And not just one serving, but 2 heaping servings of crow. First, the appetizer. Ryan Tannehill - Yep, I whiffed on this kid big time. I really didn't think he'd amount to much. I didn't like his decision making ability in college at all. Thought he made way too many poor decision and throws. Also thought the game would be to fast for him in the NFL. Having the familiarity of Sherman and the offense has helped Tannehill a great deal, but that's not the only reason he is having success. He is smart, athletic, confident and can make all the throws. He still needs to cut down on the INT's and needs to finish drives better, but overall Tannehill has been very, very good. Now the main course. The Miami Dolphins as a whole - No way in hell did I believe they could be 3-3 at this point. And the reality is, if we had a decent kicker we'd be 5-1. I thought the Dolphins would win 5, maybe 6 games. 7 if things fell perfectly. Now, 8-8 or 9-7 are very realistic and 10-6 isn't out of the question. I thought we'd generate zero offense from our WR corps. ( The position is still a major concern, Hartline's 253 yard performance notwithstanding.) I thought Tannehill would struggle alot in the first half of the season and the offense would struggle to score points. I also thought the secondary would get torched relentlessly (Good passing teams may still beat up on us through the air). But the run defense is menacing and the pass rush is slowly starting to get going. We have our QB. We have our HC. Still not convinced Ireland is a good GM, but I am no longer in the Fireland Camp. I'm very much on the fence. I have no doubt he is a good talent evaluator, still not sure he's a good "team builder." Still have holes at key positions and lack depth pretty much everywhere. But I do feel much better about our beloved Dolphins now than I did on Sept. 1. There is still a long way to go to be a Super Bowl Contender, but I think we're headed in the right direction. Never thought being wrong could feel this good.
This is why you never base things off preseason games and projections. You have to let the season play out.
I'll take a serving of that, with BBQ sauce. Didn't think Tanne would amount to much this season. OTOH I always felt we had good talent at the other positions, wr excluded, and were a 7-9 win team. Seems like the Fireland camp has shrunk considerably, props for manning up on it. Most of the others have snuck out the back door.
This is why it cracks me when pessimistic people (not pointing at you, PSG, I've never seen you do this) say that they aren't being pessimistic but realistic. I highly doubt those people would have said 3-3 after the BYE week is realistic. Hell if the chips were completely in our favor we would be 5-1 but tied for 1st place in the AFC East with plenty of division games remaining? I cannot complain one bit about that especially with the fact that it looks like we have our franchise quarterback finally.
While I think your pendulum might have swung too far in the other direction, it's nice you're posting it. Most of your peers aren't going to do this.
As fans we really need to stop with the "could have been 5-1" stuff. We lost the turnover battle, we lost the games. Coulda, shoulda, woulda doesn't get anybody anywhere. Yes, I'm also surprised our Dolphins are 3-3. They've put themselves in a good position, our coach looks like he's the right man for the job, and the rookie QB looks good too. But as a fat disgusting fupa having man once said, "Let's put the annointing oil away for now." This is a .500 team at the moment so nobody should be gloating or claiming the pessimists or optimists were wrong or right at this point. Kinda looks like a draw from where I'm sitting. Let's also remember as fans we had these same feelings for Sparano and Henne at different points in their careers. Things can go south in a hurry in this league. This isn't to piss on anybody's parade, it's just to simmer down the "told you so" and crow eating a bit. FWIW, we all hope the optimists end up being right. I don't think there's a fan on this board that hopes for failure for the Miami Dolphins on Sundays. At least not since "Suck for Luck"...
No we don't. Being a fan of a football team never gets anyone anywhere. None of the fans play or work for Miami.
This is what happens when people buy into fans protesting on a sidewalk. At least we now know that Tannehill can make us competitive in his rookie season. His progress and development are more important than fans being pessimistic about the pick. We can move forward from here now that we all understand what we have.
Fine you keep right on saying it. The record won't change. Actually most fans derive a lot of pleasure from watching / cheering for their sports teams. I'm sorry it's such a non-meaningful experience for you. Really? Thanks for letting me know, I was going to get up early and head to Miami tomorrow to report for duty.
How is it a draw at this point? That's like proclaiming optimists were suggesting 6-0 while pessimists were suggesting 0-6. Personally I think we fans can discuss whatever we want... it's not like we're jinxing the team or anything. We're not the ones who need to stay on course, it's the players that do.
