4 weeks isn't the biggest sample size, but all we can do is speculate until each Sunday comes along. This is my attempt at an objective analysis of the remainder of the schedule, concluding with my thoughts on our playoff chances.
Week 6: @ Houston.
The Texans aren't as bad as their 0-4 record might indicate. Their losses have been, for the most part, close games with solid teams. Steve Slaton is emerging as a good young running back. Sage Rosenfels has talent but is mistake prone. Matt Schaub could be healthy by gametime, but he hasn't been setting the world on fire either. Their defense is vulnerable, and if we play well with the momentum of the last 2 wins on our side, we should escape Houston with a win. 3-2 record.
Week 7: vs. Baltimore.
Following the theme of the past decade, the Ravens sport an elite defense with a below average offense. Ray Lewis is flying around the field like he's in his 20s again. Offensively, rookie Joe Flacco has a rocket arm, but can be forced into negative plays with pressure and downfield coverage. The Ravens have a nice trio of running backs with Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and LeRon McLain, but none of them have been untoppable this season. This is a toss up game, but being at home, I will give Miami the edge. 4-2 record.
Week 8: vs Buffalo.
Another toss up in my eyes. I don't think they're as good as their 4-1 record, playing 4 games coming against teams that could very easily finish the season below .500. Marshawn Lynch is turning into a top back in the league, and Lee Evans always gives us fits. That said, a lot rests on the health of Trent Edwards who suffered a consussion today. He is clearly better than JP Losman. Like the Baltimore game, I see this is a toss up, with us winning thanks to home field advantadge. 5-2 record.
Week 9: @ Denver.
The Broncos offense has been extremely prolific this season, with Jay Cutler taking the proverbial 'next step' as a NFL QB. Selvin Young has gotten the job done in the backfield, and Brandon Marshall has established himself as a top receiver in the league. That said, their defense has been terrible, especially against the pass, but also against the run. This game is very winnable, but I give the edge to Denver. 5-3 record.
Week 10: vs Seattle.
The Seahawks are not very good. Their only win came against the NFL worst Rams. They are now 1-3 after getting absolutely crushed by the Giants today. Even in years past when they were winning the division, they routinely went 7-1 or 8-0 at Qwest Field while going like 1-7 or 2-6 on the road. They are worse this year than they have been in a while, and this game is in Miami. The Fins should come away with a win. 6-3 record.
Week 11: vs Oakland.
They have been medicore on both O and D this year. McFadden has unlimited potential, but JaMarcus Russel hasn't done anything in the league yet. They allowed 25 4th quarter points to the team that we shut down today (San Diego). Also, I don't see how they don't have the worst team morale in the league, with the way Lane Kiffin was fired and whatnot. Again this is a home game we should win. 7-3 record.
Week 12 vs New England.
I think this will be a very different story than our Week 3 clobbering of them. Our Wildcat formation completely caught them by surprise. With time to prepare for it, Bill Belichick should have the team ready. Though a cheater, he is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. Matt Cassel will be more comforatable with the offense. Though a winnable game, I wouldn't expect us to sweep New England. 7-4 record.
Week 13 @ St. Louis.
They are absolutely the epitome of a terrible football team. The final scores of their games have been as follows: 38-3, 41-13, 37-13, 31-14. Their offense and defense both ranks near the very bottom of the league. Despite being a road game, there is absolutely no excuse for Miami to lose this game. 8-4 record.
Week 14: @ Buffalo (in Toronto).
I've already given a quick analysis of the Bills. Trent Edwards should definitely be healthy by this time, and I think the Bills will be able to even the season series up with us. Though, winning this game wouldn't come as a shock. 8-5 record.
Week 15: vs San Francisco.
The 49ers haven't been bad this season, but they haven't been good either. Frank Gore is a top-5 back in the league. JT O'Sullivan has made some impressive throws this year, but tends to hold on to the ball way too long at times. Their defense has playmakers in Nate Clements (who has owned us in the past with Buffalo) and Pat Willis, but they have not been impressive as a unit. I think this will be a close game, but I feel we are the better team. 9-5 record.
