What This season SHOULD have taught us..... PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE!!!!

[iambanned]

I do think that the Dolphins are a physically superior team to the Pats. I think that was even obvious when we played them the first time and ran the ball down their throats. I just hope that this time we'll have the mental toughness to handle adversity(there's always a little in every game for every team) without ****ting our pants again. Every player needs to do their job to the best of their ability and avoid being distracted by things that are beyond their control.
A perfect example of this is the way the final play vs Pittsburgh was analyzed by Philbin in the postgame. Guys are standing their waiting to see who the ball will be lateraled too, almost like spectators instead of just hitting the guy closest to them. If you don't do your assignment, then the guy next to you has two assignments to do and it keeps accumulating until the last guy is overwhelmed and the boat sinks.
If each Dolphin just does their assignment, we will win. Don't look over your shoulder. Don't 'wait and see'. Do your job. I hope Philbin is teaching them this lesson this week.

 

[finfan54]

I keep looking at the ESPN Rankings and think we can beat any of those teams on any given Sunday because of a couple of things.

1. Sherman figured out using the TE's and has called some fantastic plays. Read option Sunday ruled and using Wallace as decoy for Clay TD

2. Our offense seems to be improving point wise and moving the ball with ease (sometimes not scoring) and controlling the game. Also coming back from bad plays, penalties, ect and converting.

3. Matchup with our talent. We can matchup with just about any team so long as we execute and not make mistakes. Things like refs got in the way this year (Baltimore and NE, go figure)

4. We beat Cincy and Indy. We beat NE on Sunday they join the list. Denver has not seen us. Peyton's stats got inflated early. I do believe he has some trouble in the cold, but put some real pressure on him with good coverage and score some points, you put a lot of pressure on him in the cold, which clearly he was used to being indoors.

 

[JTech194]

I completely disagree. Those are marginal players you named, other than Charles Clay. I always liked Clay and named him as our most underrated player heading into the season. We finally started using him correctly, simultaneous to the light going on for him and the athletic arrogance returning, the trait he displayed so frequently at Tulsa. Clay won a couple of first half bets for me virtually by himself at Tulsa.

If we overreact and are happy with overmatched players like Carroll and Wilson, it does nothing for this team down the road. Pittsburgh was shredding us last weekend. Every time they threw over the middle we seemed hopeless for the bulk of the game. Fortunately they dropped several of them. This site likes to ignore things like that. They dropped a few early and a couple late. I was very happy when Roethlisberger brainstormed to start targeting LeVeon Bell in the passing game.

Carroll made one of the decisive plays of the game when he dove to deflect the 3rd down pass when we trailed 28-24. That was a long yardage play, after Pittsburgh shot itself in the foot with two unforced penalties, the double clutch by the center followed by the ineligible linemen downfield. Minus either one of those penalties and I'm not sure we stop that drive. Roethlisberger had to force a pass downfield and Carroll displayed tremendous effort. Reshad Jones never would have dove for that play. He doesn't dive for anything.

I give Carroll credit but 3rd and very long plays are supposed to be stopped. Lots of time to react and dive for that ball. He's not the answer in normal situations against top caliber receiver and quarterbacks. Don't make me remind of that down the road. We should acknowledge it now, and not be stupid enough to pretend he magically bloomed.

Players of that caliber get you beat. I still don't see great players out there. Somehow we are giddy at 7-6, with recent wins over sub .500 teams like the Jets and Steelers.

Ireland will probably be content with guys we have, since they are his guys, and doom us to .500 area borderline irrelevancy next season.

Don't think I said any of those players were great! Just that that've improved from where they were at the beginning of the year and that they are solid starters. No team has great players all over the place. You have to have solid role players and these guys so far have proven to be that. If they continue to improve id be happy.

 

[JTech194]

A couple of wins and people start dramatically over-rating our talent. We are what our record says, a borderline playoff team with average talent. I expect more 6 years into a rebuilding project.

Not sure who you're referring to but I'm not overrating our talent! I didn't say we're a Super Bowl team hell we might not even be a playoff team this year, my only point is.. It takes time to build a playoff team and we now look like we're heading in the right direction and we need to continue building from here, and NOT START OVER.

 

[roy_miami]

What this year told me is that we were poorly-coached and that we had the talent to win at least 2 more games than we did this year.

I said that we didn't have the physical talent to beat Carolina and I was flat-out wrong. That loss vs Buffalo, ultimately (if we don't win out) will be what keeps us out of the post-season, and that was just horrible coaching (leaving Clabo 1-1 vs Mario Williams to create that sack-fumble). That was sickening. Too many sacks this year were a result of bad play design and being ignorant of the realities of that situation.

The coaches called a run on that play, it was our QB that changed the play to a pass and trusted Clabo to hold up in protection.