They're on the road vs a tough, re-energized Seahawks team. Hopefully they get beat up enough to make things a bit easier for the Dolphins on Sunday.

 

LOL! Man, that's cruel. Anything for the win. I wonder what Tonya Harding is doing these days... ;-)

 

That's life in the NFL. On the other hand, the Vikings will be desperate for a win versus Miami if they lose to the Seahawks tonight. Of course, the Vikings should be desperate to win every remaining game if they have any hope of catching Da Bears for the division crown.

I think Miami needs to go 10-6 to get that last wildcard spot, but will be alive mathematically even with a loss to Minnesota (for at least another week).

 

I never like to evaluate coaches and players on one game, buuuuuuut my God doesn't it feel like Gase and Tannehill are at a crossroads in their careers in Miami. If they win, I feel like their momentum could snowball in the next two weeks, have a possible playoff run, and save their jobs.

If they lose, momentum fizzles, and we move from being in a prime position to make the playoffs to being on the outside. We probably finish 8-8ish. Gase and RT's futures becomes murkier. One or both could be done in Miami.

For the record, if my future was on the line, I would want to make Drake a much bigger part of the game plan. I still don't think they use him as much as they should.

 

Playing the Vikings is my Superbowl, I hate them more than I hate the Jets.

 

You think if we lose to the Vikings that we split with Buffalo and the Jags?

 

Honestly, I think all three are toss up games.I could see us going 3-0 as easily as 0-3.

 

Are you a Dolphins fan?

 

Why?

 

Because I live in Vikings country and have a long-standing rivalry with a lot of Vikings fans .

 

Understood. my neighbor is a Vikings fan, will be nice to kick his drunk *** on Sunday.

 

I understand. The reason I hate the Seahawks.
Bunch of fair weather fans who don't even know when to make noise.

 

I don't think Adam Gase would get fired if we finish the season 8-8. First season we made the play offs. Second season our record flipped due to our starting quarterback being out. And this season the team has gone through transition and shown flashes of what is to come if the front office gets behind Adam Gase and what he wants to build here. So I suspect Gase is going to be here for a while yet, after all how many seasons did Joe Philbin get here? He got a fourth season and fired after four games if memory serves. We never made the play offs and choked when it mattered. So if he can get a fourth season then I'd say Gase will get one even if we finish 8-8 because of that play off run and transition that the team has been going through.

As for Ryan Tannehill, unless he stinks up the joint for the rest of this season, he should get another year as well. He missed last year with injury and has had his struggles this season, but he has played to a high level these past three games. Ok the yardage output isn't amazing, but he's thrown 8 TDs to 1 INT, completed a high percentage of passes, and his QB rating has been above a hundred in all three games. He even started the season well in the first three games before his production fell off in weeks 4 and 5, but that could have been injury related. I think most on here agree that Ryan Tannehill isn't a top tier quarterback, but he has shown enough this season to warrant a chance to be our starting quarterback next season. Now that's not to say we shouldn't look long and hard at quarterbacks like Will Grier, Dwayne Haskins, or Drew Lock (etc). There are options if we pick in the middle of the first round, and even options on day two. So we could pick someone in the middle of the first round, or we could trade down and acquire more picks and still select a quarterback, or we could trade back into the first round for a quarterback, or just simply take someone on day two. The team has options and can be patient with any young quarterback because of Tannehill.

For me, both Gase and Tannehill will be here next season. I feel both deserve that extra season.

 

Against Minnesota, Burke better have our defense play smart, gap responsible run defense, especially up the middle, our weakness. We need Raekwon McMillan to play like a vet and not a rookie. Minnesota's offensive line is as bad as ours so I think whoever has a better defensive performance will win. Bet the under. This is going to be a slugfest. We need X Man back

 

Some injuries in the game tonight but none of them looked bad. Sheldon Richardson, Adam Theilen, and their starting RT all went down with ankle/leg/knee injuries.

 

This couldn't have gone any better. Minnesota looks crushed emotionally, meanwhile Miami is exuding momentum after the miracle win. That, combined with an extra day of preparation and the return of Xavien Howard... Miami wins convincingly.

