How Good do You Think the Dolphins Players Think the Team is?

[Shouright]

Appreciate the subtle play on words here. I'm asking you to estimate how good you think the team thinks it is.

Step into the players' shoes for a moment and make your best guess as to how good you believe they think they are as a team.

Of course there's likely variation in that belief among the players, but make your best guess as to how good you believe the players think the team is overall, on average.

 

[tcdrover]

Every NFL team thinks it can go undefeated and win the super bowl at times.

The problem I think is that Sherman over estimates what the Line can do and who ever the quality control coaches are also seem to miss out on reporting our tendencies
and how we match up with other teams, like the Bills

They are built to beat the Pats and US, whereas no other teams really look at them that way.

 

[SabanHater]

If I was them I would think we suck after yesterdays performance.
They have no reason to feel otherwise.

 

[vt_dolfan]

Shou..just by asking that question..I can tell you never played sports.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[flynryan15]

Just when I think this team is ready to hit the next level they have a 100 total yards of offense lay a goose egg performance and NO this ain't the first time!

 

[MarinoEqualsGod]

As competitors, if they don't think they will win the Super Bowl, they need to find another profession.

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

Just when I think this team is ready to hit the next level they have a 100 total yards of offense lay a goose egg performance and NO this ain't the first time!

This team isn't hitting any 'next level,' IMO. I hate to poop on the parade because I really don't want to overreact to the Bills loss -- just as I didn't overreact to the Patriots win -- but the only chance this team has of hitting any next level is for a miraculous OL salvaging rebuild during the offseason and another big step forward from Ryan Tannehill.

The defense is only going to get worse. Much worse. The only guys we have locked up are three bad linebackers who we just handed big money contracts. And Reshad Jones. Chris Clemons: free agent. Brent Grimes: free agent. Paul Soliai: free agent. Randy Starks: free agent.

 

[datruth55]

This team is an offensive line away from being able to compete in the playoffs every year. We've seen what they can do when Tannehill has time to throw. Now super bowl...that's going to take more than just the O-line.

 

[Phantom]

They see film each week, and know exactly what they are. I'll bet they are not very happy that making the playoffs is now out of their own hands, in a year where the Pats were decimated by injuries and a murder. Most of the AFC is down this year, and even after an 3-0 start, and winning 5 out of 7 we find ourselves needing a win and help. That's because we have some God Awful loses, like yesterday. Every time this team does something that looks like a confidence builder, they do something to tear it apart. It's frustrating to say the least. We're good enough at times to play with just about anybody and bad enough to lose to horrible teams. That's who we are.

 

[MarinoEqualsGod]

They see film each week, and know exactly what they are. I'll bet they are not very happy that making the playoffs is now out of their own hands, in a year where the Pats were decimated by injuries and a murder. Most of the AFC is down this year, and even after an 3-0 start, and winning 5 out of 7 we find ourselves needing a win and help. That's because we have some God Awful loses, like yesterday. Every time this team does something that looks like a confidence builder, they do something to tear it apart. It's frustrating to say the least. We're good enough at times to play with just about anybody and bad enough to lose to horrible teams. That's who we are.

To be fair, making the playoffs isn't in anyone's hands. No one controls their own destiny. I don't ever recall a Week 17 situation where that was the case.

 

[Shouright]

So we have a small sample of respondents so far, and a perfectly bell-shaped curve centering on the 8-8 to 10-6 range.

So let me ask everyone this: if we're correct, and the players themselves feel they have a team with the talent to achieve a record in about that range (8-8 to 10-6), then how motivated will the team be to win games such as the one it played yesterday?

Said differently, if the team realizes it's only 8-8 to 10-6 caliber, it must also know it has only a small chance of making noise in the playoffs. If it knows it has only a small chance of making noise in the playoffs, then what kind of meaning must it assign to games like the one scheduled yesterday, where a win serves only to enhance its odds of reaching a playoff scenario in which there is a high probability of an early exit on their part?

Now, contrast that with teams that truly believe they have a good chance to win the Super Bowl this year. Those teams are likely to have established much bigger goals for themselves, and they're likely to enter games like the one yesterday with more of a "mission" in mind. Consequently those teams are likely to come out much more motivated.

In other words, I don't think we're going to see the Dolphins sustain a high level of play until they amass the talent that would make they themselves believe they have a chance to make serious noise in the playoffs. Only then will they expect winning from themselves week in, week out, and come to play with a corresponding and more reliable level of intensity.