Well Armando says there are "significant changes" coming so keep hope alive...

 

We even had a logo change and are still sucking it up! :lol:

 

I don't believe it was ever Ross' intent to only give Philbin and Ireland 2 seasons together. Is Ross pissed. Sure he is. Does he want answers? Sure he does.

Is he going to cut short the build?

Probably not.

 

When the most we can hope for is to make the playoffs and get bounced out of the wild card round, I think that's utter failure by this GM. There's a 37.5% chance that any team makes the playoffs any year. After 5 years out of the playoffs we've defied the odds and this team structure has diminished the fan base to a pathetic goal. LOSERS!!!

 

In our case it was 59% and the coaching couldn't win one of 2 games to teams with losing records

We failed because the coaches failed to get the players to perform in the last 2 games

 

Changes of "some significance"

 

I agree we stunk it out in the last two but...any responsibility falls on these players? Our coaches made our players invisible?, hardly. Both the coaches and players failed. I think collectively we had a total fail...not blaming one area much more than the other. BTW, the " we are not that far away" stuff is laughable...not that far away from what?

 

I do not like having a crazy and impulsive owner. That rarely works well.

 

Exactly, and it turned out to be that during the meeting, they ordered Egg Salad on Wheat Toast, instead of White toast this go round. Daring to shake it up and state how serious he is taking this as an owner.

 

This thought came exactly to mind for me, as well. What disturbs me is that apparently Steve Ross feels that these men (and women) can all continue to work together under this very uncomfortable umbrella and that things will actually improve? Certainly not how it happened two years ago.

 

This situation also reminds me of the Seahawks in 2011. Only they had that fluke playoff win that kind of tempered the fanbase for wanting him fired. They still wanted him fired.

 

Seems to me that the coaches didn't let themselves get physically dominated in those last two games. They weren't on the field. Don't misunderstand me; the coaches sucked. But the players had to strap on a pair and beat people up, or execute skill position plays, and no one did. It was an epic failure by the entire organization.

 

They did get outcoached in the Saints and Tampa Bay games at the very least though.

 

Yeah another new logo.

 

Just how much responsibility is it of Ireland?? I'm asking because I don't know at this point. Look, I'm sure none of us or the Fins org. is happy with the way we finished this year or the last 5 yrs, but what you're saying is fire Ireland and we'll make the playoffs next season ?? I don't think so. Is he part of the cause, certainly, but that one move doesn't guarantee anything other than more questions at this point... It's really easy to blame it on one person, but there is a collective effort to improve the team and Irish is just part of that. Is blowing it up and starting over (fire the bunch) the way to go ?? Who knows, but let's not affix blame solely to JI and figure that all our woes will be appease by that one act...

 

It now appears nothing is going to happen so you can continue to stand on your soap box, banging your drum, telling us ALL how correct you were? You should be elated today, your binky gets to retain a job he has no business having. Ross has approved another year of spinning the wheels of mediocre. AWESOME!

I am so happy members of this fan base have expectations that are in the ****ing basement.

You want 8-8. You want 70% attendance. You want excitement from 3 game win streaks. You want to see the Dolphins logo "in the hunt" for the final playoff spot.

I want division titles. I want home playoff games and playoff bye weeks. I want Super Bowl merch.

Enjoy your 8-8. Enjoy picking in the late teens every year.

God am I glad it's hockey season. I can support a franchise that strives to win championships. That spends to and above the cap. Who drafts well. Who is looked upon as a flagship franchise. Kind of like the Dolphins used to be, until this owner and this GM and this band of idiots started running the show.

 

Neither of those statements are true. Before this owner and this GM Miami had problems. This GM took Miami from being a laughing stock into being a mediocre team. Which is an improvement.

The question is, can the mediocre team take the next step?

 

They had "problems" that every team has, they got old and capped out and needed a rebuild. That is not unusual. What is unusual is a GM being allowed to run through two coaching staffs and 6 years and have NOTHING to show for it.

Thius is the perspective I have and why I hold this team to a higher standard.

In 2006/07 Peter Chiarelli was hired as the GM of my Boston Bruins. He hired Dave Lewis, a buffoon of a head coach. That team finished last in their division and missed the playoffs. He admitted his mistake and fired the coach, who had 3 years remaining on his contract.

In 2007/08 he hired Claude Julien. The team made the playoffs, and lost in the first round, in 7 games to the heavily favoured Canadiens.

In 2008/09 the team won the division, had the best record in the conference and lost in 7 games in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Fans were calling for changes, after the best season the club had in a decade.