 

If we had a better pass rush I would feel great about this game but I'm nervous. If we win, I'm sure we beat the jags. Unfortunately, due to how the last game ended, buffalo is going to make us their super bowl. The jets would have folded but we're going to be in a street brawl lol

 

Yeah, not the Dolphin way. Watching Cousins and the Viking offense with a severe lack of energy makes me feel better about Miami being able to beat them on the road, but I expect more of a winning FG scenario, not a 14+ pt domination.

 

I would have agreed with you last week- but I'd be SHOCKED if we lose after playing that good against NE. If they bring that same fight, we'll win convincingly and I think that carries us the rest of the way.

Strangely enough, this is starting to feel like a "repeat" of the 2016 season. We fired two linemen, the team got a spark and off to the races we went. I think we somehow win all three and stay in the playoff conversation right up until the very end.

Here's something else to think about though- we're 2 games behind the Pats and they're traveling to Pittsburgh this week....one of the other few places where they struggle. If we win and the Pats lose, we're just one game back. And the Pats two final games are NY and Buffalo...you'd expect them to win both convincingly. But those two teams are still playing for something and just like us last Sunday, that's going to be their Super Bowl games. If either of them beats NE and we both finish 10-6.....guess who takes the division? The team that's 5-1 in the conference....the Miami Dolphins!

LOL, I'm not saying we'll win the division...I think I saw odds of 2.4%. But if NE loses to Pitt then I'll definitely watch the Pats play the Bills and Jets with enthusiasm! And of course, we need to handle business as well.

 

To be honest, I think we crush the Vikings, lose a close on to the Jag, and then everything is going right and we lose to the Bills.

Or we crush the Vikings and the Jags and get blown out by the Bills.

Whichever one will crush my soul the most.

 

I indeed hope so, but the Dolphins need to forget the miracle win and get FOCUSED on Minnesota. Sure, feel good and carry on the never quit, never say die mindset, but the game against the Patriots is DONE. Time to get back to work.

I worry about Minnesota. I really do. We are 3-3 lifetime against the Vikings in Minnesota and we are winless against the Vikings lifetime in Minnesota in the month of December...and they're coming off a 2 game losing streak against the Seahawks and the Patriots. Beat up yes, but battle hardened against perennial playoff teams.

This is a VERY dangerous game for the Dolphins!

 

Was about to say this... feels like we're about to go on a run just like the 2016 season. The turning point that season was that Steelers game where we ran for over 200 yards with Ajayi much like Sunday where we ran all over the Pats.

I think Gase is going to make the running game the focal point of the offense and that's when we play our best, IMO.

Vikings are going to be a very tough game, though, that's for sure.

 

Ive seen this movie so many times its getting tough to swallow, im so nervous for Sundays game, for some reason we have an epic win then all of a sudden next game with confidence we get blown out the water. I surely hope this does not happen again. Minn got screwed last night but didn't look like a very good team they gave up 200 yards on the ground so my expectation is gase should pound gore again and again i think Miami's running game is way better than Seattle's. Seattle just has a tendency to run the ball alot more than most teams. they ran the ball 42 times last night. I would expect gorilla to get somewhere around 20 touches and drake around 10-15, and please tell RT that number 22 smith is no joke on Minnesota and try not to leave our receivers in his path.

 

when we run RT succeeds, RPO and play actions onnly work when you can run the ball. If we cant run RT will struggle.

 

Wait...wut?

How?

Why?

 

If the offense can play the same I agree.

The defense MUST get better.

 

That's not true. In fact, cbrad or one of the other stat guys here has shown that play action is only affected by the threat of running, not by the actual yards gained.

 

isn't that a catch 22? if you cant run the ball then there is no threat to run it. Did you not see what the bears did to the rams, not 1 play action worked since they stopped Gurley in his tracks Gurley had somerthin like 30 yards all game a guy who has 19 tds and leads the nfl and the team that puts up the highest if not one of the top 3 teams in points in the league was held to no touchdowns. is that just a coincidence? I don't think so. most teams who run play actions and RPO if 1 of the legs on the tri pod fails usually the team does. Prime example is the saints the past 2 weeks the buccs for 3 qrts took away kamara and the play action and Dallas stifled kamara and the play action and beat the hottest team in the league at that point.

