FanPost

Thoughts on Dennis Hickey

Note: This post is inspired by the article posted yesterday on the Daily Dolphin, but it is something I have been thinking about for several weeks, so I was happy it finally came up.

Several months ago, after the Dolphins and Jeff Ireland "agreed" to go their separate ways (cough, cough, told to screw off), many Dolphin fans were eager and excited about who the next GM would be. However, the search for Ireland's replacement quickly turned into an embarrassing spurn-fest where candidate after candidate decided to either outright turn down the position or work for another organization. As if the organization (and fans) were not humiliated enough after years of mediocrity, we had to deal with bully-gate all last season while our team seemed to give up at the end of last season despite the facts the playoffs were ours to lose. Finally, just to make sure Dolphin fans were kicked in the crotch one last time before April's draft, we seemed to settle for an executive from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dennis Hickey, who seemed to be the only person willing to take the multi-million dollar job.

Hickey's arrival was met with mostly negativity, because, for one, he was like our Plan "J" for the job, but also, because he came from Tampa team who seemed to lack talent at key positions while overpaying in free agencies for some big time busts.

Now, in fairness, we do not know the extent in which Hickey influenced some of the notable acquisitions (either good or bad) in Tampa. But he did seem to have worked his way up over time while gaining quality experience.

So now, after a full off season and regular season games, it is admittedly a little too early to call Hickey a Boom or a Bust, but there is certainly a road map and vision in place. So before we take a look at the 2014 acquisitions, we must all understand that there are always several factors in play as to why a player has worked out or not. But I believe, that six-games in, Hickey has done a very good job this off season, at least in comparison to his predecessors.

Notable Free Agent Signings:

OT Brandon Albert - Our O-line was nothing short of a disaster last year both on and off the field. A blind person could see this. So what is the first thing Hickey went out and did? He gets a Pro-Bowl LT who was a bit of an injury concern, but a top talent nonetheless. Albert was paid a lot of money to come to Miami, but it appears to be money well spent thus far (rated the No. 2 tackle in the league).

CB Cortland Finnegan - A seemingly strange signing at the time since after drafting Jamar Taylor and Will Davis in the 2013 draft, Finnegan has had an up and down year. After a forgettable Green Bay game, he went to Chicago and had the best game of the season, maybe his best game in years, vs. a talented Bears WR tandem. Cortland was all over the place and making plays throughout the whole game. In addition to his leadership, he certainly brings some toughness to this secondary. If he can be a little more consistent, this may look to have been a solid signing.

RB Knowshon Moreno - It's unfortunate what happened to Moreno. He ran so hard and mean against NE in week 1, earning the ground performance of the week, only to dislocate his elbow in a sort of freak incident. When he finally returned, he tears up his knee, which ultimately ended his season. I hate when players are referred to as a bust because of injury, but I have a little less sympathy for a GM when a player is signed with an injury history and gets hurt. But to his credit, no one doubted Moreno's talent and fit was perfect for us. And despite his injury (which was somewhat foreseeable), the truth is we got a good RB, who is still young, on the cheap.Yes, he is out for the year, but it was a low risk high reward who was very close to being that "high reward."

OG Shelly Smith - There was no doubt we needed help along the O-line. Smith was either brought in to be a starting OG or at the very least, at some quality depth. Either way, Smith had been decent before getting injured.

Re-Signings:

CB Brent Grimes - Priority Re-Signing #1 was Mr. Grimes. He was a monster last year and arguably one of the best FA moves made during the 2013 free agency period. However, because he was only on a one-year contract, many fans were nervous that he may command too much money for what we'd be willing to pay or that he would choose to go elsewhere. Rather, Hickey was wise enough to re-sign the CB, who despite getting abused by Jordy Nelson, has been pretty darn good the rest of the season. Also, Nelson has made every DB who's had to cover him look like an a-hole, so what can you do?

