Here's the TLDR - I'm up on the Phins as football players and certain coaches but down on the owner and Philbin as leaders - lack of vision/identity will keep this team from success. There's a quote which states that "without vision the people perish". I think that's what's going on with the Phins. I asked myself a question tonight - who are the current Miami Dolphins? As a team, what's their identity? I couldn't really come up with a solid answer. At best we can say they're trying to run a spread offense, a la Lazor, but that's about it. We can speak for certain individuals or elements, but as a team, I don't believe this team has an identity or a vision and that's a leadership problem. Who are they? What are they fighting for? I'm coming to think that neither Ross nor Philbin have any answers for those questions beyond the generic. "Get better." "Make plays." "Come together as a football team." Those apply to every football team that is and ever was, from the NFL down to Peewee level. The more I look at this Ross is only looking for 'success' but doesn't know how that might look and Philbin seems like a number guy, a theorist, who knows a great deal about all the individual parts, knows about character, but hasn't figured out an identity for this team, and so instead of them being better than the sum of their parts they're actually worse, because there's little glue to bring them together. Who are the Miami Dolphins? Tactical specialists? Bruisers? No one knows. They're isolated parts with no real common identity because, I believe, Philbin doesn't know, may not even see the need. That being the case, since Philbin can't unite them, they are destined to unravel - just like any other team or group would in that situation. Until this changes, until Philbin steps up with a unifying, passionate vision (which can, by the way, be softly spoken - it just has to be real and consistently, genuinely expressed and fought for) this team will lose. Even if we have a legendary off-season this team won't win. Can Philbin change? I've a feeling maybe he can. I hope he can and will. If he doesn't though, next year will be the same as this one, or worse. Due to this, I'm predicting that the entire off-season will be ultimately irrelevant if Philbin doesn't provide a firm vision and identity for this team and build it, and that 2015/16 will be worse than this year even if the schedule is easier.
the vision should be to acquire good tough football players..thats whats been missing for two decades.. an identity?, molding a scheme around those good tough players..
Agreed, It will be more of the same without a true identity. Offensively we seem to be getting there.
Agreed, Philbin doesn't inspire his players. He lost the locker room at the end of the year. I'd guess if the lay down by week 8-10 he's history. I'd love to be wrong, but he's old Don Schula disease; he won't fire his friends.
I could see the 2015/16 season being worse than 2014/15. In fact, I could see 2014 looking remarkably similar to 2011. Our home schedule is going to be tough. Could easily go 2-6 at home next year. We have a couple of cupcakes on the road, but overall I think 4-4 sounds about right. 6-10.
I'll be shocked if we regress next year honestly. Our schedule is too easy. People are under-estimating us so badly. We were respectable offense until Branden Albert got hurt so that will in time fix itself. Our defense was decent up through week 10 or 12 so it needs to some work but none of the off-season has happened yet. I really don't understand the doom and gloom.
If we get Suh in fa and draft a couple stud olinemen we will be 14-2 Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk
They have an identity. They're the team with the pitiful offensive line and the defensive coordinator who doesn't know where to line up his players.
I feel like there should be a Slide-Kazoo giveaway at homegames.... ...so fans can make this sound... [video=youtube;AMgXgSWWMuE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMgXgSWWMuE[/video]
