I have to disagree about the 2 2nd round guys holding out. Hey, if they don’t think the deal they’re being offered is good, don’t sign it because once you sign that’s it, theres no going back. I would put the pressure on the front office to get the damn thing done and get them in camp. But that’s how I’ll be on Saturday, today I don’t care.

I agree with you though other than I think the improvement on the O/line should be first because I think they can be really good.

I agree with all of Matty’s points there.

One that I’d add is I’m hopeful we’ll find out who is going to step up and become a leader on the field and in the locker room for the future. This franchise is absolutely faceless at the moment, and as a dolphins fan it’s the first time I’ve ever felt that way about the team. With Zach and Jason gone, it’ll be interesting to see which players take it upon themselves to lead both through words and example. Halfway through the season, who’ll be the guy the press is looking to for quotes after we win a game? Is there a future Dolphins legend on this roster? I’d like to think it’ll be Beck – he seems like a natural leader, but who knows with our current luck at QB…

And secondly, I don’t expect too much from Ricky, but I’m hopeful that we’ll see at least a handful of scintilating runs that remind everyone that this guy was (and maybe still is) as talented at his craft as any other player in the league. I always thought the press went overboard with slamming and mocking Ricky, I’d love to see him bounce back.

ronnie + much better offensive line = amazing

2 yrs ago did you ever in a million yrs dare conceive that #54 and #99 would be gone, and #34 would still be here??? wow… so anyway, call me an optimist, but i’d love nothing more than to see Ricky hit the secondary so hard this season that it spins heads… i cant help it, i know people have mixed feelings about him, but i think he’s shown alot of character in pressing through his adversity and if he could rack up serious yardage this season, wouldn’t that be the success story of the decade? Every coach has loved his work ethic, [cept maybe ol’ wanny that last season but lets be honest here, did he really even deserve to have Ricky? lol] and, i dunno, call me a sucker if you must, but i love an underdog.. gawd knows ive had plenty of opportunity in recent yrs… but thats here nor there!!! .. its a new season : D~

The one thing i have hope for is better play from the defensive backfield. Yeremiah Bell, and Jason Allen together, could prove to be one of the best safety tandems in the league in the next few years, and it’s great that they will be able to build that chemistry now, without a holdout, or without any injuries(knock on wood here). I believe that the CB’s we have, will finally step up a bit, and free up the safeties to attack the ball in the air, or come up to the box, and provide some much needed help in stopping the run, along with underneath routes. Lehan, kind of came into his own last year, Goodman is healthy, and we all saw some of what he could do before the injury. And with Will Allen back, many people thought he could have went to the Pro Bowl last year, so that is what i am hoping for.

Pick six all the way this year DAMMIT!!!!!

I want to goto a bar and be able to jeer other teams when they lose to the dolphins then rub it in. I want that pride of knowing that my Fins are one of the best teams in the league. I want the Patsies, Crop Dusters, and B.I.L.L.S. to hate playing the Fins like they use to.

Most of all though, I want to see the Fins back in the playoffs and win a Super Bowl.

this being the first year of NFL franchise dominance for the fins. I am hopefull that Sparano will transition to a head coach of longevity and be with us for 15 years. I am hopefull that Beck kicks ass and is brings integrity back to our program. I hope we put together a solid offense and defense that we are able to create some cliche’ name again….reminescent of the Killer B’s, etc. I am ready to replace the Pats and the dominant AFC East force.

pressing hopes for me.

That we have a defensive line that stops the opponents rushing game and,

that we have someone who can pass rush.

Everything else should fall into place after that, or rather, that my hope feels better in the other areas. Good post Matty…

I have to say topping the list of what makes me hopeful is not the presence, but rather the absence of a certain invididual:

Cam-Cam

That alone should net us 2-3 more wins!

As for Matty’s list:

QBs – I’m not sold on any QB on our roster. They’ve proven essentially nothing and have lots to show us in terms of consistency, playmaking, and leadership. I do feel better about the QB situation than last year as I knew from the get go that Trent Green would not be the answer and was merely a (terrible) stop gap.

OL – This group should be better and many of our problems with pass protection and the late season trouble running the football had to do with the OL playing poorly/breaking down.

Ginn – he certainly is going to get his chance to show if he can be a #1 (or even #2) receiver. Playing with Wilford is a better compliment to show his skills. While it isn’t up to Ginn, I certainly hope the Offense will take some shots downfield unlike last year. What’s the point of having a 4.3 guy and then throwing him nothing but 10 yard outs?

DL – The run stuffing is where I think the DL will be much improved over last year. If you can’t stop the run then you are probably going to get hammered regularly in this league. What I worry about is our pass rush and where it will come from.

Coaches – put it this way, the group running this team is light years removed (better!) than last year’s regime which looked like they ought to be running a high school team…

I’ll believe the defensive line is better when I see it. Rookies are a mystery until they actually play in the NFL. Losing Jason Taylor is HUGE and I’m concerned about how it will affect our pass rush and the pressure it will put on the secondary.

I really hope we can get some better receivers, too.

We have depth issues everywhere, so pray for a lack of injuries. Otherwise this season could be very ugly. Let’s manage our expectations, people. I’m cautiously optimistic for some improvement, but the Tuna and crew have a lot of work left to do.

Jason Allen somehow proving everyone wrong and tuirning into a solid safety, of course the chances of that are slim, but if it does happen then we have one less hole to worry about.

and that Ronnie Brown stays healthy and kicks ass, just to shut up his persistent doubters.

almost above all else that washington doesn’t win a game this year. It would be nice to have the first pick in the 2nd round again and not actually earn it.