Dolphins Better Than the Patriots?
The Miami Dolphins massively upgraded their personnel during an offseason longtime NFL exec Gil Brandt called the best in the entire league.
How much better they will be remains to be seen, but renowned NFL writer Peter King came up with an eye-opening assessment in his Football Morning In America column this week.
In his first power rankings of 2020, King had the Dolphins actually ahead of the New England Patriots, champions of the AFC East the past 11 seasons.
King had the Dolphins at number 19, two spots ahead of the Patriots at number 21.
While the Patriots lost Tom Brady and other key players — linebackers Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy, to mention just two — the Dolphins beefed up their roster with several free agents (including the aforementioned Van Noy and cornerback Byron Jones) and several key rookie draft picks, starting with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
"Most Overused Peter King Stat of the Offseason . . . 2019 records (including playoffs) since Halloween: Miami 5-4, New England 4-5," King wrote. "And then the Dolphins added an electric quarterback, half the Patriots roster, and reinforcements for the offensive line. I look at the two coordinators Brian Flores let go with a mixture of suspicion and praise. Chad O’Shea’s offense may or may not have been too encyclopedic, and Patrick Graham may or may not have meshed with Flores’ defensive philosophy totally, but I like a coach who has the guts to open himself up for criticism for having two new coordinators (the offensively simplistic Chan Gailey and Josh Boyer) in year two.
"As for who plays quarterback: Around the draft, I kept hearing Miami’s the perfect place for Tua Tagovailoa, because he can take a redshirt year to get his ankles and surgically repaired hip absolutely perfect for 2021. So Tua behind Ryan Fitzpatrick was the perfect scenario. It could be, but not because the Dolphins drafted him to take a rehab season. If we learned one thing from watching Flores last year, when half his roster got traded to get in position to have the first pick in the draft, he’s not coaching for next year. He could have played Josh Rosen and likely won less and been in the derby for Joe Burrow. But Flores showed last year he coaches for this week, this minute. If Tagovailoa’s better in August (assuming there’s a typical August in the NFL), he’ll play over Fitzpatrick. If he’s not better, he won’t."
King has the Dolphins as the second team in the AFC East behind the Buffalo Bills, who he ranks 13th. The Dolphins are the eighth team in his rankings from the AFC, which would make them the last team out of the playoffs under the new 14-team playoff setup.
The New York Jets are last among AFC East teams at number 28.
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are first in King's rankings, followed by the Baltimore Ravens. Other AFC teams ahead of the Dolphins are the Tennessee Titans at number 7, the Las Vegas Raiders at 8, the Pittsburgh Steelers at 10 and the Indianapolis Colts at 14.
King's bottom three teams are the New York Giants at 30, the Washington Redskins at 31 and the Jacksonville Jaguars, who the Dolphins will face in Week 3, at 32.
