The Top 10 Teams in Dolphins POST-SHULA History

[SkapePhin]

This thread is inspired by (and much sadder than) this thread: http://www.finheaven.com/showthread.php?374891-Top-10-Teams-in-Dolphins-History

The Dolphins have been stuck in a quagmire of suck ever since Shula was shown the door. So is it even possible to make a Top 10 list of Dolphins teams in the post-Shula era?

The Post-Shula Era includes 1996 - Present. See: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/

#1: 1998 (10-6 Lost in Divisional Round)
To be truthful, I don't even really remember this season. But it was the last playoff season for Marino that didn't end with humiliating defeat like a year later. ZT and JT were just coming on and it felt like the beginning of something. It turns out it was afterall, the beginning of decades of mediocrity and futility.

#2: 2000 (11-5 Lost in Divisional Round)
The last time we were able to experience a playoff victory, but many of us couldn't really even do that because it was blacked out locally. I will always remember listening to the audio feed on NFL.com while watching the football graphic move from midfield to the endzone in OT to cap off Lamar Smith's incredible performance.

#3: 2008 (11-5 Lost in Wild Card Round)
One of the most memorable seasons in recent memory when the Dolphins with the aid of Pennington's golden noodle arm pulled off the impossible - winning the division a season after almost going winless. They flamed out in the playoffs, but hey, it was a fun ride while it lasted.

#4: 1997 (9-7 Lost in Wild Card Round)
Don't remember much about this season either, but it seemed like the investment in JJ was starting to pay off. Some good young players were coming on, and the Dolphins began their 5 year run of consecutive playoff appearances.

#5: 2002 (9-7 No Playoffs)
Run, Ricky, Run! This was about as enjoyable a season as you could have without reaching the playoffs. To watch Ricky Williams decimate the NFL in his prime was a joy to watch. Too bad it ended with the most embarrassing Norv/Wanny brainfart ever witnessed.

#6: 2001 (11-5 Lost Wild Card Round)
The Dolphins still seemed like one of the top tier teams back then, even with a 2nd-rate QB like Fiedler at the helm. Got smashed by the Ravens in the Wild Card round. Oh what I wouldn't give to be smashed by the Ravens in the Wild Card round again...

#7: 1999 (9-7 Lost Divisional Round)
The last time we ever saw Marino on the field, but did it have to come to such a tragic end!?
[video=youtube;C82M9uwX81M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C82M9uwX81M[/video]

#8: 2005 (9-7 No Playoffs)
We all thought this was the start of the next great era in Dolphins football. Unfortunately Saban turned out to be a little less DON, and a lot more DONG. It was cool to see the return of Ricky paired with Ronnie Brown though.

#9: 2003 (10-6 No Playoffs)
Ricky probably started his retirement plans somewhere around the 2nd Quarter of the Week 3 matchup against the Bills when he was used as a human battering ram. It really sucked to be in the same division as the 14-2 Patriots that year. A 10-win season with no playoffs, what a shame.

#10: 2007 (1-15 No Playoffs)
This infamous season makes the list because the sole victory against the Ravens that year was the closest we have gotten to feeling like what a Super Bowl win could feel like... And we didn't go winless afterall!

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Nice work. Definitely not as inspiring as during Shula's time. I thought the 2002 team had the talent to go pretty far. The defense was loaded with Taylor, Thomas, Madison, Surtain, and Bowens. Offense was pretty spotty, but Ricky Williams was a beast.

Hopefully, Miami finally got the right coach and prosperity will soon follow.

 

[maralieus]

I just hope Brady ends his career in the same fashion as Dan. Football Gods, are you listening??

 

[Adam Strange]

So, 40% of the "Top Ten" post-Shula seasons ended with the team sitting out of the playoffs.

And 30% of the "Top Ten" seasons ended with the team getting bounced in the wild card game.

Par for the course for this team post-Shula. And don't forget, it's also been 23 seasons since the Dolphins last won a divisional round game, 25 seasons since the team last won more than 11 games in a season, 31 seasons since the team last won in the AFC title game, and a whopping 42 seasons since the last time the Dolphins won the Super Bowl.

