:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/1633205/20120930_jtl_ak4_079.0.jpg)
Over the past few days, the Phinsider Community conducted a series of polls to find the approval ratings for each of the top three personnel within the Miami Dolphins organization. After missing the September polls, these are the first sets of votes since the regular season began.
The Dolphins are 3&3 on the season, with a rookie quarterback at the helm and young players all over the roster starting to step up.
With no September results, we will compare the October approval ratings with the August results:
| Person | August Approval | October Approval | Change |
| Stephen Ross | 42% | 80% | +38% |
| Jeff Ireland | 40% | 76% | +36% |
| Joe Philbin | 83% | 99% | +16% |
The interesting thing about these results is the reaction over the first six weeks of the season has made up for the losses each man saw from July to August. Ross dropped 21% as the preseason began, Ireland was down 26%, and Philbin, who is a rookie head coach, was down 3%. Now each of them sees above 75% of the fan base approving of the jobs they are each doing.
Obviously, and as was discussed on the site, winning increases the fan pleasure with the team, and thus increases the approval rating for the three top guys. I still find Ireland interesting, though. With the number of calls for his firing, and fans being called "zombies" if they support the beleaguered general manager, over three quarters of the fans seem to support him.
Of course, none of this is scientific, and is only a look at our members - or anyone who reads the site at least - but it's still an interesting dynamic to the results.
Between now and the next poll, the Dolphins have their bye week, head north for the second half of their home-and-home series with the New York Jets, then travel to face the Indianapolis Colts, before hosting the Tennessee Titans over Veteran's Day weekend. The polls, which I normally try to start on the fifteenth of each month, will most likely be pushed back a couple of days in November to allow the team to play their Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills, in New York, on November 15.
Between now and then, everything could change, but as of right now, things are looking good for the Dolphins, and the approval polls seem to reflect that optimism.
We'll see how the next month of games affect the results.