Have Expectations Changed for the Miami Dolphins?
The Dolphins have been busy rebuilding their roster all offseason, starting with a free agency haul that brought in 10 new veterans and continuing with a draft that produced 11 college prospects and one potential franchise quarterback.
All that work, though, has not convinced the Sports Illustrated football staff that the outlook is much better for the Dolphins heading into next season.
In its new NFL Power Rankings Poll unveiled Tuesday, Sports Illustrated had the Dolphins at number 27, ahead only of the New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Dolphins ended last season at 5-11 and in last place in the AFC East, but they did win five of their final nine games, including a 27-24 last-minute stunner against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in the season finale that kept the defending Pats from earning a first-round bye and led to them losing at home in the wild-card playoff round against the Tennessee Titans.
Along with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, new faces on the Dolphins roster include veteran running backs Jordan Howard and Matt Breida; offensive linemen Ereck Flowers and Ted Karras plus first-round pick Austin Jackson; defensive linemen Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah; linebacker Kyle Van Noy; cornerback Byron Jones and first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene.
What's perhaps most surprising about the Power Rankings is that the Dolphins were 25th in the post-Super Bowl poll, so they actually moved down despite all the additions.
Teams were awarded 32 points for a first-place vote, 31 for a second-place vote, and so on.
The Dolphins earned 41 points in the poll. Their highest-place vote was 22nd (by one voter) and their lowest was 30th (two voters).
The top five teams were Kansas City, Baltimore, San Francisco, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
Around the AFC East, Buffalo was the top team at number 9, the Tom Brady-less Patriots came in at number 15, and the Jets were at 26, one spot ahead of the Dolphins.
The SI voters were Senior NFL Reporter Albert Breer, Business of Football Columnist Andrew Brandt, Senior Editor Gary Gramling, Producer/Writer Mitch Goldich, Staff Writer Conor Orr, and Senior Writer Jenny Vrentas.
