Sparano: We're still in the race

I thought I would merge this together.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/...(Miami+Dolphins+/+South+Florida+Sun-Sentinel)

 

It's also possible I could still get discovered and become the next big action movie star.
But I ain't holding my breath.
I am glad our team isn't giving up, and I am rooting for them to win, but I think their chances are exceedingly slim at this point.

 

Well Big Red, we will know whether we even have a shot in 4 days, Christmas Night, the Titans play the Chargers, if the titans win, we are s-u-n-k.

All I want for Christmas is...:lol:

 

Well, we will know soon enough...:up:

So we need:

Chargers
Steelers
Pats v Jags...tossup, that could go either way, maybe better if the Jags lose though.
Colts

The way I understand it, "if" the Ravens, Titans, Jags lose, and we win, we move into the #6 slot?

So we either chat on Sunday night with at least a WC in our grasp, or we start looking at more mock drafts..:D

 

You know what is killing me Big Red?

Think about this, we head into Buffalo, if we win, we are the AFCE leaders, er..no...we lose...we head into Nashville, if we win, we are the 5th seed in the wildcard race..err...no.

I'ts like we have been handed these opportunities with a big bow ontop and we have butterfingers, it's killing me...:lol:

Never liked the Chargers, not after losing to them in 94, and I like this Jags team, they are scrappy, so I'm sort of past cheeing for a different team, I'll just wait to see how things play out.

 

Titans winning wouldn't sink us, unless we finish in a two way tie with them. The only true thing that would sink us this week is losing to the texans. If we win we're playing for a playoff spot week 17 no matter what.

 

Has no one ever learned that with the Dolphins, even with what we got, you cannot automatically assume a win? Regardless of opponent?

 

If you haven't already used this tool it's helpful in determining what could happen if things fall in place.

I think this could realistically happen.

Week 16
We beat Texans
Patriots beat Jags
Steelers beat Ravens
Eagles beat Broncos

If the above happens in week 16 then a win against Pittsburgh gets us in.

There are other scenarios, and depending on Denver winning out or losing there last 2 games also could change our chances but above is a very realistic scenario for next week. Feel free to check out the yahoo playoff generator, and change the results of the games to see all of the different scenarios.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/playoffscenario?algorithm=custom&15=50000041&16=55141515

 

some big rosy glasses you got there. We are not that close to being dominant at all IMO. And NO team is ever in position to not have needs going into a draft, no one.

Furthermore, why would the Texans be sweating us? When have we showed any ability to slow down big play offenses?

No way we make the playoffs.

 

Well, after the 0-3 start, the odds were long on making the playoffs to begin with, something like 3 teams in 20 yrs have started 0-3 and made the playoffs, so overall we are not in a terrible spot talent wise.

A part of me really wants to see Andrew Gardner play RT with Big Vern moving inside to guard.

 

No, the Broncos' and Ravens' chances are much better than ours.

 

At the moment, they have to win 1 game, we have to win 2, but if the Ravens lose in Pittsburgh or chances grow exponentially.

Part of the fun of the NFL.

3 days, Titans v Chargers kicks things off.

 

That Titans game is essentially meaningless, unless of course you believe that both the Ravens and Broncos will drop both of their remaining games. Considering that those teams play KC and Oakland respectively in Week 17, I find it hard to believe that scenario will play out.

Here's what we need to happen if we want a realistic shot at a playoff spot at the end of Week 17. There are other games that could impact Miami's playoff chances (like a Titans loss) but the outcomes of those games don't have a gigantic impact on our playoff quest like the following 3 games do:

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh - We need PIT in the worst way. A Baltimore win is a devestating blow to Miami's playoff chances. A Baltimore win here would assure the Ravens of holding the common games tiebreaker over Miami, regardless of what plays out on Week 17.

Jacksonville @ New England - We need a NE to win this game and lock up the AFC East. Similar to how that Titans loss will not really affect us in a tiebreaker situation because its unlikely only two teams will end up tied for the final WC spot, the head-to-head tiebreaker we hold over Jacksonville for that win a couple of weeks ago means very little to us. They hold a conference record tiebreaker over Miami, so we have to finish at least a game ahead of them to assure they don't spoil our playoff hopes. They have the Browns on Week 17.

Denver @ Philadelphia - An Eagles win would put us in a tie with Denver for the 6th and final WC spot. Assuming we defeat Pittsburgh and the Broncos defeat KC on Week 17, our conference and common opponent records would be equal, which means the tiebreaker would be based on each team's strength of victory.

There you have it. If Pittsburgh and New England win next weekend, Miami will control their own destiny heading into Week 17 against Pittsburgh. They would be in a "win-and-you're-in" scenario.

If Denver loses on Sunday, Miami (assuming they win out) would be in a tiebreak situation with Denver, which would be decided by the strength of victory tiebreaker, which at this point is close, but cannot be ultimately decided until the remainder of the season has played out. It would be close enough to make Dolphin nation collectively sweat. As crazy as it sounds, we might need to pull for the Jets this weekend, not only to preserve the record of the '72 team, but to improve our odds should the strength of victory tiebreak come into play.

Enjoy Week 16, its going to be crazy!

 

We don't need the Broncos to lose if the other dominoes fall right (Jags losing to NE and Baltimore losing to Pittsburgh).

 

there is still the outside chance that NE loses to both JAX and HOU .... so the JAX/NE is of most importance to either the DIV or WC.

IF PIT plays like it did on SUN, they have a good chance of beating BAL

PHI should beat DEN, period ... PHI needs that game, so does DEN of course - but i see PHI coming out on top.

but i don't want to have to rely on strength of schedule / victory against DEN ... its too fickle -

preferably, we get JAX and BAL to lose ... and the rest will take care of itself if we win.

 

Put a fork in us were done !

 

Yep pretty sure were done , it was a must to win all games

 

Where the **** did this non-stop pessimism come from? The generator is not wrong. Calculate it yourself.

We tie in common games with Baltimore and we win in strength of victory that's all there is to it.

 

So, what we need is a loss for NY, Jac, Houston, Tenn, Denver, and Baltimore correct? Assuming they all play teams that are better than them, Miami still has a pretty good shot if they take care of business.

 

Nah, the JESTS just don't matter .....

and as long as it isn't head to head - TEN doesn't matter either ... their AFC record is paltry ... HOU is in the same boat ....

it's really just DEN, BAL, JAX & MIA .... at 7 wins ....