mls737
Brent Barry
It seems to me, when a team finishes 10-6 , it can not have been both poorly put together AND poorly coached.
The general consensus around here is that the team underachieved this season. If they underachieved and finished 10-6, doesn't this mean the team was extremly talented? I know most of the core talent on the team is left over from the Jimmy Johnson era, but shouldn't the Wanny/Speilman team get credit for keeping this core together? The nature of the league today is one where last years AFC champion raiders had the worst record in the league this year. It also seems to me, that the roster we have today is in much better shape than the roster we had two years ago. Although we still are somewhat lacking in talent on the offensive side of the ball, we have far less holes than in the Lamar Smith, Derrick Rodgers era.
How much did the team really underachieve this year? Who here really thought this team was so talented that it should have finished at better than 11-5? Especially considering the schedule we played this year. Our offensive line suffered major injuries, and our QB was Jay Feidler. This is not a shot at Jay. I love Jay, and all he ever does is win. But no one on this board can say that they would choose Jay over Peyton Manning. Or, and I'm very hesitant to say this, Tom Brady. The difference between 11-5 and 10-6 is well, any given Sunday.
My point is this. Wanny may not be as good a coach as Gibbs or Parcells. Speilman is no Ozzie Newsome. But coaches should not be fired because they don't make the Superbowl. This is an impossible standard. As Dolphin fans we have become some what spoiled by sustained excellence. Its been painful for us as fans to watch our team come close every year, and just fall short. But its important to keep in perspecitve that Charger fans would kill for the success we've had over the last five years. At the end of the day, theres a lot of luck involved in pro football. The patriots find an All-Pro QB in the sixth round and suddenly they're on the verge of a dynasty. Only three teams have made in to their Confrences Championship games multiple times in the past four years (Pats, Eagles, Raiders). One of these years we will get a few breaks, and get a superbowl. We are fully capable of doing that with this Coach and the Speilman/Marino front office.
The general consensus around here is that the team underachieved this season. If they underachieved and finished 10-6, doesn't this mean the team was extremly talented? I know most of the core talent on the team is left over from the Jimmy Johnson era, but shouldn't the Wanny/Speilman team get credit for keeping this core together? The nature of the league today is one where last years AFC champion raiders had the worst record in the league this year. It also seems to me, that the roster we have today is in much better shape than the roster we had two years ago. Although we still are somewhat lacking in talent on the offensive side of the ball, we have far less holes than in the Lamar Smith, Derrick Rodgers era.
How much did the team really underachieve this year? Who here really thought this team was so talented that it should have finished at better than 11-5? Especially considering the schedule we played this year. Our offensive line suffered major injuries, and our QB was Jay Feidler. This is not a shot at Jay. I love Jay, and all he ever does is win. But no one on this board can say that they would choose Jay over Peyton Manning. Or, and I'm very hesitant to say this, Tom Brady. The difference between 11-5 and 10-6 is well, any given Sunday.
My point is this. Wanny may not be as good a coach as Gibbs or Parcells. Speilman is no Ozzie Newsome. But coaches should not be fired because they don't make the Superbowl. This is an impossible standard. As Dolphin fans we have become some what spoiled by sustained excellence. Its been painful for us as fans to watch our team come close every year, and just fall short. But its important to keep in perspecitve that Charger fans would kill for the success we've had over the last five years. At the end of the day, theres a lot of luck involved in pro football. The patriots find an All-Pro QB in the sixth round and suddenly they're on the verge of a dynasty. Only three teams have made in to their Confrences Championship games multiple times in the past four years (Pats, Eagles, Raiders). One of these years we will get a few breaks, and get a superbowl. We are fully capable of doing that with this Coach and the Speilman/Marino front office.