There are two big reasons to believe the Dolphins will have a more effective passing offense in 2013.
The first is that the team went out and added three targets to their receiving corps in an effort to give quarterback Ryan Tannehill more to work with than he had in his rookie season. Wide receiver Mike Wallace was the headline name in that group, but Wallace thinks that it is going to be the quality of a group including wide receiver Brandon Gibson and tight end Dustin Keller that winds up making life difficult for defenses.
“We all present a different type of challenge for the defense,” Wallace said, via the team’s website. “We’re all different types of players. When you get us all together, it’s going to be fun.”
It’s not all newcomers, of course. Brian Hartline is back after a breakout 2012 season and he outlined the other reason why optimism is everywhere you look in Miami. That would be Tannehill with a year of experience under his belt.
“I mean everyone said, all the quote unquote experts say that there’s a big jump for a lot of guys from year one to year two and with Ryan I fully expect it,” Hartline said. “I think at this point he’s focusing on taking it one day at a time, understanding that he has to go through all of camp and get into the season and play through the whole season, so there’s a lot of football to go to get evaluated on. But I couldn’t ask for more, he’s making every throw, his deep ball looks awesome, intermediate ball is great, he has great touch, you don’t feel like it’s a rocket coming into your hands. His improvement has been amazing.”
The revamped Dolphins offense is one of many things we’re excited to see in action when players put on pads upon their return to work in a month or so. If Wallace and Hartline are on point, opposing defenses may not feel the same way.