Dolphins' season ends too soon
"The stacks of newspapers have been piling up for months. Five months worth, to be exact.
Should you dare step through the doorway of my home office, there’s a chance you might not make it back out. I’m told the newspapers are planning a takeover of the rest of my house, too.
Time for action.
So when I woke up Wednesday morning – a rare morning that didn't require a drive to the Dolphins' training facility – I decided it was time to tidy. One by one, I would look over each Post sports section. Evaluating. Reading. Organizing.
What does this have to do with the Dolphins, you ask? Here’s the answer:
History.
So often, on a daily basis, it’s easy to lose long-term perspective about a football season. We get lost in the moment, forgetting to compare success or failure with the months that came before.
Headlines can often reveal quite a bit about our pasts.
So what did I learn from sifting through the newspapers, reading the ink splashed across each sports page? I learned that the Dolphins belong in the playoffs.
They should be preparing for Saturday. They shouldn’t be wondering how they will spend the off-season just yet.
Three headlines in particular stood out to me. These all came from Monday sections, serving as the reaction to the game that was played the day before:
Nov. 7: “Driven to frustrationâ€Â
Nov. 14: “Dropped opportunityâ€Â
Nov. 21: “Painfully pointlessâ€Â
Three consecutive weeks. Three losses that easily should have been wins. Would three more wins have been enough to make the playoffs? Absolutely, especially since one of them came against the New England Patriots.
Of course, fans should still be satisfied with the season – but only when comparing this year’s success to last year’s failure. What should be more frustrating to the Dolphins, however, is how much better it could have been.
Miami is the hottest team with nothing remaining on its schedule. Actually, gauging only on the past six weeks, the Dolphins are one of the best teams in NFL history to miss the playoffs.
So much success. So little to show for it.
And the most painful part? This team is ready for the playoffs. Nearly everyone is healthy. The chemistry is solid. The momentum is rolling.
Rolling all the way to the golf course.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with finishing 9-7. There’s especially nothing wrong with finishing with six consecutive wins, regardless of the strength of the opponents.
The Dolphins should be proud of this season. No matter who returns – no matter who doesn’t – this team did something this year that no one expected.
They became relevant again.
Relevancy doesn’t win championships. But it’s a start. Nothing will change the Dolphins’ current situation. Nothing will get them into the playoffs now. Nothing will make this season any more successful or any more disappointing.
So instead, as Coach Nick Saban begins to build for next season, only one headline should remain engrained in every mind of every player and coach from here until this time next year.
“Streak of pride gives Dolphins motivation.â€Â
Motivation for the future. Pride in the present.
Is that enough? Maybe not. But for the next eight months, it will have to do.
