I don't think many here will disagree with me calling this Miami Dolphins team mediocre. They've been that way for going on 5 years now. Hell, mediocre might be kind by the time it's all said and done, but let's talk about some of the things that make up a mediocre team.
1. Mediocre teams can beat any team. This is true of any NFL team. Any given Sunday and all that. But it's especially true of a mediocre team. Take a mediocre team and you'll find instances all throughout a season where they win games you didn't think they would win against a better team. It hasn't happened much for Miami this year but I think one good example is when they beat Indianapolis in week 2 in Indianapolis.
BUT
2. Mediocre teams can and do lose to awful teams. Mediocre teams will lose games that you didn't think they could possibly lose. Like games against the Bills at home where the Bills take the field with a 4th string QB. Or against the 0-8 Bucs with 11 days to prepare.
3. Mediocre teams will give you hope. And then DESTROY it. Cheering for a mediocre team like the Dolphins is a roller coaster ride. 3-0? YES!!! Playoffs here we come!!!! Lose 4 in a row? ****. Oh wait, a chance at the playoffs? HERE WE GO!!! 10 point lead at half!!! Oh man!!! Oh wait. They couldn't score a single point in the second half. FML. Look over the past seasons and you'll see times Miami was in the thick of things. But then blew it with losses to awful teams. Remember when they were 4-3 last year? Neither did I until I looked it up after someone mentioned it earlier this year.
4. Mediocre teams are hard to judge. Everything from the FO, coaches and players. How do you make decisions on a team full of players and coaches who do good things but then do awful things? Sometimes you almost wish they could just be consistently awful so ownership could know where he stands.
5. Mediocre teams tend to be victim of mediocre QB play. In a league that's dominated by the QB position, this is just common sense. I'm a big believer in Ryan Tannehill. But because he's still young, still lacking experience at the position (as evidenced by the game ending play) and because he's playing behind an offensive line that's held together by silly putty, his play is very mediocre at best right now. He has a high ceiling, but the production is just not good enough right now.
6. Mediocre teams never put other teams away. How many games this season alone have we seen where the offense has the ball in their hand and would be able to seal the win with a score. But they never do it. 3 and out. Punt. 3 and out. Punt. Let's just keep hoping the defense can hold. The Chargers game was the same. But the defense was good enough last week.
7. Mediocre teams are missing stars. Mediocre teams are missing super stars. Mediocre teams tend to have awesome punters. Or a great placekicker. Sure they'll be will stocked with a couple of very good, tough hard nosed players, but the super stars are nowhere to be found. Just no player that puts fear into the opposing team. Cam Wake is as close as it gets on this team. But NFL teams can no longer win on defense alone. Mike Wallace could have been that superstar today had he caught that pass. He surely hasn't been a star this season.
8. Mediocre teams tend to only grab headlines for all the wrong reasons. Nuff said.
So there you have it. Just a few thoughts I had during the game about the type of things that make up most mediocre teams in the NFL, and specifically our Miami Dolphins. Having a mediocre team isn't the worst thing in the world. Having a mediocre team that never seems to get beyond the mediocrity? A real kick in the dick. Another tough loss today. An up and down game that perfectly mirrors another up and down mediocre season.
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Losers lose.....its that plain and simple. This is a team full of losers, coached by losers, and owned by a loser. Blow the whole thing up from top to bottom.
NolesNPhinsFan likes this. -
Well said. Tannehill is the perfect example of mediocre. He does just enough to lose. Just like at A&M, he's abysmal in the 4th qtr.
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Good post. Unfortunately, I think we are stuck with a mediocre team for another decade. Hopefully, something changes sooner, but I doubt it.
Da 'Fins and MonstBlitz like this. -
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Calling this team mediocre is an insult to mediocrity.
Da 'Fins, TooGoodForDez, cdz12250 and 2 others like this. -
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Da 'Fins, joenhre and MonstBlitz like this.
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Maybe when we get rid of our GM (Like the Panthers did!) the Dolphins will stop being mediocre. Carolina was a mediocre underperforming team and then came into 2013 with a brand new GM who filled in the missing pieces and brought a new attitude to the Panthers.