Randy Starks:

It seems that every offseason now, Randy Starks is the one guy who is on the fringe of leaving. And this past off season, with both Starks and Soliai's contracts up, we knew that, at most, we could only sign one. Both would command a ton of money in free agency, but both have been very important pieces to our front 7. Hickey decided to resign Starks and let Soliai walk. Statistically, at this moment, this appeared to be an excellent move (and non-move) for Hickey as Starks, who signed a very team friendly deal, remains one of the league's better DT's while Soliai at best, has had an average year in Atlanta after signing a big contract with the Falcons.

Draft Picks:

Juwann James - James has walked in and become the starter from Day 1. While its fair to say he hasn't been spectacular, how is been pretty good so far if you ask me. Prior to April's draft, the the RT spot was arguably the most "in need" position going in. I mean, It was so vital to address this position early in the draft because I don't think we even had an RT on the roster at the time. He has only given up 1 sack thus far and is clearly long term starting material who should only get better. He is certainly better then anything we'e had at the RT position since Vernon Carey was in his prime. There is no reason James cannot hold down the RT position for years to come.

Jarvis Landry - The WR positions is typically very difficult to transition when coming from college to the pros. Landry, was somewhat of a surprise pick in the 2nd round, not because of his talent, but rather, because if there was something Miami seemed set at, it was the WR position. So when Landry's name was called, it was kind of a head scratcher seeing as that we had some other more pressing needs at the time, such as the guard position. Still, looking back on this move, I believe that Hickey must have been thinking that while we were fine in the "talent" department at WR, the truth is that Wallace, Gibson and Hartline were each owed a ton of money after signing lucrative contracts the previous year. And while you can argue whether or not the three WR's are each worth their contract price, Hickey is looking to add talent to this WR core while also easing our financial burden owed to this position group. At least one of those three veteran WR's will not be here next year, I wouldn't be surprised if both Gibson and Hartline were not on this roster next season as Landry is a better, cost effective alternative to one or both of those guys. In terms of game performance, despite a couple of ill-timed special teams gaffes, Landry has continued to improve as a WR. In fact, Gibson (who has had his injuries as of late) appeared to be a healthy scratch against the Bears. In return, Landry put in another solid performance as he and Tannehill are looking more and more comfortable.

Billy Turner and Arthur Lynch - meh, I guess we're on the "wait and see." I think a little more was expected from Billy Turner, but to be fair, he came from a small school and has probably been hindered on the depth chart by the arrival of Samson Satale, who essentially pushed Pouncey to the RG spot while Colledge has been decent at the LG spot. Lynch, to my understanding, is currently on IR. Its one of those things where on one hand, if Turner was our starter right now, it may be good thing if he was just a monster already, or it could mean there is just no one else on the roster who could beat out a 3rd rounder from North Dakota State (not disrespect whatsoever to 1AA schools, I played at one myself!!). So maybe its not such a bad thing. Unlike skill positions, I imagine playing at 1AA might be a little more of a challenge physically for an O-linemen in comparison to other position groups.

Walt Aikens - Aikens was converted from CB to FS and despite limited snaps, has a few tackles and an interception to his name.

Notable UDFA's:

LB Chris McCain - Last year, our LBs were atrocious. Ellerbe and Wheeler were overpaid players who couldn't tackle and couldn't cover to save their life. Without a doubt, in terms of the position group, the LB's were the biggest disappointment of last season. Coming into 2014, the LB's were perhaps a close 2nd to the O-line in terms of where we needed some serious help. So when free agency and the draft game and went, the only person we really added to the group from last year was a late rounder from Montana in Jordan Tripp. With our O-line seemingly patched up (on paper) when the season began, there were big question marks surrounding this group. To add to our concerns, Dion Jordan ( i know, still considered a DE) was suspended for the first part of the season and Ellerbe tearing up his knee in the first game of the year, it seemed like it was going to be a rough ride with our LB's. However, there were a couple young LB's who took this uncertainty as an opportunity to step up and show that the future may be bright for this position group. Jelani Jenkins has come a long way from last year as he had always been a good coverage guy, but has apparently become more of a complete LB as he leads the team in tackles. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, comes from an UDFA who had some character concerns coming in, but has been nothing short of fantastic when given opportunities. What may have been a prelude to a long, successful career, Chris McCain would block NE Patriots punt just a couple minutes into the season after he showed flashes of raw ability all preseason. Since then, he has been productive when called upon despite his rawness. He has the size, speed and strength to be a great player. And should McCain and Jenkins continue to thrive, we our weakness at LB may become our strength in the very near future thanks to a 4th rounder and UDFA (very cheap alternatives).

