Optimism: a better currency

[andyahs]

Show me? How can I be optimistic?
Kevin Colbert is retiring this year as a GM of the Steelers after 20+ players. During that time they were competitive every year, they won two superbowls, had stability, Tomlin who also headed for Canton, HoF QB.
We are no where near with Grier and Ross since he took over 14 years ago.

Read the op.

 

[DuderinoN703]

I’ve been optimistic for 30 years bc I’m a clown who doesn’t know better. I’ll have faith McDaniel is the guy same as I did for all other coaches post-Shula.

Worst that can happen is I’m wrong again and they start over for the 50th time.

 

[Fin-Loco]

Sometimes it seems as there are battle lines drawn here at Finheaven; those of us who can look beyond the past and hope for a bright future, vs. those of us who believe that we are doomed to forever suffer from what we've done before.

So... it seems to me that the signing of a young, evidently bright, new head coach, combined with a young roster, and the largest amount of cap space in the NFL should provoke even the most obstinate of evil clowns to see that maybe, just maybe there is a reason for some optimism here. I mean... we've done what so many have requested-- we've hired an offensive minded coach and we definitely have the means/interest in signing the free agent linemen for which so many have thrown tantrums for us to sign.

Things might not be so bright that we gotta wear shades, but things do seem to be looking up. Flores was a tough, no-nonsense sort of guy and he did manage to get us to play a bit smarter, but he cast a pall over the team-- seemingly getting into personality conflicts with at least a couple of players and/or coaches each year. That really isn't leadership, and modern players don't generally react well to John Wayne or General Patton type leadership.

Look around the league and you'll see that the teams with a more youthful outlook are generally doing better-- winning more games, going farther in the postseason. The grumpy dictator type leadership just doesn't play well with this generation's players, and Nerdy McD might be JUST the guy to actually engender some passion and loyalty from these players.

I hope so, but then again... I'm an optimist.

Well written thoughts FD.

 

[Beach Bum]

No one really knows what will happen, but the reports on McDaniel do seem something to get excited about. Besides his IQ, the one thing that has me optimistic is he seems to understand things at a higher level AND can communicate that to the player(s). As they say, communication is the key. Don't worry, be happy.

 

[Fin-Loco]

No one really knows what will happen, but the reports on McDaniel do seem something to get excited about. Besides his IQ, the one thing that has me optimistic is he seems to understand things at a higher level AND can communicate that to the player(s). As they say, communication is the key. Don't worry, be happy.

Yep. It's the offseason so he'll be mostly gauged by his coaching moves and then the FA and draft moves. Hoping he really syncs up with Grier and that Grier executes McDaniel's vision. McDaniel is great at communicating from all reports but now he has an armada to run as opposed to just the SS Offense. He should go get Fangio to lighten the load a bit.

 

[Beach Bum]

Yep. It's the offseason so he'll be mostly gauged by his coaching moves and then the FA and draft moves. Hoping he really syncs up with Grier and that Grier executes McDaniel's vision. McDaniel is great at communicating from all reports but now he has an armada to run as opposed to just the SS Offense. He should go get Fangio to lighten the load a bit.

No doubt having an experienced DC who was also an HC at one time would be ideal. Fingers crossed we can get Fangio or Zimmer. :-)

 

[PhinFan1968]

No doubt having an experienced DC who was also an HC at one time would be ideal. Fingers crossed we can get Fangio or Zimmer. :-)

And you would think the job is desirable, considering the players they have. Who wouldn’t be all-in on Igbo?!?!

Seriously though…two great corners, potentially two great safeties, a line that has evolved into a reliable unit, and overall fairly young.

 

[K-Rob]

I’ve tried to state my case for positivity here several times before and I’ll continue to be positive. Honestly, no matter how I feel about the team, those feelings have zero affect on what happens on the field. So that leaves me with the choice to be positive or negative. I’ll choose positive every time.

This coach definitely has some buzz around him, which is awesome. There is plenty of room for doubt but that could have been found with any coach that was hired. No one is a sure thing.

I’m already hyped for training camp to see what McDaniel brings to the team and I’ll be ready to buy a new jersey also. Maybe even Tua. Go Fins!

 

[DolfanISS]

I’m always optimistic, of our recent coaches I really thought Gase was the answer. So I’m terrible at this lol. His first year here I didn’t think highly of the defensive talent, especially as the year went on, and the team still managed a playoff berth. I felt in game management for the most part was good. He started losing me when he held out hope for Tannehill for the playoffs. He was done and should have had surgery (Ryan’s fault). Then he lost me more with Cutler, it was bleak then. I liked Tony’s brand of physical football (minus playing for field goals), never was high on Philbin after the first hard knocks and did like Flo but was ready to bail at 1-7. He did flip me for one more season with the 8 out of 9 though. For me it was fast start or bust for Flo.

