We covered many of these yesterday, but here are some topics I’d love to hear your opinions on.

  • Prime Time Games.   The Dolphins have a Monday game, a Thursday game, and an International game (whicj will be aired in prime time for the British soccer hooligans, but airs at 6 in the morning for the U.S.’s west coast.   Yep, Roger Goodell sure knows his priorities!  Anyway, prime time games used to be important.   Back in the 80s, and even moreso in the 70s, you did not have an internet, streaming, DirecTV Sunday ticket, ESPN instant highlights, etc etc.  You got two games on Sunday and one on Monday.   That was TRUE prime time.   You’d wait weeks in advance for that rare opportunity to see your team play.  Now it’s no big deal.   I rarely watch MNF unless the Dolphins are on.   In my youth I’d watch MNF religiously, no matter who was playing.  My point is that I saw a lot of fans n social media saying how great it is for the Dolphins to be on MNF this season.   I ask, “Why is it great?”
  • The Dolphins FINALLY get their Thursday game at home.  Even better, we play at home the week before.  That extra day of staying home and practicing without having to go to a hostile stadium on 3 days’ rest:  priceless.
  • Even better, the Patriots’ Thursday game is on the road.   I believe it’s the first time in 8 years, just going by memory.
  • We open on the road and close at home.  That is fair.  Last year we both opened and closed on the road.  Unfair.
  • Our bye week comes late, in the middle of December.  We do NOT get our bye after the Europe game.  The NFL has changed that long-standing policy, and it seems to place some undue travel burden on a team.   That’s a long 10-hour flight.
  • The Season ends on January 9.  That is way too late in the year.  Pretty soon they will have regular-season games in February.  There is no reason to not start the season on Sept 5 instead of Sept 12.   MID-September is ridiculously late.
  • Running through the schedule quickly, it looks like we should do about the same as last year.  Let’s assume we split with the Pats, sweep the Jets, and get swept by the Bills (same as last year).  That puts us at 3-3.   Easily beatable teams include the Raiders, Colts, Jags, Falcons, Texans, Panthers, and Giants.   That puts us at 10 wins right there.  Let’s allow for an upset, and say we’re at 9 wins.
    The teams we can lose to are Saints, Titans, Ravens, and Bucs.  That puts us at a 9-8 record.  But again, let’s allow for an upset (Saints and Ravens are candidates for a Dolphin explosion), and say we end up at 10-7.   Not a lot of room for error.   We simply must beat those weaker teams to make the playoffs.  Perhaps we split with the Bills and get to 11-6.  There are many paths here, and the NFL is unpredictable.
  • No Cold-weather games in December, unless Nashville hits some weird cold fronts.  All our AFC East road games are earlier in the year.  That helps a lot!
  • We have a three-game homestand in Weeks 12-15, with our bye mixed in.   That is over a month with zero travel required.  That is a nice little perk if the home crowds are vocal and help spur the Dolphins.

 

5 Comments

  1. I think you are pretty dead on Admin. Starting the season earlier makes more sense now especially with only 3 preseason games. I’d make it 2 and start first week of September. Teams play scrimages with other teams anyway.

    Should have been a bye after London but they have to screw us at least once. Also a tough start to the schedule but overall I think its balanced.

    1. Author

      I never believe in the strength of schedule this early in the season. Omar Kelly from the Sun Sentinel just wrote about this very topic. We THINK that the Jets and Falcons and maybe the Jags should be easy games, but each year teams turn around. The Saints and Titans sound like hard teams, but who knows where they will be in December.
      Going into 2020, the Houston Texans were considered a top AFC team. They would easily win their division and possibly make it to the Super Bowl, right? A few weeks later, they were 0-4, and essentially done. You think a team is scary on paper, but then they collapse.
      I think the Dolphins’ toughest opponent this season is the Dolphins. We have to play up to our abilities and start strong.
      As good as Flores is during mid-season, we are 1-7 under him during September and early October. ONE WIN in two full seasons.
      We cannot begin 0-4 like in 2019. We cannot begin 1-3 like 2020. For some reason, we start off dead in the water.

      1. We have to remember that last year they had no off-season and a very young roster. Vet teams benefited more from this. Flo had to coach on the go which is a testament to what he’s been able to do. This was even more impressive the year before with the shit roster he had plus so much turnover in the preseason. Can’t fault him for a slow start I think they’ll be better this year but it’s a tough schedule first five games. If they come out strong they will be a force.

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