Let This Be The Moment...

While the 2007 season (1-15) was forgettable in just about every way, there are some things about that season I've been thinking about since Monday night.  I'm born and raised in the New York area, so forgive me as I address a local football scenario that unfolded here, and be patient, it will all tie in to the Dolphins in 2010, I hope:

Local sports talk radio was in an uproar after week 2 of the 2007 NFL season.  You see, the Giants, the REAL hometown team around here, had started the season with back to back losses to the hated Cowboys, and the Packers.  And they lost ugly.  The defense had given a total of 80 points in those two games and a combined 900 yards of offense, both on the ground and through the air.  Their young QB, who had yet to prove he really belonged, conitinued to make poor decisions and while showing a strong arm and good pocket awareness, was being crucified by local fans and media as a "bust" who would never be a leader, or the QB of a winning team.  The defense was labeled "soft", and accused of tanking games and showing zero ability to get to the opposing QB.  After two weeks, the coaches job was being called for, as well as the heads of the teams' veteran players.  Not to mention the former GM, who had the audacity to draft Peyton Mannings younger brother and in a scouting report before the '04 draft, reported that he could be "better than his brother".  Things were bleak.  Then there was a moment...

At half-time of their week 3 matchup against the division rival Redskins, the Giants found themselves down 17-3.  The "Skins took the ball at the beginning of the second half, and quickly drove down the Giants 1 yard line.  A TD would, in all probability, put the game out of reach, ending the Giants hope for the division, and most likely, the playoffs.  Then something amazing happened. This "soft" defense stood up, and stuffed the 'Skins on four straight downs.   It was in that moment, that you could almost see the life being injected back into a season that had been left for dead just moments earlier.  The offense took that momentum and, with the leadership of their"bust" QB, ran off 3 consecutive TD drives, and won the game 24-17. I'm sure you all remember how the rest of that season turned out for that QB, that defense, and that team. The Giants had their moment.  They fought back, took their season back, and made the playoffs.  And once they did, they marched into the houses of the two teams that embarassed them so badly in the first two weeks, and shut them down.  Then they went to Super Bowl 42, and beat a "perfect" team that "couldn't be beat".   And ask Mr. Bundchen if the Giants had any trouble getting to the QB on that particular day...

We need a moment...

We need a moment, where someone on this team decides they have had enough, and makes a play that forces the league to take notice.

We need a moment, where a young QB, whose leadership and decision-making is under constant scrutiny, to decide that this is HIS team, and show that he is tired of hearing about his potential and decide it's time to take control.

We need a moment , where the players decide that the fate of this team has NOT yet been decided for this season.

We need a moment, where this organization decides that middle-of-the-road just isnt going to be good enough anymore.

We need a moment where this team decides to spit in the face of every reporter, analyst, and "expert", and show each one that there are more than two teams worth discussing in this division.

We need a moment that turns this season around almost single-handedly.  Forcing every other team in the league to acknowledge that this team won't be pushed around.  

We need a moment where somebody, ANYBODY, shows the heart and determination that we've all been talking about since the summer.  I don't care if its offense, defense or yes, even special teams.

The next game is in about three hours, on the road, in Green Bay....

Let this be the moment.....