where or when did this team loose its winning ways? | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

where or when did this team loose its winning ways?

allsilverdreams

allsilverdreams

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as a child i could prob count on one hand how many times we had a loosing season.im 38 and have seen a team in the 80's and 90's be at the top of the league.in the 2000's we were starting to take a serios nose dive to the bottom.i know marino was the face of the franchise but could he really have been the sole purpose why we were always a good team.there were teams marino had been on that had no D and there were teams he had no RB.then shula goes we get JJ and i really thought we were in for a few championships.but whenwe got smoked by the jags in JJ last game i started to wonder just what was to become of this once proud franchise.
was it the CAP or bad coaches or owenership or GM or was it the QB tht has us near the middle or bottom of the teams in this league.
what was it that started this trend and wht do we do now
 
It was a gradual process that started with the Wannstedt years. Ricky's retirement was the straw that broke the camel's back, though many personnel/coaching/executive decisions leading up to that moment most definitely started us on that downward spiral before that whole fiasco. It went mostly unnoticed until we had no All World running back to rely on. Since then there have been glimmers of hope, but every time we start to head back in the right direction something knocks us back down I think right now we are closer than we think to being contenders again, but we need to keep building the foundation. If we bring in a new coach/GM we absolutely must bring someone in who is willing to work with the talent we've got while still trying to improve our areas of weakness (see: Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh). This franchise can't afford to go through another baptism of fire and completely start over.
 
It REALLY went downhill after we got rid of the name "Joe Robbie stadium". Cursed I tell you...cursed.
 
when they decided to go the "game managing quarterback is good enough" route.
 
allsilverdreams said:
as a child i could prob count on one hand how many times we had a loosing season.im 38 and have seen a team in the 80's and 90's be at the top of the league.in the 2000's we were starting to take a serios nose dive to the bottom.i know marino was the face of the franchise but could he really have been the sole purpose why we were always a good team.there were teams marino had been on that had no D and there were teams he had no RB.then shula goes we get JJ and i really thought we were in for a few championships.but whenwe got smoked by the jags in JJ last game i started to wonder just what was to become of this once proud franchise.
was it the CAP or bad coaches or owenership or GM or was it the QB tht has us near the middle or bottom of the teams in this league.
what was it that started this trend and wht do we do now
Click to expand...

This team was great long before Marino.

When JJ took over for Shula the emphasis on quarterbacking seemed to take a backseat. JJ did everything he could to nuter Marino, and began the practice of ignoring QB's in round 1, it continued with Wannstedt passing on Drew Brees and continued with Saban passing on Rodgers, and Parcells passing on Matt Ryan.

No one in power in Miami since Shula seems to believe they have enough time to pick and develop a highly regarded QB prospect. Any of the above would have corrected created a better last decade than we experienced, but this odyssey continues................

Someday, maybe after another disapointing season the man in charge will make the right decision and finally get a franchise QB in here again. Quarterbacks are critical to success in the NFL and the chances of winning a championship with an average QB are very small.
 
Revisionist history is much kinder than the truth.

Compare the Dolphins during the 80's and 90's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Miami_Dolphins_seasons

to the last 10 years for the Patriots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_England_Patriots_seasons

It's not even close.

The Wannstedt years are about on par with the Shula / Marino era.

The biggest difference between then and now was that Miami didn't have a consistent division rival so they made the playoffs more often. For the past decade everybody in the AFC East has been pretty much shut out of the playoffs by New England.

Miami wasn't the dominant franchise that some people like to remember them as. The 80's and 90's is full of 8-8, 9-7 seasons.

Answer to the question: Mid 80's with a brief resurgence with run ricky run in the 2000's.
 
Not that I ever wanted to see Shula leave, but it probably started on his watch. Maybe it was the change or ownership. I think a major sign might have been Shula's death grip on Olivadotti signifying he'd kind of lost it.
 
After Dan Mariono was forced into retirement--as if they could get a younger better quarterback. We still were winning when we depended on and rode Ricky Williams for 40 carries a game. After he left, we had nothing---no quarterback no great running back to carry the team on his shoulders--no offense. It just kept getting worse.Then in 2008 Chad Pennington saved the franchise (or none of us would even be here talking or complaining about winning right now). It was not Bill Parcels, nor was it Sporano who turned the team around. We made many changes in personell, coaching, and then Chad Pennington took control and made us winners. Then when he got injured in the third game of 2009, we became losers again without great quarterback leadership--and that's where we are today. We have good defense, and good offensive players, but we have no winning quarterback to lead us.
 
JJ destroyed the team. I remember reading articles when he came in saying he scrapped the playbook that basically helped elevate Danny Boy to greatness. JJ destroyed what Shula and Marino built through the years. His legacy left was failure only to be inherited by Wanstache.
 
It all starts and ends at the top. The slide began post Joe Robbie may he rest in peace. If you look at the great franchises through out the league they all have great owners which foster a winning organization. I hope the Fins are once again blessed with a truly great owner one day soon.
 
Playmaker76 said:
when they decided to go the "game managing quarterback is good enough" route.
Click to expand...

This. When Miami traded away high picks for has beens and relived to heavily on FAs to try and win with good defense and a game managing QB. That only works if you have a franchise QB already in place.
 
I think when Ricky retired. We made the playoffs for quite a few years after Marino left. The draft and QB choices have absolutely killed us over the last 10 years.
 
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