The Upside to the Dolphins’ Loss to the Redskins

When you woke up this morning how did you feel? I posted that question on Twitter and here were all the various replies.

I personally woke up happier than I would typically be after a Dolphins’ loss. You know why? Because our team is heading in the right direction. The owner, GM, and coaches have a plan and in order for our team to have the best success we need to lose games. Does it mean it’s easy watch it unfold? Absolutely not. I would have never thought I would be watching my team play and secretly, or maybe not so secretly, hoping they play well enough to just barely lose a game. And, well, the Dolphins did just that yesterday with their 17-16 loss to the Redskins. It was a lot closer than I imagined. Based on replies to my tweet I sent out, others felt the same as me.

The game was actually quite stressful for many of us fans, especially those of us in on the “tank”. I was watching the game with my Atlanta Fan Club and I moved inside (they were on the patio) because I was the only one who supported the “tank”. The one thing is that we’re all still friends, no matter if you support it or not, and we all ultimately just want our team to be good again. After our team’s performance yesterday, especially Rosen’s, I think we can all agree we can’t wait to see this team be a good team once again.

I wasn’t able to watch the entire game. I missed bits and pieces and I forgot my glasses, so it was difficult for me to see players numbers and such on the tv’s (perks of getting old), but what I did see, I wasn’t shocked. We basically looked the same as we have been the past several weeks. Well, actually, the one thing that did happen was we scored points in the second half of the game. We actually came close to possibly winning (which doesn’t say much playing the other worst team in the league) but it’s something, right?

Honestly, I was surprised by Flores’ decision on benching Josh Rosen and maybe it was to prove he is actually trying to win games. Fitzpatrick started off the season looking rough, but now Rosen is looking pretty bad and our team needed a change if they wanted a chance to win yesterday. Fitzpatrick replacing Rosen definitely added some spark to the game and our team. A little too much, to be honest, and I was almost afraid we were going to win the game. I’m still wondering why Flores went for the 2 point conversion over the kick to possibly tie the game. Did our team really believe they could seal the win with the 2-pt conversion? Did Flores question if Sanders would ultimately make the kick or not (I mean he did struggle a bit last game)? Did Flores last minute kind of want to lose but want to appear as he was taking a bold chance? It was probably because our team was showing energy and it did seem like we could win this game so you go for two, but it’s fun to have those, “I wonder if” thoughts. Either way, it was the closest we have been to winning a game this season but still an embarrassing display of football by our team.

The Upside

Let’s look at the positives that came from Sunday. First off, we moved back up on the www.tankathon.com and are back at number two. That will probably change over the next week and I can see us being back at number one, especially after next week’s game when we will definitely lose against the Bills. The Jet’s beat the Cowboys yesterday (another winless team off the list), which was a shock to most, and either means the Cowboys are definitely overrated or the Jets are looking...no the Cowboys are just overrated. Calm down Kathleen. The Bengals came close to possibly winning a game, so that shows they may not be trying to tank harder than us (but still need them to win a game). The other positive from our game, which many will disagree with me, is the narrative of, “We can build around Rosen and see how he is” can finally stop. Well, at least for now. Personally, I don’t think he has ever shown enough to prove he is going to be our franchise quarterback and he really sealed it yesterday. We played one of the worst teams in the NFL (other than us and the Bengals) and Rosen played like crap. He was the Cardinals first round pick and they drafted another QB to replace him and we’re definitely not wasting a first-round pick in 2020 by not drafting a QB to give Rosen a chance. Here’s what Flores said today when questioned about Josh.

So, you few fans who still believe he could be our future may need to start watching more college football.

Fans Reactions and Moving Forward

Most of you have seen the reactions by players, like Bobby McCain, showing how upset they are by their performance so far this season. I can’t blame them. I’d be upset too, especially knowing most the fan base expects them to lose each week. I can completely understand their frustration. I am not alright with fellow Dolphins’ fans calling other fans names or being completely rude in general if a fan does not agree with them. It’s completely uncalled for and to be honest, quite childish and ignorant. I mentioned this last week, but let me state it again. You can not tell a fan they’re not a fan if they want our team to get the best draft position. I don’t blame fans for wanting to watch our team win and cheer them on each week. I also do not blame fans for wanting to have our team lose and secure the number one draft pick in 2020.

I’m a fan that’s the later. Let me explain why I personally am. I am tired of our Dolphins having the same outcome year after year. Other than the couple of seasons where we came close to playoffs, or the one year we did make playoffs only to lose to the Steelers in the first game, it’s the same thing every season. We win just enough to be 8-8 or around there and end up with the 14-18th draft spot. I’m done with 19yrs of the same thing. We are all over it. So many fans have complained that we need a rebuild. Well, the Dolphins are doing just that and now some of those same fans are pissed off and want to win a game. Why? Did you expect a rebuild to happen and for us to still be winning games at the same time? What is the point of winning 1-3 games? Is it your pride? Some fans have expressed they just don’t want to be a team that goes 0-16 and let’s win at least one. Alright, let’s win one or two meaningless games (winning a few games would not lead us to the playoffs but ok) and then somehow end up about pick 5 or 6 next year. Before some of you say, “Oh we can still get that number one pick..” let’s take a look at the other terrible teams. You have Bengals (winless), Redskins and Falcons with one win, and many others with just two like the Jaguars, Browns, and Jets. Yes, I know some of those teams will win more like the Browns and Jets against us, but you get my point. It’s not worth winning one or two games and miss out on the top spot just to pick whatever leftover quarterback is remaining (Yes the Dolphins will be selecting a quarterback with the number one pick so move on from the o-line needs attention first idea). Oh but we can move up to grab our guy? I’ve been told that countless times (really makes zero sense). Why would we win a game or two and use our draft picks to move up (which wont be cheap) when we could just secure the top draft spot and, you guessed it, not have to give up a single pick.

Other other discussion filling my newsfeed and other social media outlets, or from fellow fans in person, is the disdain towards Tua and fans who believe we should draft offensive lineman first.

How well did that work for us when we picked Long over Matt Ryan? If you could go back, would you change that pick? I know many who would in a second. We have several picks in the 2020 draft and a ton of money to use in free agency. The Dolphins will be selecting a quarterback with their number one pick. The quicker you accept it, the easier this season will be for you (in my opinion at least). Then we have other picks and money to use to fill in other needs for our team.

So, fans, let’s just stop being mean to each other. I had some say some pretty mean stuff to me yesterday and I don’t understand the reasoning behind it. We’re all trying to get through this embarrassing season together. If you want to make this season more tolerable, maybe watch some college football and check out quarterbacks who will be in the 2020 Draft. Everyone knows I’m all about Tua, but I’m ultimately going to accept whoever our team drafts as a quarterback and wish them the best.

By the way, if you missed my post-game reaction video here you go. If you scroll down you’ll see where OJ McDuffie watched and commented on it as well.

Oh fine, here’s his comment.

Kinda cool, but anyways. So, the week ahead for us. We play the Bills away next Sunday. I’m pretty sure we have zero chance of winning that game, but we will see what happens. Then after that game we face the Steelers for Monday Night Football in Pittsburgh. Based on how they are playing they will win that game too. It’s a weird game because we want them to lose, since we own their first pick, but we also can’t afford to win a game with the Bengals being winless.

Let’s see how the rest of this week plays out fans, and as always, I just hope for the ultimate best for our team and hoping there are no major injuries with our players.

Enjoy the rest of your week and go Dolphins!