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Was it really...

Phinz1972

Phinz1972

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I posted this in the VIP and got great responses to it, and felt that everyone on the board could have some insightful thoughts on the subject too, so here we go:

When Marino was playing and even there after he was done playing, people always said, "Marino never got a ring because he had no runningback to compliment his passing game." Was that really true? I ask because when Fiedler was here, he was an average QB and we did having a running, but got no ring or anywhere close to it.

So what has it been that has stopped us from getting to the promise land again? I personally think it was a combo of positions on the team(including coaching staff). I mean, we had a superstar QB that everyone loved and we couldn't gameplan around him, he had to be the gameplan(marino), we had a superstar RB that everyone wanted to see crush the other team's defence, and he was our gameplan(Ricky), we had superstar WRs(Irving, O.J., etc...), and so on. But Nick Saban seems to be taking the play of the Patriots by not going out and paying for highpriced superstars, instead, he is gathering a group of players that are out to prove something, players that compliment eachother at their positions, overall not great, but good enough to be starters....that way we don't have one player being the star of the team, but having a group of stars instead.

Your thoughts?
 
Phinz1972 said:
I posted this in the VIP and got great responses to it, and felt that everyone on the board could have some insightful thoughts on the subject too, so here we go:

When Marino was playing and even there after he was done playing, people always said, "Marino never got a ring because he had no runningback to compliment his passing game." Was that really true? I ask because when Fiedler was here, he was an average QB and we did having a running, but got no ring or anywhere close to it.

So what has it been that has stopped us from getting to the promise land again? I personally think it was a combo of positions on the team(including coaching staff). I mean, we had a superstar QB that everyone loved and we couldn't gameplan around him, he had to be the gameplan(marino), we had a superstar RB that everyone wanted to see crush the other team's defence, and he was our gameplan(Ricky), we had superstar WRs(Irving, O.J., etc...), and so on. But Nick Saban seems to be taking the play of the Patriots by not going out and paying for highpriced superstars, instead, he is gathering a group of players that are out to prove something, players that compliment eachother at their positions, overall not great, but good enough to be starters....that way we don't have one player being the star of the team, but having a group of stars instead.

Your thoughts?
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wow, Great Thread Phinz...i never thought of this, now that u bring it up i think ur 100% right...nice post!
 
Thanks Jt. I'm hoping NaboCane feels the urge to say what he said in the other thread of this, it will make a lot of people go "ohhhh awwww" lol.
 
One thing that goes along what that theme was somehting i heard from Schottenheimer last year talking about Boston. He said something along the lines of we tried for the high priced free agent but that didn't work out, so now we are trying for team effort. I'm not posting this becuase Boston is involved, I think everybody here understands that Boston being here is contingent upon him behaving himself and keeping quiet.
 
I totally agree... This is a team sport. You have to have enough talent in enough areas to be a winner. Teams do not win because of one person obviously. But when you get enough good guys, working together, with the chemistry that I believe Saban can put together. I truly feel that in a another couple of years, teams are going to dread playing Miami... Right now, I feel teams are thinking "WIN" when they see Miami on their schedule. I truly feel that this is the start of something really good for us.
 
Phinz1972 said:
I posted this in the VIP and got great responses to it, and felt that everyone on the board could have some insightful thoughts on the subject too, so here we go:

When Marino was playing and even there after he was done playing, people always said, "Marino never got a ring because he had no runningback to compliment his passing game." Was that really true? I ask because when Fiedler was here, he was an average QB and we did having a running, but got no ring or anywhere close to it.

So what has it been that has stopped us from getting to the promise land again? I personally think it was a combo of positions on the team(including coaching staff). I mean, we had a superstar QB that everyone loved and we couldn't gameplan around him, he had to be the gameplan(marino), we had a superstar RB that everyone wanted to see crush the other team's defence, and he was our gameplan(Ricky), we had superstar WRs(Irving, O.J., etc...), and so on. But Nick Saban seems to be taking the play of the Patriots by not going out and paying for highpriced superstars, instead, he is gathering a group of players that are out to prove something, players that compliment eachother at their positions, overall not great, but good enough to be starters....that way we don't have one player being the star of the team, but having a group of stars instead.

Your thoughts?
Click to expand...