Panthers since 2008:
2009: 8-8, 2010: 2-14, 2011: 6-10, 2012: 7-9. 2013: New GM comes in, they have 8 wins already and marching towards the playoffs. -
I actually think right now we're a lot like Carolina. Now that Newton is in his 3rd year and Rivera has the experience as a head coach, they're rolling. I could really see us taking a big step next season as long as there are some changes (ahem, fire Ireland, ahem).MonstBlitz likes this. -
TooGoodForDez likes this.
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And nothing bothers me more than seeing those plays being called where they throw the ball 2 yards away when they only need 3-4 for a first to someone being covered and fail to get the first down and punt it away. They can't design a pass that gets them 4-6 yards to get the 1st down?NyPhinfan likes this. -
I maintain that the biggest reason this is a mediocre team is because it is a team with mediocre talent overall. Sure, we have some players sprinkled here and there, but by an large, when you compare us with the rest of the league, we are mediocre.
Now, from a coaching standpoint, I do think we are slightly underachieving, but this isn't like the KC Chiefs last year. That team won 2 games when they had the talent to win 10. That is a sign of unusually poor coaching. I think this coaching staff is below average to average at best, but they aren't horrific in the Romeo Crennell/Gene Chizik sense. Therefore, we tend to play to our talent level by and large. Could we be a couple of games better if the coaching staff was more willing to adapt and did better coming out from halftime? Probably. Still, we would be a mediocre 7-4 team instead of a mediocre 5-6 team.MonstBlitz and dont fumble like this. -
I was going to vent, but I reconsidered because what the heck is the use? We all know what the problems are and we can't change them. We can gripe and grumble about this player and that player but what will it accomplish? We can only hope that the right decisions are made to do what needs to be done to turn things around. All teams have up and down years but sadly ours seems to have lasted longer than most. I've lived long enough to see the Birth of the Dolphins, to see Shula's great years, including the Marino years. I was hoping that I would live long enough to see Miami as a power in the NFL again, I still have hope!
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TooGoodForDez likes this.
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When you staff your coaches with losers, mediocrity is assured. You'd think that Philbin would have chosen a winning, rising offensive coordinator from the college ranks, right? But no. He chose Sherman, who had just been s***-canned at Texas A-M.
phintasmic likes this. -
I don't think we have a lack of talent. I think we have a lack of veteran talent. -
I'm not ragging on Tannehill. I'm still a believer. But even though I support him and think he's improved from last season to this season, I think it's real hard to argue that he's playing the position at a level any better than mediocre right now. He's had some pretty good games, and some poor games. Part of that is the line, but some of it is him being a young QB that still doesn't have a lot of experience at the position, especially at the NFL level.
There is talent on this Dolphins team, no doubt about it. But no super stars. You can maybe make an argument for Cam Wake, but that's about it.Rocky Raccoon likes this. -
Honestly I think we end up 9-7 and slide into the playoffs..........just to torture us with this mediocrity when the house should be cleaned by a hazmat team.
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Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member
The difference is that the team started out hot and has since faded, unlike in previous years where we started out up and down and finished that way... There are multiple issues with this team but lets not take anything away from Carolina. They are one of those surprise teams (for this season) and because we lost to them, everyone is demonizing how bad our team is. It's not a surprise that we're 5-6, it is a surprise that Carolina is playing as well as they are.
There are reasons after reasons for our state of affairs right now. Heads will surely roll this coming offseason and we'll be starting anew (again). -
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Nobody would be successful with this garbage O line. Nobody. Not Brady, not Brees, not Manning.
Nobody.
In fact Manning's neck would have already been broken.Larryfinfan likes this. -
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Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member
So the team, IMHO, isn't under-performing...they are simply at par with where most of us thought they'd be, even after the hot start of the season...phintasmic likes this. -
Larryfinfan 17-0...Priceless Club Member
phintasmic likes this. -
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Peyton was missing Julius Thomas last night but their offensive talent is so far beyond the Patriots. D thomas, Decker, Welker, knownshon, J thomas if healthy. I'd take that over the Patriots offensive skill positions anyday including Gronk.
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