Many, myself included, had our Dolphins winning around 10 games. I sincerely believe that the lockout hurt us more than most but, it just doesn't matter. We are 1-7. Considering that we have looked over the last few weeks, will we still be in the SFL race or, fall out with too many wins? Time for a new Phins Phorecast.
I smell 4-12. I thought we'd be between 7-9 and 9-7 at the beginning of the year. I can see Miami beating Washington, Oakland, and perhaps they win one for Tony and beat the Jets at the end of the year.
A little confidence, and getting King Kong off your back, can work wonders for a team with talent. I can see us beating the Redskins and Bills the next two weeks. My aqua goggles are a bit foggy after that.
I have no idea why anyone thinks the lockout hurt the Dolphins more than it did any other team. The Dolphins started this season with the same head coach they had the three previous seasons. The defensive coordinator was the same as last year and even though Daboll was the new offensive coordinator, the starters on the offensive side of the ball were mostly all starters last season. Blaming the lockout for the play of the Dolphins this season is nothing but an excuse. Funny how the 49ers, with a complete new coaching staff, didn't seem to let the lockout prevent them from starting the season strong. Also the Bengals have a rookie QB who had no off season and yet they didn't suffer because of the lockout. The Dolphins started poorly because they just are not a very good team. They have been nothing but mediocre for the last two years and they are worse than that this season. Until the talent on the Dolphins is vastly improved, they will continue to be a mediocre to bad football team, lockout or no lockout. I expect them to beat the Redskins this weekend and perhaps win 1 or 2 games after that. So I figure they will end the season 3-13 or possibly 4-12. That is about what I predicted before the season started and nothing this team has done makes me think they will finish the season with more than 4 wins.
You make a fair point JW. However, anyone who has ever played sports, of any kind, at any level, will tell you that there are some players who can play up to their ability with no practice, others who need some practice, and others who really need the practice time to play well. This is not just my opinion but that of MANY players and coaches. How would anyone explain a top D (#1 on PFF) being #32 in the first month of the season, and the last few weeks playing like they knew how last season? Was there a "Divine Revelation" or just players getting into football shape? I'm going with the latter.
So basically you are stating the players Ireland has selected for this team are not mature enough or professional enough to prepare for the season without having a coach tell them what to do and when to do it? The Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl last year and they held," zero", player workouts during the lockout. Each player was responsible for his own workouts during the off season and the lockout. They are now 8-0. I don't buy your premise that professional athletes need to be told what to do in an effort to come to camp in shape. The fact is that many of the players on the Dolphins just don't care enough. They were 7-9 the past two seasons and 1-7 so far this season. This clearly shows that the players on the Dolphins just don't have the talent or commitment that the majority of the players in the NFL have. I blame Ireland for most of this, because he is the person who is responsible for providing players who are committed to being the best they can be. This group of players seem satisfied with being a mediocre to bad football team and that is proved by how little work they put in during the off season to improve individually. Personally I don't want a player who needs a coach to tell him what to do every day, in order for that player to be prepared to play during the regular season. All your argument shows is that the Dolphins are made up of a bunch of weak minded men who can't succeed without someone above them constantly monitoring their progress during the off season. Hopefully the next GM will select more mature and professional players to be a part of the Dolphins in coming years.
Actually I think 7 wins is possible... Don't be suprised if we win the next 5 games. They are all winnable, now that we've finally learned how to close out games. Add in our yearly split with the jets, that's my new prediction (originally guessed a 13-3 season)
I'm not stating anything of the kind. I am stating that some players require more guidance and supervision than others, which is the same in any walk of life. Did you ever play any type of sports? It's not required but would help in this discussion.
I never predicted an actual record before the season. I felt those who thought we were a 10+ win team and a playoff team were off base, and those who saw us as last in the AFCE and winning 4 or less were off as well. I thought we would be somewhere in between the two extremes, maybe 8-8? Predicting now I'd go with 4-12 I guess.
You obviously make a lot of assumptions about other individuals on here who don't agree with your comments. I happen to have played baseball and football throughout high school. I was also all county as a SS my senior year. I did not play in college since I enlisted in the military and served time in Vietnam. I played on softball teams and in flag football leagues until my early 40's. Today I am 60 years old and still play golf five days a week, with a 4 handicap. So my comments about what I expect from professional football players are made from someone who has been active in some sort of sport since I was 5 years old. It appears to me that you would rather question my sports background than admit that the Dolphins have a lot of lazy and immature players who don't have the talent or the work ethic needed to be quality players in the NFL. I guess this is just a difference in generational thinking. Today the view seems to be that if a player is not self motivated, he isn't to be blamed for this attitude. He just needs for someone to tell him that he needs to get in shape and play harder. This might be the case on the lower levels of competition, but for a professional athlete to have this attitude is just plain sad. You stated that you predicted the Dolphins would win 10 games before the season. I was on this forum before the season stating that the Dolphins would be lucky to win 6 games and that I thought 4-5 wins were more likely. I have to question your football knowledge if you actually thought that this team would win 10 games this year. I certainly feel that my understanding of the shortcomings of the Dolphins prior to the season was clearly better than yours. I just have to wonder what makes you think that you are more knowledgeable than others on here, when you clearly aren't.
No assumptions here JW. As stated, I believe that someone who has played sport would help in this discussion. In my experience, I saw players who needed supervision and every practice they could get. as well as others (myself included) who did not. All my respect, credit, and thanks to you for serving in our military. IMO, that is much more important than any game. You say that you are 60, CONGRATS! I have no problem id disagreeing with old SOB's, and have many times learned from them. Further congrats on you doing much better than me in predicting the Phins season. That's as far as I go. I do believe I am more knowledgeable than some others here. It has nothing to do with with being a better fan. It does have to do with a whole lot of research and, to a lessor degree, watching games 2 or 3 times, although this year two has been the limit. I do this because I want to, and to offer informed opinions on my team. Some others know and do as much and more. You can question my knowledge, if ya like, but what I post is based on fact and very informed opinion.
These dumb ****ers will win 4 games. just enough to give us a pick that won't change the course of the franchise. No problem though. We only need to draft eight O-linemen to complete this championship team.