We have to come out hot, have the crowd involved, and keep that energy up for 4 quarters. This can't be a typical Miami crowd where they show up 5 min after the game starts and the 5 min after the 3rd quarter starts. In the seats, making noise, creating some sort of home field advantage for this team. If you are going...GO EARLY. Get there and get in the stadium on time. I like the fact we resigned Larry Johnson. If anything, it gives us a veteran RB that can pound it when need be and can turn the corner. No secret that I didn't like the Thomas pick. I want the guy to work out, but he isn't the RB we need in there right now. I love the potential for this offense based on how fast we have become. Henne has to play like Henne of preseason late, and not Henne of last season all. Quick accurate reads, on target throws, and stretch the field. Bush will be a huge factor out of the backfield, but Henne can't rely on the checkdown. NE is to good on defense for that. Must keep them off balance and mix it up. Biggest success we had of late vs NE? It was when we unveiled the Wildcat. Now it is time to unveil a new offense. One that is explosive and keeps their D on their heels. Please let tonight be the start of something good and not the same sh** we have seen for the past 3 years. On D, I love where we are at. I am a little worried about all the weapons NE has...especially with Sean Smith in coverage. Not sure he can cover Branch or Welker effectively, as I assume Vonte will be on Ochocinco. NE running game vs our run D doesn't worry me. Woodhead out of the backfield on checkdowns does. He will need a shadow and one that can keep up with him. He is a little waterbug who can burn the hell out of us if we aren't careful. Can we win tonight? Possibly. Will it take a perfect game to do so? YES. Are we capable of that? I hope so. Does Sparano stick with the new philosophy or when things go bad does he fall right back into his stale bag of tricks? Is Ross rolling out the full grass for tonight as well like he did last year? That would be a plus if so.
I am anxcious, and cautiously optomistic for the game. 1 thing that worries me is the ammount of talking our defense seems to be doing. Odrick calling brady "human" and Sean Smith as well. I like the confidence, but you never wanna give Brady amunition. Hopefully they back it up. I also love that it seems the tides are turned for this game. Usually the Patriots break our backs on 3rd downs with Kevin Faulk, we could never seem to bring him down when it mattered. And now we have someone like that in Reggie Bush. Also, they always would throw in some verteran (over the hill) running back (dillion, taylor, morris) and beat us with them. Now wouldn't it be nice if Larry Johnson came out and had like 60 yards (one of them being a big gain) and a couple of touch downs?! I am excited for football. The steelers lost a division game, as did many others....and their seasons arent over. This isnt neccesarly a must win. But it would be beautiful if we could get the "W" at home. GO DOLPHINS!!!!
Yeah, you don't want to say week 1 is a must win. However, for ticket sales and to remove any heat from this staff and team...it really is a must win. The season isn't over by any means with a loss. I don't think any of us have any real expectations for anything good tis year. I just want us to be competitive and show that we are building something here. Getting our arses handed to us tonight by NE would be bad....very bad...for many reasons. Burnett is talking as well saying that this is the most talented he has ever played with on D. I agree....I just hope it is all backed up tonight. Put Brady down, keep the pressure on, and we will have a chance for good things. I am sure Smith is getting his hair did as we speak, so he should be ready for tonight. LOL
Big picture, it is one game, we finally will see what the team is made of, and if the new offense and ST have improved. Honestly, do not know if we will win, think we can, also think it will rain and I'm really glad the dirt infield is long gone as it hurt us far more then it ever helped us.
Still better then the dirt infield in the rain. I really do not know what to expect tonight Sick, good or bad.
Me either. It's like my dad told me as a batter in baseball, always expect fastball, but adjust to the curveball. Ill just make sure im drunk enough to enjoy, or forget tonight if need be
OK, so the sod is being placed down. Good. But I agree with Sick, rain with unset sod is a bad thing. A very bad thing. Hope the rains hold off.
I agree with "it's just one game". I see it as 50/50 thing. I'm not going to fall into despair if we lose or start crowing about the SB if we win. As always I want to see progress. I'm not talking about a moral victory or anything. I'm talking about how they look. As an example, If I were a NO fan I wouldn't be feeling my season was over after losing to GB. I felt that NO and GB both looked like SB caliber teams.
As I said in another thread, this isn't or can't be considered a "make or break" game, but it really is. This team desperately needs to have a solid, well played game this week. Win or lose, as long as we play like we belong running with the big boys. It's time for Marshall, Bush, Fasano and perhaps even Rosario to prove they are the players we thought they were. LJ says he's better than ever, ok...show me. So far, it's been talk. It's time for the OL to come together like Sparano says it will. It's time for the D to show that it is a top 10 D like all the hype is saying. We need great play from the secondary and constant pressure from the DL... Soliai, time to earn that $12M salary. Langford, Stark, Odrck, McD...it's your time to shine. Davis and Smith, back up those claims of the 'best tandem in the league'. I know that it's ludicrous to declare this game as a "must win" but it's pretty close to being that for this teams' psychy and certainly for the fanbase.
