Dolphins Hurtling Toward An Eventful Offseason

So, another week, another loss. At least the Dolphins were competitive against Tampa Bay last week, with a chance to win the game late. After starting quarterback Jay Cutler was knocked out of the game with a possible concussion, Matt Moore came in and gave the team a spark, hitting several long passes to WR Kenny Stills and others.

There are two things I want to talk about, regarding last Sunday's game. Number one, two of the three interceptions Cutler threw were clearly not his fault; when what is supposed to be your number one receiver falls down in the end zone, resulting in an easy interception for the opposing team, blowing a chance for at least a field goal in the process, that isn't Cutler's fault, folks. When what is supposed to be your number one receiver lets a pass hit him right in the hands, and he bats it up in the air for another easy interception by the opposing team, killing another drive, that isn't Cutler's fault, either. I know that the most popular player in just about every NFL city is the backup quarterback, but we need to be honest with ourselves here, and not let our emotions get the better of us. So there's that.

The other thing I want to talk about is the team's situation at wide receiver. If the team is trying to figure out what to do with Jarvis Landry -- besides letting him walk out the door for little to no compensation in return -- and they have salary cap issues due to some of the big contracts they're saddled with, if it comes down to having to choose between Landry and the hands of stone, oft-injured DeVante Parker, I say trade Parker in the offseason, while he's still on his rookie deal and lock up Landry for the long term. Personally, I'm tired of talking about, and drafting, wide receivers, when the team has an aging, largely ineffective defense and an injury-riddled, largely ineffective offensive line, but Landry is one of the few players on the team who plays hard every game and every play.

There has been quite a bit of discussion this week as to whether Miami should start giving some of their younger players and backups some playing time to see what they have for next season and beyond. Of course, the counter-argument is that the team should go all out to try and make the playoffs until they are mathematically eliminated from doing so. Sorry, folks, not trying to be negative here, but this team has about as much chance of qualifying for postseason play in 2017 as the city of Miami has of receiving two feet of snow on Christmas Day. I'm not sure the Dolphins could win one game the rest of the way if their last six games were against the top six NCAA football teams. As many of you probably know by now, I take a dim view of watching my favorite team win a bunch of meaningless games in December, when everyone knows that even if they somehow squeak into the postseason, they simply aren't a playoff caliber team.

The last time the Dolphins were in this position, in 2011, they won several meaningless games down the stretch and were rewarded by missing out on stud left tackle Cordy Glenn, and settling for the penultimate booby prize, Jonathan Martin, in round two of the 2012 draft. Nearly six years later, the Dolphins still have not recovered from the morass they fell into, as a result of that unfortunate development. I get it; the players and coaches are paid to win games, and we, as fans are supposed to root for them to win, not to lose. However, there are also times when a win amounts to a loss and a loss is actually a win, and I'm afraid this is one of those times.

So, let's have us some fun. Who wants to predict the margin of defeat in New England on Sunday? I'm going to say the Dolphins lose by 24 points. Anybody want to try and guess how many they lose by? Don't worry, be happy; the offseason will be here before we know it, and that's something we can all look forward to.