We cannot become a dynasty until we start winning things, like at least our division. I do think a time is coming where age catches up to Brady and Belichick and we have an opening. I'd love to see us become a dynasty again … but not sure when that window is going to open.
My view of dynasty's is that they don't occur over night; there is no window to get through; only a grinding ascendancy to become "king of the hill" with an equally grinding maintenance required to stay "king of the hill".
You can become "king of the hill" with a group of great players, but as their performance wans, the position of "king of the hill" slips away. You can become "king of the hill" with a group of good players and a few great players if you continually upgrade and maintain a group of good players and the great players you can stay "king of the hill" for a long time. Eventually a team will come along that will have your number due to more inventive play calling and/or more "across the board" play capability.
I'm sure you can see the part of that description that represent the Patriots. I think a lot of people miss seeing the Dolphins as the team with "more inventive play calling and/or more "across the board" play capability". This is where our beating the patriots last year comes in. It is a one game microcosm of what I see as the direction these two teams are going in, with regard to each other.
Dynasty's get built and are developed over time. If I wasn't clear before I'll try to be clear now.
We, the fans, are in a position to see a dynasty develop. It's easy to identify a dynasty after it has developed, but we are in a position to observe the actual ascendancy of a Dolphins dynasty.
We have all the pieces in place. A good owner, a functional and well coordinated front office; at least over the last 3 years since Gase arrived, and a head coach with a comprehensive plan for winning and who never quits. It was no surprise that something like six other teams wanted him the year he came to Miami. He has brought in effective coaching talent over the last three years by keeping the good coaching that was already here and getting both new and experienced coaches to come here.
As for players; we are beginning to see the cumulative results of some consistently good drafting the last 3 years in all rounds and with undrafted free agents. We have used the free agent market to our advantage for stop gap improvements. We showed an unexpected level of performance as a team and in the front office in Gases first year as our head coach. Problems with some of our better players were identified and addressed with resulting player improvement. Last year we emerged from a hellish series of uncontrollable disasters with some of our younger players performing well and problematic players exposed and eventually released. Last year was the year that "tempered" our team.
I believe this season will be a breakout year for the team. Even if it does not turn out to be the breakout year I envision, it looks like we will be a better across the board this year than the last two and demonstrate improvement.
We've improved as a team this year at all levels: on the field and coaching and in the performance of our management. I am happiest with the depth we now have on this team. Sometimes when we use a position by position analysis to determine what a teams performance will be, we miss the value of the player and position interactions that are necessary for plays to function. When we step back and look at the entire team and how it works as a unit we get a better picture of what we can expect to see on the field.
I see a dynasty in the making, "one that is just getting over the hump" and is about to become a consistent contender for playoff berths and the Superbowl.
