I think every single member of this forum delighted in the total beat-down Miami just put on Tennessee. Let’s give ourselves a round of applause. Go ahead, you deserve it! Let’s be honest, there’s not a single one of us that stood up after watching the way this team played over the first 4 games and called this. Absolutely no one predicted the team would win like that—and for good reason. They had played like garbage and been coached poorly. Yesterday however, we saw all the things we haven’t seen: energy, excitement, a commitment to running the ball on first and second down, some tough runs late in the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] quarter, pressure being applied by the D-line, Tannehill running the ball, turnovers being created by the defense, etc. The list goes on and on. There’s no doubt that 38-10 wins are almost always a great thing. After a disappointing first month and a 2-week lay-off that had us all bickering about coaches, coordinators and all sorts of marquee players we were finally rewarded with something that resembled a quality effort by a team that looked remarkably…good. So, rather than fight about who was wrong or brag about something we got right, let’s take a couple days and discuss where this puts the Dolphins and if a team whose hall-mark over the last couple seasons has been inconsistency can string enough wins together to give themselves a chance at a Wildcard berth. Now, in reality we have to be fair. Mariota was made a shell of himself relatively early in the game by what looked to be a suspiciously dirty hit by Vernon. The Titans also lost a huge piece of their pass protection when their Center was carted off after suffering a horrific lower leg injury. If Tannehill was limping early and Pouncey was gone, we’d be hearing a lot of (very good) excuses for why Miami lost. Those two things certainly contributed to why the Titans looked inept. And let’s remember, the Titans have now lost 8 straight games at home. I don’t care what the stats say, that cannot be a very good team given that record. So yes, let’s revel in this win, but let’s remember that the Titans are not an NFL powerhouse. Reality being what it is Miami has now gotten off to a great start with a little help from a bad team. Right now, the Dolphins’ competition looks like it will come from the Jets and Bills in the east, the Steelers and Ravens in the north and the Chargers or Broncos in the west depending on which team wins that division. The south is really the only division we can rule out. To be honest, the Jets, Bills and Dolphins all have similar schedules. Miami of course has to play catch-up so they’re going to need some help. When you look at the Chargers, they’re playing well but losing. When you look at the Broncos and Steelers, they’re not playing all that well but both teams are winning. Will that continue or will both Denver and Pittsburgh start to notice the lack in QB play? I mean, I guess Miami is still in it, right? I think most of us would agree that the effort demonstrated against Tennessee would probably be enough to win next week as well. So, does this big performance against the Titans change how important this upcoming Texans match-up is? I think so. Could the Dolphins, if they made it to 3-3 this Sunday, actually compete down the stretch? Let’s assume the Dolphins beat the Texans. Let’s assume the Pats beat the Jets. Let’s assume the Chargers beat the Raiders. Let’s assume the Bills beat the Jaguars. Let’s assume the Cardinals beat the Ravens. The Steelers / Chiefs match-up is an interesting one. So the Wild-card picture next week (if things go as planned) looks like this: Jets (4-2) Steelers (5-2 or 4-3) Bills (4-3) Dolphins (3-3) Chargers (3-4) Chiefs (3-4 or 2-5) Raiders (2-4) Ravens (2-5 or 1-6) So as awful as the first month was, the Miami Dolphins are smack dab in the middle of the race as it would appear. So in my mind, Miami really does need to outrace its divisional rivals. Both the Jets and Bills are conveniently ahead of the Dolphins at this point and have similar schedules to Miami. The Steelers and Chargers are the other two teams that really pose a threat. The Chargers are losing despite some great QB play and the Steelers are winning despite some poor QB play.
The only thing I'll say, is that while injuries may have hampered the Titan offense, we decimated their defense, which was statistically very good. I do think if the Dolphins continue to play the way they played yesterday, they could get a Wildcard spot. Not to mention, if the passing attack can stop having some brain farts, they'd have looked even better.
That's the story of the season. If they stay healthy then anything can happen, if not, we've already seen what will happen.
This all comes down to our lineman on both sides of the ball and nothing more. Tannehill has proven that when given time in the pocket, he's a pro bowl level QB. Mixing up the plays, balanced attacks, and Tannehill gadget plays have ALWAYS worked in our favor...SO why not continue that trend? The offensive line has to hold up though for that to happen. It's no coincidence our line looked adequate yesterday with Albert and Billy Turner getting healthy starts. Albert above all has to stay healthy and we can't afford to lose anyone else on that line in the process. As for the defensive line, it's simple...Create havoc, get pressure on the QB's we face, and play the run well and our defense will hold up enough for us to win games. I think Grimes and Jones are amazing playmakers in the secondary, and Jelani Jenkins is a wrecking ball as well. We have to find a way to stop opposing teams tight ends....It seems like that is our achilles on defense and it will be the death of us if we don't find a way to contain guys like Delanie Walker, Gronkowski, etc. Luckily Houston isn't exactly threatening from that position, but still....the guys they have could end up making a name for themselves next Sunday if we don't contain them. I'm pretty much taking this one day at a time...Week to week we have to play with the same fire we played with in Nashville.
