I still don't understand this. If people are so worried about being let down, that we can't be happy when we are playing well, then why not just avoid all possibility of disappointment and not root for a team at all?
I would say that if you're currently saying that you don't think we'll make the playoffs, that you're expectations are too low. Objectively, we have a better chance of making the playoffs than we have of missing them. Sure, we could lose every and any game on the rest of our schedule, but so can every other team. If we and every other team continues to play as they have so far this season, we make the playoffs. Any negativity at this point is based solely on a very subjective "I just don't think we're good enough" type of thinking. I would hesitate to put much stock in those opinions, however, since those holding that opinion were probably the same ones that didn't think we could be 4-3 at this point. That group has already proven to be fairly poor at assessing this team's talent level and at predicting how many wins are likely. Why would anyone believe they're right this time?
Thank you. We are good team for real. We haven't been winning by flukes. We are winning by our play. Our ceiling may not be SB this year but we are good enough to be a playoff caliber team right now. Hell, we are..5th seed.
The Patriots have lost as many games as we have. We should and probably will be competing for the division. That could even put us in the hunt for a first round bye. I can't wait for our first game against those guys.
Expecting this team to be a Super Bowl contender with a rookie QB is an unrealistic expectation. This team is certainly good enough to beat Baltimore though.
I am happy...that's the point. I am happy that we are playing well and winning games. I can be happy about that without trying to talk myself into the idea that we're going to win the division or make a superbowl run. Psyching myself up that high is a guarantee that I WON'T be happy at the end of the season.
I don't think this is an either-or. I think you can feel very content with what the team has accomplished, while also questioning whether it can take that next step of beating good teams and establishing itself as a legitimate noise-maker in the playoffs.
Pats are a great barometer. A win would be great, but even a loss is very telling. They ended our season in game 1 last year. Even if we lose, but keep the game from getting our of hand and aren't exposed, we know we are close. They are great at finding your weakness and pouncing.
I don't think it's that unrealistic in this year's AFC. When you play defense a lot of things are possible. The Jets got close with Mark Sanchez as their QB for two years in a row for crying out loud...
I'm suspending part of my decision on how good we really are until we have faced Belichick and the Pats at least once. also, we beat the Jets with two weeks of preparation. We won;t have that luxury again this season.... unless we get a bye week in the playoofs.... lol.
I honestly don't think the Dolphins can get to the Super Bowl this year. I think they need to upgrade their offense to be legitimate SB contenders. I do believe they can make the playoffs though and once they get in the playoffs, anything can happen. I do agree that Tannehill being a rookie isn't the reason the Dolphins may not win the Super Bowl. Perhaps Stringer Bell forgot that the Steelers won the SB in Roethlisberger's rookie season. Also the Patriots won their first SB in Brady's first year as the teams starter. In fact Brady didn't even start the season as the Patriots starting QB. He was the backup QB on the roster at the beginning of the season.
Right, so if Tannehill plays at the level of a HOF QB, then Miami is a SB contender. Again, I think thats an unrealistic expectation, but JMO.
You would have a valid point if either Big Ben or Tom Brady were elite QBs when their teams won their first Super Bowls. Roethlisberger was still being protected by defense and the running game when they won that first SB in 05. As a matter of fact he was pretty bad in that SB against Seattle. Brady was efficient when the Pats won the Super Bowl in 01 but he was not yet the offensive force that he later became. You admit that Miami could possibly beat Baltimore, a team that is flawed but still one of the top AFC teams, and then turn around and say that making a run at the SB is unrealistic. It doesn't really make sense.
I haven't heard anybody say we're winning the SB this year. What I keep hearing is people say that we're not a playoff team. Objectively, we are. We are currently the 5th seed and easily in the hunt to win the division. When that is pointed out, the ball gets moved and the naysayers say "well we're not a threat to go deep in the playoffs or win the SB". Personally, I'll wait to see how the team continues to develop, before forming my opinion on that. I could see the addition of Gaffney energizing the offense, Bush having a resurgence, Fasano becoming more of a passing threat, etc. I could also see various units or players taking a step back. Either way I'm not going to say what we will be. But, I will not say that we're not currently a playoff team when we clearly are. The people who keep posting that we're not a playoff team are simply wrong and too pessimistic to realize they're not being objective or realistic. But that is the case with most people who are pessimists. they like to call themselves "realists" when in fact they tend to be less realistic than optimists.