Agree about NO , obviously a win would be great for Miami , for many reasons. A loss if we play well isn't devastating , however a bad loss may be . That concerns me. We have Houston next week whom we have never beaten and they looked impressive regardless of no Peyton. Two home games to start , two bad losses would be really detrimental to season overall and to the mindset of the team maybe and to the fans certainly. For me , not sure we get the pressure needed consistently enough to cover some concerns in the secondary I have tonight. Now I hope so of course , but if we don't it could be another long night with lots of points put up by NE. I feel good about Henne , I do , maybe false optimism , but hey I am going with that feeling until it shows it shouldn't be there , expecting a quick paced offense that hopefully is in rhythm . Want to see if the interior line can handle Woolfork and Haynesworth , if they can't Henne will have to get the ball out very very quickly all night.
3 things I'am worried about.. Hoping our fans don't embarrass the team tonight...not a lotta hope there I'll tell ya..lol Tom Brady.. Well, just 2 things
What exactly are you concerned about DJ? I'd be mroe concerend about the team embaressing the fans then the other way around
I'm more worried about this team coming out and laying an egg like they did in both games last year. If they do there will not be a home sellout this year. Bank it. I want them to win in the worst freakin' way, I can't stand losing division games, especially when were at home. I want to see something big out of Dabolls new offense. I want to see something out of Henne, the same type things we were seeing in preseason. I want to see this defense make that step into the elite level that they could be. I want to see touchdowns when were on offense and turnovers when were on defense. I want to see this team come out and defend our home turf and turn back that abysmal 1-9 home record over the last 10 games. I want to see this team give everyone of us on this board and people in South Florida a reason to believe in this team again. It is the first game of the season, and in the scheme of things coming out with a win or not is not a season killer or maker (aside from divisional ramifications), but they cannot come out and be embarrased like they were last year. That would kill the season and be very hard to recover from.
well its obvious this fanbase thinks their making a stand but not supporting the team..I think they will show their *** by not being in their seats and will wait for the team to win them over.
I think it's a push on whom is more embaressing lately but from a historical perspective the fans win hands down.
We won't agree on this, but I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. If fans don't like the product, they shouldn't be harassed because they didn't re-up on tickets or purchase tickets. If I don't like a TV, I'm not going to buy it just because I've always been a fan of Sony electronic equipment. We're talking about hard earned dollars and a person's freedom to spend what he wants with those dollars. If they come back after the team starts winning, good. That'll be good for the team, fans, and organization. If they continue a trend of winning, I can tell you the fans won't leave immediately. Miami fans love to crap on the rest of its brethren. I think it's a MUST WIN game. These are the types of games that start streaks and make a season. If Miami can win this game, they always have this to fall back on. I'm sure it helped that team to know that they beat the Green Bay Packers early on, and it propelled them to a remarkable AWAY record. We've lost 9 of our last 10 at home. The fans haven't turned out as well due to poor records, a division at the QB position, indecisiveness on the GM & Head Coach, and a skeptical outlook to the season. If Miami loses this game, I think it could negatively impact future games and next week's. It only makes the pressure that much more heading into next week against Houston, now losers of 10 of 11 home games, starting off 0-1, 0-1 in the AFCE.
Im pretty optimistic. I think we're gonna go out and play a good game. Im not all that concerned about a win or a loss tonight. If we're being honest with ourselves, the patriots are just on a different level than us. But if we can go out there and hold our own and stay in this one, it could mean a lot in the coming weeks. The texans might be on an emotional high next week with the idea that their division is now a joke, and then we get the browns who managed to lose to the bengals. You know what, screw it, lets win this one too.
The team should have to win them over. I'm driving down from Orlando in an hour to go to this game. I'll cheer and be excited and all that, but if we're getting blown out, I'm out of there in the 4th. It's a long drive.
I believe that as well, I just think our end has takin it too far, so many people have been bamboozled..If you wanna keep getting the same results, then stay seated, or, take a chance, and if your disapointed, you can deal..The chance you take combined with everyone else doing the same, just might be the energy they need to make a play. At some point, the reverse is how its supposed to be, and, its the way that players can play at their best...We have it backwards, however, Sparano has done something that should balance it out...Self motivated football team.. Good boy for goin to the game..Have fun bud.
He's a work in progress in the rushing game, but boy can that kid catch out of the backfield. I'd like to see us exploit him against the LB's and chuck a few passes his way during the game.
The field with no dirt ready to go!: http://yfrog.com/z/nuzleqj Looks better than when they sodded it last year. Had a couple extra days this year after the Marlins last game a week ago. The field staff for Sun Life is the best. Once the real football field is down it should be one of the best in the league, the players seem to like our field.
I have high expectations every year. Some years that might be unrealistic, but I think we can make the playoffs this year. We're finally out from under the crap that was Henning. 10-6 is my mantra for this season.