Just my opinion, but the reason Marino didn't win a SB was because of a coach and Don Shulas lack of desire to get rid of him. Tom Olividatti's defensive philosophy was the biggest joke I'd ever seen. Probably the laughing stock of the league. I feel Olividatti caused Marino not to get a ring and in turn it was Shulas fault for not letting him go and showing too much loyalty to bad defensive coach. There were several years that we had some good players, but the philosophy was a joke. This is not exactly on the thread patern. But i thought of it anyway so I typed it.
 
SCall13 said:
I feel Olividatti caused Marino not to get a ring and in turn it was Shulas fault for not letting him go and showing too much loyalty to bad defensive coach. There were several years that we had some good players, but the philosophy was a joke. This is not exactly on the thread patern. But i thought of it anyway so I typed it.
Click to expand...

No worries, it is more on the thread pattern then you think :)

So do you feel if Shula would have have called it quits and retired in the early/mid 90s, and a coach that took no BS from his coaching staff and made sure they knew what they were doing, that Marino would have stood a better chance at the promised land?
 
I dont know if this will make sense or not but i think that there are 4 reasons that kept us from getting to the super bowl and wining it.
problem #1 jimmy johnson was not the kind of coach that the dolphins needed if we would have had mike holmgren or bill parcells or even denny green i think those coaches would have addressed those needs.

problem #2 i will say it many times if needed , our lousey draft picks on offense and some on deffense is another reason.

problem no 3 wanny brought in good players like chambers , weaver mcmichael but instead of keeping marino for one more year we would have made it because the only reasons we lost the playoff games was jay , see oak. in new england see jamar flecther and derrick rodgers.
problem no 4 bad draft position because of the 8-8 seasons.

in conclusion if we could of had two losing seasons in 96'and 97' and we had drafted donnovan mcnabb or a big time back then marino would have abetter chance. this is master prognosticator speaking here so i asume this was a part of the problem.
 
That was well thought out, Phinz. That hadn't even occurred to me really, but it makes sense.
 
Thanks man, I've thought about for awhile now, but this past week on NFL network they will show all kinds of old dolphins games and it got me really thinking about it, so I just had to see what other people thought.
 
I know this probably sounds weird, but I think that Marino was a victim of his own success. The reason that I believe this is because when Marino came onto the scene, he brought the passing game to a whole new level. How does this hurt him? We became too one dimensional, relying on Dan's ability to lead the team to comebacks in the fourth quarter with our quick scoring offense. I believe that this caused the coaching staff to get a little sloppy with controlling the clock, since they knew that Dan could lead us down the field in under a minute. With that type of quick strike offense, it left our defense little time to catch their breath, so they end up on the field longer. I'd be interested to see the accumulated time of possession for the whole time that Dan played versus our opponents during that time. Of course this is just a theory and I'm by no means an expert......

As far as our problems with the post-Marino period, I think that it boils down to coaching philosophy.... On one side, you have coaches that like to have a "star" player, or a core of a few players to build a team around, while others believe that you should build a team with depth where everyone contributes.

Personally, I think the depth approach works alot better, since you're not staking the fortunes of the team on any individual, or small group of players. New England is a great example, and I think that's also why Saban prefers to have a lot of draft picks. I think of it as different philosophies on how the talent is spread through the roster. With a "star" player approach, the team can be seriously handicapped by an injury or other type of presonnel loss (such as Yoga/Potsmoking World Tours), whereas the depth approach is more resilient, since everyone is contributing, therefore the loss due to injuries is more manageable because you have the depth to cover. I also believe that there is better bonding or cohesion, since everyone feels they are contributing, rather than supporting the "star" players.

Unfortunately, I believe that the Dolphins have gone with the "star" player philosophy too often in the past and it just hasn't panned out. It looks like Saban will show us whether the depth approach will work....

Just my $0.02

Regards,
 
tucker said:
we're cursed!
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:rofl3:

Not laughing at you thinking we're cursed, I'm laughing that you said that and the post # you said it was number 13(hence friday the 13th)
 
Phinz1972 said:
:rofl3:

Not laughing at you thinking we're cursed, I'm laughing that you said that and the post # you said it was number 13(hence friday the 13th)
Click to expand...

Speaking of curses and the number 13, maybe the reason Dan never won a superbowl was because he was number 13. To think, if he was 14 he'd have won a superbowl or two.
 
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