I would say that RT is playing better than Big Ben or Brady played in the years they won their first SB. They were both supported by great teams and lucky in terms of bounces their way and the quality of their opponents. Personally, I don't assume we'll be as lucky, but I can't say it's out of the question either. I don't have any expectations at this point, but I've watched the NFL long enough to know that saying "we can't" at this point is an ignorant statement.
I have you on ignore so I don't see most of your posts, but I happen to view this one since I thought it might be a direct response to mine. I would say the proper term is "unrealistic". The fact is that those cynical posts tend to be very poor predictions the vast majority of the time.
I may be wrong, but I think the main difference between you and me is how we view mediocre records. On another note, I am concerned too about pulling a Sparano after year 1. An unknown team and system, flying under the radar, benefitting from a super weak schedule. We have a lot of guys in contract years playing out of their skulls. Guys who have been downright bad. Are they being coache up by Philbin as Coyle? I it a combination of all? I thought we were gonna be good for years after Sparano year 1, and bit hard. I think Philbins X-Os are hopefully above that all. Players continuing to play at a high level is a big concern of mine tho. Sent from my iPhone
Sigh. I view the record for what it is, and it is a few things. One of those things this mediocre record is, is better than what many people said we'd be. I spent a good portion of the off season saying we'd be...get this....mediocre to good. So please, spare me the insinuated crap about how i view a mediocre record. I don't understand how what Sparano did with the team has any bearing on what Philbin is doing with the team. That's like being upset with who ever gets elected this year because Calvin Coolidge was a disappointment. Its quite frankly, silly. We had a gimmick offense no one was prepared for. Its why we fell to Earth after. I bought into the hype then too. I was against Parcells in the beginning, got caught up in the emotions and changed my stance, then boom, I was right the first time. You'd understand what we are now, if you'd just do now what you should have done in the off season....and that's open your eyes and remove emotion form the process. We are not a fluke. Philbin is for real. So is the team. We will be good to great for awhile.
You come across so virulent when you type "sigh" out. I was of the "ilk" that I was tired of mediocrity, and not one of the"we will not win in 2012, crowd." One difference is, at least our winning is spread out. Nothing was worse than losing constantly in the first 8weeks. That being said, I'm still not satisfied with mediocre. I'm sick of it. Fanbases like the Cowboys have Superbowl expectations after averaging 7 win seasons. I do not. The biggest reason I wanted Irish gone was because he hurt our coach hiring process. Well that worked itself out, seemingly and hopefully. But it takes away from the job our coaches do, to give player credit to Irish when Jones, Clemons, Wilson, Carroll, Misi, Burnett and other guys downright stunk last year and years before. Sent from my iPhone
Then it came across correctly. I'm tired of having to repeat myself. I'm tired of having to explain that figuring we'd be about 8-8 does not make me an optimist who drinks the kool aid. I'm tired of having to explain that not knowing what Ireland was responsible for when Parcells was here does not make me an Ireland supporter. Which are all things that were implied by your comment about how we view mediocrity. If that's not what you intended to imply, I apologize and revoke my sigh. For decades now, we haven't had the proper structure in this organization. That has caused us to make stupid moves that are always bad for long term health of our team and often bad for the short term too. By fixing the structure we've eliminated many of those issues. The reason that is important is that we can finally build a team for real and for the long haul. Shula tried building for the now, and that got him ushered out the door. Jimmy drove him self crazy and forced Wannydip**** on us. On and on until we got Sparano & Parcells. The common thread? Incorrect power structure. This past draft has been so successful so far, because it was done with proper amounts of input from GM and coaches. People think a good GM can just pull great players out of the draft and they'd be great players for any team, any system any where. That is not true. If that were the case, then there'd be no need to have different systems for example. I'll say again, i am the biggest Philbin fan ever, there may even be a little homo there, but he cannot make great players out of nothing. Ireland has to find the players Philbin can work with, or as Philbin likes to say, "football players". Its why Vontae isn't here and why Reggie Bush is. I give both men credit and its probably time you Ireland haters did too.
