Ten weeks ago, I posted here that the 1-4 Dolphins were about to go on a 6-game win streak, lose to Baltimore, and then finish the season winning 4 of the last 5. I was wrong- we beat Buffalo and we actually have a chance of finishing one game better than I expected.

Now, you may think that I’m bringing this up just to brag (which I am), but the bigger point is that I’d love for you to see what I saw 10 weeks ago in a team that couldn’t block anyone. Because once you can see what I see, I think you’ll get pretty darn excited about our chances in the playoffs. And like all good playoff stories, this one starts and ends in New England.

Folks, when we saw Ryan Tannehill go off the rails in New England in week 2, it was one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever seen as a Dolphins fan. The defense was absolutely dominant in every sense of the word. Our receivers were putting on an absolute clinic on how to torch a zone D. Belichek looked down-right sick to his stomach on the sidelines and we were destined to win that football game.

Because even though we lost, I saw in that very moment a shift in the AFC East- we were a contender.

Now, I know we lost the game and then line injuries cost us two of the next three…and if we’re being honest here we definitely did not beat Cleveland either. But the potential I saw was still there as plain as day- we lost to New England and Seattle because we were a young team with growing pains- even though we were definitely the better team in both of those contests.

Landry and Stills dropped critical passes. Our corners gave up huge plays with blown coverage. We did so much wrong, yet we still looked like the better team in those contests. That’s why I predicted that we would win 9 of the next 11 games once they announced that we were getting our starting line back.

I’ve seen a lot of folks share their opinion of which match-ups would be more favorable in the playoffs, but I think that some of you are looking at this a little backwards. Who is looking forward to drawing Miami in the playoffs? Definitely not Pittsburg or New England. They’re seen what this squad can do when it gets hot.

I honestly believe that we have the best WR corp. in the league- and we still haven’t seen Parker’s best. I also believe that we will be the top run team in the playoffs as well. Then there’s our hit or miss defense that is tied for 5th in takeaways and 1st in stopping 3rd down conversions. Folks, we are outright terrifying on paper and we haven’t even talked about special teams or our quarterbacks yet.

I personally believe that we’d be better under Tannehill in the playoffs if (1) he’s healthy and (2) he’s not risking his career by coming back too soon. The ACL never fully heals on its own so I’m hoping that we’re smart about exposing Tannehill. If he does take the field though, I think we are in store to see our best offensive output of 2016. If anything, I think riding the bench and seeing how Moore processes things has only helped him.

But then again, what Matt Moore has done so far is PHEMONOMAL! Coming off the bench after 5 years and putting up a 110 QBR across three games? That’s the stuff of fairytales folks…it just doesn’t happen. You have to go all the way back to Earl Morrall to find a backup QB who went undefeated in December in the NFL- and I think you folks remember how that story ended. Perfectville population one.

I know that we have some glaring holes as well- we can’t stop the run. We can’t seem to cover tight ends. We are paper-thin in terms of backups. I hear you on all of that. So I want you to hear me as well- this team consistently finds amazing ways to win football games.

Ponder this for a moment-

- We’ve won with special teams scoring in the 4th quarter

- We’ve won with the defense scoring in the 4th quarter

- We’ve won with our kicker making career-long field goals

- We’ve won by pounding the run down the stretch

- We’ve won with Moore passing on the final drive

- We’ve won with Tannehill passing on the final drive

- We’ve won stopping opponents in the red zone

Do you know how many teams have won a game this season doing each of those things? It’s just us folks- not a single other team has pulled out victories the way we have. That’s because we’re playing like the most complete team in the league right now and NOBODY wants to draw us in the playoffs. The 2016 Miami Dolphins are freaking terrifying to game-plan against!

So know this folks- we will not be favored in a single contest the rest of the season. We will probably have the worst overall odds for making the Super Bowl. Yet there’s not a team out there that wants to try their luck against Miami right now.

I’ll leave you with this- of the past 20+ Super Bowl winners, each team was elite in at least one category- rushing, passing, rush D, pass D. I could make a pretty solid argument that the Dolphins could be elite in three of those four categories…our stats just don’t show it because we’ve had such a weird season with injuries. The perfect storm is brewing though and I think sometime very soon, you’re going to see Parker, Stills, Landry, Ajayi and Moore/Tannehill all play a complete game.

And once that happens folks, there’s just no going back to the lethargic offense we’ve grown accustomed to. Some of you are talking about one and done….while I’m talking about 40 point blowout here.

Nonetheless, the 2016 Miami Dolphins know how to close out football games and that’s because it’s a squad filled with winners from the top down. We’ve wanted it more than our opponents in 9 of the past 10 games and I just don’t see anyone that’s going to convince us otherwise. These are your 2016 Miami Dolphins folks…and we are making a trip to the Super Bowl.

So get ready to board the J-train because it’s pulling out of the station with or without you!

 

I think you missed the point there entirely....

 

You're right. But watch ANY starting quarterback...one who had mini camp, preseason and 16 weeks worth of practice...and you'll see them make some bad tosses. Once you put what Moore did in perspective with two weeks of practice, he had a pretty solid game. And the week before against the Jets? Absolutely legendary- he did the impossible, limp arm and all.

I think we all know what Moore is and what he isn't here, which in a way makes it all the more sweet that he's 3-0 in December. There's three QB's in that category this season- Big Ben, Brady, and Moore. It's impressive- that's all I was trying to say.