondary ain't going to get it done.

 

[Jacky Roberts]

Didn't we get a whole new secondary? Every single player from last year's starting secondary is no longer a starter here. Another area we have vastly improved.

Here's Miami fans biggest mistake. You are assuming Nick Saban = Bill Belichick and all his moves will be right. Miami has a lot of holes and has a huge question mark at quarterback. If Brees went to Miami instead of Culpepper, the Fins would be better off. 9-7 for Miami who is nothing more than an average team next year.

 

[DaBruinz]

Just stop it, Sam Has been steadily declining for a couple of years now. He can't tackle and he doesn't fit into what Saban wants to do. BTW was Sam a probowler last year?? How about the year before that?? Or the year before that?? Sam was a very good CB in his prime, nothing more certainly not elite. It's funny, you tell me I don't know about a guy I've watched since the day he was drafted. Sam is no longer a fin because he's slow and a poor tackler.

Madison is no longer a Fin because he refused to take a pay cut and you had to let him go.

As for the last game against the Pats, you don't know if the score would have been any different had the starters played, because you're not psychic. Miami plays the Pats tough and the Pats play the fins tough. It's the way it is.
It's a division game. No matter who starts in NE, they still no the fins tendencies. Did you ever stop to think Miami would have played harder had the Pats played their starters?? Don't you think it was a bit of a mental letdown by the fins when the Pats pulled their starters?? I think that has some effect on the effort given by the fins.

I don't need to be psychic to know that the game will be different had the starters played the whole game. That's simple reality.

Also, your BS about the Phins playing harder if the Pats starters were still in there is laughable. The Phins were doing everything they could to stay in the game. Why would it have been a mental letdown for the Phins when the Pats pulled their starters. The Phin players knew the Pats had nothing to play for since they were in the play-offs.

 

[DaBruinz]

If you think that Miami will only win 9 and that the Pats will win 13, you are in for a rude awakening my friend. Miami is a MUCH better team than last year's 9-7 team. They are undoubtedly going to improve.

No they aren't. Reality is that Miami could have very easily been 8-8 last year had the Patriots not gone to their 2nd and 3rd string players in the final game against Miami.

As for the Pats, you lost your Mr. Clutch in Vinatieri, and you also lost McGinnest and Givens. No way you guys improve more than 1 game from last year.

Mr. Clutch shanked an easy one in Denver. He's also had made a 50 yarder in 3 years. Not to mention that his kick-offs are some of the worst in the league.

McGinest was not much of a factor early in the year. He's not the dominant player he was 3 years ago or even 2. Though he is still amongst the best 3-4 OLBs, he slowed down significantly last year.

Givens didn't do a great job last year and his production should be made up by Reche Caldwell, Ben Watson, and Chad Jackson.

My pick:

Miami 11-5
New England 10-6 (Wildcard birth)

Miami - 6-10
Pats: 12-4

 

[dryheat44]

It seems that some of us here have the opinion that a totally unknown secondary is going to improve one that while declining, was still productive. I don't know where this logic is coming from. Will Allen was a borderline bust with the Giants, and we're trying to project a seriously banged up athlete with what will probably be a chronic condition as an instant starter.

You know, I started off with the opinion that the Dolphins were going to be better than last year. Now I'm not so sure. I have no doubt that Saban has them on the right path, and the larger view is a very positive one for the Dolphins. Yet sometimes one has to take a step backward before it can move forward, and with all the new faces, players and coaches, I'm not sure that isn't the case here. It seems that Saban is still in the process of bringing in a lot of players and figuring out who can play and who can't. One Miami fan here likes to bring up the 11-5 2001 Patriots team. I guess that's the upside. But really, would a 5-11 season for Miami comparable to the Patriots in 2000 shock anybody?

 

[DaBruinz]

First off, our first team was beating up on your first team until you guys decided to pull the plug on that idea.

Secondly, winning is winning in the NFL. Just because we ALMOST lost doesn't mean anything. Remember 2004 when we (a 2-11 scrub team at the time) beat you guys (the super bowl champions?) Things happen in football, that's why they play the game.

Gotta love people who re-write history. When the Pats starters left the game, it was 7-7. Now, junior, run along.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Am I the only one who finds it amusing that Miami webjockies are begging us to respect their big improvements on paper?

 

[DaBruinz]

Is there no surprise you mention nothing positive about anything the fins have done??? Not to anyone who isn't a Pat fan. Again....care to go over the question marks surrounding the 2001 Pats??? No, why??? Because if the Pats can overcome their issues and win a SB, then there is no reason to think the Fins won't. Unless, you're a Pat fan who refuses to face the fact they they aren't the only team in the league to ever go into a season wiht a bunch of question, yet come away champions. You Pat fans just don't even want to think about that, so you find every reason in the world to discount the fins. It's obvious.

I can give you 3 reasons as to why the 2006 Fins won't accomplish what the 2001 Patriots did.

1) Belichick is not walking through the Fins door to coach them.
2) Brady is not walking through the Fins door to lead them at QB.
3) The Fins don't have nearly the leadership on their team that the Pats had. From their coaches to their players.

 

[DaBruinz]

Didn't we get a whole new secondary? Every single player from last year's starting secondary is no longer a starter here. Another area we have vastly improved.

How can you say that you have vastly improved when that secondary hasn't played a single game together or in a Saban system?

Damn. Gotta love people who just make stuff up.

 

[coltshater]

Am I the only one who finds it amusing that Miami webjockies are begging us to respect their big improvements on paper?

I am right there with you on this. They have to do their talking now; the regular seasoneek will silence them.

 

[coltshater]

I was wrong....

My prediction:

Patriots 12-4
Bills 8-8
Dolphins 8-8
Jets 7-9

Of course we all know who the AFC East champion of the off-season is...

I can't wait for the regular season to start.

I might have underestimated the Jets & Bills.

I might have overestimated the Fins.