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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.
Will the Dolphins win or lose in Week 1?
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This actually feels about right. This game will probably be a close one, and I will give the slight edge to the Dolphins because it is in Miami. I feel like both teams will have tricks up their sleeves and run plays and formations we have not seen from them, but I think the Dolphins will come out ahead. Given Dolphins fans could have picked anywhere from a greater than 12 point win to a greater than 12 point loss, coming in at a four point win seems like our fan base is realistic.
How confident are you in the direction of the team?
Very confident: 19 percent
Somewhat confident: 60 percent
Meh: 14 percent
Not very confident: 5 percent
Not confident at all: 2 percent
I was honestly a little surprised with these poll results. Not so much that people are optimistic about the team, but more that the “meh” category only had 14 percent of the responses. The Dolphins appear to be headed in the right direction, both with the return of Ryan Tannehill for this season, as well as the team looking to start building some youth with players like Charles Harris, Xavien Howard, Raekwon McMillan, Kalen Ballage, and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
What is the worst NFL rule?
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This seemed like the most obvious answer prior to last night’s Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles game. The catch rule definitely made its presence felt during that game and it would be interesting to see if that changed the results if this poll were taken again today. I chose the fumbling out of the end zone as the worst rule, simply because it is an arbitrary rule that really serves no purpose. The helmet rule, while poorly designed and implemented, is there for a reason; the catch rule, again poorly designed and implemented, is there for a reason. Player safety and defining possession of a pass are important. Turning over the ball because you fumbled out of bounds one inch inside the goal line as compared to one inch outside the goal line is just odd.