No the record won't change. And the record won't be any different if fans say anything. Fans also get pleasure from saying the team could be 5-1. Well you needed to be reminded because your post like you forgot it.
Spare me the "fans aren't allowed to say 'we'" crap. Do you make smarmy remarks to every poster on this forum that says "we", "us", or "our"? Without fans, the game doesn't exist. We all know full well we don't play or work for the team in any capacity. But that doesn't mean we aren't an important part of the game.
Very true, let the season play out and in Ryan Tannehill's case, let a few years play out. He hasnt done anything we didnt see at a&m.
It is almost like you didn't read what I said. I was on the side of "fans are allowed to say anything"
Big man to eat crow, well done. I predicted 7-9 to 8-8, supported Ireland, Philbin and Ireland, so I can stand tall. I supported taking Pouncey that high in the first round. I supported trying Vontae. I can sleep happy and content for the first time in awhile.
The only person telling fans what they can and can't say was you when you said: Also, it is not a draw. The ridiculousness of the offseason was so strong that people branded optimists and kool aid drinkers were only predicting 8-8 and not a huge winning record. You guys were predicting gloom, so 3-3 is not a draw. Not even close.
I for one think we take random posters opinions way too seriously maybe because of a certain color name or a certain number of posts. In the grand scheme of things...so?
So you think fans can say anything, but then take some shots saying I'm talking like I work or play for the team. Because I used the term "we"? But yeah, your whole argument doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I think you were just trying to cram in as many snarky comments as you could into one post and kind of contradicted yourself.
Fans are going to say whatever they want. I just think it sounds ridiculous as all. I knew me bringing it up wouldn't change anything. And don't lump me in with any specific crowds. You know damn well I was all for drafting Tannehill. I'm an anti-Ireland guy, but I've never made strong comments one way or the other on what I thought the record would be. I think I made a thread well before the draft saying this season could be another turnaround year similar to 2008. I've also said it wouldn't surprise me if Miami only won 3 games all season. There was so much uncertainty surrounding a new coach and rookie QB it was hard to say.
I'm an admitted homer, mainly because I'm so passionate and to me believing is what being a fan is all about, but at the same time I'm not blind. Yet, I knew this team would be much better than most people said they would since training camp (Fin D did as well). The only Wild Card for me was the rookie QB. I was always high on Tannehill but didn't know what to expect his rookie year, and he's been outstanding. Last year we lost so many games that we flat out let get away from us at the end. In fact, every single game we lost last season with the exception of one (Houston, shocker) we had a lead in. My point is that, even though it was a running joke about not having any talent, it was simply not true and a pretty big exaggeration. This team always had talent and now with more experience and better coaching, we are finishing games and shutting some people up. I don't know where the rest of this season will take us, as we are still a young team, but we can certainly make a run and the future is definitely bright. And that's not to say we don't have holes because we certainly do, but we're on our way. Hopefully we continue on this road because I love where it's going.
I've seen a few studies that concluded that "optimists" are in actuality the "realists" compared to the "pessimists". One of the studies I recall, had people look at information on a given topic and make a prediction as to what would happen. The information was a mix of positive and negative. The optimists were far more likely to consider both sides in making their prediction while the pessimists were far more likely to only consider or give any weight to the negative information. Another similar study also that the optimist's predictions in such cases tended to be closer to reality. Like the optimists and "kool-aid" drinkers here, the 8-8 and predictions really weren't all rainbows and unicorns as pessimists may claim. They were actually realistic assessments that that considered all facts, not just the negatives.
The media is the root of evil in this situation, we are constantly trying to protect the culture against folks who form their opinions from the national perspective, sometimes making us look optimistic when in reality, were debating complete ignorance.
I'll gladly have a serving of that crow (tastes like chicken?), I didn't expect more than 8 wins but felt Tannehill would mature and be ready to kick some behind NEXT season, IF we get the guy some WR's. Mmm, tasty indeed, another serving please . . . Never got off the fence i=on Ireland, still feel the guy could emerge from Parcells' shadow to be a very good GM for us. We have our franchise QB (IMVHO), we have the right HC/OC/DC to take this team where we want to it to go. Another solid draft and/or FA to get us an Alpha WR or even two, a TE that catches the ball and is a constant threat busting seams down the middle, and I think we'll be on our way.
