Here the Miami Dolphins stand at 0-4.  And to make things worse, our starting QB is out indefinitely, and our top back has been battling injuries.  I'm not sure the season can get much worse, but it doesn't appear like it will get much better either.

There has been alot of debate over whether losing more games and getting the 1st pick is the best option for this team.  I'm not sure exactly how I would handle the situation if I were Sparano, Ireland, or Ross.  But it appears that only winning 4 games and getting a Top 5 pick is better for the franchise long-term.  

Even with a great turnaround, nobody (fans or players or coaches) will be happy with 7 wins, we will have just moved ourselves out of contention for an elite QB prospect.  So I say the team shouldn't make any changes, stick with Sparano, don't sign any FAs that will help us for this season.  I'm not going to root for the Phins to get beat every week, but I also won't be jumping for joy if we start winning some games and are 3-6 all of a sudden.

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I've been away from the computer for awhile and if this subject has been discussed already, I apologize. That being said, before the last draft I voiced my concern about two players...Soliai, and Carpenter. Then Soliai received 'the Tag'...which , IMO, speaks volumes about the talent we had at that time. So, from the beginning of the season I have been casually watching Soliai, with the same casual intensity that Alpha watches the latch on Bacon's cage.

 

I find the Center and then look directly across from him, and....no one is there. For the vast majority of the defensive plays we have been running a 4-3? We are not a 4-3 defense, so what the hell is going on? Before JT left the Dolphins, he inflicted pain to our opponents like an eggplant sized enema probe. Then when he left and joined a 4-3 team, he was as painful as a baby carrot. Is this new covert 4-3 design the reason Jason is almost ineffective? It's his age, you say...but then what's the excuse for Wake? He has, for the most part, been neutralized also and this, to me, is the clearest tell that something has drastically changed.

Then there are the woe's from the Safety's and Corners.  We have a Charger running down the middle of an empty field like an owl with spinal meningitis. His body is pointed toward the goal line but his face is looking at the quarterback, and he's bent back so far looking up for the ball, that his shoulders are almost getting hit by his own heels, for christ sake. If you have the ability to watch this play again, notice that Gates is just jogging behind him like a spectator who's on the field. If he would have been running flat out, like real players are suppose to do, he would have caught up to him and touched him before he got up [remember, he fell down, adjusted, got back up and started running again]. It wasn't until he got back up that Gates kicked it in, but by then it was too late. If I was the coach, he would have been benched for the rest of the game...minimum. These are the effects of running a 4-3 with our talent, BUT are we running it because of Soliai's mediocrity? If not...then why?

Carpenter is not a great kicker! In one of the games we lost last season...you know, the one where Carpenter missed on FIVE attempts, that would have been the game, as a coach, I make a mental note..."New Kicker"! But the guy never even had competition. Why?? Can you imagine Carpenter singing Karaoke on the sideline...while we are losing..and 10 feet away was coach Shula? [Everyone who watched Shula coach, just 'puckered' reading that.] With all this joking going on during a losing game and season, compiled with a lack of sideline communication, tells me my support of Sporano has dropped dramatically.

What I see are two things.

1) A group of very talented players, with very little discipline from their head coach!  

2) A 3-4 defense that somehow covertly morphed into a 4-3, leaving the players with WTF do I do now, feeling.

 Is this really happening, or...Is it me?

Packers:

2010- 7 out of 7 (Bryan Bulaga #23, Mike Neal #56, Morgan Burnett #71, Andrew Quarless #154, Marshall Newhouse #169, James Starks #193, C.J. Wilson #230)

2009- 5 out of 8 (B.J. Raji #9, Clay Matthews #26, T.J. Lang #109, Jarius Wynn #182, Brad Jones #218)

2008- 5 out of 9 (Jordy Nelson #36, Pat Lee #60, Jermichael Finley #91, Josh Sitton #135, Matt Flynn #209)

2007- 3 out of 11 (James Jones #78, Desmond Bishop #192, Mason Crosby #193)

2006- 2 out of 12 (A.J. Hawk #5, Greg Jennings #52)

2005- 2 out of 11 (Aaron Rodgers #24, Nick Collins #51)