Week 16: @ Kansas City.
Both the Chiefs offense and defense ranks near the bottom of the league, much like St. Louis. They played the Pats close and pulled off an impressive win over Denver, but they were beaten fairly easily by Oakland, New Orleans and Carolina. Arrowhead is a tough place to play but they are one of the worst teams in the NFL. 10-5 record.
Week 17: @ New York Jets.
Rematch of Week 1 game which we were a couple lucky throws from winning. Revenge will be on the mind, especially for Pennington, but Favre will be much more accustomed to the playbook and offense. If both teams are somehow fighting for a playoff spot in the last week, this has all the makings of an all-time classic Dolphins game. That said, as much as it pains me to say it, I see the Jets as being favoried in this one. 10-6 record.
10-6. Many will call this overly optimistic. So-called 'experts' on ESPN and other mainstream media would probably laugh at this prediction. That said -- who cares what they think?
As for the division, we have a much easier schedule than New England and Buffalo. The Jets have an equally easy schedule. 10-6 may very well be good enough to win the division. It also may not be.
The AFC as a whole has been pretty crazy this year. Super Bowl contenders Jacksonville, Indy, and San Diego have all under-performed. Some might say Tennessee and Buffalo have over-performed. 10-6 should be good enough for a Wild Card spot, but that's extremely tough to predict.
There is also the very real possibility of us coming up short in some of the toss up games (vs Baltimore, vs Buffalo, maybe Seattle and San Fran) and finishing below .500. How we looked against Arizona vs how we looked against New England and San Diego are on the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum, so who knows what the rest of the season holds. That said, I think my predictions are caustiously optimistic, and not beyond the realm of decent probability. Besides, where's the fun in predicting a 7-9 record?
Sorry for the length of the post, but I'm still psyched over our back-to-back "upsets" as the "experts" like to call them. Thanks for reading.
Week 6: @ Houston.
The Texans aren't as bad as their 0-4 record might indicate. Their losses have been, for the most part, close games with solid teams. Steve Slaton is emerging as a good young running back. Sage Rosenfels has talent but is mistake prone. Matt Schaub could be healthy by gametime, but he hasn't been setting the world on fire either. Their defense is vulnerable, and if we play well with the momentum of the last 2 wins on our side, we should escape Houston with a win. 3-2 record.
Week 7: vs. Baltimore.
Following the theme of the past decade, the Ravens sport an elite defense with a below average offense. Ray Lewis is flying around the field like he's in his 20s again. Offensively, rookie Joe Flacco has a rocket arm, but can be forced into negative plays with pressure and downfield coverage. The Ravens have a nice trio of running backs with Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and LeRon McLain, but none of them have been untoppable this season. This is a toss up game, but being at home, I will give Miami the edge. 4-2 record.
Week 8: vs Buffalo.
Another toss up in my eyes. I don't think they're as good as their 4-1 record, playing 4 games coming against teams that could very easily finish the season below .500. Marshawn Lynch is turning into a top back in the league, and Lee Evans always gives us fits. That said, a lot rests on the health of Trent Edwards who suffered a consussion today. He is clearly better than JP Losman. Like the Baltimore game, I see this is a toss up, with us winning thanks to home field advantadge. 5-2 record.
Week 9: @ Denver.
The Broncos offense has been extremely prolific this season, with Jay Cutler taking the proverbial 'next step' as a NFL QB. Selvin Young has gotten the job done in the backfield, and Brandon Marshall has established himself as a top receiver in the league. That said, their defense has been terrible, especially against the pass, but also against the run. This game is very winnable, but I give the edge to Denver. 5-3 record.
Week 10: vs Seattle.