Lol the realistic people have been right what 9 of the last 10 years.Chad henne or tony sparno anyone!So please don't flatter yourself. I am very thankful to be wrong about this team I thought we had 4 or 5 wins at best and a top 5 pick for next year.Never dreamed they would acually have a shot at the AFC east. Tannehill in my mind is going to be a stud for the next 10 years or more and very impressed with the coaching at this point.I feel we will be the dominant team in the AFCeast in the coming years. How is that for realism!!!!!!!!!
Most of us were 'wrong' in the sense that we didn't see Tanny progressing as quickly as he has and that we all were somewhat in doubt about what Philbin and his staff would bring given there was nothing to go on from him. That has all changed. As in Sparano's first year with a QB, the overall talent on this team suddenly doesn't look as bad a 3rd string high schoolers... Most of us did not feel this optimistic about Henne after his 6th game. That was because Henne spent the first year behind Penny and we expected he'd have been further along, although I recall feeling that he still could amount to something at that time, even tho he hadn't performed at a level I thought he should...I was wrong about Henne. Being wrong about Henne, I'm also a bit cautious about how I feel about Tanny. But I'm getting turned more and more every game... The aqua glasses I normally wear want to see Tanny = Marino. However, the realist in me knows that Marino's only come around once in a while. I can tell you that I knew what Marino was capable of after his first 6 games. As to Tanny, I think maybe I know but I'm not totally convinced and he still has a ways to go... As for Ireland, while my feelings about him have been somewhat justified given the teams relative success with better coaching, he has a huge offseason coming his way. If he can turn the available cap space and the extra picks into the players this team needs to succeed, he'll probably have most everyone turned back in his favor. However my fear is that, if he has one miss in the top 5 picks, he'll be back to watching the banner fly over the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie... It won't be from me, but most of the non-Irish fans don't seem to be able to change their minds for any reason. The thing that adds to my like of what he's doing now for this team is that they are doing it despite several holes and a general lack of skilled player elite talent, which quite frankly the old regime didn't feel they needed. I think Philbin and his staff know exactly what they want and believe Ireland can get them the guys they need. That's all the convincing I need of Ireland... The optimists views come from the success of this season, and the potential success. The pessimist views come from the 10-12 yrs of crap this team has given us since Shula left and Marino retired. The realist views are really from the pessimist group that doesn't want to be burned yet again by this team...
That to me is the root of all of it and why I think people were down on this team. But it also makes no sense to me to hold this year's team responsible for past failures.
I agree with that. But I'm not so sure it's that people hold this year's team responsible for past failures, it's more about how the fanbase has grown to expect, at best mediocrity and at worst absolute dog sh*t.
That was the point I was trying to make, PSG...it's what we've come to expect that drives us too often...
And it's hard sometimes to be able to step away from the proverbial ledge, to take the leap of fate that this year will be different. It's sad that this once proud franchise has been slowly torn down and is now the "wait until next year" type franchise.
Which is really just another way to hold this team responsible for past failures of other teams. Think about it, they were being punished with negative hype and press for failures of past teams. I just think when the team has a new HC and staff and a new QB, the "expectations clock" should get reset.
I am sure if I went back and compared the levels of optimism and pessimism, the results would be similar as a whole. Optimism and pessimism aren't black and white, but shades of gray. One can be more optimistic than me yet I still am optimistic. Hell I felt 7 to 8 wins for us originally and I think we can do better than that now.
I don't think you followed him man, lol. He was saying we could say that we're could be 5-1 b/c it's not like we play or work for the team and would need to sorry about becoming overconfident and be a detriment to the team's success. That its ok for fans to think big about being 5-1 b/c there's no harm in it...
The reality is we have a decent kicker! Man this just irks the living snot out of me. Dan is 26th ALL time among active with a FG% of 80.576% and 29th ALL time career. He has won us a few games and lost us a few, as do ALL kickers. And you know what I take that back. Not 1 person is responsible for any team win/loss, it is the whole team that decides the out come. I am darn glad we have Dan as our kicker and would not trade him for any other kicker.
I see your point. It's just that resetting that clock over and over only to have it break down again gets tiresome.