I think it would take 10-6, unless we beat both the Jills AND the Stej...in their houses. We're pretty good on the road against Rexy, so maybe split 'em, but winning both would be awesome.
I'd say yes it has upgrade from virtual certainty of not making the playoffs to highly improbable... Not great odds but enought that IT is not impossible anymore
Somewhat have a chance. They need to win next week. Then get one of the next 2 games against the Pats and Bills. That would put them at 4-4. Cowboys might not even have Romo. I think Dez Bryant should be back. Eagles don't look good. We shall see though. I'm not getting too excited until I see them win next week. Win next week in another blow out and I will be pumped for that Thursday night game in New England.
Like last year, there just isn't much competition in the AFC. As I see it, 2 out of these three will be wildcards: MIA, NYJ, PIT. That's it. We have a great chance at playing in January.
Look. it's pretty simple. 11 games left, we have to win at least 8 of them maybe 9 to get in. That means we can lose 2 maybe 3 to make it in. One game at a time. That's all there is now.
Maybe, but at this point in the season I think you have to figure on at least 10. Could change the way things are going, but I would definitely be looking at 10.
What's gonna Sting is home losses to NY and Buffalo. Gonna have to go go on the road and beat them or hope they stumble late in the year. The Bills have a brutal stretch coming up, 5 outta 6 on the road. I don't think the Jets are for real w a QB like Fitz but we'll see. Pittsburgh is N good shape if they can hang around 500 till Ben gets back. It's basically those four teams with two of them getting in plus NE, Denver, Cincy, Indy. The rest of the AFC is pretty much dead already.
Do What? Did I miss something? Tannehill has never and should never be in the same conversation as a probowl QB to date.
They still control their destiny, so anything is possible.m I just want to see them win two in a row.
We are kinda screwed with the inner divisional losses and conference losses. Reminds of the time we played pitt after making a run, and the outcome of the game did not matter
No disrespect to Greg, and I'm as excited about the Fins as I have been in years, but it's WAY too early to be talking playoffs.
i feel you but after the Texans its NE, Buf and Philly on back to back to back road games, you could make a case we have to win at least 2 of these games after the houston game, also Roethlisberger will only miss another game imo, and with Martavis Bryant back for them, they will be tough to beat from there on....its a tough spot we are in, that jacksonville loss is so huge right now....damn
the sad thing is, that won´t probably be enough, we need to go on a winning streak, something we haven´t done in years, our division and conference record sucks
The main reason I don't think we'll make it in as a wildcard this season is because it's going to take a lot to catch up to the Jets record and to beat them in NJ. I believe the Steelers will remain as a wildcard, especially once Big Ben returns. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Frankly, knowing how this team has performed over the many, many years, I expect we'll get to see a lot of exciting football, some impressive wins, only to miss the playoffs with an identical record to a team that gets in due to a tie breaker. Those three losses put us in a hole and based on history, the Phins wouldn't have it any other way. Sorry for the negativism, but that's just how I see it. The good news is the team should be very competitive from here out.
Can 1 week change playoff expectations? Yes it can, it shouldn't though. Campbell's reign could be for real or it could be a shot of adrenaline that wanes by his third game. We dunno yet. Enjoy the win and the current situation, I suspect we'll know more after the Pats game.
True. The Texans will be the first test, though. If we can beat them convincingly, it may be a sign of good things to come. Honestly if we beat both the Texans and the Ravens this year, that, to me, will be enough to sign Campbell long term.
It's too early for me to start getting my hopes up for playoffs, lets see if we can get a 2 game win streak first...against a team we've never beat in 7 tries, and they've been worse than they are now.
That's not what I'm saying. First of all, I said we'll know a little more, not we'll know anything definite. Secondly, I'm not basing anything off winning or losing to the Pats. They cheat, so losing to them tells me nothing. Its all about how we play. If we play well and don't looked overmatched, then I'll feel better about Campbell.
yep.. it would be a miracle turnaround and I don't expect that of him.. I do expect another win against a mediocre team this Sunday.. What I like about Campbell is that his attitude is always week to week... he keeps the players thinking about one opponent at a time... no one is looking ahead to New England which might be his first loss.
Agreed, but I have to keep reminding myself that if we went 2-2 instead of 1-3, then whats his name might still be around. So, that loss helped him get canned.
To me the key is the divisional games. They have to win at least 2 of the remaining 4 with 3 of them on the road.
Yeah but no one pays attention to me giving predictions. For the first time I was throwing numbers up and it almost worked. I was doing this with my girlfriend who saw a 35-21 victory. Neither one of us was right though...
The Colts have NOT been playing good ball this year...and they were 2 plays away from that game being a lot closer than anybody on the planet would have ever guessed. They kept Gronk a non-factor for a while, but he still got his in the end. They have vulnerabilities, like any team, the problem is matching our abilities up to their weaknesses and having sustained success, while covering their strengths...ya I know, you can say that about any team...but for going against them it's much more of a requirement than a luxury, at their house. Brady's been locking on to Edelman and their RB so fast on quick short passes, it isn't even funny...and Edelman is very good at YAC...Gronk's elite at it. And this year, in week 17, we won't have the smoldering heat/humidity to provide a big assist in beating down their D. These will be two VERY tough games.
