ESPN beat writers predict Dolphins record

[CF DolFan]

While I really don;t put much into predictions in April I actually did find this as an interesting perspective because it comes form the other side. I've only cut out a portion of the article but here is the link for the whole thing. Their predictions come up to 8-8. For the record ... James Walker predicted 9-6 for us.

http://www.thephinsider.com/2015/4/23/8478179/2015-dolphins-schedule-predictions-what-espn-has-to-say

Week 1 - @ Washington Redskins - Win (MIA 21 - WAS 17) - Miami has an impressive defensive line with the addition of Ndamukong Suh. The Dolphins should be improved over last year and have a quarterback who, while not elite, has steadily improved in Ryan Tannehill. - John Keim

Week 2 - @ Jacksonville Jaguars - Win (MIA 17 - JAX 7) - Last year’s matchup was a strange one because the defense held the Dolphins to just 13 points but the offense gave up 14 on a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns. And that came during the early part of the season, long before the Dolphins went into what seems to be their annual late-season fade. The Ndamukong Suh factor can’t be stressed enough against a Jaguars offensive line that needs to improve significantly. - Mike DiRocco

Week 3 - vs Buffalo Bills - Win (BUF 17 - MIA 27) - The Bills don't catch any favors with this early-season trip to South Florida, where the heat and humidity give road teams trouble in September. Kyle Orton won't be the quarterback again but the results could be similar to last season's flop on Thursday night, especially with a Bills offensive line dealing with a Dolphins defense that has added Ndamukong Suh. - Mike Rodak

Week 4 - vs New York Jets (Wembley Stadium, London) - Loss (NYJ 40 - MIA 37 (OT)) - The two AFC East rivals play at London's Wembley Stadium, the first overseas regular-season game in Jets history. Maybe the Jets and Dolphins, who played the famous Midnight Miracle game in 2000, can stage a Midday Miracle on the other side of the pond. - Rich Cimini

Week 5 - BYE

Week 6 - @ Tennessee Titans - Loss (MIA 21 - TEN 23) - Tennessee will win at least one of these four during this big homestand. LeBeau and the defense highlight the second win as they did the first, this time providing a rough day for Ryan Tannehill. - Paul Kuharsky

Week 7 - vs Houston Texans - Loss (HOU 17 - MIA 13) - Miami added the most high profile free agent of the offseason in former Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. The only problem is, big spending in free agency often doesn't translate to wins. Their dearth of receivers will hurt here, too. - Tania Ganguli

Week 8 - @ New England Patriots (TNF) - Loss (MIA 21 - NE 31) - The Dolphins will be coming off a home contest versus Houston entering this one, and Ndamukong Suh gets tired of chasing past and present Patriots quarterbacks when all is said and done. - Mike Reiss

Week 9 - @ Buffalo Bills - Loss (MIA 10 - BUF 28) - Will the Dolphins show up to play at Ralph Wilson Stadium this season? They effectively haven't the past two seasons, with the Bills blowing them out each time. I don't see that changing. - Mike Rodak

Week 10 - @ Philadelphia Eagles - Loss (MIA 27 - PHI 31) - Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was previously the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach. He might think he came to the wrong stadium when he sees Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow warming up. - Phil Sheridan

Week 11 - vs Dallas Cowboys - Win (DAL 22 - MIA 24) - The last time the Cowboys saw Ndamukong Suh was in the wild-card round in January against the Detroit Lions. He cashed in as a free agent with the Dolphins and will make that defense a lot tougher. So much so that Ryan Tannehill won’t have to carry the show. - Todd Archer

Week 12 - @ New York Jets - Win (MIA 21 - NYJ 17) - The Jets can beat them on foreign soil, and we know they can beat them in South Florida, but they can't beat them at home. This will be the Jets' fourth straight home loss to the Dolphins, which will make former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum -- Miami's new VP -- a happy man. - Rich Cimini

Week 13 - vs Baltimore Ravens - Win (BAL 17 - MIA 22) - The Ravens have won as much as the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. The problem this time is the Ravens are going on the road after a Monday night game against a division team. That's the scheduling equivalent of a Ndamukong Suh stomp to the head. - Jamison Hensley

Week 14 - vs New York Giants (MNF) - Win (NYG 17 - MIA 27) - Monday Night Football in Miami in December counts as a major break for a Northeast team looking to get a break from the cold. But on the field, I don't think this year's Miami Dolphins can be assumed to be a pushover. Ndamukong Suh should be dominating in the middle of that defensive line, and Ryan Tannehill's making steady progress as a quarterback. The Giants get tripped up in the Sunshine State and the Coughlin job speculation kicks into high gear. - Dan Garziano

