IN the end, it ended. A mere footnote in Dolphin history, so the question about this team still remains unanswered, will it rise like the Phoenix in a blaze of power and glory, or will it leave a big Stinking, Steaming, Pile on S. Ross's doorstep?
Yup, as the stomach churns alright. Since the year ended so badly, I would opine that all of A. Gases histrionics did absolutely nothing to "light a fire" under anybody. "They are playing for their jobs", ohhhhh yeah, that worked, worked so well that 3 Phin players got ejected in the last game of the season. That situation in Buffalo was, in a short answer, a lack of respect. Lack of respect for the Coach, the Team, the Fans, S. Ross, and even the game itself.
Now for those who are the macho guys, those who said, "yeah finally, he is calling them out" please explain to me how well this worked? Again for the 9 gazillianth time, respect is not given, it is earned, you can not demand this type of respect, i.e. Coach to Player, you have to earn it. This is it, at its rotten roots, a lack of respect, from this, comes the lack of discipline, lackluster play, not caring about assignments, not studying the playbook, and of course the list goes on and on. No amount of "the beatings will continue until morale improves" will make a difference in this situation.
Now as far as last year was concerned and the "We Made The Playoffs" mindset, and make no mistake about it, it is a mindset. Sometimes a team making the playoffs is like the location of an electron in an atom, we can't tell where that little sucker is, but with math we can get a good idea of the probability of where it is. The Phins last year, had a low probability of making the playoffs, but as the year went by, the Math started to turn in their favor, enough teams lost, thus boosting the Phins probabilities. This is no credit to A. Gase and the team, it is just a matter of mathematical probabilities. Shoot, in 2015 the Panthers got in with a Losing record, think about this, the teams around them were soooooo bad, that they made the playoffs with a losing record. Frankly, the Phins did the same last year, and, that is why I did not watch the game, I knew they would lose, because probability was against them, they got in on a math glitch, and in reality they were just not that good. A team like the Evil Empire, skews the probabilities in their favor. How? by being a good football team, the Emperor always has said that to win through the playoffs you need, 1. win your division. 2. home field advantage, 3. The champion Byweek to rest, if you put these three things together, the probabilities are tipped waaaaay in your favor. How did the Phins do this last year, oh yeah they didn't, it was just a matter of math, just like Carolina. Really, a bad team is still a bad team.
Now I was having a conversation with FFIC, about A. Gases, and the F.O.'s ability to lean from their mistakes. She mentioned something regarding, admitting to and then correcting the mistake. Well the admission would be nice, like the J. Cutler signing, "well it just didn't work out" or something like that. But in the end all I care about is a correction, and actions that show the errors will not be repeated. In my business, and at our level, if someone "Fat Fingers" a large loss, there doesn't need to be dust, sack cloth and ashes, "i'm sorry it was a mistake", of course it was a mistake, just work harder now to 1. avoid it in the future and 2. work harder to make it up. That is it, but honestly, I doubt he can, but like I said people can surprise you.
So, here it is. A. Gase inherited a mess, his first year did him no favors, and having the team do poorly last year would have been, IMO, a better way to have started. But, water under the bridge. This year he lost his QB, a promising rookie LB, and had to dump a problem before it got worse. One of his coaches is playing Ozzy, and snorting Coke, Ants, and whatever else he could get up a straw. Had another linebacker Weird out, and his bong head tackle isn't as advertised, well, now that I think about it, maybe he is.
Because of these factors, I have no doubt that S. Ross will give him at least three more years to get this team turned around, yup, I am serious, another three years will no doubt be given. Of course, this is with the caveat that the team will progress even a little bit.
Obviously, I have serious reservations about his ability to even do this job. In Denver, he really built nothing and was handed the keys to the fully race ready
Porsche 911 GT2 RS, with no need to "Build" anything. Now he is starting from scratch, even R. Tannehill, may not be as reliable as once thought, so this draft will be key, will he keep Cutler around? Will he just take the financial hit on the under performing, highly paid, veterans, some of whom were extended on his watch, or will he try to make do. What we do know is that this 2018 draft will be crucial, if this group does not do well, well then their fate is sealed.
The Ever Fins UP VIPER
