I'm not going to lie, for a while there last season, I was rooting pretty heavily for the Dolphins. Out of nowhere, they became the (/shakes his cliché machine) little team that could. This team proved that it can be pretty good and formidable. Being in such a rough division has to hurt their chances for playoff hopes, but I would really like to see them take some steps forward. They could be a good upset team in that division.
In order to do this, however, they really need to figure out the whole QB situation. Right now, based on rumors that are totally true (always), the Dolphins are first in line on the Matt Flynn Black Friday sale. Not only have they been camping outside his house since the season ended, but some new coach's nephew was best friends with his goldfish or something.
Really, though, the team has a lot of talent going forward. If they can catch a Matt Flynn in a Pokeball, or perhaps the rare Peyton Manning (gotta use a Master Ball on that one) then they may have a decent shot at the divison.
There are some needs on that team, however. They could shore up the o-line a bit more - probably at Right Tackle. This is especially important if Peyton's neck gets anywhere near that field.
Defensively, they could use some more pass rush. Depending on how this hybrid defense they are going to run turns out, it may be a DE or an OLB. They could also look at the Safety position for an upgrade.
They have a modest cap space of about $16 million to work with. They could probably restructure to get a bit more room, if needed.
Exclusive Rights Free Agents: TE Jeron Mastrud, LB Austin Spitler.
Restricted Free Agents: RB Lex Hilliard, OT Lydon Murtha, DE Ryan Baker, DE Philip Merling.
Unrestricted Free Agents: QB Chad Henne, QB J.P. Losman, RB Steve Slaton, OT Vernon Carey, OT Marc Colombo, DE Kendall Langford, NT Paul Soliai, LB Ikaika Alama-Francis, LB Marvin Mitchell, LB Jason Taylor, CB Will Allen.