http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...-Baltimore-Ravens-New-England-Patriots-102312 The one team that was supposed to be the pits. ... The Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were the laughingstock of the league a few months ago. Fresh off an offseason that saw Miami swing and miss at Peyton Manning, draft a quarterback everyone thought wasn’t worthy of top-10 status and fail to sign or draft a receiver worthy of an NFL roster spot, the Dolphins went on “Hard Knocks” and sunk even deeper into the depths of NFL fan/media public opinion." "I’ll take the Dolphins. That D, the coaching, the rookie quarterback, a roster devoid of ego and yes — that GM — have all had the golden touch this season. Naysayers and “Hard Knocks” aficionados be damned, the Dolphins are playing good football these days." Nice article on our team..
People are starting to pay attention. Enough for people to lay their money on it. [video=youtube;CaRq1oL9kaM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaRq1oL9kaM[/video] + [video=youtube;YHpPRAjrfMs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHpPRAjrfMs[/video]
http://www.thephins.com/forums/showthread.php?72852-Dolphins-Are-Alive-In-Repulsive-AFC I think the author goes a little too far here..... He also claims the pats have the 30th ranked offense ?!?! Still good to see, the positive aura surrounding the phins isnt going unnoticed.
I enjoyed the read - and thanks for the link. But, Personally, I hate it when stuff like this comes out this early - esp. the week before a critical, potentially-season-turning-point game. Let's put that stuff out AFTER we win a critical game or two against the Jets & Pats. I think everyone wants to get a heads up on the competition and say, "I told you the Dolphins were good - see my insights?" I also wonder if its not a reverse jinx. And if they bomb - these guys will write about someone else next week. 3-3 is great relative to the outlook in August. But, let's hold off a few minutes, at least, before we crown them a great turnaround team. Experience does this to you. There are any number of fast starts (much better than this one) that fizzled. I will never forget 1993. After Marino went down and Scott Mitchell took over, and looked like a budding bonafide NFL QB. Then he went down but Steve DeBerg came on and was great (classic veteran, Earl Morall-like leadership). A 9-2 record (after a miracle Thanksgiving Day victory over Dallas in the snow). Yada, yada, yada ... Everyone was enamored of Miami. Talk of the NFL Nation. And where did they finish? They lost 5 in a row to go 9-7 and out of the playoffs.
You just gave an example of where after 11 games things changed, basically saying 11 games is too little. I disagree. I bet there are way more examples of teams going from 9-2 to the playoffs, then going 9-2 and ending up 9-7, meaning that was the anomaly and not the yard stick. We are fans, we're allowed to get excited and that level of excitement coming too early will not jinx anything.
Who cares what the nat'l sports people say.....I have never been one to say "Miami made it because Glazer said so" Just play your game and the rest with follow.....
I don't really care what anyone says about the Dolphins, good or bad. All I care about is wins and losses and right now the Dolphins have the same number of both of these. I'll make my own judgement regarding the Dolphins when the season is over. All I want from them right now is improvement in all areas as the season progresses.
Nice, but they have much to prove. Getting swept by the Jets with their 30th ranked run defense and without Revis and Holmes (Bart Scott is also a question mark for Sunday), while the Dolphins are rested and at full strength with few injuries, would certainly dampen things.
It's exhausting battling the perceptions of the national media when they don't study our team and all of its dynamics, all for the sake of protection of the culture. Everyone I think should be having a blast with this, our team has responded in such a positive way against all that sh&$ that went against them... Main reason why, is because I know we're going to get their best...our team doesn't fu&$ing quit y'all..
I care, because with this attitude I believe it perpetuates and impacts the franchise in many negative ways...unjustly.
It's the evolution effect. The Miami Dolphins culture has been changed and has adapted to what has been most common the past decade; same goes for the media. Everyone is used to the franchise being mediocre and it will take years of consistency to make a culture change. We will need a few winning seasons to "groom" the fan base. I see your point though, its like a sin to positive about our team. That carries over to the national media and what is presented. A lot of things working against people becoming Miami fans of any sport down there today.
If being a fan of this team for almost 30 years has taught me anything it's this - when we start to get full of ourselves and think we are good it usually crashes down around us. Play our game, keep growing. We will be good eventually, I think we could even win something meaningful. We are not that team yet.
There is much more love going around. Not many "experts" picked Miami the first time around, some did but not most. Now the majority (slightly) have picked the Dolphins to win. So if they lose it could all come crashing down...I think they'll still get respect in the sense they could finish 7-9 or so, but not 9-7 wild card like right now and if they win on Sunday. Now Joe McKnight looks to be out of the game along with Bart Scott. Lot of banged up Jets, don't let this game slip away.
The Jets are without their best WR and their best defensive player. They are likely to play the game without one of their best LB's and they have a shortage of healthy RB's on their roster. The Dolphins are probably as healthy as they have been since the season began. The Dolphins have no excuses to lose the game to a team they should have beaten last month. If the Dolphins win the game against the beat up Jets, it will be what a lot of people expect. The bigger story would be if the well rested Dolphins go into New Jersey and lose the game. The fact is that a loss would be a major negative for the Dolphins. I have felt all along that this is the most important game the Dolphins will play during the 2012 season. Win and they have a very legitimate chance of making the playoffs. Lose and I just don't see them finishing the season at 500 or above.
