Classic case of half emtpy...half full right? Some will see it one way...some another

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defense = good, offense = bad

 

It's a bad thing unfortunately. This entire season is one giant missed opportunity after another. If we could just capitalize when we should have, we wouldn't be in close games nor would we be in such critical position for th playoff race

 

Not that simple, the defense has **** the bed just as much as the offense.

Coaching shows up in close games, where every decision is key and a bad one can cost you football games.

Tank, blow it up.

 

Good because they're almost at the point where one more TD per game would make them winners. But they need more than experience. They need a whole new offensive line, except for Pouncey. They need a power back who actually has power. They need a tight end. And they need a field goal kicker.

 

I'm not giving up on Sturgis either, I still think the groin injury he had during pre-season is back bothering him and that's why he's struggling. Hopefully a post-season op (if required) and some rest will see him back to the kicker we had early in the season.

 

The Dolphins have been playing most teams tough for the past several years. While the offense has struggled to score points, especially in the second half of games over the past few years, it has been the defense which has kept these games close. Unfortunately it appears that the defense isn't getting better and with the possible loss of Soliai, Starks, Grimes, and Clemons in free agency after this season, I don't see the defense being any better next year.

The reality is that the defense this year isn't as good as the defense last year, even with these players on the roster. My fear is that the offense may get better over the next few years but the defense will continue to decline and the Dolphins will continue to play close games. Only to continue to lose them in the fourth quarter because the defense isn't good enough to stop opposing offenses from scoring.

 

The groin injury doesn't seem to bother him on kick offs, because he is still kicking them through the endzone on a consistent basis. The fact is that he has missed kicks he should have made and that the majority of the kickers in the NFL make. He has had a very average season as the Dolphins kicker and he needs to improve if he wants to remain in the NFL. It is as simple as that.

 

It's simply not enough and basically the same story ever since Parcells arrived. We don't have a dominating factor in any side of the ball, there's nothing we can rely on to close out games. Defense is good, but not top 5, offense is below average.

 

I don't get the blow it up thing.

Mediocre teams can be turned into contenders without blowing them up. I think "blowing it up" has been the problem since Wannidiot. With him, we were to complacent and since then we've been too reactionary.

 

I think our defense is really good and only stands to get better(If we do sign these guys that are up for free agency). I was a big fan of Lamar Miller before the season starts, but starting to have my doubts. He really can't break a tackle.

 

Forget about the past 11 games...the next 5 will define this team one way or another

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Exactly. Blowing it up is the typical fan over-reaction, but it rarely has positive results. Usually teams that make the jump do so when they finally add a key element or two on top of a bedrock of consistency that gets them over the hump. Look at Carolina, who by all accounts is doing well this year. A year ago they 7-9. They had a second year QB and a second year HC. People were calling Newton an immature jerk. Fans there wanted Rivera fired. They actually fired the GM (although obviously most of their success this year is due to the maturation of players that GM brought in). Basically very similar to Miami this year.

 

It's no different than last year or Sparano's last year. You're either middle of the pack 7-9 to 9-7 or a bit above par 10-6 or better. We're not above par because of our OL period

 

It's the o line but this is a really young team all around so they have trouble closing games

 

this take is factored in at 8 and 8 or 9 and 7..

 

It means that we can compete with anyone and if the breaks fall our way can beat just about anyone. Unfortunately, I think poor coaching decisions and some stupid plays by the players have cost us several of those games. Missed FGs played a role too.

 

The defense has not been good. It's been average at best and a huge disappointment. All of that talk about a top 5 or 10 unit looks ridiculous now. The offense just flat sucks

 

I cannot forget a loss at home to the bills with a third string Qb..he's going to have to prove to me that the team is improving as the last part of the season is upon us..

He's got to show us that this is an ascending team..

 

the bark has not matched the bite...5 games can change everything though.

 

Think about it this way.

In 2007, the Dolphins lost 6 games by 3 points and had 7 total where the scoring margin was 6 points or less. The one game where the margin was 6 points, the Dolphins actually won that game against Baltimore 22-16 and got Brian Billick fired.

 

I hope its like what the panther's fan said on the board earlier this week. The last couple of years they were losing all of the close games, but all of a sudden they started winning the close ones. Hopefully that will hold true for us.

 

If you want to be a playoff team you have to be able to BEAT opponents, not just constantly hope to outlast them or to scrape ahead of them just in time for the final buzzer.

I think you have to be able to show that as a team you can do both things. You have to show that you can go out there and beat an opponent. But you also have to show that you can come through in tight games.

The Seahawks are a good example there and that's why I consider them the favorite to win the Super Bowl. They've gone out there and flat out beat their opponent 5times. But then they've also had 6 games come down to the very end and they've come out on top in 5 of those.

Any team can get kind of hot toward the end and then win the whole thing. I think the Steelers might be a good candidate for that as they've really been a good football team after their bye week, coming out with a 5-2 record and really solidly beating their opponent 4 times during that run. The Patriots are another good candidate for that. The NFC has a couple of teams I think could get a run started toward the and including the Panthers, 49ers and believe it or not the Eagles.

 

the team just needs to learn how to finish and not let their foot off the gas pedal.

 

I guess the inherent question is this. How much effect does coaching have when the games are close?

For instance, as I said, Miami lost 6 of their 15 game sin 2007 by 3 points. Now, that team didn't have much talent, but that was also a horribly coached football team. Cam Cameron showed early on that he was in way over his head and lost the team early in the year.

I think this team has more talent than that team, but we continue to come up short in these games. Only this year, we are 4-4 in these games. Is the difference bewteen 0-6 and 4-4 the talent level, and due to the fact that we are more talented today than we were in 2007, does that account for the fact that the team is .500 in these games instead of .000?

 

Miami isn't going to the playoffs not with Mike Sherman as offensive Coordinator . our tightend s are not good enough I don't know why some people are so high on them but they just don't have the wow factor or we would be wining more games and scoring more points.

 

I think fans had unrealistic expectations when it came to Dustin Keller. The guy wasn't that good in the first place, but someone he is this great big loss. Keller was never a great down the middle or seam receiver. He was always more of an outlet guy with the Jets. His metrics had him at the bottom of the tight end position in most categories. Jared Cook was a much better player.

 

He should have.

 

I think Keller would of out produced cook in this offense..

Cook has 37 catches..4tds and a little over 500 yards.

 

Honestly, I do not feel Keller would have outproduced Clay, much less Cook.

 

Well, we'll never know on that one, so it's pointless..I liked the way Keller was moving in the preseason, he made himself available very quickly in his routes..

 

That is how today's NFL is. Games are tighter, but the good teams find ways to win. Patriots also have 9 games decided by 4 or less, including the past five.

 

I couldn't agree more. I really think we are just one season away from the continuity that we need to take the next step and start winning the majority of these close games instead of half of them.
If others got their way, we would have a new GM and that new GM wouldn't want "a house with someone else's furniture". That new GM would want to hire his own coach, that new coach would want new coordinators, then the continuity goes out the window.
Lets just keep things the way they are so we can have a chance of going from mediocre to good to better than elite.