2004- 1 out of 6 (Scott Wells #251)

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The Packers also selected Aaron Kampman #156 who had 54 sacks and 12 FF

This is how the Packers rose to fame drafting one pro-bowler after another while 25 of their 64 draft picks since 2004 (excluding this season) are still on the team. With the exception of Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams (who I believed signed as an undrafted FA) all the pro-bowlers on the team have been drafted. Also their success of drafting #1 round players has been awesome. Raji, Matthews, and Rodgers are all pro-bowl players. Hawk has been an above average LB. They did not have a 1st round pick in 2008. In 2007 they drafted DT Justin Harrell #16 who was a bust with only 28 tackles in his career. In 2004 they drafted CB Ahmad Carroll #25. He played 3 seasons for the Packers with 104 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 3 sacks. In 2000 the Packers selected T Chad Clifton #44 who is still on the team today. Also in 1999 the Packers selected Donald Driver #213 who is also still on the team. Their 1st round pick in 2000 was Bubba Franks who had 262 receptions, 2,300 yards and 32 TD in his career with the Packers. Their 1st round pick in 2001was Jamal Reynolds who had 18 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles in his career with the Packers. Their 1st Round Pick in 2002 was Javon Walker who had 157 receptions, 2,444 yards and 22 TD in his career with the Packers.

 

Dolphins:

2010- 6 out of 8 (Jared Odrick #28, Koa Misi #40, John Jerry #73, Nolan Carroll #145, Reshad Jones #163, Austin Spitler #252)

2009- 4 out of 9 (Vontae Davis #25, Sean Smith #61, Brian Hartline #108, Chris Clemons #165)

2008- 5 out of 9 (Jake Long #1, Phillip Merling #32, Chad Henne #57, Kendall Langford #66, Lex Hilliard #204)

2007- 2 out of 10 (Paul Solai #108, Brandon Fields #225)

2006- 0 out of 6

2005- 0 out of 6

2004- 1 out of 6 (Vernon Carey #19)

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See the difference? I certainly see one. Since 2004 (excluding this year) only 17 of out our 54 draft picks are still on the team, with around a possible 5 that will not return. We still don’t know how we did this past year but it looks good so far. Pouncey and Thomas are keepers, Gates will take sometime to develop but he will be good, Clay has been injured, and Wilson we are still unsure about, and Frank Kearse is on the Panthers. While our last 4 #1 draft picks have been good we busted our 1st round picks from 2005-2007, which is 3 1st round picks. In those years the Packers selected Rodgers, Hawk, but did not have a 1st round pick in ’08. Vontae Davis is very good but I would take Clay Matthews over him who was selected with the next pick. The Dolphins did not have a 1st round pick in ’00, ’02, and ’03. In 2001 they selected Jamar Fletcher who only had 55 tackles and 2 interceptions in 3 years with the team. Their good mid-round picks that had some good years with the Dolphins were Chris Chambers #52 in ’02, and Randy McMichael #114 in ’03. Yeremiah Bell was selected #213 in 2003. That’s the difference between a championship team vs. well the Dolphins.

I have a confession to make. It is something that has weighed heavily on me for a few years now, and I can no longer bear the burden of responsibility in silence.  As devout fans of this seemingly doomed franchise, I feel I owe you the common courtesy of the real truth.  It is a sordid tale of hypocrisy, hope, and short-sightedness that culminates in a whirlwind of emotion that will leave you breathless and horrified (Not really).  You see, the state of constant malaise the Dolphins are mired in is completely my doing and can easily be explained. 

October 12th, 2009 Approximately 11:15 PM  Hawthorne, NJ

The Dolphins had spent the better part of the last three hours on Monday Night Football going back and forth with the hated New York Jets.  And I don't mean "hated" in the half-hearted sports team rivalry sense, like "Tom Brady is so damn good, god I HATE that guy."  I mean hated in the Hitler/Bin Laden/Katy Perry sense.  As in everyone on the planet with a pulse and an IQ above 40 HATES them.   I hate the Jets more than I hate Cancer.  If someone gave me the choice between eliminating child hunger  or the Jets franchise, I would have to ask for more time to think about it. 

