We control our own destiny...

[Finole]

In the next four weeks, if we beat the Texans, the Patsies, the Jets, and the Packers, we will be 5-2 and at the very least be tied for 1st place in the AFC East heading into our bye week.

That... is a very big IF.

But as of right now, we control our own destiny. It's a good place to be after an 0-2 start.

Can we do it? The answer is yes.

Houston and Green Bay are not very good.
NYJ beat Buffalo and Tenn. So what? They lost to New England.
New England beat Buffalo and NYJ. So what? They lost to Denver at home. Our competition is not unbeatable. The question is... have we learned from our mistakes, and can we correct them?

Our o-line is suspect at best, and Culpepper has been disappointing thus far. BUT... we know what our weaknesses are. We can adjust to them. For example, we know we are very susceptible to being sacked... there are ways to adjust to that. Keep the TE, RB, and/or FB in on passing plays. Call for quick slants or screen passes. Roll Culpepper out. Hell, why not start running a designed QB sneak out of the shotgun? Culpepper doesn't seem afraid to run. Take the decision out of his hands, and call for him to run a handful of times per game.

Our secondary is getting beat for big pass plays. BUT... this is Saban's area of expertise. I have a feeling we are witnessing "growing pains." When the secondary finally gels and/or "gets it" we will no longer have a problem in this area.

Other than a couple of bad plays, our special teams are as solid as ever.

I'm seeing a lot of good things happening on the football field. BUT... I'm seeing a lot of bad things, too. If we can eliminate a few of the bad things, and add to some of the good things, we might be okay.

Here's what I know...

1. If you give Culpepper time, he is dangerous.

2. Our defensive front 7 is solid.

3. Our secondary is making more good plays than bad.
(But their bad plays have been whoppers thus far.)

4. Welker is a stud.

5. Chambers has not been great. But he hasn't sucked, either.

6. Our QB is getting sacked WAY too much.

7. We should have drafted an offensive lineman.

8. We are not scoring a lot of points.

9. We are not giving up a lot of points, either.

10. Ronnie Brown is great. And what's scary? He could be even better.

So... after 3 weeks, we don't look very good. BUT... that being said, after 3 weeks, we are still in the driver's seat.

 

[djphinfan]

I must admit i was'nt sure if ronnie was worth his status of being drafted num.2 but i was wrong,when this guy gets a line to run behind i don't see anyone with his skill set in the nfl. to me he looked very impressive today

 

[zonk4ever]

"Coaching" seems to be the cure for everything and we are all hoping for the best. But reality is: the Steelers are 1-2 and the Bills are 1-2 and their only wins are against us. Right now, we're bottom feeders.

 

[Psycho_Sid]

4-3 is doable if offense finds its rhythm.

 

[JG718]

good "positive" post
kudos

 

[Joey 22]

Call me homer but 3 of the 4 next teams suck, and yes that includes the Jets, and we have had the Pats number for WAAAAYYYY to long to loose to them now they are THAT weak... I said 5-2, of course after that we get massacred by the Bears, Im a homer, not a nuthead...

 

[Canadianfishfan]

We havent shown we can beat bad teams soundly enough for me to think we can beat the pats or jets anynomre... The pats looked awful last night.. but i still am not sure.. and Jets.. we'll at least they are scoring... something we;re not.

 

[Phanatical]

"Coaching" seems to be the cure for everything and we are all hoping for the best. But reality is: the Steelers are 1-2 and the Bills are 1-2 and their only wins are against us. Right now, we're bottom feeders.

I love my Dolphins but this kind of seems true right now....but, you never know, they turned it around last year after starting out horrible too. You just never know. We have 13 more games to go, perhaps Daunte can learn to be a passing QB after all.......

GO PHINS~!

 

[Rick 1966]

We will be lucky to beat the Packers the way we're playing. We might beat them and the Texans but there's no way we beat a good team the way our offense is crapping the bed.

 

[772finatic]

Good post!

 

[Regan21286]

Houston and Green Bay are not very good.

Other than a couple of bad plays, our special teams are as solid as ever.

Here's what I know...

1. If you give Culpepper time, he is dangerous.

2. Our defensive front 7 is solid.

3. Our secondary is making more good plays than bad.
(But their bad plays have been whoppers thus far.)

4. Welker is a stud.

5. Chambers has not been great. But he hasn't sucked, either.

6. Our QB is getting sacked WAY too much.

7. We should have drafted an offensive lineman.

8. We are not scoring a lot of points.

9. We are not giving up a lot of points, either.

10. Ronnie Brown is great. And what's scary? He could be even better.

So... after 3 weeks, we don't look very good. BUT... that being said, after 3 weeks, we are still in the driver's seat.

Green Bay has a pretty good passing offense and could cause trouble for us. Yes we made Kerry Collins miserable but then again so does every team.

If we want to help out our special teams, we should then kick out the Marlins from Dolphins Stadium.

I agree with you mostly but

1. If you give most QB's time, they'll be dangerous. Like Kurt Warner.

3. I think that's more half and half. Mostly they've been overthrown and haven't really gotten their hands on the ball as much as I expect.

4. Maybe, but with Chambers, McMike, and Booker on the team, he shouldn't be leading us in receptions.

5. I think a lot of that is on Culpepper more than Chambers. At least CC's trying to get the overthrown passes. The one I'm really more concerned about is McMike. Mularkey's never used TE's effectively and that's hurting our 2nd best passing option right now.

6. Blame goes both ways. OL obviously but also on Pep's decision making. You can cut the sacks in half if one of those improves.

7. We did, but he got injured. I wanted Jon Scott or McNeill for our 1st round pick if not a QB. Not to mention we had a glut of injuries at RG and our LT is as mobile as a tree.

 

[Coral Reefer]

I'm going with 3-4

 

[Finole]

We havent shown we can beat bad teams soundly enough for me to think we can beat the pats or jets anynomre... The pats looked awful last night.. but i still am not sure.. and Jets.. we'll at least they are scoring... something we;re not.

Very true. But we are moving the chains at times. We have been inconsistent on both sides of the ball.

I'd like to think we can become more consistent by eliminating mistakes. Of course, there's always the possibility that we go the other way, and become more consistent by making a handful of costly mistakes every game.

But the Fins defense shows me something every time we force an opponent to go 3 and out. The D showed me something by getting more turnovers this week.

And the offense showed me something the 1st three quarters against Pittsburgh. They showed me something on that last drive before the half against Buffalo before the INT. And they showed me something on the opening drive of the 2nd half against Tennessee.

These are the positives we need to build on.

The offense and defense have shown me a lot of negatives, too. To be sure. But it's still early enough in the season to turn things around.

KC, Wash, NYG, Pittsburgh, and Carolina are all 1-2. Last year they finished like this...

KC 10-6
Wash 10-6
NYG 11-5 (won the div.)
Pitt 11-5 (won the div.)
Car 11-5 (won the div.)


Buff, AZ, SF, and GB are also 1-2. Last year they finished like this...

Buff 5-11
AZ 5-11
SF 4-12
GB 4-12

Saban emphasizes overcoming adversity to become a better football team. Hopefully, he has instilled this in the players, and they will continue to fight.

Go Fins!

 

[Finole]

We will be lucky to beat the Packers the way we're playing. We might beat them and the Texans but there's no way we beat a good team the way our offense is crapping the bed.

You're right. Our offense needs to improve to have any hope of competing with the more elite teams in the league right now.

 

[Finole]

good "positive" post
kudos

Good post!

Thanks.