NFL.com article: "Winless teams still have plenty to prove..."

[fugawzi]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...to-watch-in-week-5?module=HP11_content_stream

Good read that suggests the Dolphins shouldn't just tank the season, and mainly blames Ross for the mess this year. I happen to agree with both.

Losing streaks create numerous problems. They create distractions, rumors and uncertainty. They also keep the focus off the next opponent, making it even harder to win a game. There tends to be a feeling throughout the organization of hopelessness. If everyone thinks the end is near, why waste their best effort on a losing cause? Finding another job becomes more important than spending time on the next game or meeting with the players. There is a sense that one win or two won't change the owner's mind and everyone should start packing their bags

The first thing the 0-4 teams must do is to embrace their situations. Being angry just brings out bitterness, not solutions. No one should get caught up in the negativity or the outside pressure. Coaches should not attend a press conference and act like a beaten dog (are you listening, Tony Sparano?) as that demeanor will influence everyone in the building in a negative way. Everything must remain as it was the first day of camp when optimism ran high. All rules and regulations must continue to be enforced. Team discipline has to remain. Each member of the organization must continue to strive for a standard of excellence and everyone has to be held accountable. The first time there is laxity in the rules, the team will start to believe the end is near and no one will care about the games. And then things go from bad to worse.

In Miami, the stage was set for this horrible season when owner Stephen Ross went to Palo Alto, Calif., in the offseason to recruit then-Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. Once that plane took off for the West Coast, the Dolphins' 2011 season was doomed. Take the poor decision of not trying to improve at quarterback plus the belief that Reggie Bush is a full-time back, and it all adds up to a bad team. Bill Walsh once said that a civil war is the ugliest war to fight, referring to organizations that have dissension in their own building. Once Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland took part in discussions involving Harbaugh, Ireland's relationship with Sparano was over, making this season tough to navigate.

 

[ANUFan]

I agree with one..Ross and the mess. Disagree with the the other tank the hell out of the season. The worst thing this team can do is actually start winning game most likely the out come of that would be

1) missing the playoffs
2) this FO is retained
3) Losing draft position

 

[Valandui]

I'm not saying Ross has done the most amazing job in the world, but I seriously doubt that he has completely doomed the team after two years of ownership during which he hired none of the front office staff and has basically done nothing but open up his wallet and let them spend stupid amounts of money for no results (until this year apparently). He may have mishandled the Harbaugh situation, but this mess is almost entirely to blame on Parcells/Ireland/Sparano.

 

[Lilseb93]

I'm not saying Ross has done the most amazing job in the world, but I seriously doubt that he has completely doomed the team after two years of ownership during which he hired none of the front office staff and has basically done nothing but open up his wallet and let them spend stupid amounts of money for no results (until this year apparently). He may have mishandled the Harbaugh situation, but this mess is almost entirely to blame on Parcells/Ireland/Sparano.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[jlfin]

I think Ross came to see what most of us had already seen; that Sparano is just not a good HC. It was obvious the previous 2 seasons that the team quit on him at the end of the season. Couple that with an inability to recognize and correct obvious problems with the ST's.
From my own perspective, one of the ways I judge a head coach is by the way their teams play ST's and by the frequency of penalties. The 1st demonstrates an attention to all facets of the game (attention to detail) and the latter demonstrates the level of discipline on the team.
For 2 seasons the Phins had poor to mediocre ST's play and during the 2010 preseason we saw blocked punts in consecutive games. Those were huge red flags and yet Sparano did nothing. It took a national embarrassment on MNF vs the Pats to FINALLY get Sparano to make some changes.
Everything in this world is relative and in the NFL Tony Sparano is below average relative to other NFL HC's.