(Deep Breath) 

 Anyways, Miami had just given up a long touchdown pass and were down by three with just over two minutes left, and the ball in their own territory, the game in the hands of their "future" QB, who was starting just his second game ever, and playing well.  It was at that very moment, seconds before that fateful drive began, that I doomed this franchise to perennial failure.  You see, I am surrounded by Jets fans.  Friends, family members, coworkers.  They are like dog-shit, they are everywhere.  So I am constantly exposed to the nonsense, the arrogance, and the stupidity that only Gang Green Nation can provide.  So it was at that moment that I, a devout Agnostic, struck a deal with god.  And it went a little something like this:

Me: "God, are you there?  It's me, the guy who has spent every Sunday sitting in front of a big-screen TV, instead of an alter.  The guy who thinks "Praise his name" refers to Dan Marino.  Yeah that guy."

God:  "Yeah , I know you.  What the hell do you want?"

Me: "Well God, I have never asked you for anything.  Never wasted your time begging for the health of my children, or an end to war, but today, I need something."

God: "(sigh) What?"

Me:  "Please, please just let us win this game.  I don't care what happens every day after this one.  Just let us win this game."

God: "Fine.  But I'm not doing it for you.  I just really like to see that fat pig head coach of theirs go ape shit after losses."

Me: "Good enough bro.  Thanks ."

God: "Oh and by the way, When people only see one set of footprints in the sand, I'm not carrying them, I'm off body boarding."

Me: "Hmmm."

And so it was.  Henne drove Miami down the field, converting multiple fourth downs, and Ronnie Brown ended the drive with a three yard touchdown run.  And my life was complete.  Little did I know.....

Since that night....

12-19 record.  3-9 home record.  The slow and steady demise of a once promising head coach.  Numerous front office debacles.  And the biggest kick in the pants that night?  That game, which was the first prime-time start of Chad Henne's career, would ultimately turn out to be the best performance of his career, only to see the promise of that night wither away beneath a sea of mediocre and non-inspiring performances.
So you see, you can all stop wondering where it went wrong.  The answer lies in a Faustian tale of an idiot, and his hatred for the football fans his geography burdens him with.  I'm the Al Bundy of the Dolphins fanbase.  Leading a sub-standard football life, forced to constantly relive the glory of a football game played (relatively) long ago....

In other news...

I just can't bring myself to watch a Dolphins game and root against them.  It would be like watching "Saving Private Ryan" and rooting for the Germans.  I am a realist, however.  So I can accept the fact that even if this team has a major turnaround, the season is over.  Look at it this way:  If we come out of the bye and finish the season 8-4, which is not going to happen, it still leaves us at 8-8, which is essentially nowhere.  All that 6-10 or 7-9 does for us is drop our draft status low enough for this team to, once again, talk itself out of a first round QB.  So I fully acknowledge that any wins this team strings together are to our detriment at this point.  But as I stated above, I am incapable of actively rooting for this team to fail each week.  So what I will do is root like hell for the Vikings, the Broncos, the Colts, and the Chiefs to win as many games as possible.  Cause somehow, that doesn't seem the same to me as rooting for Miami to lose. 

So I will stumble through the rest of this season, in a fog, paying some attention to the current season and euphorically dreaming of a future complete with the ability to watch my football team play meaningful football games....in October.  Hey, gotta walk before you can run.

Here is why every Dolphin should be hungry for our next win!  Could you picture any Dolphin participating in this photoshoot?  (OK, outside of Brandon Marshall).  This is why many of us despise the Jets.  They are our opposites.  They are our enemy.  They are in for a hell of a game in two weeks!

 

Has there ever been a quarterback act so great but be so mediocre.

 

Beat those Jets!  Beat Mark Sanchez! 

via ts2.mm.bing.net

Poll

Better QB

82%

Chad Henne

38 votes

17%

Mark Sanchez

8 votes

46 votes | Poll has closed

So here is the problem with our team and the one way have to play.

