Dolphins first-year coach Joe Philbin did his best with a very limited roster, keeping his team in the playoff hunt until the final week of the regular season. But too often, the team came out flat or failed to maximize its veterans' skills. Philbin did more than enough to keep his job after a 7-9 finish, but the overall grades aren’t pretty for the Dolphins.

Offense: D+

Dolphins rookie QB Ryan Tannehill had a solid season, completing 58.3 percent of his passes for 3,294 yards with 12 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. The eighth overall pick in April’s draft also rushed for 211 yards with two touchdowns. However, despite WR Brian Hartline making 74 catches for 1,083 yards, the fourth-year pro disappeared for long stretches and scored only one touchdown. Overall, the unit averaged a pathetic 18 points per game, the sixth-worst mark in the league. RB Reggie Bush also had a mediocre season, never finding a rhythm in the attack, as he gained 986 yards on 227 carries and scored six touchdowns.

Defense: C-

This unit was the strength of the team as DE Cameron Wake parlayed a career-high 15 sacks into a Pro Bowl berth. LBs Karlos Dansby (134 tackles) and Kevin Burnett (109 tackles) each delivered plenty of jarring hits, but too often it was Ss Chris Clemons (99 tackles) and Reshad Jones (95 tackles) saving touchdowns in the secondary. Overall, the unit was pretty mediocre, finishing 21st in yards allowed (356.8 yards per game), but seventh in points allowed (19.8 per game). DB Sean Smith also struggled in his first year as the team’s primary cover man, recording a team-high 12 passes defended but making a mere two interceptions.

Special teams: C-

P Brandon Fields averaged 50.2 yards per boot on 74 attempts this season. Even better, he put 29 of those kicks, an impressive 39.2 percent, inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. However, K Dan Carpenter was pretty mediocre this season, connecting on 22 of 26 field goals but struggling on anything beyond 45 yards. RB Marcus Thigpen returned a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown, but made several poor decisions and added virtually nothing beyond his return skills. The kicking game struggled for consistency all season.

Coaching: C

DC Kevin Coyle did a respectable job masking a secondary that lost three of the top four corners on the roster from when training camp started. His mix of zone coverage and man-to-man schemes was sometimes questionable -- as was his D-line rotation -- but he showed creativity with a limited roster, especially later in the season. OC Mike Sherman didn’t utilize as many bootlegs and roll outs for Tannehill as he should have, and the former Texas A&M head coach never figured out how to utilized Bush behind a solid offensive line. Still, the offense flashed limited growth until a disasterous Week 17 shutout in New England. Philbin has a veteran staff in place for next year, but the schemes all left something to be desired heading into next fall.

Cumulative GPA: 1.68

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