http://www.nfl.com/schedules/2012/REG/Dolphins Notice anything? They're all 1 PM games. I myself am not one of the fans who cared what time the game started and I certainly don't think this will miraculously make us a good team. But, I'm just throwing this out there for the fans that do like it. I suspect that this might be, in concert with Hard Knocks, Ochocinco, Brandon Marshall being traded, drafting a QB 8th overall, and some other things, part of the new look Dolphins that is more interested in what the fans have to say. Expect a new stadium and updated uniforms in the near future IMO.
We (The Miami Dolphins) just promoted an assistant GM. Drafted a QB. Have a relatively new owner. A new HC. Talked about new unis. I could see a stadium push happening. If we start winning and you don't see any significant money put into the current one, I think it'd be assured that one is coming.
I've been one of the proponents of 1pm home games and the wearing of white on white uniforms while playing at home. We have a home field advantage of high heat and high humidity, but I believe that previous regimes failed to exploit that advantage. I remember seeing an NFL Films special on the Perfect Season once. In this special, one thing that struck a chord with me was the narrator stating Don Shula essentially dogged the team under the blistering heat and humidity of south Florida to build the fittest team in the NFL. I believe this is a tactic that's long since been abandoned by the unfortunately death of Kory Stringer of the Minnesota Vikings during the 2001 off-season (I believe that's when he died). Coaches have erred ont he side of caution, which I have no issue with. Be cautious, but don't be OVERLY cautious that you sacrifice an advantage by not exploiting it. I'm hopeful Joe Philbin has been dogging the team in the outdoor heat of south Florida. I'm hopeful he has our offense and defense going pedal to the metal all throughout practice, so when cold weather teams come to south Florida, they won't be able to compete with a high tempo, non-stop offense or a high tempo non-stop defense that will wear down an opposing offensive line.
At least doing it to the level he can. Recent CBA's, including and especially the new one, have really put a ceiling on how hard players can be worked.
The bigger problem is the NFL regulates how many practices and what kind of practices teams can have. If you concentrate on conditioning for some practices you are sacrificing working out the kinks in your offense/defense. I think this boils down to the work smarter, not harder philosophy. The teams that have been winning recently haven't been the ones that are the fastest, strongest, or best conditioned but they are the ones that operate within their offense or defense the most effectively and efficiently. That being said, I think one of the reasons Philban has been running these "uptempo" practices is to hopefully improve out players conditioning, while improving their efficiency and effectiveness within our offenses and defenses. In the modern era of NFL the players are responsible for keeping themselves in tip-top shape throughout the break. The teams aren't responsible for getting the players in peak form. In the dog eat dog world of the NFL if a player doesn't keep himself in shape there is always another guy that could step up and take his roster spot.
Humidity and heat dosen't dissapear for visiting teams in a 4PM game during September and October. With all those pads on you can get almost the same effect with giving the fans a wee bit of a break on direct sun. I hate domes..... If we get a dome kiss your home field heat advantage goodbye. I'd rather schedule some 4PM games every year as a middle ground for fans rather than have some of them keep screaming for a wretched dome.
This should be a good schedule. I like haveing the Pats games later in the season. This should give the team enough time to have their s#%$ together and if they have enough wins behind them maybe we can give the Pats somewhat of a fight.
That the advantage between a 1pm and 4pm start isn't all that great, considering many players spend their offseason and training camps in places that are just as hot and humid.