In 2009/10 they were ravaged by injuries, made the playoffs and lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs again, in 7 games. People gave them a free pass because of the injury BUT the following season was do or die.

In 2010/11 They had a good regular season but were inconsistent. They won their division but in the playoffs, things went bad early. It took overtime in game 7 to advance out of the first round. If they did not win that game, the team was going to be blown up. they eventually won the Stanley Cup.

In 2011/12 the Stanley Cup hangover was in full effect. They lost in the first round.

Last season the heat was back on the GM and coach. The same two men who had led them to a Championship just 2 years ago were in danger of losing their jobs if the team did not perform up to par. They got al the way to the Final, before losing to a superior Chicago team.

The moral of my story is, success brings expectations. The Boston Bruins fan base right now EXPECTS success. Mediocrity is unacceptable. They stayed the course ONLY after success was achieved. It was widely known that if they had not gotten to the 3rd round of the playoffs in 2010/11 that the GM and head coach were going to be fired. Once they had success they earned grace. Jeff Ireland has done absolutely nothing to earn what he has. His neck has been in the noose for 3 years, someone needs to kick the ****ing chair.

This is the standard I hold the Miami Dolphins to, mediocrity is unacceptable. Accepting mediocrity has the fan base to a point where "being in the hunt" is considered success. You need to take the "next step" eventually or, you have to make changes. Hope becomes apathy.

How do we go from mediocre to great? Surround our quarterback with the pieces he needs to be the best he can be. This GM has proven he is not capable of doing it and this staff has proven they are incapable of doing it. Fire them, fire them all.

 

The Steelers had a rough year up front, they just fired their offensive line coach.

Some teams take action, others sit and hope.

 

I still laugh at us. Although, it's the kind of laugh where one eye is twitching and a murder is likely to be committed immediately afterward.

 

2 Different owners
2 Different QBs
2 Different Head Coaches
3 Different Offensive Coordinators

The team is still mediocre. The common denominator...............

 

With that said. I hold the coaching staff equally responsible. Especially: Philbin, Sherman, Turner, Taylor.

 

Our owner wont make the correct changes that are required.

 

I remember the fold in 1993. We lost five straight under Shula and missed the playoffs.
2013 reminds me of that season. :wink2:

 

How does anyone expect this team to make the step up from 8-8? We will most likely be replacing 4 out of 5 Offensive Linemen.

Next year is going to look almost identical to this year if I had to bet

 

Agreed. I wish I could fit bump it all day. I want to add some thoughts to this.

Many people suggest that Ireland's players (coached by Philbin and co.) were talented enough to win anywhere from 9-12 games this season. It's not strange that people believe that. There is plenty of talent to win that many games. But there is something being lost in translation when discussing the talent on this team and what it is truly capable of in terms of wins and losses. I think KB21 really discussed the issue most and best.

Ireland's biggest weakness is team building. It's not that Ireland is unable to find talent. Don't misunderstand, Ireland has plenty of notable misses in FA and the draft. But Ireland also has some pickups too. Just look at this off-season as a prime example of his ability to hit and miss (as well as illustrating his inconsistency). While I don't think he's incapable of finding talent, I do think Ireland struggles to find talented players, who also fit the vision of the coaches for which he has acquired players for. Not just Joe Philbin, but Sparano too. Just look at the cluster**** that was the Dolphins 2011-12 offense and amalgamation of schemes and inconsistency due to personnel. Is it weird to anyone else that great players come to Miami and just die? Brandon Marshall is 2x the player in Denver and Chicago than in Miami. Dansby was 2x the player in Arizona than he was in Miami... Jeff Ireland doesn't put coaches and players in a position to succeed.

Are their talented guys on this roster? Sure. Could they win 12 games? Yes, but only if we're playing Madden... Take a look back at 2011-12. Let's just focus on the offense for a second, as it's the easiest example. Sparano and Daboll are running this hybrid spread scheme with a bunch of players suited for a "parcellian/Henning" (Coryell) style offense. You might argue that Jeff and Sparano/Daboll didn't get enough time to turnover the roster enough to fully realize this scheme... Fair enough. But we're seeing the SAME exact trend with Philbin and his staff. Players are being acquired through the draft/FA process that are highly questionable fits. And other players are being forced into roles they're not suited for, even despite their talent.

