...we're ahead of schedule. Let's go back some months... An angry and disheartened Sethdaddy8 could not believe we retained...not only Philbin, but Coyle too! Astonishing and stupid. What stuck in my and many of our craws, was the way our team completely folded on their coach down the wire the past 2 seasons, and the way our D checked out. It was a huge indictment on Coyle and Philbin IMO. And during a meaningless win at home against a pedestrian Viking team, Ross made a pathetic and hasty decision to keep Philbin. And it took barely a week for that decision to bite Ross in the ***, as our players went to bat for the gipper, by allowing Geno Freaking Smith to pitch a perfect game in Rexy's finale as the Jet head coach. I get it, Ross "likes" Philbin, but good lord man. Woody Johnson gave Rex one of those, "ya got one more shot kid", after the Jets ended our season and playoff hopes in 2013, and it resulted in Rex's worst season, and an embarrassing 2014 for the Jets, near the cellar of the NFL. And Ross completely followed that horrific model of failure. "Yay, you beat the crappy Vikings, have another crack at it Joe!" And here we are, hot seat, lame duck, it is Rex Ryan and Tony Sparano all over again. No heart, no fire...dead men walking. So where is the good news? Well, I truly, truly felt, that we had too talented a roster for this team, with this soft schedule, to not make the play-offs. I never liked Philbin as a coach, but I thought even he couldn't mess this up. So I saw this team making the play-offs, and getting out coached and blown out some time in January, extending the Philbin tenure, and basically extending our time as frauds. But Philbin and Coyle, while no doubt safe for the rest of the season due to Ross' super slow-mo trigger finger, are essentially done. And that is essentially good news. It saves us long term heart ache and disappointment. Because, how could you trust this uber lame coach and coordinator? God forbid a game meant something and we had hope, and we had to place it in Philbin's hands. Blech. What a nightmare. So look at the bright side, we have some talented players among the gaping holes at G, LB, and FS. We may have our QB, I believe so, some do not. I'd at least like to see if he can ball with a little help from the o-line, running game, and defense. And we are one step closer to hopefully getting a real coach in here. And that, as a whole, is a good thing.
This sadly is the best outcome this year. For these coaches to all get the pink slip. Lazor too. Offensive play calling is no better than the defense. Addition by subtraction. A top 5 pick would help too. I don't see this team winning more than 5 games.
Who woukd have thought with all the high expectations? Crazy what can happen in a couple weeks. We had people on this forum saying the team would be 6-0 with the best defense in the league.
We need a stone cold killer at MLB, and a FS with a brain and some athleticism. Mix in some guards, and we have a team. Can't bank on guys like Delmas and Albert anymore. Just can't stay healthy. May need a left tackle now too. I'd like to see what Lazor could do with some help from the o-line. Its tough when our left side is getting caved in non-stop.
I think for me, the bright side is I can be more relaxed while watching the good young players we have (Tannehill, Landry, Parker, Jenkins, Jones, Philips) develop and display their talent. I don't have high expectations anymore. Come to think of it, what are the chances the Dolphins entire organization feel these enormous expectations and are playing too tight? Maybe they will relax and play up to their abilities. Maybe as the expectations lower they will play like they have nothing to lose. At this point they could "can" Philbin today and I'd be happy, but maybe that isn't the right decision as pertains for the rest of THIS season. It is salvageable. Am I being too optimistic?
I completely challenge the prevailing assumption that this is a talented squad. We have no guards, invisible linebacker, one corner worth a damn, one RB worth a damn, and zero o line depth. Our coaches suck and deserve to be fired for sure, but this roster isn't very good
It is a very bad roster. And it can get uglier if we get Tannehill injured playing behind that offensive line. It can easily be a 1-15 team if he gets injured. I dont remember an offensive line this bad since Cameron was here and even his offensive line was able to run block. Tannehill is David Carr, a lot of hidden potential doomed by the offensive line. The big issue is we have a lot of money invested in Tannehill, a lot... So we have to make it work.. If he gets injured we will be set back 3 years. We have too many holes everywhere else to create another hole at quarterback.
