Change isn't always a good thing.

Ok, I'm just going to say it.

I like Coach Sparano. And I still like Chad Henne.

Hear that? That's the sound of 80% of the Dolphins fan base fainting.

Now, that's not to say they aren't without fault. In fact, I still place a good chunk of the blame on Sparano for the entire team's poor performance this year. For one, he liked playing shift-the-Lineman a bit too much and never really let them gel in the preseason or during the regular season. For an Offensive Line coach, he needs to be able to predict the best lineup early in the preseason, and have it set before the final the two games.

And if what Ricky said about him is even half true, he does have to back off just a bit and stop trying to micromanage everything. Attention to detail is a terrific quality in a coach, and something I definitely want to see if I'm an owner or a fan, but if it is to the level that the players feel like you don't trust them to do their job and you don't just let the players play, it can definitely become a problem. I know that the NFL is becoming very much a finesse game, and all coaches want to control every detail, but when it comes down to it, some of the best plays you see in the NFL are really just letting the players go out and make something happen, because frankly, that's their job.

But, you have to remember, Sparano is new at this. Remember Belichick's first head coaching stint in Cleveland? Or how about Tony Dungys first 3 years in Tampa Bay? Jim Fisher in Tennessee? Tom Landry with the Cowboys?Chuck Noll with the Steelers?

Here's some records for you so you don't have to look them up

Belichick ||| 6-10 ||| 7-9 ||| 7-9 ||| 11-5 (lost in AFC Divisional)

Dungy ||| 6-10 ||| 10-6 (lost in divisional) ||| 8-8 ||| 11-5 (lost in NFC Champ)

Fisher ||| 1-5 ||| 7-9 ||| 8-8 ||| 8-8 ||| 8-8 ||| 13-3 (lost in super bowl)

Shanahan ||| (with LA) 7-9 ||| 1-3 ||| (then DEN) 8-8 ||| 13-3 (lost in divisional) ||| (Back to Back Super Bowls)

Landry ||| 0-11 ||| 4-9 ||| 5-8 ||| 4-10 ||| 5-8 ||| 7-7 ||| 10-3 (lost in champ, started streak of consistent contenders)

Chuck Noll ||| 1-13 ||| 5-9 ||| 6-8 ||| 11-3 (lost in divisional) (4 Super Bowls in next 7 years)

These are all examples of coaches that were horrible to start with, but ended up being pretty darn good because an NFL owner decided to keep them around, and most of them reached that first success in their 4th year.

Has Sparano made some mistakes? Yes, absolutely. The key is going to be if he learns from them. I love how Sparano is a non-nonsense kind of guy. I love that the players admire and respect him, but he's not a pushover like Cam Cam was. I love his "play the basics and avoid mistakes" mentality. I love the way he interacts with the media and stands up for his players. As long as Sparano can learn from his mistakes much the same way a rookie player has to learn from their's, I think he can be a terrific coach in the long run. Just have some faith.

Now, Henne.

We all know the kid has a cannon for an arm. We also know based on Brandon Marshall's recent comments that he is a very intelligent QB who goes through he reads and plays "by the book." We also know by the reports from last offseason that he is a tirelessly hard worker, who spends a lot of time watching film and working to improve his game. I'm sure spending time with Pennington has drilled that into his mind by now.

But you know what I think Mr. Henne needs to do to improve? LIGHTEN UP A BIT. His best games this season were the ones where he had a "eff it all" attitude and started gun slinging the ball. Of course here is where pundits will say things like "oh but it's a finesse league now, you have to have timing, blah blah blah." Tell that to Brett Favre (pre-2010 season). Even Tom Brady lets things loose every once in awhile. Look, being a "System QB" is great and all, but you have to be willing to step outside of that box every once in awhile to keep the defense guessing. Because guess what? You know that "book" part of the "by the book" mentality? EVERYONE HAS READ IT. Playing "by the book" all the time is exactly what made our offense so predictable this season. Open it up, take some chances, and let your playmakers prove their worth on the field.

What the NFL is losing now, by moving to this new "robot" mentality, is player pride. Player pride is, in my opinion, the #1 most important aspect in the game of football. It's 4th and  inches in the opponents red zone. You're down by a touchdown in the 3rd quarter. The "book" says to send the FG team out and trust your defense to stop them. But do you know what that really does? It tells your O-line that you don't think they can get a 6 inch push on the D-line. It's 1st and Goal from the 2 yard line, and you throw 3 incomplete passes and kick a FG. This tells your RBs that you don't think they can gain 2 yards. You're up by 6 points in the 4th quarter and you go into a prevent defense, this tells your defense that you don't think they can get the job done the way they were playing before.

Football players are not mathmaticians. They are not strategists. They did not grow up dreaming up reading the coverage perfectly to take the 3rd option on their route to slip through the zone and score the game winning touchdown. They grew up dreaming about going deep into the endzone on a streak route in triple coverage to jump up and get the ball to score the game winning touchdown. Now I don't recommend throwing into triple coverage.... ever.... but it illustrates what I'm talking about here. You know that feeling you get when you juke out 3 guys, stiff arm another, and completely own your opponent on the way to a touchdown in Madden? Players crave that feeling too, it's what they play for. People complain about players losing their "fire," and I say it isn't the players fault. It's the coaches for trying to turn this into a game that is more about the coach's strategies then the players abilities.

With that in mind now, did you see fire in the eyes of the Dolphins this year? Or did you see a team with plenty of young talent, that felt held back by "the book" and vanilla playcalling? Did you see players that were proud of themselves, looking for the next big play they were going to land? Or did you see players that were just going through the grind because they were sick of overthinking everything.

So this goes out to the entire Dolphins organization. Stop trying to turn the team into a machine. This isn't chess. It isn't Othello, and it sure as hell isn't Baseball. There is a time for strategy, and there is a time to just play the dang game.

We don't need sweeping changes (besides a new OC). We have the pieces in place. We have the talents and skill sets available. Let go of the Bill "everything must be perfect" Parcells mentality and bring back some memories of playing on Friday Nights.

Play the game. Don't let it play you.