The Dolphins won just six games in 2015, which prompted the hiring of coach Adam Gase to jumpstart the offense -- and franchise quarterback Ryan Tannehill, in particular. But 2016 looked a lot like the previous season, at least over the first five games. In fact, the nadir came in a Week 4 loss to the Bengals in which the Dolphins managed just 222 total yards and seven points.

"One of the worst performances I've seen from our offense in a long time," Tannehill said at the time, adding: "We have to get it fixed soon."

Tannehill didn't have to wait long; Miami was 1-4 heading into a matchup against Pittsburgh when everything seemed to come together. He threw for 252 yards and Jay Ajayi ran for 204 more and the Dolphins cruised to a 30-15 victory.

Miami would win five more and nine of 10, and finish the season with a 10-6 record and a spot in the playoffs. It all ended ingloriously in a wild-card rematch in Pittsburgh that didn't inlcude Tannehill, who was sidelined with a knee injury. But Tannehill is healthy and his outlook on the Dolphins' offense is a 180 from where it was 10 months ago.

It starts with Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills -- who combined for 192 receptions and 17 touchdowns last season -- and goes from there.

"Honestly, I can say it's definitely the most talent we've had with the receiving corps, bringing everyone back, having a second year together in the same offense," Tannehill told the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson recently. "That's going to be huge for us. Adding [tight ends] Julius Thomas and Anthony Fasano, veterans who have played a lot of football, is [big]. Bringing back [running backs] Jay, Kenyan Drake.

"Keeping most of the offensive line together, adding a few pieces. Putting Laremy Tunsil back at his natural position. That's going to be huge for us. You start to stack all those pieces together and we have a good unit. Now it's a matter of being able to elevate our play throughout the season. Just because you have good pieces doesn't mean you're going to perform. That's what the onus was on all spring. That's what it's on throughout the summer. As we hit training camp, it's pushing each other each and every day to go out and be great. Not just be good, but really be great."

The Dolphins' offense improved from 22nd in '15 to 14th last season, according to Football Outsiders' metrics. Some of that success is because of Tannehill's rapport with his playmakers, but a lot of it has to do with a much-improved offensive line, which showed marked improvement over the course of 2016.

Now the question becomes: Just how good can Tannehill and this offense be? Because while progress is nice, it won't mean much if the Patriots are atop the division when the season ends.

"I just want to go out and win," Tannehill said. "To win in this league, the quarterback has to perform. He has to go out and play well consistently. You can't have a couple good weeks and a couple of bad weeks. My goal is to go out and play at the level I know I can play consistently throughout the season, get better as the season goes on and play our best football in January. If I do that, the results will speak for itself."