The Dolphins have never seen this type of competition from the rest of the pro sports teams in Miami. The Florida Panthers have shot to the top of the NHL standings and have grown their bandwagon. The Heat obviously have the "Big 3" and with this short season may be in perfect position for a championship. The Marlins have their high tech new stadium that people will want to see and could possibly have Albert Pujols to go with Reyes and their other stars, and no baseball team has been more active than the Marlins, so their bandwagon will grow and could be playing deep into October leading right into the Heat and Panthers seasons. It's possible the Dolphins become Miami's least talked about and least successful (for the first time) team if something doesn't happen. It's still a football town, but we've seen fans stay away this season, with the Dolphins averaging their lowest attendance since the merger. Fans may be high on Sparano for this little win streak, but it doesn't change 0-7 or the fact that we've only beaten one team (Packers) outside the division that finished a season with a winning record in 4 years. The Raiders might become the second, though they seem like a team that might collapse and go 8-8 or 7-9. Can't ignore any of this because we beat some struggling teams. If anything, maybe it's Ireland who should go. Anyone who wants to go into next season with Matt Moore and only Matt Moore would be insane. And I doubt Ireland would trade up to draft one of the top QB prospects if we go 6-10 and get out of the running for them. The position is too important no matter how well he plays the rest of the season. Something needs to happen...there's no way this franchise stays put like this. What will/should it be?
I agree with you but some of these knucleheads would want to make a MT Rushmore for Sparano just because he was able to beat the horrific Chiefs alone. you watch . next season if Sparano and Ireland stay we will go back into our losing ways then we are right back here wondering why we missed out on a great coach. Miami needs to start clean witha new gm and Coach for the exact reasons you brought up.
The mob always thinks that doing something drastic will solve things. The right move may be as simple as drafting the right QB and leaving everything else in place. Fans don't want to hear that b/c the grass is always greener, and Sparano and Ireland have to pay for the past three years whether they deserve all the blame or not, but I'm not sure that's the best move. There is a nice synergy between our coaching staff and our team. We finally have an aggressive offense and a stout defense. The team plays smart and tough. We have a QB friendly system and an offense with some play makers that are actually being used to their strengths. They even make adjustments in the game plan from week to week. I don't know that blowing that up and hoping the next regime gets us to the same spot in a few years is really the best choice.
Really? I highly disagree. I just do not think there are many people who think, "Dolphins suck, I am going to watch baseball."
No one cares about the Marlins or Panthers. People will continue not to care. When the Marlins won the World Series in 2003, their attendance still sucked. The same thing with the Panthers when they went to their finals. The Heat might have made some inroads, but I don't see how it's somehow against the Dolphins.
Spot on. Baseball and hockey are largely irrelevant by comparison. I do think that the Heat are a factor as basketball is all about stars and Miami has them.
Well, "what if": -we lose the last 4 games? -we win the last 3, heading into the final gm vs the Jets, if we win, we knock them out of the playoffs...and we win? I do think it is laughable to compare a pro sport with a hard cap to two sports with either a soft cap, or no cap.
I think you have to watch the rest of the season to determine what needs to be done. These pasdt weeks have been some of the best ball played in the sparano era. How many qtrs without giving up a td? The new offense is jelling. If it continues I don't see how you get rid of sparano. The tests will be the final weeks to see where we are. The jets will test our offense and the patriots will test our defense. Then we will know what to do and where we are. I personally want to see ireland gone. He is good at getting solid players but I question his ability to get us pro bowlers which is what we need now. That's why I would rather draft blackmon or kalil if we get the chance then someone like landry. Give me a sure thing pro bowler over a roll of the dice
If we finish 8-8, we can no more fire Sparano than a college can deny an application for admission from a kid who got Cs and Ds in his freshman and sophomore years and finished his junior and senior years with straight As.
I agree with the original poster though. I think the pressure is on Ross. The Dolphins haven't won anything in a decade. As Ethan Skolnick pointed out, there's a large crowd of fans under 30 that can't even really remember the last time the Dolphins were any good. The Dolphins are being carried by the NFL brand. NFL football is popular, and the Dolphins are local, and so there are 'fans'. But the fans aren't showing a lot of interest in the team as of late.
I think if we knock the Jest out of the playoffs, that goes a very long way towards tilting the balance in Sparano's favor. The problem is, no big wins, 2 of the last 3 yrs, we have limped home with 0-3 records to end the yr, the last big win in Miami, one that effected anything was the 2nd jest gm in 08 to win the AFCE.
Always easier to play spoiler than to win a game with your own playoff implications. I'm utterly baffled by the sentiment around here. That is just my opinion. As a Jets fan, I would hate to see you fire Sparano. -Ed- sent from my mobile device
I think the pressure would be exactly the same if the Marlins, Heat and Panthers were completely terrible. The biggest competition is not baseball, basketball and *snicker* hockey. The biggest competition is the Steelers, Patriots, Saints, Packers and other teams that are on TV winning every week.
Most Marlin and Heat fans are probably Dolphin fans anyway. Florida isn't much of an either or state.
South Florida is known for wagon jumping and they will jump on all of them when winning and jump off when times are tough.There are enough wagons for all the teams but to keep them full they need to compete and win.
There certainly is pressure on Ross. But most of it revolves around stadium issues and getting Super Bowls back in Miami.
The Marlins and Heat are adding pressure, too. With both teams adding super stars in the last 2 off seasons, the pressure to add a franchise QB will grow.
I'm not sure going into next season with a new gm, head coach, new QB and entire new coaching staff is going to get a whole lot of wins and put fans in the seats. We are in a pretty tough spot right now. Stay with Sparano and he fails you look like am idiot. You go for the quick turnaround, doesn't work out, you are looking at another 3 year rebuild, more losing and less fans.
I don't necessarily agree. I mean theres always pressure to get a franchise QB, but the number of ticket sales those teams will take away will be minimal.
I wasn't talking about ticket sales or attendance. The Marlins and Heat are making huge signings and improving their teams significantly. The Dolphins will be under pressure to match that.
They sure didn't show it by going to games.The Marlins might get a year or two bump where they've got actual major league quality attendances with a new stadium.
They did indeed show up for the playoff run. The stadium was rockin’. MLB has rarely seen a playoff venue like that. It’s definitely a shame that attendance was chronically low, but we should see that change now. There probably won’t be a Heat-type reaction, with the organization firing its season ticket sellers because they sold through, but Marlins Ballpark is going to be a pretty good venue for the immediate future.
And during the WS? The fans showed up. Like I said, put a winning product on the field, and the fans will come.
NFL is a different world, in the NBA you had the big 3 colluding to take below their value contracts, the Marlins have no cap to deal with if they have the cash they can sign anyone they wish. The real irony is, the team in the NFL that did try it, we play this weekend, they are 4-8.
Its all about the venue...The new Marlins park will pay for itself in no time..The venue is the magnet to success.. Rebuild the stadium Ross, get your own statue and become increasingly more wealthy, without doing sh&^.
Football is king. It's not that difficult. If you win, people will show up. It doesn't matter who the QB is, or the coach, or the owner. It's all about winning. Nothing else matters. Not the Heat, or the Marlins, or the Panthers. Win and people will come. Simple as that.