At least during the early 80s and the Marino years, the team won enough so that things stayed interesting. Now that it's been a 15 year quagmire of incompetence and suck, there's no way to sugar coat the futility of this franchise.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

So, 40% of the "Top Ten" post-Shula seasons ended with the team sitting out of the playoffs.

And 30% of the "Top Ten" seasons ended with the team getting bounced in the wild card game.

Par for the course for this team post-Shula. And don't forget, it's also been 23 seasons since the Dolphins last won a divisional round game, 25 seasons since the team last won more than 11 games in a season, 31 seasons since the team last won in the AFC title game, and a whopping 42 seasons since the last time the Dolphins won the Super Bowl.

At least during the early 80s and the Marino years, the team won enough so that things stayed interesting. Now that it's been a 15 year quagmire of incompetence and suck, there's no way to sugar coat the futility of this franchise.

Yeah, it's too bad Miami couldn't get a defense or a running game around Marino. He lifted that team above what they should have achieved, but truth is what quarterback would have won a title with any of those teams? I believe the 1984 team would have beat most super bowl teams, but SF was clearly more talented. After that the defense went downhill quickly.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

I'm going to set myself up for some (justifiable?) bashing. The 2015 team was pretty good. First, some qualifications - Cameron, for example, was used incorrectly. I understand WHY, but he's still talented. Every team has a number of 'average' players who play well in the proper scheme and compliment the stars. I'm not going to argue 'talented' means All-Pro but "would start on most NFL teams and be stars on many." I'm aware a number of those I name will be challenged but Pro Bowl invitations mean something and they'd be coveted by many teams. And I'm not arguing the group was a top 5. I'm excluding ST. Going strictly on talent, the O consisted of Pouncey, Albert, Miller, Ajayi, Cameron, Landry, Parker, Matthews - 8 of 12-13. Throw in Tannehill and James as 'average' on O and that's 9 of 11 starters. On the D side, Wake, Suh, OV (when motivated), Jones. I struggle with Grimes and decided to omit him, but 3 All-Pros. Misi, Jenkins, M Thomas, Shelby, and Grimes grade as average. I've intentionally excluded Hewitt and Lippert who showed potential but are still largely unknowns.
The bad news is the glaringly BAD talent (D Thomas, Turner, Douglas, Fox, Sheppard, J Taylor) and a coaching staff that couldn't evaluate talent or get the talent out of all those listed. Nonetheless, ranking teams by talent, the 2015 team has more talent than I expected when I first started to evaluate the post-Shula teams.

 

[AphexPhin]

nice work. Very slip pickings though smh. I'd say the 2002 team had the most potential for greatness(also probably my favorite due to Ricky, Zach & JT). absolutely criminal that we had Wanney as our coach. IF we had a decent to good coach with that team, who knows how far they would have went in the playoffs.

 

[fansinceGWilson]

I'm also a big fan of the 2012 team. Like the 2015 team, it always seemed to play below the overall talent level of the team - and to repeat, had much more talent than the 2015 team. Only reason I posted was the 2015 team had quite a lot of talent to play as poorly as it did. I know there are some who think Pouncey and Albert are over-rated, but, IMO, are solid talents. You're right, it's scary to think how these teams (and other post-Shula teams) would have fared with a real HC.

 

[Marino420TD]

Nice work. I'm surprised you could find enough teams with >0.500 record for this list. :)

 

[SkapePhin]

nice work. Very slip pickings though smh. I'd say the 2002 team had the most potential for greatness(also probably my favorite due to Ricky, Zach & JT). absolutely criminal that we had Wanney as our coach. IF we had a decent to good coach with that team, who knows how far they would have went in the playoffs.

I agree, if we were looking at most talented team in the post-Shula era it was probably 2002. If they had a slightly better QB than Fiedler the team probably could have made some noise. Dumbstedt didn't help matters either