First over/under for Dolphins win in 2008

by Matty I on May 13, 2008 9:35 PM EDT in News Comment 18 comments

Sportsbook.com has released their over/under win totals for all NFL teams for the 2008 season. The Dolphins come in with the 2nd lowest total, with the win total for 2008 set at 5 1/2 wins. They are tied with the Chiefs, who are also pegged at 5 1/2 wins. The lowest total belongs to the Falcons, with 4 1/2 wins.

As for the rest of the AFC East, the Patriots' total is set at 12. The Bills and Jets are both pegged at 7 1/2 wins.

But back to the Dolphins. Five and a half is a tough play and both the over and the under pay out less than even money. I think most realistic Dolphin fans would tell you that 5 to 6 wins is probably what we should expect.

So what do you think? If you HAD to bet, would you take the over or the under for the Dolphins in 2008?

Poll

Place your bets: Will the Dolphins go over or under 5 1/2 wins in 2008?

Over

473 votes

Under

151 votes

624 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 18 comments

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Comments

sorry

MattyI but, im a realist put my plata on the lesser side of that..

What happend to the Killer BEEs

by FinfanT on May 13, 2008 9:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I, too, voted for under

The Phinsider: SBN's Miami Dolphins blog

by Matty I on May 13, 2008 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It seems that....

a team with a new coach usually does a little worse than people expect. This is probably due to there being an adjustment period where the players learn a new system and routine, while the coaches need to see first hand what their players are capable of and have to do more adjusting of their schemes and game plans. BUT, with a better D and better special teams this team could be a 7, or dare I say, 8 win team. Bill has a history of quick turnarounds.

Take the over.

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic." -Unknown

by Daren on May 13, 2008 10:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I picked over

but im guessing barely over. I’d go with six wins

by dolfanstanley on May 13, 2008 10:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

tough bet

but to put my life on it, I’d put my faith in Parcells and say over. But not by much. 6 is the highest I’d go. Then again, I been saying 5 for a while now. so maybe under. Dammit this is why I don’t gamble lol

http://canemutiny.blogspot.com A fans view of Miami Hurricanes Football and Basketball

by Little Nicky 21 on May 13, 2008 10:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

haha ya

vegas definitely did a good job on this one

by dolfanstanley on May 13, 2008 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

schedule is tougher then

people think. if they go over it will have been a very good year…
i’m picking 5 wins and i think i’m a little optimistic with that guess… 4 wouldn’t surprise me and 3 wouldnt’ be out of the question considering that nothing really is settled at QB (any of them any good?), RB(expect Ronnie to be out most of the year or less then 100% and can ricky handle the load?), WR ( are any of them NFL average?) or OL (very young and will need some games to gel)......

I just don’t see too many points going on the board with a tough schedule

by W NY Fins Fan on May 13, 2008 10:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good points

But I do think that improving the special teams, rushing defense, and hopefully the run blocking should be worth a few wins. If there’s one thing that helps a young OL get acclimated to the NFL, its a run-heavy offense. And between Ronnie and Ricky’s contribution, as well as the rook’s, the running game should be strong enough to allow us to stay in games. You’re right though, 4-5 seems to be the most reasonable guess, though 6 or 7 isn’t out of the question if a few things go our way.

I see 4 very winnable games in Nov and Dec with KC, STL, OAK, and SF on the schedule, so if we can steal a division game or two, and maybe win a game we probably shouldn’t early in the year, our record could end up better than expected. It’s all optimism though, and we’ll have to revisit this topic during the preseason so we can better gauge the team’s progress

http://canemutiny.blogspot.com A fans view of Miami Hurricanes Football and Basketball

by Little Nicky 21 on May 13, 2008 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

don't see 7 wins on the schedule unless

Henne is as good out of the box as the triad thinks he is…. (but we’ll skip that here)

~I see 4 very winnable games in Nov and Dec with KC, STL, OAK, and SF on the schedule, so if we can steal a division game or two, and maybe win a game we probably shouldn’t early in the year, our record could end up better than expected.~~

Ok – granted it’s a little early to be guessing how teams will look but

Miami is AT kc and a very hard place to win at… so that game is far from a gimme
Miami is AT STL – who has some actual proven offensive talent… just look at how they finished the year once Jackson was healthy. if miami wins this one (baring the usual injuries etc disclaimer) I’d be very surprised.

and Oakland thrashed the dolphins last year in miami with a 3rd stringer at RB and a broken down QB… So has Miami’s improvements exceeded oaklands by that much?

Plus you want to steal a couple division games… yikes, that is asking a lot…. have the dolpins won 7 division games the last 3 years?

