We've been trying to figure out what's goin on with our Phins for awhile now. After tonight, I think we have our answer. Was listening to Michael Irvin today, and he spoke of the importance of confidence, and how being succesful in football is almost impossible without it. A game of seconds and inchs, one hesitation is the difference between a ball floating over the outstretched hands of a DB and a tipped ball and an Int. Then you start to look at some things. Patterns. The almost insane number of dropped passes by our defensive backs. The regression of our offensive line. A young QB looking lost...and an NFL record in home away win loss differential. You listen to what Ricky Williams says in his radio show. Micromanaging the mouse crap. I think Sparano has focused so hard on not making mistakes, reducing negative plays, minute details over and over, don't throw the pick, dump the ball off, play for 3, Ricky had x amount of carries, so Ronnie needs this many....and on, and on, and on. He's killed the confidence of these guys...to the point where they aren't just "playing"...they are thinking. Henne hears the buzzer in his head. Sean Smith hears don't drop it in his. These are professional football players. They know about negative plays. You can't coach them like it's a baseball team. You can't count reps at the RB position, like a pitcher on a pitch count, and ignore who is just "hot" at that given moment. You can't stop a QB who is starting to get into a rythym, because you want to run a running play, and since the WC is just a 4 yd running play, and your pass run ratio is out of wack, you run the WC in insane situations. There are to many ebbs and flows of just pure raw emotion in football, to manage it like baseball. And that's what's going on. With some players, mostly vets, it works. Chad Pennington, no problem. He's not developing any more... You have got to let guys just go out there on Sunday...and PLAY. Don't think. Mistakes will happen, turn overs happen. Focus on the larger things...don't get caught up in the little. He's got this damn team repeating their times tables in their head... And in the end...all we get is one. One win at home. Sparano is made to be a coach. Maybe it's college ball. It's probably baseball. But it shouldnt be Miami Dolphins football.