 

[phinzfan21]

Well said OP.

 

[tay0365]

I have no idea if McDaniel will succeed or not, but I do find the reasons presented by many here as reasonable reasons to be hopeful. On the other hand, I find the reasons presented as to why he will fail as ridiculously stupid. If McDaniel fails it will not be for any of those reasons. It would most likely be b/c it's a really difficult job that most fail at.

I also find that being around negative people is draining and no fun. The people who come on this site and constantly complain seem to have no other purpose than to try to bring misery. They may claim to be just "speaking the truth" or some other inaccurate nonsense, but in reality they are just horrible people to interact with. I tend to leave the site from time to time and it's almost always just to avoid the negative conversations.

I avoid all things Dolphins for at least 2 to 3 days after a loss. just because of the huge amount of negativity I know I am sure to find.

New Offensive minded possibly boy genius as our HC. Now get us a quality D-Coordinator (Vic Fangio?), and Miami is going to be rocking so loud and hard, they will hear us through the entire country.

 

[rafael]

I wonder what people's optimism readings were after the 1-15 cam Cameron season. New coach and a 11-5 record, what a wild ride. I like to take it one season at a time and remain optimistic!

Personally, the last coach hire I was excited about was Saban. With Cameron, Flores, Gase I was hopeful, of course, but I very much had 'a wait and see' attitude.

 

[juniorseau55]

Some fans seem to think that the Shula/Lombardi/Landry types are still what's needed to win in the NFL. But just like Griese/Starr/Staubach aren't going to cut it in the NFL these days, neither are the coaches. The game changes. You can't just tell guys to win one for the Gipper anymore, you have to actually show your homework that you know what the hell goes into each play and how to maximize the potential of each player. These guys are all making minimum 6 figures and they all want to make a lot more, and they all want to be in Canton one day. What will you as a coach do to make that happen? You need to prove you actually know how to make these big egos all click together

Bruce Arians won a ring last season and he is known to be a hard nosed coach. Andy Reid comes from the old school of football as always, and he won a ring before Aryans. Belichick, and Pederdon werent young coaches either when they won their rings either. To make my point, Tomlin was the youngest coach to win a ring, he was 36 at the time. And previous to him was gruden, age 39. And this was almost 20 years ago! Sure McVay for example is a young man, but older tougher men in historic levels, have been beyond the average.

Soft nice men like Cam Cameron ended up being squashed in the nfl, and younger coaches don’t have a good turn around. Ask Josh McDaniels, someone that has a lot of credibility, more than our McDaniels, that was fired with Denver, and now is coaching the raiders for his second go around. After he was fired, Kubiak ended up winning a ring with the Broncos. So the age of hot offensive coordinators, young, and smart ended up in failure. Josh is getting another chance, and he has a very smart acumen such as your typical offensive guy like our mcdaniel, but it was proven to fail before. Sean McVay, if he wins with the rams, would be the youngest coach since Tomlin did it in 2009. If Taylor that is 38 wins it, he will be the same age as Tomlin when he did.

 

[Birdmond]

I’m always optimistic from the start of free agency until Miami is eliminated from the playoffs. Usually October. H

I don’t know if McDaniel can be a good HC but I’d bet big money on this SYSTEM working in Miami. So I’m excited.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

Sometimes it seems as there are battle lines drawn here at Finheaven; those of us who can look beyond the past and hope for a bright future, vs. those of us who believe that we are doomed to forever suffer from what we've done before.

So... it seems to me that the signing of a young, evidently bright, new head coach, combined with a young roster, and the largest amount of cap space in the NFL should provoke even the most obstinate of evil clowns to see that maybe, just maybe there is a reason for some optimism here. I mean... we've done what so many have requested-- we've hired an offensive minded coach and we definitely have the means/interest in signing the free agent linemen for which so many have thrown tantrums for us to sign.

Things might not be so bright that we gotta wear shades, but things do seem to be looking up. Flores was a tough, no-nonsense sort of guy and he did manage to get us to play a bit smarter, but he cast a pall over the team-- seemingly getting into personality conflicts with at least a couple of players and/or coaches each year. That really isn't leadership, and modern players don't generally react well to John Wayne or General Patton type leadership.

Look around the league and you'll see that the teams with a more youthful outlook are generally doing better-- winning more games, going farther in the postseason. The grumpy dictator type leadership just doesn't play well with this generation's players, and Nerdy McD might be JUST the guy to actually engender some passion and loyalty from these players.

I hope so, but then again... I'm an optimist.

For those of us who have been scarred by the last two decades, I understand the tendency to avoid unbridled optimism and the consequential disappointment. Personally, the key word there is "unbridled." I'm optimistic with any new HC/QB/draft - just not too optimistic. I find it difficult to live in a pessimistic world