It’s been a while since the Dolphins played in such a big game. A few years ago, we had a chance to make the playoffs if we beat either the Jets or the Bills. Yes, those were big games, but even if we won, we would have limped into the playoffs as a 9-7 team and would have gotten destroyed the next week on the road. This time, it’s a little different.
The stakes are higher because we’re playing a quality opponent this week, on the road, whereas in December 2013 we had two games against two of the worst teams in the NFL, both of which had atrocious quarterbacks in Geno Smith and Thad Lewis. Who!?
Our team is much stronger now, from top to bottom, including management and coaches. But we’re also playing a solid team, with a Super Bowl coach and quarterback and a defense that has remained stout no matter what players they interchange. The Ravens are the best team we’ve faced in two months during this streak, and if the Dolphins can step up and win this game, it will show me a lot. It’s an AFC game too, which means our position in the wild-card carousel will be further solidified, even if the other teams chasing us all win. I won’t discount winning the AFC East either, but let’s not worry about that yet. (But if we stay hot and win throughout December and the Patriots happen to lose just one game in December, than our January 1 showdown vs. the Patriots would be for all the marbles!)
A win on December 4 doesn’t guarantee anything. The Dolphins can win Sunday and still tank the rest of the year. So you might think that this game is too early to be labeled as so important, but it’s not too early. It will tell us what we need to know about the Dolphins.
Were the last 6 games a fluke, taking advantage of a month-long homestand against mediocre and/or crappy teams? Were we lucky that the refs missed some pretty blatant calls, such as Suh dragging down Kaepernick by his facemask or that horse-collar tackle in the Pittsburgh game that the refs missed and that started the winning streak to begin with? Were we lucky (no doubt!) that the Browns kicker missed THREE field goals in regulation? We we fortunate to escape by the skin of our teeth against San Fran and the Browns, because Adam Gase refused to adjust his offense when the opponent clearly had our number…will such luck continue?
Even if we WERE lucky in all 7 wins this year, it takes some skill to make good luck. In the Philbin era, we got no luck at all and we didn’t deserve any. The 2015 Dolphins would have lost 4 of those 7 games, guaranteed. Philbin’s Dolphins almost always lost to teams they were supposed to lose to, plus they lost to teams they were supposed to beat. It was the stench of Philbin. Now, we are beating the teams we’re supposed to beat, and that is a great step in the right direction. Luck or no luck, we beat 0-11 teams and 1-10 teams. A few years ago, we lost to 0-8 Tampa Bay. That one stung.
If the Dolphins beat Baltimore, the entire editorial shift of my blog here will need to change. We’ll be able to write and comment about real playoff possibilities and strategies and ways to succeed. For years, we’ve devote time to criticizing oafs like Clueless Joe Philbin, Dion Jordan, Mike Sherman, and Jeff Ireland. The criticism will be forced to evolve into praise. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still call it like it is and give you guys the truth, but I won’t have to complain as much as in the past, that’s for sure. We started this effort as a small but accurate protest of Joe Philbin and Stephen Ross. A win in Baltimore who take away a large portion of what we have to complain about. A loss in Baltimore shows us that the last few months have been flukey.
If we beat Baltimore, we’ll know that Adam Gase is onto something. It will be a praiseworthy accomplishment…praise that I’m just not ready to hand to him yet. (Sorry, but squeaking by Cleveland and San Fran and their combined 1-22 record does not merit praise. A lucky bounce here and there and we’re a 4-7 team , not 7-4). But like I said, all that changes if we beat a quality opponent in a cold-weather road game. (It’s supposed to be 40 degrees and cloudy in Maryland on Sunday).
Like several of our opponents recently (Buffalo, NY Jets, Rams, Pittsburgh), the Ravens defense is among the league leaders in rush defense. It seems like every week we’re up against a top-5 run stopper, but every week we manage to win. Even though the Rams and Jets had poor win-loss records, all we heard about was how intimidating their front-4 were and how they would shut down the Dolphins. Well, the contained us, but we got the W. That’s a good thing to keep in mid as we prepare for the Ravens. That defense is tough on paper, but we can (and have) found ways to win against equally stout defenses.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve felt this kind of nervous excitement about a Dolphins game. And when I have (2013), the excitement disappeared by halftime of those other games. This Dolphins team seems to be different, and they’re in an excellent position to demonstrate this to us Sunday.
Okay im totally outside the box here. I dont know why but the dolphins way of past loosing may just be applied to how we win now. So most say were supposed to loose, so we win by 3 touchdowns. Ajayi rushes for 200 yards and tannehill throws 3 touchdown passes. Why?Well because its the Dolphins and we almost never do the expected.
But seriously I agree this is a very important game of which could dictate the outcome of the rest of our season.
About the cold weather. As a competitor in mostly hot climates ive found that the cold is an invigorating experience. The air is thicker and the musclue tension is more responsive. Ive always felt hot weather players playing in the cold are better adapted than cold weather players playing in the heat.
Biggest game I can remeber since the 2008 playoff game against guess who, the Ravens. Obviously the ravens are a completely different team now and so is Miami but they destroyed Miami in 08, hopefully Miami steps up this year.
What ever the outcome of tomorrow’s game is, I believe we are on the cusp of something good for our beloved Dolphins. I admit I had many doubts about team, coaching, management, and of course its ownership. But I think we may finally be on the right track. I agree that we will learn a lot about this team tomorrow. Most of the “experts” are picking the Ravens, but, I think the football gods favor the Dolphins.
Our defense is BEST in the league at stopping opponents on third down, which means our offense gets onto the field more often. They have to take advantage of that. We get a lot more posessions lately, but still hovering around 24 points per game
Ugly early. This could be bad. but their run defense is a joke so far-almost as bad as our pass defense.