I think this team has some very good talent and at some key spots but I don't totally disagree with you. I feel like a good staff could get much more out of this squad. Why isn't RT being moved around in the pocket while playing a team with a dominant pass rush? Why were our defensive players so ill prepared for the misdirection the Bills were running? I don't think this staff has ever help hide our weaknesses. Every team has weaknesses.
I think if the team relaxed and miraculously went on a role and made the playoffs, they would ultimately tighten back up when it came to crunch time. And thus, we'd be exposed as the frauds we are under Philbin and Coyle. But it would be enough for a dopey owner like Ross to bring them back again. And so, that would be the colossal waste of time and energy I mentioned in the original post.
I feel for you guys. I honestly thought you were going to have a break out year. I'd like to think there's still time, but I don't know what you know & if the issue is as deeply rooted as you're saying... it's not going to happen.
All I can think about is how Odrick went off on the coaching staff last year. That should have been our crystal ball.
Just remember how things didnt look so bad with Trent Green, we werent winning because our defense was pathetic, but the offense was moving the chains, then when he got knocked out and we put in Beck, we saw the glaring holes on this team. Well we sre seeing it now even with Tannehill, without him we probably should just forfeit the season. His health has to be priority. If we are going to continue to play him then we must address the offensive line through a trade. Get Albert healthy, and I hate to say it but see what you can get for Wake or Grimes as far as offensive line talent goes in the market. Both are up there in age, we might as well protect the quarterback.
Yeah, I feel bad for Wake. We're squandering his limited time. Wouldn't be opposed if there were a team that could contend, that would give us a good oline player for him. I think you nailed my frustration, though. There is nothing about this team that is enjoyable. The offense is stagnant and stale, due in large part to the oline. The defense sucks bad. I could handle having an offense that was functioning and fun to watch, even if we were losing shootouts because our defense sucked. I could handle watching the offense stifle itself behind this abortion of an oline, if the defense was playing at a high level, getting to the QB and picking off balls. But BOTH parts of the team being bad? I hate that I paid for the Sunday Ticket this year. I might get a Twitter account, simply so I can start tweeting at Garfinkel to try to get them to reimburse me for the money I spent on it. LOL
In all honesty? The bright side for me is that I no longer really feel upset about this football team being awful. I'm not sure when that happened, but yesterday I found myself watching the 4th quarter with a complete lack of emotion, and muttering things like "Devante looks good... looks the part" and "Jonas Gray is better than I thought." I'm actually looking forward to the offseason circus now, because that seems like the only time this team is exciting anymore.
Dolphin25, you have GOT to be kidding me. What exactly would you like Tannehill to do? I get it, he's not perfect, I get that he has stuff to work on. But have you watched the games? Generally, 4 man rushes are getting to Tannehill in 2.5 seconds or less. Yesterday, I remember seeing one blitz, by the safety I believe, and he came through untouched, and was hitting Tannehill almost before he was out of his drop...causing the second pick on what looked like a screen play. It's ridiculous. When you bring one guy, and it looks like a nano blitz from the old Madden games, then you know there is a problem.
I have my thoughts about him but i dont speak it because it riles people up. Keep it short so that people wont go crazy, I think he has talent, but i am not convinced hes a franchise quarterback yet. I think if he had another coach he may develop into one. But with all that said, we have too much invested in him, so whether i like him or not, bottom line is we have to make it work, period. If we dont make it work it will set us back for years.
Whether you like Tanny or not, I think we all agree that we'd at least be willing to give him a shot playing for a competent coaching staff, behind an offensive line that actually blocks people? I love Andrew Luck, I have a boner for that guy, but even he is struggling badly this season because nobody can freaking block for him.
Well they have an out after next season, so it's far from locked in stone that he's the QB after next year, and if he hasn't shown that he is the man, it would be a bigger waste of time and money to keep him.
The offensive line has to be fixed before any other position on this team. Obviously this current coaching staff needs to go as well. There are some pieces here worth building around, so it's not as if a quick turnaround can't happen. Currently we sit 1-2,but this season is over in my eyes. Thing is I fully expect us to go on our yearly fools gold run at some point, only this time it won't swing the pendulum for me. I'm done with this current era, time for a new coach and direction.
You can't remember an offensive line this bad since Cameron? What about 2013? Half of 2014? Those O-lines were terrible and directly caused poor offensive play, as it's doing now.