FanPulse: How Jets and Dolphins fans see Sunday’s game

Welcome to SB Nation FanPulse — a survey of fans across the NFL, powered by SurveyMonkey. Each week, we send 32 polls to 100+ plugged in fans from each team. Dolphins fans, sign up HERE to join FanPulse.

The Miami Dolphins are coming off a win over the Tennessee Titans and preparing for a Week 2 contest against the New York Jets. With a win, the Dolphins could get out to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2013. The Dolphins are also looking to show that the 2017 season was an aberration from their new norm of being a winning football team under head coach Adam Gase.

How confident are Dolphins fans in the team being able to return to winning ways, proving they are headed in the right direction? This week’s FanPulse survey helps us find out.

How confident are you in the direction of the team?

Last week: 80 percent confidence

The confidence in the Dolphins’ direction appears to have gone down in this week’s poll, as compared to last week’s 80 percent, but the questions also shifted a little. Last week, there were five options, with a “Somewhat” option for both the Confident and Not Confident answers. That made the “Meh” option just 14 percent. Now we see the Meh jump to 27 percent, while the confidence falls to 71 percent. The same can be said of the Not Confidence, where last week it was 7 percent in the combined “Not Very Confident” and “Not At All Confident” categories, but now it is just two percent, with more moving in the Meh category.

With a win against the Jets this week, that confidence in the Dolphins should start to climb again. Will we see that win? It looks like Dolphins fans believe we will.

Will the Dolphins win or lose in Week 2?

Odds: Jets are 2.5-point favorites

Gang Green Nation FanPulse: Jets by 5

The Phinsider FanPulse: Dolphins by 8

It probably should not be a surprise that the predictions for this game broke along team allegiance lines. It could be a little surprising that the Jets fans only think they will win by five, given the demolition of the Detroit Lions we saw from the Jets on Monday Night Football.

I predicted the Dolphins by six, so there are many Dolphins fans who seem more optimistic than I am right now. I am sure there are plenty that are not seeing even my six-point victory. Sunday needs to hurry up and get here so we can see what actually happens.

Other than QB, what is most valuable to an NFL offense?

Across all of the SB Nation team sites, this question was asked, with left tackle dominating the answers. Skill positions get all the love, but without a strong left tackle, it is hard to find success. The Dolphins are still dealing with some growing pains from Laremy Tunsil, who is becoming a solid left tackle, but he has not yet reached the potential he has. Coming out of college, he was seen as a Pro Bowl level left tackle, and, after spending his rookie season at left guard, he struggled at times last year, his first season back at left tackle. He has to pick up his play this year to become the dominant player the Dolphins want at the position.