Dolphins GM says they have closed the gap on the Patriots

The Miami Dolphins had no doubt the splashiest off-season of any team in the NFL (no pun intended). They grabbed deep threat wide receiver Mike Wallace from Pittsburgh and then took linebacker Dannell Ellerbe from Baltimore.

They also made a flurry of other moves that weren't as high profile - signing Brent Grimes, Vaughn Martin and Dustin Keller. While also drafting big name players like pass rusher Dion Jordan and cornerback Jamar Taylor in the early rounds.

However, as we've seen time and time again, a big splash does not equal a winning team.

The Miami Dolphins GM seems to understand that, but it doesn't stop him from thinking they have close the gap to a certain extent.

Miami Herald:

As Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland sits back and assesses his team, he feels confident the Dolphins “have closed the gap” with New England.

But how much? That’s where Ireland still isn’t sure.

“Hard to say how much,” he said. “Right now, we have really high-profile names on paper.... We've got to go perform. We have to jell. That sometimes takes time. Expectations are high.”

Time and time again we've seen that the teams that have won the off-season rarely win on the field. Last year it was the Buffalo Bills making a splash by signing Mario Williams and, for some reason, Mark Anderson. They had what looked like a dominant defensive line on paper and it was enough to incite analysts to saying exactly what the Dolphins GM said about his own team, that they've closed the gap on the Patriots. (Link here to one example.)

We all saw what happened there. The first time the Patriots met the Bills they had two running backs go over 100 yards in a 52-28 comeback blowout.

We can even go back a year further with the even more obvious Philadelphia Eagles. With Michael Vick coming off an MVP buzz worthy season, and the Eagles signing Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cullen Jenkins among others they were thought to be the Miami Heat of the NFL. Dubbed the "dream team" by backup Vince Young, they didn't end up coming close to meeting those expectations.

So, while the Dolphins have definitely made some great moves in the off-season, it means nothing until it can come together on the field. The last two teams to win the off-season award haven't had much success with that.

At the end of the day, the NFL is all about the quarterback. The Eagles got poor play from Michael Vick, they lost. The Bills got poor play from Ryan Fitzpatrick, they lost. The Dolphins? They are relying on second year QB Ryan Tannehill.

Tannehill showed some flashses of potential in his rookie season, but is it enough to now say that he can close the gap on a team that has literally dominated its division on a historic level? Brady has led his team to 10 division titles in 11 years as a starter, which is the most division titles by any quarterback in NFL history.

If the Dolphins are really going to close that gap, Ryan Tannehill's got a lot of ground to make up.

Via Players View