Metal Panda
One Moe Win
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- Dec 24, 2005
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Of course I've heard it before, and now we hear it again this morning--Miami is "only 1-2" against the current crop of playoff teams. Miami "only beat two teams with winning records". But this is all based on where the teams finished and takes nothing circumstantial into account.
I'm not going to lie--we didn't have a gargantuan schedule. Then again, who in the AFC East did? Strength of schedule only determines two of your opponents now. But it wasn't as 'easy' as some made it seem anyway. Let's take a closer look at our victories...
1. New England Patriots, 11-5: We beat them before they really hit their stride, sure, but they had played well, if not dominant in prior weeks, and it was at Gillette stadium, a place where we typically get torn up.
2. San Diego Chargers, 8-8: They had a .500 record at the time, but that was partially due to Ed Hoculi's blunder. They were on a two game winning streak, and had just hung 48 points on the Jets two weeks earlier. No, they still hadn't regained their form, but they looked like they might be close to regaining some swagger.
3. Buffalo Bills, 7-9: Buffalo was 5-1 at the time of the first meeting! While they had played a softer schedule and suffered an embarassing loss to Arizona, the Cards did go 3-1 against the AFC East. Besides, you beat the opponents you play, and Buffalo was coming off of a key win versus San Diego. Miami's victory actually helped begin their downward spiral.
4. Denver Broncos, 8-8: They were coming off of a two game losing streak, but they were still 4-3 at the time, and they aren't exactly easy to beat at Invesco. And Denver's knock was their defense, but Miami won by flustering the Broncos' offense.
5. Seattle Seahawks, 4-12: Not going to argue here, they were definitely bad.
6. Oakland Raiders, 5-11: See above.
7. St. Louis Rams, 2-14: Not a good team, but it was with Steven Jackson, who when he was in the lineup, made them look much better.
8. Buffalo Bills, 7-9: This Bills team was backsliding and didn't have their starting quarterback, but they still had a .500 record at the time. Buffalo wouldn't have had a losing record if Miami hadn't beaten them twice.
9. San Francisco 49ers, 7-9: This is not the same 49ers team that went on a six game losing streak. This was a physical, confident team who had just beaten two other AFC East foes, and would go on to win 5 of their last 7. May have had a losing record, but Miami played them while they were hot.
10. Kansas City Chiefs, 2-14: No comment, but Miami had lost in its last 3 meetings in Arrowhead dating back to 1981.
11. New York Jets, 9-7: Say what you will about Favre, this was a team with a winning record that was once playoff bound, and Pennington was able to fool the defense several times. A few more plays executed on offense (Wildcat flicker, botched punt snap),and this one might have been uglier.
So all in all....we didn't play Goliaths, but doesn't this paint a better picture?
I'm not going to lie--we didn't have a gargantuan schedule. Then again, who in the AFC East did? Strength of schedule only determines two of your opponents now. But it wasn't as 'easy' as some made it seem anyway. Let's take a closer look at our victories...
1. New England Patriots, 11-5: We beat them before they really hit their stride, sure, but they had played well, if not dominant in prior weeks, and it was at Gillette stadium, a place where we typically get torn up.
2. San Diego Chargers, 8-8: They had a .500 record at the time, but that was partially due to Ed Hoculi's blunder. They were on a two game winning streak, and had just hung 48 points on the Jets two weeks earlier. No, they still hadn't regained their form, but they looked like they might be close to regaining some swagger.
3. Buffalo Bills, 7-9: Buffalo was 5-1 at the time of the first meeting! While they had played a softer schedule and suffered an embarassing loss to Arizona, the Cards did go 3-1 against the AFC East. Besides, you beat the opponents you play, and Buffalo was coming off of a key win versus San Diego. Miami's victory actually helped begin their downward spiral.
4. Denver Broncos, 8-8: They were coming off of a two game losing streak, but they were still 4-3 at the time, and they aren't exactly easy to beat at Invesco. And Denver's knock was their defense, but Miami won by flustering the Broncos' offense.
5. Seattle Seahawks, 4-12: Not going to argue here, they were definitely bad.
6. Oakland Raiders, 5-11: See above.
7. St. Louis Rams, 2-14: Not a good team, but it was with Steven Jackson, who when he was in the lineup, made them look much better.
8. Buffalo Bills, 7-9: This Bills team was backsliding and didn't have their starting quarterback, but they still had a .500 record at the time. Buffalo wouldn't have had a losing record if Miami hadn't beaten them twice.
9. San Francisco 49ers, 7-9: This is not the same 49ers team that went on a six game losing streak. This was a physical, confident team who had just beaten two other AFC East foes, and would go on to win 5 of their last 7. May have had a losing record, but Miami played them while they were hot.
10. Kansas City Chiefs, 2-14: No comment, but Miami had lost in its last 3 meetings in Arrowhead dating back to 1981.
11. New York Jets, 9-7: Say what you will about Favre, this was a team with a winning record that was once playoff bound, and Pennington was able to fool the defense several times. A few more plays executed on offense (Wildcat flicker, botched punt snap),and this one might have been uglier.
So all in all....we didn't play Goliaths, but doesn't this paint a better picture?
