We're weeks away from training camp and our first real look at the rebuilt Miami Dolphins. After general manager Jeff Ireland went hog wild in free agency, one of his new additions on defense says the new additions on offense are paying off.
"We have a fast offense, man," linebacker Philip Wheeler told fans in a season ticket holder conference call Wednesday, via The Palm Beach Post. "We have playmakers at receiver. Any one of those guys can break it open at any time. We have a young quarterback (Ryan Tannehill), but he's out there playing like a veteran. We have a big offensive line and we can run the power game, spread them out. We can do whatever. Our tight end, we've got some of the best tight ends in the game."
The Dolphins believe their decades-long, post-Dan Marino quest for a franchise passer came to a successful conclusion with last year's drafting of Tannehill. They used this offseason to surround him with weapons, including wideouts Mike Wallace and Brandon Gibson and tight end Dustin Keller. Wallace alone gives the Dolphins one of the league's true burners and places Brian Hartline into a more fitting No. 2 role.
Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, another free-agent signing, dealt with Wallace plenty during the receiver's years on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ellerbe believes Wallace alters Miami's identity, saying, "I feel like we're going to be a speed team."
Free-agent spending sprees crumble as often as they succeed in the NFL (see: "The Dream Team," circa 2011), but Ireland can't be faulted for laziness. Very much on the hot seat, the team's embattled front-office man has given coach Joe Philbin and his young quarterback plenty to work with.
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