   First the O. Our O.C. still sucks ass and think we can pound the ball up the middle with a week line. You can not pound the ball up the gut with a 210 RB over and over. Just not going to happen. Most DB's are that size and can bring your RB's down. D. Thomas yes you can pound him up the gut untill his breaks just a bigger back and harder to push over. Bush and the wasted pick up in Slaton should be off tackle runners. Sean Peyton is no Dummy and he used Bush the right way. Outside running , screen passes and check downs. Every now and then you can run him up the middle just to keep the D. honest. When you only throw deep 2 or 3 times a game the safties crowd the box. Now why don't throw deep maybe because our Wr's cant get open or are so yes I said slow 4.5 and 4.6 is not fast in the NFL. yes Gates has speed but can not get off the line with separation . So the D has no worries of our Wide outs. B. Marshall draws the double and the everyone else just says we will give it to you if you can take it, and guess what we cant. SO with not being able to run the ball we cant throw, and not being able to throw we cant run, sounds stupid, but anyone that has played the game higher than High school ball or Madden will tell you the same, the one opens up the other. If you can keep them guessing then you have already one the game. Ex. The Pats. Yes it hurts to say it.

  Now our D. The 3-4 scheme is a great scheme but you need the players to run it. Our NT is solid but not great. Yes he racks up Double teams and that's his job, but the other must get pressure and they well just aren't. Starks has been how can I say this... just not the Starks of old, and JT is well just old. Hey I love J.T. and would keep him untill he wants to leave, but he should been used sparingly . Relief of Wake or Blitzing downs.Odrick , Langford, Merling and Starks should make up the front 3 only big bodies with power and can help set the edge. Our MLB's should be able to bust any running play up that comes up the middle, but they cant. Burnnett is horrid and Dansby is in coverage or bailing out Burrnett. Our DB's that were going to be the next Madison and Surtan, nope not a chance. They are here one play then gone for 2or 3 more.Davis plays the run better than coverage, well that might be a bit harsh, but they both need more work. Safeties Bell is solid ,but we have no true F.S. and that is needed in this league. So how do you move the ball against the Miami Dolphins beside with ease. By running to T.E's and making the Dolphins key player drop into coverage on run plays.The split T.E. chips Wake or Taylor and draws one of the two into coverage,and then draws Dansby or Burnnett  into coverage also.Leaving the other the only line of defense by the line. With P.S. drawing a double team and no other D-lineman drawing the same that leave Dansby all alone with a pulling O-lineman which he will loose most of the time. For passing downs same coverage just throw to the mis-match OLB covering T.E. or which ever of the to DB's we have taking that play off.

 I could go on but I hope you get the idea of it. So if I can figure it out, what makes you think someone getting paid a hell of a lot more than me cant. We are in dire need of a change to our game planning. Maybe Ross should go to Barnes and Noble and pick up Football for Dummies or even Football 101 and hand it off to T.S. and Dabol and tell them to read it cover to cover during the bye week. This is not hard to figure out just basic football.

  Sad part of all this is that I am a Miami Dolphin fan for life!!!! I will not leave this team, I did not jump ship with the 1-15 season and will not now. I guess if you never experience pain you will never know Pleasure, calm down Alpha and Beaver not that kind. So I will sit by every Sunday a continue to scream for and at my Miami Dolphins. So untill we fix these problems, there is no need to Suck for Luck or any other plans. We just need to learn how to game plan and maybe draft a touch better. Okay I'm done starting to ramble. Be well and here's to 12-4!!!!!! LOL

If you were anything like me Henne went down and I though... Well I guess we'll see what Moore can do. That's not really saying much for our starting QB.

Don't get me wrong I have been happy with Henne's progress this year. He showed he could play pretty well even with a offensive line that's pretty much swiss cheese. Even Long is looking like a mere mortal now days.

I guess we know what we have with Henne because when Moore came in we got about the same results.

Everyone knows who Rex Ryan is, the coach of the Jets that everyone in the world hates (even his brother), except for Jet fans. While it's not entirely his fault because his whole family is messed up (starting with Buddy), you cannot deny that they are geniuses when it comes to defensive schemes. When Buddy wasn't hitting his teams offensive coaches, he was designing the defense for the '85 Bears. Nevertheless, every time i see Rex Ryan I think about how much I hate him and the Jets. There is one thing though that i wish one of our coaches were able to do, the ability to fire up players and have them rally around you. When Jason Taylor came back this year he said how everyone on the team loves Rex and how he is able to pump up the players and the crowd. 