Week 15 - @ San Diego Chargers - Loss (MIA 20 - SD 34) - Chargers are pleased this game isn’t in Miami after the beatdown the Dolphins put on them last season. Now it’s San Diego’s turn. - Eric D. Williams

Week 16 - vs Indianapolis Colts - Win (IND 20 - MIA 24) - The Dolphins are fighting for a playoff spot heading into the final two weeks of the seasons. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh brings pressure up the middle the entire game. - Mike Wells

Week 17 - vs New England Patriots - Loss (NE 38 - MIA 21) - The Dolphins finish their season the way the Bills open theirs -- with home games against the Colts and the Patriots. New England has to be on the road for the final two games with the Winter Classic being held at their home stadium. Random fact: In Bill Belichick’s tenure, the Patriots have hosted Miami in the season finale five times but have never finished a season in Miami. Don't forget to pack the sunscreen. The Patriots, as they often do, finish on a roll. - Mike Reiss

[Tenshot13]

Realistically, I do not disagree with the possible 8-8 record.

There is no way the Bills sweep us.
There is no way the Titans beat us.
I'm fairly confident we sweep the Jets.
I'm fairly confident we will finally beat the Texans this year.
I'm surprised they say we beat Indy, Baltimore and Dallas

[Sunstroke]

^^^ Gotta agree with that. I can see 8-8, but swap out two of the wins from the Bal/Dal/Ind group and add two more wins from the AFC East opponents.

[Rich]

James Walker predicted 9-6 for us.

Is he predicting one game being cancelled?

[CF DolFan]

Lol ... maybe that was my wishful thinking as I really don't like playing in Buffalo. He actually predicted 9-7

[EDGECRUSHER]

James Walker has been stating we will take Gurley for 2 months now, so either he has inside info that Tannenbaum is a total asshole or he himself is a total asshole.

[MikeO]

James Walker has been stating we will take Gurley for 2 months now, so either he has inside info that Tannenbaum is a total asshole or he himself is a total asshole.

Todd McShay said the other day on ESPN he was told last year Miami was taking James in Rd 1 no matter what a month before the draft but couldn't report it. So every mock he put out he had to have Miami taking someone else to protect his source. So, whoever McShay mocks to Miami probably won't happen as McShay has a source deep inside the Fins..lol

[dolphins4life]

I would rather they sweep the Bills and Jets and get swept by the Patriots, than split with the Patriots and sweep one of the Bills and Jets and split the other.

[Dave Gray]

Todd McShay said the other day on ESPN he was told last year Miami was taking James in Rd 1 no matter what a month before the draft but couldn't report it. So every mock he put out he had to have Miami taking someone else to protect his source. So, whoever McShay mocks to Miami probably won't happen as McShay has a source deep inside the Fins..lol

What's even the point of having a source if you're going to intentionally mis-report to protect them?

[MikeO]

What's even the point of having a source if you're going to intentionally mis-report to protect them?

He could report it after the draft but prior to the draft he needed to protect the source so he said nothing. It was weird but I don't blame McShay.

Not much different than when the NFL coaches meet with the TV announce teams on Friday night before the Sunday games and tell them everything but the TV commentators can't go on the air and say what they were actually told.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

He could report it after the draft but prior to the draft he needed to protect the source so he said nothing. It was weird but I don't blame McShay.

Not much different than when the NFL coaches meet with the TV announce teams on Friday night before the Sunday games and tell them everything but the TV commentators can't go on the air and say what they were actually told.

that is one theory.  Another McShay didn't have a source and just made up BS knowing nobody can contradict him.

actually nfl announcers do reveal what they were told during the game, that is why what Cleveland did is not allowed

[MikeO]

that is one theory.  Another McShay didn't have a source and just made up BS knowing nobody can contradict him.

actually nfl announcers do reveal what they were told during the game, that is why what Cleveland did is not allowed

Actually McShay didn't make it up Kiper called him out on it and wanted him to tell the story and McShay was reluctant to talk about it. if you heard the conversation you would have known McShay wasn't making it up.

And NFL announcers don't revel the "big" stuff they are told in those meetings. Watch the HBO Real Sports piece on Chris Collinsowrth he goes into it and what is done and isn't done

[Sunstroke]

For the record, every time I've been wrong on a prediction, I was actually right, but I didn't want to reveal that I actually knew what was going to happen.

[MikeO]

For the record, every time I've been wrong on a prediction, I was actually right, but I didn't want to reveal that I actually knew what was going to happen.

It wasn't like that. If you heard the conversation you would tell McShay didn't want to even talk about it. Kiper dragged the story out of him

[Tenshot13]

McShay and Kiper are a couple of blowhard douchebags. I don't put much faith in anything they have to say.