RB Damien Williams - Again, someone who had the talent to be drafted much earlier in the draft out of the draft completely due to some character issues during college. However, This former Sooner put his talent on display early in the preseason showing t some undeniable talent. While he has not been given a ton of game reps, he was good enough to break through and make the 53 man roster behind Moreno and Miller. In fact, he was probably the reason that D. Thomas was released in the first place, although oddly enough, he was brought back and jumped ahead of Williams on the depth chart. But this likely has to do with the need for instant production and understanding of the offense (and pass blocking) which was already possessed by Thomas. And, to his credit, Thomas has come in and played well enough to maintain the #2 spot behind Lamar Miller. However, I think if Williams continues to grow, D. Thomas may be released for good after this season.

Coaching:

Bill Lazor - I don't know who gets credit for brining this guy in, but you gotta admit, Lazor's offense is soooooooooooooo much better to watch then that vanilla, high school $h*t we had to watch the last couple of years. While there has been some questionable calls here and there, I think the play calling has been excellent and comes down to execution. The plays are there, we've had running lanes all season and RT17 has had time to throw. Again, ultimately, it's all about execution. But there is no doubt Lazor's offense has been a serious upgrade.

Conclusion:

I'm sure there are a couple of points I missed or players I did not completely break down ( I am supposed to be working after all). But I think the basic analysis has been put forward. Although Its hard for me to do so, I will give Hickey an arbitrary grade of an 89.4 (a B+ right on the cusp of an A-). No one, I don't care who you are, could turn around a team in one off season. Also, there are other factors that impact player production such as injuries, coaching and dumb luck. But I like the fact that our O-Line was an absolute train wreck last season but has been very productive so far this year. A lot of it has to do with personnel, while I'm sure coaching is a factor as well. But it cannot be ignored how much this group has improved, especially when taking into account it was basically built from scratch in just a few months.

Similarly, our D-Line was able to survive free agency and ave some money without missing a beat. In fact, we have seen continued growth from Odrick and Vernon while adding some good young depth such as Anthony Johnson and Earl Mitchell (who should have been mentioned above). Mitchell, was brought over from Houston after playing mostly NT. However, while solid at NT, he was a bit undersized for the position. Which is why I was very happy he was brought in to rotate along the DT's spot. We brought him in for about half of what we would have paid to keep Soliai and Mitchell has exceeded our expectations. He is quietly rated as on of the better rated DT's in the league right now.

In terms of the skill positions, we are more or less leading the way with the exact same guys from last year. However, behind them, we appear to be replacing high priced FA's with talented, young and cheap depth. For example, we still have Wallace as our top WR. And while Hartline and Gibson are behind him, we've got Landry as our apparent future and compliment to Wallace. As I said before, either Hartline or Gibson or both will be gone next year. But they will be replaced with younger, cheaper talent with tons of upside. I think next year we lose Ellerbe or Wheller or both. But not to worry, we have guys like Jenkins, McCain and maybe even Dion Jordan right there to replace them. All of whom are young and at a fraction of the cost. Furthermore, Misi seems to be settling in at MLB nicely. I'm very excited about this group.

Ultimately, its about a his vision. I can see what he's trying to do here. And to his credit, it makes sense and he is sticking to it. What's nice is that no one can say we have gaping holes on the roster right now. Sure we can always improve in areas, but I think whether we win or lose will ride on Ryan Tannehill more than anything, which is kind of scary, but at least we have an offense and defense capable of winning games.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.