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Devils Advocate

Dajesus said:
We are 4-4, same as last year, our QB just played his best game as a Dolphin, we get much needed help at G, and safety, is there any reason to give this team the benefit of doubt we gave last years team? know it’s hard after a loss, but if you take away 5 holding calls last week and we would have had a great offenseive performance. I’m not optimistic, like most here, but it was worse after we were 1-4 last season.
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Yes -- this year's pass defense is markedly worse, and the help at safety won't address that because it isn't comprised of an Earl Thomas-like player who has downfield pass coverage skills.

With the kind of QB play this team gets on a regular basis (last Sunday night was an anomaly), the pass defense would have to be among the league's best three or so to overcome it, and instead the pass defense is among the league's worst three.

The combination of a poor pass offense and a poor pass defense spells doom. The team has played like a team that would be expected to finish 3-13/4-12, based on how the league has functioned since 2004.

Two of the four wins thus far are unexpected. Those won't occur regularly.
 
It’s crazy that we are .500, and how pessimistic we are collectively. I have had more hope in this team in the past while them having a losing record than I do this year. That being said I think this Monday can completely change the attitude here. If we go on the road and snatch a victory vs the 6-3 panthers(the most beatable 6-3 team in the nfl) and then are coming home to play The Fitzpatrick lead lowly bucs, our whole season changes. Fins up!
 
We are still at .500, so in the NFL there is hope. The real key is how much (or how little) help TJ and Larsen can provide. Nate Allen wasn't anything special, but our pass defense seemed to tank once he got injured. I need to see how we look we these 2 players, before throwing in the towel on the season.
 
Dajesus said:
It’s crazy that we are .500, and how pessimistic we are collectively. I have had more hope in this team in the past while them having a losing record than I do this year. That being said I think this Monday can completely change the attitude here. If we go on the road and snatch a victory vs the 6-3 panthers(the most beatable 6-3 team in the nfl) and then are coming home to play The Fitzpatrick lead lowly bucs, our whole season changes. Fins up!
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The pessimism is based on how they've achieved their 4-4 record. The four wins look like smoke and mirrors and the four losses were mostly non-competitive. Its why the tired quote of "you are who your record says you are" is overrated. Sometimes you aren't who your record says you are. The Dolphins just don't pass the smell test. But a win Monday turns a "bad 4-4" into an "acceptable 5-4."
 
Maybe it's the fan in me, but I have a good feeling about the Carolina game. On paper, this should be a fairly easy win for the Panthers. As we know, though, the game isn't played on paper and the Dolphins haven't had that complete game yet. They are due.

The offense looked pretty good against the Raiders with the running backs catching the ball well out of the backfield and Cutler being very accurate in the short game. That was something that was missing with Ajayi. I know Oakland's defense is a far cry from Carolina's, but maybe the team catches a break, gets better field position etc. You just never know.

If Miami can somehow beat Carolina and Tampa Bay, the season may end up being better than expected. Right now, it's hard to see many more wins on the schedule but there's still time for players to emerge, the energy to change and something positive to happen.
 
The biggest problem with our secondary is the lack of a pass rush from our front 4. It has been inconsistent all year long and hence, everyone seems to always be open while the QB has all day to pass. It all starts up front on both sides of the ball and we're losing on both

Ozzy rules!!
 
This team is out coached and out played every week… Even the wins were not impressive... I love the optimism but it ain't happening this year guys ....those of you who are looking at the win loss record as some sort of motivation may not be watching the games
 
This game has about the same feel as the Atlanta game. Doom and gloom, little hope. I expect a win.
 
this is a very winnable game.

with that 4/4 record of last year we did have Tannehill playing on a upswing & getting momentum tho + we had our LT & RT that played we are just put our RT on IR.
 
mwestberry said:
This team is out coached and out played every week… Even the wins were not impressive... I love the optimism but it ain't happening this year guys ....those of you who are looking at the win loss record as some sort of motivation may not be watching the games
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I agree. However, the team looks really bad last year at 1-4. Even getting to 10-6 it wasn't always impressive, but Miami found ways to win. It's been a little similar this year.

I'm not expecting a turnaround as 5-11 or 6-10 seems about right for this team. But you never know.
 
Dajesus said:
We are 4-4, same as last year, our QB just played his best game as a Dolphin, we get much needed help at G, and safety, is there any reason to give this team the benefit of doubt we gave last years team? know it’s hard after a loss, but if you take away 5 holding calls last week and we would have had a great offenseive performance. I’m not optimistic, like most here, but it was worse after we were 1-4 last season.
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Awesome post Dejesus!

I must admit I have less faith than last year. Last year there was a reason for the poor play, learning new systems, and we had started trending up. By his year we are trending down and have plenty of internal strife with our OL coach issue and throwing away one of our most talented players, Ajayi.

Gase isn't making an example out of Ajayi, he is sacrificing him. That only happens when there is a serious problem in the locker room. And given how much of an apologist Gase has been about our failsauce OL, I'm discouraged greatly for the future.

But enough pessimism. Your post makes a great point. We are still in a good spot to contend for a wildcard slot. Those 5 holding calls were mostly tickytack stuff, and the refs did make a difference in that close game. We can't complain, because we have won 4 out of 5 close games, but it is worth noting. Also worth noting we were 4-0 in close games with Ajayi, and we are 0-1 in close games without him. We no longer can grind teams down and win in the 4th quarter. From now on we are going to have to outplay them or win the turnover battle. No other way forward.

But _IF_ we can miraculously come up with an improved OL playing 2nd stringers then the pieces are in this team to field a good defense and complement it with scoring from the offense.
 
The thing that bothers me the most about dumping Ajayi is that this is another step away from being a physical team and a step towards the dreaded finesse team that we all don't really like that much. The brand of Football Gase is bringing here now will be pass, pass, screen, draw, pass etc. I like a balanced offense, I actually prefer running to passing, unless I'm watching Marino. Digital nailed it we he said we can't grind teams down in the 4th quarter any more. That's the way we won many of our games last year, who's going to be the closer now? Cutler? God Help Us.
 
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