Scout's Take: Miami Dolphins
Underrated: Reshad Jones
Jones is a guy who is largely unknown to the national media, but he’s been a well-known commodity throughout the league over the last two years. He is a guy with size and he has a ton of range, and can really cover ground from sideline to sideline. He plays with a relentless effort and he’s a big hitter with ball skills. When you talk about defensive backs, a lot of times they are just receivers who couldn't catch. But when Jones has the opportunity to put his hands on the ball, he makes the most of it. He is a pretty dynamic piece for them, and I’m sure they will work something out with him on a second contract moving forward.
Overrated: Ndamukong Suh
Suh is one of the highest paid players in the league, and he didn't do nearly what the Dolphins anticipated him doing when he came from Detroit. Don’t get me wrong, he’s one of the best defensive linemen in football, but with that said, when you are making that much money a year, there are expectations and a standard that is set. For whatever reason, it didn't seem like he met that standard last season. And yeah, sometimes his production doesn't always show up on the stat sheet. It shows up in others making plays: linebackers making plays, or him getting double-teamed and another guy getting the sack. Coordinators go with a plan to block Suh, he gets a lot of attention sent his way, and will get doubles on him. Over the course of his career when he had a one-on-one in a single block, he was virtually impossible to block for very long. But this past season was a little different: he didn't play with that same passion, that fire, that unfiltered aggression. I didn’t see it this past year. We’ll see if he can turn the switch on in 2016.
Week Under Review: Predicting 10 storylines the 2016 NFL season will reveal
Extra Point
This will be the third offensive-minded head coach and third former quarterback coach who is now whispering in Ryan Tannehill’s ear. At some point along the line, if he’s not able to produce with more consistency going into his fifth season in the NFL, with the offensive talent around him, with Arian Foster in the mix, Jay Ajayi is coming into his own, DeVante Parker, Jarvis Landry, Jordan Cameron and Dion Sims, he clearly has pieces around him. The foundation is laid to have a little bit of success. And if Tannehill is not able to do it this year, then I think we can all say that we just don’t see it. If Tannehill is not producing, the buck is going to fall on him and not just on Mike Sherman, and Joe Philbin, and now Adam Gase. It will be interesting to see if he will be able to put it all together this year.
