Since 1977, when the 16 game season was first introduced, the 1996 Houston Oilers were the only team to have a 2-6 home record vs a 6-2 road record. More on them and what made that season even more interesting at the conclusion of this post. Your Miami Dolphins are about to break that "record" for road vs home record disparity, regardless of what happens in New England. They'll either have a 1-7 home record vs a 6-2 road record or a 1-7 home record vs a 7-1 road record.
Possible reasons for the oddity have ranged from global warming to South Beach distractions but I personally believe it has to do with how the season started at home. With prime time losses to their two biggest rivals, the fans may have stopped believing in the team and the coaches played off that supposed belief. We saw it in Sparano's post game locker room speech after the Dolphins upset the Packers in Green Bay. He said, paraphrasing, we're the only ones that believe in us... we take care of us... nobody else. And I do think it snowballed off that. That when the Dolphins returned home to play against teams they should have beaten, the home crowd wasn't as much of an affect as in years passed. Losses to these teams only made things worse.
Oh and the previous record holder of this road warrior / home aloner, the 1996 Houston Oilers... that was their FINAL season in Houston before they moved to Tennessee. Talk about a lame duck season. Averaging less than 20,000 fans per home game because it was previously announced PRIOR to the start of the season that the team would be leaving. The 2010 Miami Dolphins had no such announcement.
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And Fisher had that team in the SB what..2 yrs later?
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3 years.
1999. -
Interesting thing, after that season, the Titans went 8-8 in 97 and 98, in 99 they went 13-3 and made the SB.
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Do the Dolphin's players all stay at a hotel on Saturday nights when they play at home? I am not sure all teams do this, but you have to wonder what their mindset is at home and how they seem to come out flat at home. There seems to be little enthusiasm for guys playing at home. I remember how pumped up the players were when they played at the Orange Bowl and it is just not like that now.
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Did Fisher start out as an interim coach? Seems like it according to pro football reference. What a coincidence that it was also his third year as a head coach.
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8-8 in 96, they went 8-8 for 3 seasons under Fisher, so 7-9, 8-8, 8-8, 8-8, 13-3..mediocrity!!!!!!
In 94 they went 2-14 under Jack Pardee, he was fired and Fisher stepped in. -
Yeah. It is worth noting that patience has paid off for a lot of franchises. But it also doesn't mean that Sparano can duplicate that kind of success given time. I go back and forth on my thoughts with keeping/firing Sparano. I've decided that I'll be behind whatever Ross decides as long as Dan Henning isn't involved.
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A case can be made either way, I'm sort of in the same boat as you though, dump Henning, ride out Sparano's contract, see what happens with the labor problems then see what Sparano has when he KNOWS he does not have time to play Yoda and coach up young players on offense.
Hard to see Ross making a move when there may be no Training Camp or Mini Camp or what have you, 28 days is barely long enough to install a new offense, let alone an entire new staff.