Pittsburgh, here we come!!!

The Dolphins are headed to the playoffs for the first time since the Wildcat year of 2008, and will be a difficult matchup for any opponent.  First up is a rematch with the Steelers.

The loss to the Patriots yesterday may have been disappointing, but it will not have any impact on the Dolphins playoff seeding.  Miami is the sixth seed in the AFC, which means that they will have, on paper, the hardest road to the super bowl, starting with a trip to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, then to Foxboro for a matchup with the Patriots.  If the Dolphins expect to make it to the AFC conference championship, they have to face and beat the two best quarterbacks in the AFC, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady.

The Dolphins went into yesterday’s game with the Patriots playing to win, with the hope that Kansas City would lose to San Diego and give the fifth seed to Miami.  With the fifth seed, then Miami would have started the playoffs against the Texans and then a second round game against the Raiders.  Both the Texans and the Raiders have quarterback issues, so the thought was that the Dolphins would have an easier time against those teams.  In hindsight, it may have been a better idea to rest our players yesterday.

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You know what this season has shown us? It doesn’t matter who is the opponent, and it doesn’t matter the location.  The Dolphins have played tough against a wide variety of opponents, including the Steelers, who they beat, and the Patriots, who they lost to twice.  The Dolphins have the personnel and the coaching to beat, or lose to, any team in the AFC.  As I said when I predicted a 12-4 season and a playoff berth earlier this year, the problem with last year’s team was the motivation level.  The coaching under Joe Philbin was not getting through to the players.  This year, Adam Gase and Vance Joseph have the team playing at a high level, with a lot of scrappiness and heart.  And that will be enough if the Dolphins get a few breaks in the playoff tournament.

Look, noone wants to go to Pittsburgh and Foxboro in the winter.  But the alternative, staying at home for the playoffs, would be worse.  The Dolphins have the running game to give Pittsburgh trouble, with Jay Ajayi having rushed for 204 yards in the October matchup.  And the offense was able to make some plays yesterday against the Patriots, and in the second half of their first matchup.  I’d much prefer to have some easy matchups against the Texans and Raiders, but lets not forget that either of those teams could give us a lot of trouble.  The Dolphins weakness is defending the run, and playing consistently for 60 minutes, which either Houston or Oakland could exploit as well as any other team. Both of those issues are mental more than physical.  It is up to coaches Adam Gase and Vance Joseph to get the squad ready for this weekend.  They have to be focused, and realize the opportunity that is right in front of them.  Twenty teams have gone fishing, leaving 12 teams in the tournament.  There are no easy matchups at this point.

I had a hard time getting ready to watch yesterday’s game.  After the Christmas Eve miracle against the Buffalo Bills, where I got to see Santa Claus visit Miami for the first time in years, I have to admit that the lead up to the Patriots game felt like a downer.  Win or lose, we had to get ready for a wild card game the following week.  The most important part of yesterday’s game was getting out with no new injuries.  And outside of the big hit that Tony Lippett took from Michael Floyd on Julian Edelman’s 77 yard catch and run, it seems that we got out of the game unscathed.

I have no doubt that Jarvis Landry and Ndamakong Suh will look at that hit on film, and will be ready the next time they face the Pats, whether in two weeks or next year.  That hit was a good reminder that the team has to bring that intensity week in and week out, and I think they will be very chippy next week in Pittsburgh.

The game in Pittsburgh is scheduled for 1pm on Sunday January 8. The following week in New England is scheduled for 8:15pm on Saturday January 14.  I already have made plans to attend that New England game.  And yes, I expect that the Dolphins will be there. Because like George Michael said, you gotta have faith!