In 2008 football czar Bill Parcells, OL coach Tony Sparano, and GM Jeff Ireland came to the Miami Dolphins to try and turn this 1-15 team around. After going 0-2 and the Patriots coming up, things were looking the same. You all know what happened after that, but that is when the team had excitement and energy, which is all gone now. Sparano used to jump up and down for 5 minutes after every field goal or extra point. Now Sparano will put his hands up for a second while Dan Carpenter's 25-yard field goal barely makes it over the crossbar. Sparano just isn't the type of guy players rally around, at least not anymore.

 Remember when Mike and Mike of ESPN predicted us to go 2-14 and 3-13 and we all laughed at them like a bunch of idiots. The only ones laughing now are them.We Dolphans are generally smarter than Jet fans, living in New York I have to put up with them all the time. Sanchez over Henne, Holmes over Marshall, and Wilkerson, Pouha, and Devito over Starks, Solai, and Langford. We tend to know that with Sanchez taking the snaps we aren't winning a super bowl anytime soon and it's only a matter of time before they completely crash because we all know you can't go to the championship game every year. 

Being only 16 years old I don't have a lot of memories of the Dolphins. I do remember looking all over New York and Miami for a Ricky Williams jersey, and when I finally got one on my 10th birthday he retired. I  was completely heartbroken, my dad did get me a Zach Thomas jersey later but it was only a matter of time before he went to the Cowboys. That's when I learned that there is only one jersey you can get, one true Dolphin and that is Dan Marino but he was before my time. I also remember Joey Porter sacking Alex Smith in 2008 to clinch the game and keeping our playoff hopes alive, I remember when Cleo Lemon CLEO LEMON! threw that 64-yard touchdown pass to Greg Camarillo in overtime to win the game. I remember when Ted Ginn Jr. burned Darrell Revis for a 56-yard touchdown pass, and when he had 2 kickoff returns for touchdowns. I remember Chad Pennington taking over the game and throwing that touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano to clinch the division. Sadly that is mostly all I've got. I don't remember much from the Jay Fiedler days and it's been to long since I have a good memory of the dolphins. And while I wish I would've been there at the 1981 championship game or A.J. Duhe's 3 interceptions in the mud bowl or Dan Marino's fake spike, I can't and the worst part is knowing it won't happen with this team because there are no players that were special like they were, and those special moments won't come back unless we draft Luck. This organization needs change starting with a new QB a coach who doesn't sleep on the sidelines, and maybe some fans in the stadium. It's time to Suck For Luck, because Henne isn't gonna do anything in the playoffs and I still can't believe there are people who want to keep Henne.

Even before the pre-season, we knew it may not turn out the way we hoped.  Then when pre-season began, we hoped it would get better. Now we are 4 games into the season and what we feared is coming through. The Dolphins are a mess. I don't care how much of an optimistic fan you may be, the season is done and over.
Place the blame squarely on the shoulders of Tony Sparano and Jeff Ireland.
They got a couple of good players and mixed them in with a few low rent players and add to the mix some inexpensive fill in players and you have The Miami Dolphins. We have corners that can't cover.  We have QBs that can't pass. We have an Offensive Line similar to aged Swiss cheese and a defensive line that can't find the opposing QB or Running Back.
Obviously Coach Tony needs to go, the sooner the better. Ireland needs to go hand in hand as well. But who can replace them now and for the long haul? Unfortunately there are not many available replacements in mid season, that you would want.
The Dolphins need to plan now for next season, as they would have to win too many games to even make the play offs. If owner S. Ross goes after Cowher now, we may be assured that next season may be a better season. Cowher can bring salvation back to Miami if we can get him here.

 

OK guys, I'm done.  Is there room for the suck for Luck express?  If so, I am all in baby.  And don't let the title fool you.  I am not saying the Dolphins should suck for life as in "God these guys are going to suck for the rest of their life."  Just read the post yo. 

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