7 games left. 4 games against struggling sub .500 teams. (Bronks, Bengals, Jets and YES the Patriots, they were saved by awful weather) Hold serve there, that's 10 wins. Only third time with double-digit wins since they last won a playoff game. The other 3 games are interesting. Raiders, Chiefs and Bills. I predict the Dolphins will be competitive in all these matches, but may not be favoured in any of them. Chiefs. Best team in the league. The way things are going for the Dolphins, I can't see this game not being flexed to a Game-of-the-Week or even Sunday Night spot. Raiders have looked solid. Wins against the Chiefs and Saints on their schedule. They had to sweat it out against the Chargers more than the Dolphins did though, damn near lost that game. They blew out the Bronks yesterday. I think the Dolphins performance next week, in what should be their first cold-weather game of the year, will be an indication how they match up against the Raiders. The Bills are legit. The game in Miami was very close, and the Defence has greatly improved. This game will probably be for the division. I was more thrilled with how the Bills lost yesterday than how the Dolphins performed. What a dagger by Kyler Murray! Is anything short of 11 wins a disappointment considering what we've seen from this team since the Seattle L?
I'd be very happy with 10-6 if it was accompanied by Tua's continuing to look like a franchise QB. That would mean the bevy of draft picks and salary cap space this team has, along with Tua's continued development, would stand a good chance of putting it into Super Bowl contention in the near future.
My answer won't be popular here, but I don't have any expectations past those 10 wins. Get to 10 and the year is a massive success no matter how the playoffs shake out. 11 is great and 12 would be awesome- but the point has already been made for me that this is a serious contender that will only be stronger next year. This feels like year one of a dynasty. Do I want us to win the Super Bowl this season? Of course. But my gauge has always been 10 wins for this season and we've already won a few games that weren't expected. I think it's unfair to "raise the bar" on a young team that's playing fantastic because they stole a few along the way- if we lose all three of the remaining "tough" games, I'm not holding it against them....at least not this year. 2019 was the tank. 2020 was the recalibration. It's all about 2021 and beyond for me so this season is just a highly pleasant bonus.
It would be a game over my prediction of best case scenario for the year so the only part of me that would be unhappy is the greedy part.
My expectations were very high coming in. I expect Miami to get better down the stretch for multiple reasons: - Coaching (major advantage during Covid as you can clearly see how top heavy the league is right now) - Road games are not what we've normally considered road games due to empty or near empty stadiums - Defense will continue to get better and is borderline elite in the secondary. - Tua will continue to grow and the offense will be opened up for him more than it currently has been. - If Tua gets hurt or has to miss time we won't skip a beat with Fitzpatrick Downside: - Injuries (can't predict but we are thin at WR / RB and DL - Tua has a few down games I see Miami winning as many as 12 games. I know I'm bordering on extreme homerism but this is how I feel the team is trending.
I am right there with you. I am all abord the Dolphin hype train. Just putting things in the context of the HUGE roster church starting last year, to be in the position Miami is right now is amazing to me.
If that question was posed before the season started I would have said yes.Now that I got the fever I want more.
10 wins should make everyone happy, whether we make the playoffs or not. People were saying 5-8 wins before the season.
I think what might be more disappointing than a specific number is losing to NE again. I think that's where a lot of fans' hearts are - when are we at least equal with NE if not better? This year they have a new QB who has had his struggles and they're missing a ton of defenders. So I suspect a loss there (depending on how the game goes) might be the most disappointing result.* *Except for losing to the Jets. That can't be possible, right?
8-8 was my expectation for this year so anything better than that is a win. I think 10-6 is very realistic at this point. 12-4 is doable but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
The thing that scares me about the Patriot game is that what NE is good at, Miami is bad at defending.
I've thought about that too- we've beaten the Pats almost every season when they were the superior team. What if they sweep us when we're the better team? It's certainly possible. So I'm not counting that game as a certainty by any means.
To a degree. I think if they ran the same offense against us tomorrow we would eat them alive. Their gameplan was too basic week one, it just so happened the first few weeks looked like preseason across the league. Newton isnt as agile and quick as Allen or Murray so while I think we will have issues I actually anticipate a decent game defensively.
Watching the games the times when the Rams and Chargers had their best success against the Dolphins defense is when they did short quick passes with smashmouth 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense. Miami getting the lead quickly really helped get them out of that more than the actual defense. The teams that can line up and run are the teams that scare me the most against this Dolphin's defense.