Look at Mike Wallace for instance. Most detractors of the signing of Wallace had openly stated concerns that Wallace didn't fit the scheme. He doesn't have the necessary abilities to be a complete receiver in this offense and the offense as whole would suffer. That turned out to have a lot of truth to it. And fans have been killing Philbin/Sherman about not contorting their offense to suit the strengths of 1 player. As if the WR screen should be a staple of their game plan every sunday, 5x a game... I understanding making adjustments to fit personnel (which they did), but it's not their fault they're running a scheme that he doesn't fit Wallace. And frankly, they shouldn't have to. They have a proven formula for a successful offense. Why should they change everything to fit one guy? Because Ireland paid him bookoo bucks? Look at Randy Moss in NE. When NE had Gronk/Hernandez and their scheme became 2 TE sets, Randy Moss's ability to get deep and blow the top off the defense wasn't a functional element to their offense like it was in 2007/8. He became expendable. Belichick didn't try to make Moss something that he wasn't. He traded him. He didn't fit the scheme anymore... *Yes his physical attributes declined a little, but he was still more than capable*

And I'm not ****ting on Wallace. He is what he is. I like his attitude. I like his work ethic. I love his speed. He easily could of had 85+ catches, 15 TD's, 1300+ yards, etc... even despite his limitations. His physical gifts are that impressive. But none the less, I find it mind blowing that Philbin/Sherman are getting creamed for having "talent" when that "talent" is inherently limited when placed in their offense. And it's not just Mike Wallace. He's the big, easy to understand example. You could say the same for a number of other Ireland acquisitions over the years since Parcells left. Whether that's Keller, Clay, Miller, Clabo, Gibson, Bush, etc... and this is only the offense. Issues like this exist for the defense too. And they existed throughout the years Ireland has been GM.


And I'll add that Mike Sherman has a ton of good qualities and traits for a coach. I don't believe he's the idiot some are trying to make him out to be. I think he's a guy trying to put square pegs into round holes week after week, while trying to game plan and scheme against his opposition. Nevermind having total deficiencies throughout the offensive line, effectively killing creativity and rhythm. I don't think there is an OC anywhere (Chip Kelly included) who could have taken this offensive unit, with their problems (talent deficiencies, scheme fits, players playing out their natural position/suited role) and have done any better. In fact, many would of done worse. This is why is why I still believe in Philbin and want him to stay around for a bit, with the staff he WANTS. If given the appropriate ingredients, he can cook... Let him build his own ****ing team the way he wants. Players and coaching personnel.




Ireland MUST GO. I have no confidence in his ability to acquire players that fit the scheme Philbin and his coaches want to run. He isn't completely talentless in finding talented players, but he doesn't seem to able to get players who fit. History isn't going to change. Time to move on. Let Philbin get a GM who can/will work with him. Not just dump some players in his lap and be told to make the best of it. Perhaps Dawn Aponte should be appointed the role of GM. Let her put the contracts and financials together only and give Philbin 100% control of player personnel. I'd be willing to let the experiment ride for two seasons.

 

Actually it was 75% after the Dolphins started the season 3-0. Of course going 5-8 the remainder of the season resulted in the Dolphins having 0% chance of making the playoffs this season.

 

:knucks:

 

Chris Mortensen said on ESPN that there is tension between Ireland and Philbin that could lead to a breaking point.

 

This team is still a laughingstock, with a GM compared to Matt Millen around the league and an owner everyone ridicules.

 

This would be the best thing to happen for Dolphin fans IMO.

 

This is baseless. He is nowhere near as bad as Millen and hasn't been here THAT long. The drafts haven't been THAT BAD and ther e are plenty of teams in a much worse position.

The Ravens fell flat on their face this year as well. I don't see sweeping changes.

 

Actually your statement is not entirely true. While I will agree that Ireland was the GM in 2008, when the Dolphins went from a one win team to an 11 win team. Ross became the majority owner of the Dolphins after the 2008 season. So in regards to his ownership, he took over a playoff team and has led it BACKWARDS to mediocrity since becoming the majority owner of the Dolphins.

I feel that Ross is the major problem with this organization and I don't see anything improving until he sells this team to someone who knows how to properly operate an NFL franchise. The sooner the better, as far as I am concerned.

 

The Ravens won a SB in 2012 and were forced to get rid of a lot of their players because of salary cap considerations. Yet they beat the Dolphins in Miami and they were in the playoff race until the very last weekend. This was the first year since John Harbaugh became the HC of the Ravens they did not make the playoffs.

If Ireland had the resume of a GM like Ozzie Newsome has with the Ravens, no one would be calling for his firing. The fact is that with the player losses of the Ravens after the 2012 season, they got a lot more out of their team than the Dolphins got from their players this year. I would also trust Newsome's abilities to quickly rebuild the Ravens, far more than I would trust the abilities of Ireland.