you dont say that, im with Matty.

im far from getting on his back….but i hope all this coaching and power doesnt go to Sparanos head and make him a complete sourpuss

doesnt bother me. I actually think if anything it will hope motivate this team. Its not like the Jets blew us out in week 1. I also think we need to really pound the ball this game and wear down the Cardinals. Even if we struggle early in the game like we did last week, i believe we should stick with it. It may frustrate you watching the game but it will pay off in the end.

maybe it is a “must win”, that term seems kind of heavy, but looking ahead, and I’ve posted this somewhere else, we’ve got NE, San Diego and a Houston team we’ve never beaten. This “must win” will look pretty good if we don’t get a win against the next 3 opponents. In all honesty, Houston looks like our next best chance to get a win. Maybe for the mental well being of this team, Arizona is a “must win”. Its kind of using a driver when all you need is an iron, but if we get the “w”, its all good.

think its a big deal that he said it. its not like the players are gonna give up on the rest of the season because they already lost the “must win”. hes just trying to motivate the team, and theyll forget it if they do lose

and how do you earn them?

They are all “must wins” as far as the way the team needs to approach it every week. Is it better to say to these guys, who KNOW that they are supposed to win every week, “Just do your best guys, and I’ll be proud of you even if you don’t win”? That is great for Pop Warner, but let’s be serious… these guys are paid a LOT of money to WIN. If that isn’t the case, then sign me up and pay me a LOT of money because I’m sure I can help them lose. I really don’t think they are looking for guys to fill that role.

I hear you Matty, and I see your point: If you have a “must win” game, and you don’t win, you are pretty much done. The is even more true if, as you point out in your example, it is the end of the season and you are playing for a playoff spot. Lose and even if you have 1 more game left, it doesn’t matter. So you don’t want to lose a “must win” game two games into the regular season… but what the hell? I mean, after last year, this team needs to show improvement, and in spite of what some people say, this is a very winnable game for the Fins. It really will come down to our D. If they can stop the run and get to Warner, they can win.
So Tony S looking at this as a “must-win” is fair, because every game the Fins drop at this point bring them closer to 0-16; every game we lose makes a win the following game even more difficult. Can you imagine how close they would be to completely losing faith, if after what happened last season, they started out 0-4, 0-5, 0-6?

How much worse could calling it “must win” now make it? I think this team needs to start playing like every game is their last, because the way they are turning over the roster, for SOME players, it just might be.

I agree

for a couple reasons…

first off everybody is well aware of what happened last year… and 0-2 on top of 1-15 and I forgot but they lost what the last 4 with saban… it won’t take much to convince people that little has changed… This team needs a win to start putting some distance between the prior teams and this one… to that we have to add that 0-4 seems to be the standard start for this team in the post wanny era… so that is another culture item that everyone is aware of…
so yeah it is a must win game….

with all of that in mind… the next 2 -7 weeks don’t exactly look like winnable games and with each passing week the culture of losing will grow and the corresponding pressue of the ‘need to win one’ will continue to infect the team… (i think we are all too aware of how that goes)

Finally how would you expect him to answer the question… Nah, i wouldn’t say its a must win situation… what message is that? we can lose some of them we don’t have to treat each and every game as game that HAS to be won..

nope its the exact right move and anything less then that would be counter to what they are trying to build .

once maybe twice a season. Little premature me thinks.
I believe the priority level goes like this, home division games, away division games, inter-conference games, last and least outer-conference games. Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t the Cards in the NFC?

and the things he’d say to fire up his players. Sometimes things that weren’t flattering.

Say what you will about last week’s loss, Miami’s rookie mistakes are the greatest reason we lost, and we were in it until the very end. Losing the first two can create a losing atmosphere and that’s something that this team needs to avoid if at all possible. This game IS a must win for the team, the fans and even for beyond this season. Players thrive in winning programs, and languish in losing ones.

Arizona may be a decent team this year, but if i’m a coach looking at the schedule, i’m thinking that they’re a team we can find a way to beat somehow. Good gameplanning is one way to beat them, but having the players fired up and playing for something helps too.

I think it was a good thing for Sparano to say. It puts him on the spot and the team. It shows guts and confidence.

I mean, what motivational speaker says, “This is a MUST-PLAY-WELL-THIS-WEEK” game!
‘Must Win" sounds a lot better.
I think that if the Dolphins play WELL, put pressure on the quarterback, run the ball effectively, that even if they don’t win, Phin fans will feel good about their team.
Looking at the schedule, I see 7 “Must Win” games:
Analysis of the 7 "Must Wins" on the Schedule
NYJ L 14-20
@Arizona "Must Win"
@NE
Bye
San Diego
@Houston
Baltimore "Must Win"
Buffalo
@Denver
Seattle "Must Win"
Oakland "Must Win"
NE
@St. Louis "Must Win"
@Buffalo
San Fran "Must Win"
@KC "Must Win"
@NYJ
Since this game is the first “Must Win” in the coming 6 weeks, I think it wise to get the team to gear up for it.

keep the bridge to nowhere t-shirt wearing hiring a lobbyist when she was mayor of a 5,000 person town to go after earmarks book banning personal vendetta firing competent government officials runner up miss Alaska political comments off of the Phinsider, I like to think that this is a small oasis of Dolphin football.
Thanks

Matty I, i´m so sorry about this, but i have to ask myself, are you affraid that the Dolphins are going to stay at the botton of this league for centuries? we have penniless and still you dont thrus him. We have to great backs and a HC with one ear red, because of the pulling made be the Tuna, but still you think we are losser.
We are going to win this one, and that reverse BS is good for one game, went yu do it for more than one game, then you are been a losser like the team you want to sheer!! All i want to say is, NEVER LOSS HOPE nor give up, cause them you become a part of the problem.
THIS IS A MUST WIN GAME!! PERIOD!!
There will be game that are going to be tough, because are team that are contenders, but with team that are mediocre or almost good, you have to have your mind set as a MUST WIN GAME!!