Oh me too. I'm not saying it will be easy at all. I just expect they will score around 21 to 24 points, not over 30 which becomes more of a shoot out.
Who cares. If we make the playoffs consistently and it becomes clear even a Belichick-led NE is no longer a powerhouse without Brady then you laugh at NE fans all day, all year and for as long as it takes until they regain dominance. Being swept by NE but making the playoffs while they sit on their cold asses watching us build a dynasty is the proverbial "lose the battle, win the war", and the goal is to win the war.
At the outset I predicted 8-8 with a chance of 9-7 so I would definitely be happy in the long run... ...but looking at the schedule right now 11-5 definitely looks possible sooooooo...
I wasn't very optimistic about this year with lack of practice time for this young team to come together, so 10 and 6 I think would be great. That being said, this team seems to be improving weekly so anything is possible.
From 5-3 the expectation is 10-6. From 6-3 the expectation is between 11-5 and 10-6. So 10-6 is doing slightly worse than expected from here. At the start of the season I thought we were 7-9 or 8-8 team. But being in the same division as the Jets puts 9-7 as the minimum floor for a competent team. Compared to pre-season expectations it’s a good outcome. Compared to our current situation it would be more or less what we should achieve. So pleased but not happy.
After going 5-11 last season, I would ecstatic if we finished the season 10-6!!! Everyone else should be as well
In a vacuum, before the season, hell yes I'd have been pretty excited if you'd told me the Dolphins were 10-6 in 2020. Not now. 10-6, IMO, is their Mendozza line right now. 11-5 I'd be ecstatic.
Before worrying about 10-6 or 11-5, note how rare what's now likely to happen is. Our next three opponents are: Broncos (3-6), Jets (0-9), Bengals (2-6-1) We're heavily favored in all 3. Winning all 3 would make it 8 straight wins, and the last time we did that was 1985!!! Winning those 3 games puts us at 9-3. The 4 remaining games from there are: Chiefs (8-1), Patriots (4-5), Raiders (6-3), Bills (7-3) If we end 10-6 after going 9-3 I bet there will be a lot of unhappy posters. It also means we're not capable of beating playoff teams (all except the Patriots.. lol that sounds so funny). So I think the expectation now should be 11-5.
I could see us losing to Denver. They seem very hot/cold depending on the week. That said if we continue to get pressure I expect a win.
Game four of those eight was the famous win against the Bears on Monday night. I went to the playoff game against the Browns in the Orange Bowl that year (the eighth game of the eight-game win streak). A tight game to the end and extremely loud. Fans would stomp on the metal flooring in the Orange Bowl and create incredible noise. At the tender age of 13 I was one of them.
One advatange down the stretch.. No more mobile QBs with the exception of Josh Allen and Mahomes, both of whom are spending a lot more time in the pocket. Miami's advantage on defense will really shine.
I had us 8-8 at the beginning of the year and I wish I would have bet on the over. 10-6 would be a major success for this team 1 year removed from a major tear down. My expectations have always been for 2021 so this year has been gravy. What would really make my day is to steal the division from the Bills and rain on their parade. They were thinking it was theirs for the taking this season. If we did that it definitely means playoffs and then who knows what can happen.
The individual losses would be tough of course, but yes, 10-6 would be a thrill. I think that would be better than most optimistic forecasts for the season and we would be ahead of schedule in rebuilding this team into a contender. With a few more moves in the offseason and the draft we should be ready to ascend. It's been a long time since we had not just success, but the possibility (probability?!?!?!) of sustained success. Making the playoffs by the skin of our teeth and then getting trucked by the Steelers and Ravens like we used to was old. Personally, I think it's realistic to sweep the remainder of our East games - would love to hang one on the Bills and bury the Pasts. I do think we probably lose to the Chiefs (just too much firepower), and likely one of the remainder. I hope we don't look past the Broncos or Bengals and let them surprise us.
With the virus, changing offensive coaching staff, second year coach, midseason change to our rookie face of the franchise.. 10-6 sounds like a team on the rise with all those factors. it will be interesting to see what Tua will look like physically and aesthetically once he has a real strength/conditioning offseason program. Would do him well to put in 10-15 lbs of muscle.
At the start of the season, 10-6 would have been a great season. At 6-3, with 3 very winnable games ahead? An 11-5 record is now my expectation and 12-4 would be an amazing season. In any event, this young team will be even better next year. The future feels bright for the first time in forever.