Thanks Phins...

thanks phins!

a few pieces here a few pieces there.. we'll be ready to kick some ***.

 

well said, pumped for the off-season

 

This really is a great illustration of the culture that Parcells/Ireland/Sparano are trying to instill into the organization. Get the right kind of players, with the right kind of attitudes and every game seems winnable regardless of circumstances. Thanks not only to the players for their effort, but also to the front office and coaching staff for bringing in the right players and creating a winning atmosphere.

 

gonna be even prouder next year

 

i understand the whole optimism thing, but let's call a spade a spade. The Fins "came out to play" is nonsense, no offense. Even the players themselves admitted in the beginning of the year, games started strong and ended slow. And then towards the end of the year, they started out slow and finished strong. Name me one game where they played hard for 60 minutes.

 

I echo all your comments. I never felt that we were out of a game and that they did not give it everything they had. My appreciation to the players and coaches cannot be simply stated. It was not the end that I hoped for, but next year, I feel we will be more than ready and I would not want to be the team that lines up against us.

 

If nothing else this season was entertaining to watch. We lost a lot of key positions, and still were in most games. Granted it wasn't consistent, but nonetheless we made almost all of our games close.

Get back those injured players and I think we're going to be a force next year. I think it's very apparent to all Miami fans, as well as NFL fans/staff/announcers that the Dolphins are definitely pointed in the right direction again, and will be one of those teams (barring any huge mishaps this offseason) that you are worried about seeing on your schedule.

 

I'd say yesterday's game for starters. But, I think they played hard in every game. Playing hard or with good effort does not equate to good results. There are so many other factors. For instance, the mental aspect plays a very large part, and can be worse at the start of the season versus the end of the season.

 

I am proud of this team also. Even though they had a rough schedule and time with injuries and ended poorly,I still see a bright future with this team. They have great personnel in charge that is leading them down the right path. With a little more work this offseason I expect them to compete next year and even win another division title. This is why I see this offseason as the most important to our future success.

 

I think you are incorrectly equating effort with success. In sports, hard work/effort does not always equal success. I would say given that just about every game this year was within 2 scores they played pretty damn hard.

 

we are on the right track that is for sure, we need to improve our defense and get some weapons for Henne.

 

I'm a big boy, I think I know the difference between success and effort. Anyone who watched the Fin's games KNOW the Fins half-assed all their games whether it be defense or offense, not necessarily both. Hell, even the players and coaches admitted that they have to find a way to play hard for the full 60 minutes yet the fans on this forum decide otherwise. I wonder who has more credibility? It starts to get ridiculous when I see something and even the players and coaches admit it too yet forum members completely act as if I'm delusional and they are all Hall of Fame analysts and everyone else is wrong, including the players themselves. Give me a break.....

 

only thing missing?..the right stadium.

 

The poster by the name of grt8 posed this great question? "When were we 1 and 15" ?, Iam gonna interpret that as, we dont have all the players, to get all the results we want......... but look at what we have done in 2 years

Found our Coach.. Got our franchise QB....Found our left tackle...found our corners...found a probowl D end.. got a stud pass rusher.....big strong diverse elite running backs....found a formation that is innovative and smart, found an identity...now.... its time to find our linebackers

There's a thread that I started in the main forum about what ronnie had to say about some of the things you speak of, you might be interested in that, I was, and it kinda gave me some peace and justification for being pissed.

 

"I told them that 7-9 is mediocre and that mediocrity is not really accepted here," Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said of his year-end message to the team. "It's just not. That group fought really hard, they kept themselves in a lot of football games. I'm proud of them for that."


The loses had nothing to do with lack of effort. Every major announcer and NFL Network people were always saying this team had no quit. It had more to do with these below:

After committing just 13 turnovers in 2008 and leading the league in turnover margin at plus-17, the Dolphins uncharacteristically became entirely too charitable. They lost the ball 29 times, including 14 interceptions by Henne, and they recovered just six fumbles all year. That led to a turnover margin of minus-8, which ranked near the bottom of the NFL.

Sparano likes to talk about "chunk yards" and the need for them on offense, but most games he probably felt like blowing chunks after watching his defense give up big play after big play. Opponents had a ridiculous 40 passing plays of 25 or more yards against the Dolphins, including 11 for touchdowns.

 

Way off base... How about that Buffalo game, we spanked them! How about the second Patriots game. Evidently you can't remember that Jets game in Orange? Won on the last play of the game... Jacksonville when we had 5 turnovers and still won!!

 

NJ, you wanna talk about chunk yards? just to take your point a step further..Its the most secret, chunk yards" thats never talked about.

The yardage and momentum involved, in NOT being able to recover the fumble's caused on the field...Thats serious chunk yards and momentum lossed... The ball not bouncing our way, or ,the fact that were just not quick or athletic enough, to get to the ball first, was simply crushing at times throught the year.

 

you do not know they are half assing it. You are taking plays not going right, etc as a sign they are only half assing it. You are also taking a statement as general as we need to play hard, to mean every player didn't play hard all season. that is beyond ridiculous.

 

What are you talking about dude. We lost like 5 bona-fide stars to IR, and half our other starters were oft injured. Sorry but, our back-ups are not good enough to carry the team to the superbowl. take a gander at what the Colts back-ups did against the Bills! They played hard. they just werent that good. everyone on the planet understands the immediate drop off of talent and skill between the starters and back-ups. what planet are you living on with such high expectations from such a mangled and injured team?

 

This is a predominantly young team that had a lot of inconsistencies this season but for the most part played their butts off
i'll give them plenty of credit for the effort with a few exceptions
It was an exciting season

definitely kudos out to the Dolphins for a hard fought season

 

Don't know about that 23rd. If I get any prouder of this franchise and team, I may explode.