The Seahawks are not very good. Their only win came against the NFL worst Rams. They are now 1-3 after getting absolutely crushed by the Giants today. Even in years past when they were winning the division, they routinely went 7-1 or 8-0 at Qwest Field while going like 1-7 or 2-6 on the road. They are worse this year than they have been in a while, and this game is in Miami. The Fins should come away with a win. 6-3 record.
Week 11: vs Oakland.
They have been medicore on both O and D this year. McFadden has unlimited potential, but JaMarcus Russel hasn't done anything in the league yet. They allowed 25 4th quarter points to the team that we shut down today (San Diego). Also, I don't see how they don't have the worst team morale in the league, with the way Lane Kiffin was fired and whatnot. Again this is a home game we should win. 7-3 record.
Week 12 vs New England.
I think this will be a very different story than our Week 3 clobbering of them. Our Wildcat formation completely caught them by surprise. With time to prepare for it, Bill Belichick should have the team ready. Though a cheater, he is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. Matt Cassel will be more comforatable with the offense. Though a winnable game, I wouldn't expect us to sweep New England. 7-4 record.
Week 13 @ St. Louis.
They are absolutely the epitome of a terrible football team. The final scores of their games have been as follows: 38-3, 41-13, 37-13, 31-14. Their offense and defense both ranks near the very bottom of the league. Despite being a road game, there is absolutely no excuse for Miami to lose this game. 8-4 record.
Week 14: @ Buffalo (in Toronto).
I've already given a quick analysis of the Bills. Trent Edwards should definitely be healthy by this time, and I think the Bills will be able to even the season series up with us. Though, winning this game wouldn't come as a shock. 8-5 record.
Week 15: vs San Francisco.
The 49ers haven't been bad this season, but they haven't been good either. Frank Gore is a top-5 back in the league. JT O'Sullivan has made some impressive throws this year, but tends to hold on to the ball way too long at times. Their defense has playmakers in Nate Clements (who has owned us in the past with Buffalo) and Pat Willis, but they have not been impressive as a unit. I think this will be a close game, but I feel we are the better team. 9-5 record.
Week 16: @ Kansas City.
Both the Chiefs offense and defense ranks near the bottom of the league, much like St. Louis. They played the Pats close and pulled off an impressive win over Denver, but they were beaten fairly easily by Oakland, New Orleans and Carolina. Arrowhead is a tough place to play but they are one of the worst teams in the NFL. 10-5 record.
Week 17: @ New York Jets.
Rematch of Week 1 game which we were a couple lucky throws from winning. Revenge will be on the mind, especially for Pennington, but Favre will be much more accustomed to the playbook and offense. If both teams are somehow fighting for a playoff spot in the last week, this has all the makings of an all-time classic Dolphins game. That said, as much as it pains me to say it, I see the Jets as being favoried in this one. 10-6 record.
10-6. Many will call this overly optimistic. So-called 'experts' on ESPN and other mainstream media would probably laugh at this prediction. That said -- who cares what they think?
As for the division, we have a much easier schedule than New England and Buffalo. The Jets have an equally easy schedule. 10-6 may very well be good enough to win the division. It also may not be.
The AFC as a whole has been pretty crazy this year. Super Bowl contenders Jacksonville, Indy, and San Diego have all under-performed. Some might say Tennessee and Buffalo have over-performed. 10-6 should be good enough for a Wild Card spot, but that's extremely tough to predict.
There is also the very real possibility of us coming up short in some of the toss up games (vs Baltimore, vs Buffalo, maybe Seattle and San Fran) and finishing below .500. How we looked against Arizona vs how we looked against New England and San Diego are on the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum, so who knows what the rest of the season holds. That said, I think my predictions are caustiously optimistic, and not beyond the realm of decent probability. Besides, where's the fun in predicting a 7-9 record?
Sorry for the length of the post, but I'm still psyched over our back-to-back "upsets" as the "experts" like to call them. Thanks for reading.
