2018 Miami Dolphins Season Preview

Are Gase, Tannehill Ready To Lead The 2018 Miami Dolphins?

by DS Williamson

The 2018 Miami Dolphins have a lot to prove heading in to the season. Ryan Tannehill is back. They've lost some weapons. The Patriots are still the Patriots. Can they make a dent in the AFC East?

When the Miami Dolphins hired Adam Gase as their head coach after the 2015 season, happy times appeared to be back again. Now, after his second season as the head coach, the Dolphins appear to be struggling…again.

Will Gase finally turn it around this season? Or, will the Fins end up in the rest of the AFC’s bowl of soup?

How Will QB Ryan Tannehill Come Back From Another Knee Injury?

Surprisingly, the 2018 Miami Dolphins didn’t draft a QB in Round 1 this year. Even though Ryan Tannehill must once again come back from a knee injury, Gase and the Dolphins’ front office believe so much in Tanny that they decided to allow the former Texas A&M star to rehab the knee without worrying about who was taking his job.

Instead of drafting a QB, Gase decided to resign Brock Osweiler. That could work out well because Osweiler knows Gase’s offensive system. The real key for the offense, one that will help Tannehill immensely, is getting the line to play better this season than it did last season.

Laremy Tunsil, the highly touted Ole Miss left tackle, has been a slight disappointment so far in his career. If Tunsil can improve under the tutelage of new O-line coach Jeremiah Washburn, the Dolphins could have an excellent rushing attack.

The reason? Former Alabama RB Kenyan Drake led the NFL in rushing from Week 13 to Week 17. Drake’s for real.

Gase made a good decision by signing former New England WR Danny Amendola. Amendola adds to a deep WR corps even with Jarvis Landry going to Cleveland.

Defense Adding Robert Quinn is Huge

The Dolphins added Robert Quinn, the former L.A. Rams’ defensive end, to one of the youngest defensive cores in the NFL. The Fins played 8 rookies on defense last season. Only Oakland and San Francisco played 8 rookies on defense like Miami.

With Quinn, the Dolphins suddenly have leadership at a key position. Not only that, but Reshad Jones has emerged as one of the best safeties in football. Kiko Alonso remains a great linebacker. Watch out for Miami’s D if the youngsters have improved and Quinn, Jones, and Alonso step it up like they normally do.

The Schedule is Tough…But…

Like for every team in the AFC East Division, the schedule is tough. There is a but to the Miami Dolphins schedule. The Dolphins must play NFC North teams, and they do battle Minnesota and Green Bay on the road, but their only other tough road game outside of New England and Buffalo is at Houston.

That means, the Dolphins take on plenty of beatable NFL teams this season. A march back to the playoffs could be in the cards for Adam Gase and the 2018 Miami Dolphins.