So do I see improvements yes, do i feel confident that the dolphins are finally on the right path yup… but this season should be about team building and not a lot of expectations…

I think they need to establish a QB who will be the secured starter for game 1-16 in 2009.
I think they need to find the last 2 pieces of the OL holes… (carey is a FA incase you wondered what #2 was, but 2a is if smiley is healthy and can play)
I’d like to think that they can find a TE who can block
I think they need to establish what there DL will be for 2009…

All of that means playing young guys and making some cuts of guys who may have topped off (say a roth?) who might contribute more the a younger guy, but they have to play the younger guy to see if he has greater potential.

by W NY Fins Fan on May 15, 2008 1:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK

winnable doesn’t mean gimme’s. Every game will be a struggle for us this season, but those are the 4 games that, right now, look to be our best chances at victories. I can handle being optimistic without being crushed by a 4 or 5 win season. My expectations are that alot of the unanswered questions we have will be answered. By the end of the year, we SHOULD know who our QB will be moving forward. We SHOULD know what guys to keep on the OL and what spots we still need to replace. We SHOULD know which young guys can contribute, and what positions we need to fill in the next offseason. But this team SHOULD also win a few games based on the improvements we already have made. I’m not “expecting” 6 or 7 wins, by no means, but I’m not ruling it out either. Stranger things have happened in the NFL

http://canemutiny.blogspot.com A fans view of Miami Hurricanes Football and Basketball

by Little Nicky 21 on May 15, 2008 1:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree with everything you said about the offense but

there are also a lot of positives to look at. First of all we had to deal with a lot of injuries. Second of all, we have a much improved special teams. And third of all, we lost a lot of close games that couldve (shouldve) been won. Here are my thoughts on the rest of the team:

as far as OL, we kept the best 2 from last year (in my opinion), added a good starter in smiley, and obviously the long pickup is huge. All we need now is that last guard spot

At WR, Ginn now has a year under his belt and wilford is an upgrade over marty booker. Other than that every WR is about the same. Also, Fasano is an upgrade compared to what we had at TE

For RB, i expect them be about the same. I hated the booker trade, but we also added two rookies for some depth

At QB, whoever starts will definitely have better pass protection. Beck, like ginn, also has a year under his belt, McCown has never had a shot on a good team so we dont really know about him (not that the dolphins are a good team right now, but you know what im saying), and Henne has potential

The defensive line definitely got better by adding ferguson, langford, and starks

At LB, we lost ZT which should hurt and we still could lose Jason taylor. However, Joey porter has had a while to recover and is now in a defensive system more like the one in pitt where he dominated. We also added Ayodele and Torbor which should lessen the loss of Zach.

And finally in the secondary, all of our CBs are the same (unfortunately) and the talent of our safeties hasnt increased much, but we do have much more depth.

by dolfanstanley on May 13, 2008 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hey

i’m not all mister doom and gloom here….

Do I think things are headed in the right direction? yup…
do i see improvement over last year yup…

I just think some of these things take time to work out… say OL and DL… I like ALOT what the triad is doing… I’ve been sayign for years they need to address the OL. there is only so much you can do with a 3 step drop passing game….

and yes special teams should be better.

it’s just i suspect its going to take some time for these ??? to resolve.

on top of that I find it hard to go against the guys who make a living betting on how many games the fins will win.

by W NY Fins Fan on May 15, 2008 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Less Than Even Money

Then what would be the purpose.

by Quinyne on May 13, 2008 11:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh the irony is sweet...

in a recent diary post (before this official over/under came out) that the dolphins probably were going to be at a 5 game over/under win season.

Guess vegas was thinking along the same lines and just added the 1/2 number to avoid a push.

With all that said, I’m going to vote for the under scenario, figuring the dolphins probably win 5 games. Winning 5 still puts them under, hence my vote.

The dolphins can certainly ‘win’ more than 5 games but right now that comes across as slightly wishful thinking given we a) have a big ? at QB, b) have a defense that was dreadful last year, c) our two top running backs played a grand total of about 8 games combined last year (Ricky & Ronnie), d) a rookie starting at left tackle, e) the reality that as of right now there is no true number 1 receiver on this roster.

by Natalya on May 13, 2008 11:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

7-9

Bank on it.

Are you picking up what I'm putting down?

by Neo on May 14, 2008 12:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

IF Ronnie and Ricky play atleast 14 games a piece this year...

...and put up 1800+ yds between them, then I easily see a 6 or 7 win year.

Parcells has already turned a 1-15 team into a 9-7 team the next year. I’m not expecting that great an improvement. However, with 6 games lost by 3 pts, seven by 7 or less, one would have expected to win atleast half of those close games. Obviously, there’s a reason we never heard that Cam Cameron gave us the best chance to win.

by dab415217 on May 14, 2008 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs