If you've followed the Miami Dolphins all season (Which I am sure everyone here has) you know that Adam Gase's favorite mantra is "win this week". He did a fabulous job of not letting a very young team, get caught up in 3, 4, 6 game winning streaks...by staying the course, hammering home "win right now". The players have echoed those sentiments all season long in interviews: "We aren't worried about next week, we're worried about this game. Win this week" Why is that essential to our situation now? The Playoffs are a sudden death, week by week tournament. You lose you're out. If you're caught looking past to New England, the championship, etc you'll be preparing for the offseason quicker than a Jay Ajayi 57 yard run in overtime with 10 men on the field.... Adam Gase is the coach of the year. Not only for what he's done with so many injuries, in his first year, with a majority roster that was here before him......but also for preparing this team since week 5 for the playoffs even as they were sitting at 1-4. I sure wouldn't want to play the Dolphins in the playoffs...
I wouldn't either. This team is better than most would believe it is. It's scary how dangerous this team could've been if it were healthy. Imagine if the whole offensive line was healthy the whole season... Imagine if Ajayi started week 1... If Ryan Tannehill was healthy even now... If our linebackers were healthy the whole season... If Reshad Jones was healthy... What if Xavien Howard was healthy... The point I'm making is that we are doing this with limited access to our full potential. We are scaring teams now entering the playoffs. We could be something no one wants to deal with on any given week. We are a dangerous team and we owe it to Adam Gase and his staff. I tip my hat off to him!! SICK I love the post. I got hyped for a moment. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
One thing I'm hoping for, is that Gase and staff realize that all the sports science in the world won't prevent injuries, so I hope they stop targeting injury history players that their "sports science" team can manage, because that is a pipe dream. Overall though, I've been very happy with Gase, and I think we may have found a HC, but we all thought we had found our HC back in '08 too, so another year of getting better will be what cements it for me.
Bring it in guys. Group hug. Don't worry that's just a flashlight. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Guys and gals I love what Gase has done with this team and its fans... If you don't want the wind on your sails to be stolen, please don't read the following... I want to believe, but I have to look at it logically... The 10 games this team has won has been mostly against teams that are sub .500 (except for Pit)... 50-99 record, combined 33 winning %... The only victory against a wining team was against Pit (currently 10-5), everyone one else have a combined 40-94 record... a combined 28 winning %... I want to believe that this team has turned the corner for the future, but will have to settle for the now, till next year....
Sure, let's look at the numbers. Week one, Seattle scores 12 points while we leave 17 on the field due to inexperience in a new offense, first game jitters or whatever you want to call it. We lost, but Miami beat the crap out of this 9-5 team. Week two, New England obliterates us in the first half. Miami comes out on fire with adjustments across the board, and we miss overtime by a pass that Parker never even tried to catch. We lost again, but you could see it in Belichek's eyes....his 13-2 team had no answers for us. Weeks 3-5, we took the field with a college-level offensive line. It was ugly and people were fired; it's hard to eve count these games as being actual games. Miraculously, we won one contest against a very bad team. Weeks 6-7, both Pitt and Buffalo were on win streaks and ranked within the top 7 league wide. We had lost four of five and not expected to compete. Both wins were decisive. Week 14, the Ravens beat the brakes off us. This was the only loss of the entire season where we had something resembling starters on the field and didn't make it a game. So yes, we beat some bad teams and some average ones too. But if we replayed Seattle today, Stills makes that TD catch. Franks makes at least one of those missed field goals. We win that one easily. And for New England? Well, we'll find out this Sunday if Miami is "the best of the rest" or a legitimate contender. But make no mistake- the sub .500 stat lies to you in many different ways...we have beat quality teams this season when they were at their very best.
Ya the problem with the post you're answering to, was there was zero context, yet it was being presented as "logical." You made some good points, and there's several other good points that argue against the "they only beat losers" argument. For one, if we don't sweep the Jills, they're .500+. They're a team that beat NE at NE, and ALMOST beat Seattle at Seattle, yet we swept them. Does it make "logical" sense just off that fact? No, that's why context is required. And that other post had zero.
You are what your record says you are PF... sure on any given Sunday Cleveland can win... and we were lucky to beat them... is that lucky or logic??? there is your context... Look I am happy as hell we are in the Post Season... just not carried away with the way the season has gone...
You're contradicting yourself. First you said (paraphrasing) we're beating bad teams and that means we're not as good, then you say "you are what your record says you are", and here we are at 10-5. Which is it? You can't believe both things at the same time...
Again I am not saying that we are a bad team, but we have for the most part beaten bad teams... That is the record that I am talking about... and what I stated in the first posting, as to why I don't feel confident about this team till we get half way through next Season (2017)... start beating 50% of the good teams and I am starting to pay attention and smiling a lot... Just like in 2008... We were 11-5 and won the AFCE... that was great, but when it came to the PS we got killed again by the Ravens... we did not have the talent to make up for it... and the excuse was by everyone that our Strength of Schedule was what made our record that season... Yes we won 11 games that year, but for the most part it was against bad teams...
I get what you're saying and agree. The sample size is still too small and uncertain to make a definite conclusion on the team's longterm quality. Makes perfect sense and is quite pragmatic. To make a comparison, New England has played an almost identical schedule but doesn't face similar criticism because of their long history of success. People feel more confident in saying they are a good team regardless of their weak schedule because they've proven year over year they have a program in place that can win regardless. Miami hasn't done this so it's natural to want more proof and to be more skeptical. Not getting wrapped up in the moment, really. I always feel it's best to approach Miami's season as if it were that of a team I had no rooting interest. If the Eagles had a season like this, what would my thoughts be. Further, what if it were the Jets? Would I then be more likely to point out the weak schedule? If so, that should factor into my critique of Miami if I am being fair. So on and so forth. As for the original point of the thread, the week to week mentality is perfect for the postseason.
I think that Baltimore game was a eye opener and a humbling mechanism. It let them know that they can be beaten on any given week just in case they forgot. Plus it allowed them not to get big headed regarding their performance at the time. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
This team reminds me of KC last year. Hopefully we can do the same next year as KC followed up last season with another good season and really look to be Superbowl contenders.
But wait...the Miami Dolphins are the worst team in the playoffs. I know this because every single talking head has been saying in since Saturday.