In response to elsewhere, I do not think we are a bottom half defense. I think/hope we are a top 10 D. But I am leery of facing a quality O, and how we will fair in late December. We have a great run D in this passing age, and yet are susceptible to 3rd and 4th and short. I don't think ANY defense is safe from a butt whipping in this crazy 2012 year. Sent from my iPhone
This franchise has been out of it for years. Personally, if we continue to show improvement and I see some "light" at the end of the tunnel, I'll be satisified. If we make the PO's..great...if we just show the improvement, I'll be happy....
I have the absolute ability to change my stance on Irish and back him. For me, that time has not come yet. Sent from my iPhone
My big questions are, is Nolan Carroll and Jimmy Wilson really this good? Will they stay this good? Remember Vontae at the begin ing of 2010? He was like Revis Jr, but a bigger hitter. Contract year guys, couple year in guys, I hope they stay at this level, but can't help but be skeptical. A LOT of our future hinges on it. Through 7 weeks, you don't need to touch our starting safeties, save for depth. And color me stunned. Stunned like I was stunned when Fasano looked like Jerry Rice on that TD catch vs the Jests. But will that remain?
There are 2 things I owe Irish an apology for, and its directly related to seeing red with haterade. See, I do think irish wanted McCoy, and Ross over ruled and went with Philbin. I do think Ross, Regis and co. over ruled irish and took Tannehill. I don't think irish ever wanted Bush here, it was a Marquee name Ross wanted. But <1>the same goes for Marshall. I do think that was Ross. I blamed Irish for the Marshall debacle, when my gut told me he wasn't the guy who brought him in in the first place. So the Marshall debacle, the debacle that it is, should not go on Irish in my opinion. <2> Vontae trade. My gut told me Philbin wanted Ocho gone, and the same for Vontae, not Irish. Was I pissed that we traded a starting caliber CB with elite athletic ability? oooh yeah, but I don't think it was irish's call, as much as Philbin's. But those 2 things I wrongfully blamed irish for. That being said, what I see here is a puppet for the former regime, and a guy who can't stand up to the current one. Its important to get along and be cohesive with the staff and especially your boss...but you can't be a door mat either. Again, just hearsay and stuff my gut tells me...stuff that not you or me can either 100% prove or dispute, yet both build strong cases for and against. Cases many of our finest here have both supported and refuted with solid circumstantial evidence.
We have A LOT of contract year guys. You hate to think they dog it otherwise, but there is a reason they always bring up the contract year guys. Guys like Haynesworth, Calvin Pace and others blazed that trail. Contract year guys scare me. Like I said, I need to see consistency out of a lot of guys who are playing good now, but were damn near terrible prior.
It didn't help that Parcells, not Ireland, hired the initial group of failed coaches that created an environment that wasn't very appealing, but then again, if the environment were appealing we probably wouldn't have needed a whole new coaching staff to begin with. Ireland wasn't the reason Harbaugh didn't come here. We stood a snowball's chance in hell of prying him away from the state of California where his family and heart is, and Fisher not coming here wasn't b/c of Ireland either. I didn't realize Jones, Clemons, Wilson, Carroll, and Misi were all established veterans in no need of developing. Burnett was solid the 2nd half of the year after learning the system. BTW, it doesn't take away from the job our coaches do to give credit to Ireland. It credits Ireland for finding the talent that a good coaching staff like Philbin's is then able to actually develop, or do you instead feel that college kids should enter the NFL at the pinnacle of their ability & performance level w/o any need from NFL coaching to achieve it?
I think they are. But not because I'm an eternal optimist (I'm far from it), but because what i've seen with my own two eyes. Kevin Coyle is known for thing....fixing players in the secondary. He's a defensive backfield guru. I also think one more pass rusher, shrinks the time they have to cover. I think the yards against us are because we've completely shut down the running game and all teams can do is pass. I think our secondary have to cover more plays then any other secondary in the league. Vontae is not a football player. He does not fit the Philbin mold. I am supremely more confident in a player Philbin likes than one he doesn't.