 

I do wonder if we gain or lose momentum from that crazy finish. It seems logical that such a play would leave you kind of on a high and ready to run through a wall, but the reality often seems the opposite. We only need look at our opponent Minnesota here who came off their own Miracle play against the Saints in the playoffs last year looking super flat and worn out and were handled relatively easily. I suppose it's due to having to come down off the emotional high at some point and that often leading to a cratering I suppose?

That said, I think many of the intangibles are setting up for us. Vikings are dragging and about as beat up as we are. They have the short week. They are coming off a loss where they got dominated. Their playoff hopes are sagging. On the other hand, they are still in the lead for the NFC 6th seed, and they will be at home desperate to come out and win.

Definitely doesn't look to be the "near sure" L that most would have predicted at the start of the season, it's a very winnable game.

 

Here is the thing. As Matthew McConaughey said throughout the NFL season in his Lincoln commercials all of last season, "Sometimes in order to go forward, you gotta go back." I really think that at going into next season, we need to gut the defensive end position and start from scratch. Get these bloated contracts off the books and bring in a younger squad. Will there be growing pains? Probably so. Could the beginning of the year be ugly? Yeah. I also think that we gotta add depth at linebacker. Also, I think that we really need to invest draft capital in retooling the offensive line. I personally think that a youth movement is in order at this position as well. Investing early draft picks and really fortifying this unit would be a sage investment. Here is the thing with my critique. We have more problems than picks. Undoubtedly, we can address some of this in free agency. I do think we need to be wiser in free agency. We have to stop being aging veterans final big payday. We need to get younger guys that can grow with a franchise instead of aging guys that regress. Youth and different roles/teammates are a path for regression, at least early on.

If the skill positions of the offense is clicking, it is possible that they could help us ride through these choppy waters.

But here is the thing, if they can't, you might be looking at a Todd Bowles situation in New York. He, like Gase, has been iffy over the course of his tenure. The more aggressive rebuild, which in fairness the Jets really need, has at least temporarily caused them to go in reverse. Bowles, like Gase, probably does not have the cachet to hold his job beyond this year. Unfortunately, for both Bowles and the Jets, they both probably should have realized that this was coming at the end of last year. And in all honesty, it would have been in the best interests of both parties if they had fired Bowles at the end of last year. Getting rid of Bowles after a mediocre performance of an aging team would've probably put him on the shortlist of many teams.

This is why I think that Gase is at a crossroads. If you think that Gase and Tannehill are good enough to weather the storm of a purge of aging talent and an influx of younger, more inexperienced talent, it makes sense to keep him.

But if you think that the offense simply is not that good, and the job is too massive for Gase to withstand, it would be best to part ways with him now. Going back to the Jets analogy. Todd Bowles is now responsible for the selection of talent for "the next guy." What the next guy needs/wants may be very different from what Bowles wants and values.

The next three weeks should speak volumes to where we are as a team. If we can't look impressive on offense vs. the Bills and the Jags with the playoffs on the line, we probably don't have what we need. If we look and play respectably against these two teams especially, I, a harsh critic of Gase, could be swayed to allow the experiment to continue - with some strings attached.

 

If Russell Wilson is a hall of famer, Ryan Tannehill will be Dan f****** Marino on Sunday...

 

My issue is mainly the defense. Without Howard we really have very little hope of stopping anyone. At the start of the year I felt good about the defense but I cant really say that now as it doesnt seem to matter who we are playing.

As hungry as the offense looked it still scares me the defensive side from the gameplan down looks lost this far into the season.

 

Yeah, Howard definitely changes everything for this D....hoping and praying that we get him back this week. Maybe we can somehow squeak by without him, but it would be a lot better not having to win 3 shootouts in a row. My real concern is having him healthy by week 17 though n case the playoffs are still on the table- I think we can actually beat a few people if the dice roll the right way.

 

Vikings just canned their offensive coordinator

 

Well that's always good news- why not add that to a short week with the Dolphins coming to town?