Everyone who has said this season was "disappointing" "unsatisfactory" can go ahead and suck it right now.   If you'll recall midway through 2009,  just before the season started, there was a consensus that the Miami Dolphins would be right on track in the rebuilding process if they could achieve an 8-8 record for the 2009 season.   We ended up at 7-9, one over par.

In this post i made before the season,  you can see just how wrong many experts were.  They said that buffalo would be far better than us,  and some even predicted the Dolphins to end up with a 4-12 record.   The wildcat would no longer suprise anyone.  Penningtons arm couldnt get it done.  Joey Porter and Jason Taylor were too old.   We lost Pennington,  so throw that out.   When using the wildcat we were ranked as one of the top 4 rushing teams in the league,  but the wildcat faded without Ronnie Brown,   you can put that in the trash too.  So what was our record without Pennington?  It was a winning record.  7-6.    Without Ronnie Brown we are 4-4.    If i told you we were going to lose CP10 and Ronnie Brown 4 months ago,  would you believe me if i told you that in the absence of either player we would be at least a .500 team?  Doubtful.

The fact that we were able to remain so close to par is a feat in itself.  This season the phins lost more key players than i would have liked.  Remember when Patrick Cobbs went down?  People were feeling the clouds of doom roll over them.  Now everyone is in love with the Lousaka monster.  When you look at some of the injured players, and their replacements,  it almost seems like a blessing.   The 2 positions that i think were affected positively by injuries are QB and CB.   We are now one year closer to having a great QB,  and a shutdown corner.  Vontae Davis is one of my favorite dolphins, and i think he will be for a long time.  For every big play he has given up,  he has made one fully worthy of redemption.   Remember when Jake Grove,  the cornerstone of our O-line was injured?  And then when his replacement was injued in the same game?  Amazingly  we still won that game in Carolina.  Thats resiliency,  thats heart.  These Dolphins have it. 

When you look at how we lost games, it is obvious that these Phins are competitors.   In 2009 we lost 4 games by 7 points or less.  We were within one score,  four times,  of being 11-5 again.   There were the games that left us scatching our heads,  like getting blown out by Buffalo,  or giving up our 21 point lead to the Saints.   But to me, that is all part of the growing pains.   And in case u guys forgot about the rebuild process,  read this exceprt from an earlier Chill Pill.

Bill Parcells knows what he's doing.  He's building this team like a freaking genius.  Its just to hard for a lot of us to grasp.  We are all part of the "I want what i want and i want it now" generation.  If you really think about whats going on in Miami you should come away with a euphoric feeling of fuzziness.  Parcells is doing exactly what he promised.  He's constructing a football team with a winning culture methodically and correctly.   The process just seems to move so slow at times that it can really be painful to us avid fans.  I ask you fellow Dolfans to please be patient and see the big picture.  It really is poetry in motion,  and the Parcells process is a work of literature that should be appreciated and respected. 

So guys,  (and you D.I.B.)  lets not hang our heads too low.  We all set our sights very high and fell short this year.   We wanted that 2008 magic Cinderella story all over again.  We wanted to defy the odds and shock the world,  unfortunately that was not the case.  Year 3 is coming.  We are going to hit the grid iron green once more, and no doubt knock down a few birdies.   Medics out. 

**authors note**

i already had 11 votes before i added other names to the list in the poll.  For non-official purposes,  11 votes will be subtracted from my total when declaring the non-official winner of the 2009 matty award for rookie of the year.   Also, if you were tricked into voting for me and actually want to vote for someone else,  please let us know, and your correct vote will be accounted for.  Thank you.