Respect is slowly coming to the dolphins. | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Respect is slowly coming to the dolphins.

Wildbill3

Wildbill3

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...losers-from-nfl-week-11/ar-AAkyvvA?li=BBnb7Kz

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[FONT=&quot]The best defense in football over the last month (Los Angeles’) was throttling the Dolphins 10-0 with seven minutes left at the Coliseum. For some reason—Confidence? Stupidity?—quarterback Ryan Tannehill looked at the other 10 guys in the huddle before the first snap and said, “Take a deep breath, everybody. We’re gonna win this game.”[/FONT]
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I wouldn't say ESPN is giving us much respect still...more than normal but still not much.

6. Miami Dolphins (6-4)

Playoff odds: 29.4 percent

Out of nowhere, the Dolphins have sprinted into the AFC playoff picture. After a 1-4 start capped by an embarrassing performance against the Bengals on national television, Adam Gase finally settled on a running back in Jay Ajayi and managed to right the ship. Ajayi's emergence as a workhorse back has shut off the turnover spigot for the Dolphins, who had 11 giveaways in four contests before their game against the Steelers on Oct. 16. Since then, Ryan Tannehill's offense has given up the ball twice in five games while the defense has forced nine takeaways.

The downside: Their five-game winning streak doesn't hold up well under scrutiny. They beat the Steelers 30-15 in a game where Ben Roethlisberger was injured and mostly useless in the second half. Miami beat the Bills by three in a game where they were really up by more until a meaningless late Buffalo touchdown, but their next three games have basically been coin flips: They won on a late kick-return touchdown over the Jets, a pick-six with 1:13 left over the Chargers as San Diego was approaching field goal range, and needed two late touchdown drives to prevail over a mostly-useless Jared Goff in his first NFL start on Sunday. They've benefited from wildly important-but-unsustainable plays in key moments and an ugly slate of opposing quarterbacks.

A ground game is there, and the defense has woken up, and they may have locked up enough wins at 6-4 to sneak in as an average football team because the remaining schedule isn't tough: They still have the 49ers, Ravens, Cardinals, Jets and Bills to play before a Week 17 tilt against the Patriots, who might not have anything to play for and would presumably sit the likes of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. FPI may very well be underestimating their chances at this point.


5. Buffalo Bills (5-5)

Playoff odds: 30.2 percent

The unlucky Bills finally caught a break: After going 0-4 in games decided by a touchdown or less this season, they did enough on offense and took advantage of the injuries to Green and Bernard to beat the Bengals 16-12. (It didn't help the Bills, to be fair, when they lost Shady McCoy to a thumb injury, although Mike Gillislee was effective in McCoy's absence.) It wasn't pretty, but the Bills did enough to win in Cincy.

The Bills also will be favored this upcoming week, when they face the Jaguars at home in Buffalo, but it's tough to see that turning into a winning streak, as they travel to Oakland in Week 13. The good news: four of their final six games are at home, including tilts against the Jags and Browns, and the other road trip is to face the lowly Jets in Week 17. The problem is they don't hold up well in tiebreakers. The Bills already have lost to wild-card contenders such as the Ravens and Dolphins, and they're 2-4 in AFC contests so far this year. The Raiders, Steelers and Dolphins tilts will be critical as the Bills try to sneak in with a 9-7 or 10-6 record.
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Funny that when the Seahawks win games in the same manner everyone says it's a great team win and that's a playoff team finding ways to win but the Dolphins are lucky and can't sustain their current success...well done ESPN...that's why you suck, because you can't be unbiased.

And the Bills having a higher chance at the playoffs at this point just seems ludicrous...but again...ESPN likes to "circle the wagons" lol
 
datruth55 said:
I wouldn't say ESPN is giving us much respect still...more than normal but still not much.



Funny that when the Seahawks win games in the same manner everyone says it's a great team win and that's a playoff team finding ways to win but the Dolphins are lucky and can't sustain their current success...well done ESPN...that's why you suck, because you can't be unbiased.

And the Bills having a higher chance at the playoffs at this point just seems ludicrous...but again...ESPN likes to "circle the wagons" lol
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Playoff odds. Also known as a bunch of guys completely just making things up. :lol:
 
datruth55 said:
I wouldn't say ESPN is giving us much respect still...more than normal but still not much.



Funny that when the Seahawks win games in the same manner everyone says it's a great team win and that's a playoff team finding ways to win but the Dolphins are lucky and can't sustain their current success...well done ESPN...that's why you suck, because you can't be unbiased.

And the Bills having a higher chance at the playoffs at this point just seems ludicrous...but again...ESPN likes to "circle the wagons" lol
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I don't want to have this discussion but you're absolutely right. The last few years, the Seahawks have won a ton of ugly, ****ty 13-10 type football games in overtime or in the final seconds, and they got tons of credit and praise for it. Deservedly so, I might add.

I expect Miami to get that same respect for winning the same type of games.
 
Bill Barnwell is a guy that out thinks himself by trying to be the smartest guy in the room.
 
Getting throttled score 10-0? I guess if you're the RAMS and don't put up much points per game.
 
As much abuse as I've suffered being a fan of this team, it is going to take awhile before I start trusting them.
 
Most of the wins haven't been in convincing fashion, but these are the types of games the good teams win. Look at New England over the years. The Patriots find a way to win the close games. In the past, Miami would have lost most if not all of these close calls.

Not saying Miami is a playoff team, but they are definitely on the right track and look to be building something under Adam Gase.
 
Interesting that we have more WINS, the most important stat for playoff positioning, yet a lower chance to make playoffs.

More fuel to make sure we finish well ahead of the Bills.
 
30% is a reasonable estimate of the Dolphins playoff chances, especially when contenders outside the AFC East can make the playoffs by winning a division title as well as a Wildcard berth. Then factor in their OL injuries, 3 cold weather road games, and 3 AFC West teams to contend with and you realize that the Dolphins need a lot to go their way. It may even require an 11-5 record to make the playoffs in the AFC this year.
 
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