I'm super impressed with the way he's coaching the team though. This whole building one-play-at-a-time mentality is WORKING. I know there are people that will say all we are doing is screwing our draft position but to that I say three things:
1. The goal in football is winning, not necessarily just winning a championship or just getting to the playoffs. Saying that the latter is the only goal that matters ignores the positive feelings that fans and players get every time they win a game, or even every time they have a good play. To focus only on the championship is just glossing over all those warm fuzzy feelings you got when they won game after game...even during an 8-8 or 9-7 season.
2. Some of these players won't be here next year, but most of them will be. We're not going to turn over half the roster like we did this offseason because Saban already has a lot of players in place that he wants to keep around. All those guys that are here now that will be here next year (lets say, 35 or 40 out of 53?), having a winning mentality and having built something in the 2005 season will carry over to the 2006 season. That is important. Ending the season on a disappointing note and losing a bunch of games only means you still have a lot further to go to turn around the losing mentality. Finish the season on a 6-0 run and next season we'll have the convenience of about 35 or 40 players already on the roster who have bought into Saban's process-oriented approach. Having success with that approach merely affirms to the players that are here that the approach works. That should put us in a bit better position than we were after last season, with hardly anyone on the roster buying into the Saban way.
3. Isn't it a source of pride to anyone except me that the Dolphins have only had like, what, three losing seasons in franchise history? Only two since The Don took over as coach I think. I know I have as much pride in that as any feelings about the 72 fins' perfect season.
