Yet Another Loss Sends Many Fans Packing
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are a bad football team. The Miami coaching staff is finding it tough to be coaches in the NFL. Head coach Cam Cameron surely could not have expected this when he became the 7th coach in franchise history. Now, yet another loss is sending many fans packing…and looking towards next year…in week 5.
Still, there is some hope. Some. Not much, but some. A look through history shows that there have been other really bad teams in the NFL that turned their franchise around. Sometimes, rock bottom is not a bad thing. The obvious team is the Dallas Cowboys who saw a young raw leave Miami University and lead the ‘Boyz to a wonderful 1-15 record in 1989. The year before the Cowboys were 3-13, and the year before that they were 7-8 (15 game schedules). The Cowboys would finish 7-9 the year after in 1990. Two years under Jimmy and the franchise would be changed for a decade as the Cowboys would stay one of the elite NFL teams, producing not one, but as of now 3 Hall of Fame players.
Of course there are those that will bring up the Hershel Walker trade, the lack of a salary cap and a ton of other factors, but in the end, the proof is in the record. In Dallas, in 1989, the fans wanted Jimmy Johnson’s head, they wanted it the year after that as well. After that? “How ’bout them Cowboys”!
The Cowboys are not the only team to turn it around. The New England Patriots in the early 90’s were the doormats of the AFC, the Seattle Seahawks swam with the bottom dwellers. In 1998 the Colts won only 3 games, Peyton Manning’s first year, the year before they had the number 1 overall pick in the draft after finishing 3-13. Two years after that they were 13-3 and for the most part have not looked back. Yet another two year turnaround.
The Patriots ran into the same situation when they started their run. The Patriots and the Colts ruled the bottom of the AFC East, the Patriots had finished the 1999 season at 8-8, hired Bill Belichick and went 5-11 in 2000. The Patriots have only finished with a single digit win total one time since then, a 9-7 record in Bill’s 3rd season.
Last year, we as fans saw the rise of the New Orleans Saints, the team that everyone wanted to see win. They came within one game of the Super Bowl. They sit winless today. The San Diego Chargers, owners of the leagues best record last year finally won their 2nd game yesterday.
This is the NFL. Things change. Some for good and some for bad. It is of little consequence when the team you root for is mired in the latter of the two. For the Miami Dolphins, a decade of poor decisions from top to bottom has caused this train wreck. Still, as a fan, as frustrated as it has become, we must look beyond that record of 0-5. We must look beyond a season that will likely see the Dolphins picking in the top 5 if not the top 3. We must look at the future. Realistically, we should have been looking to the future before the season began. This was not a year to rule the AFC. This is not the year to rule anything. This team really is not made that way.
Consider that the Miami Dolphins have finished 4-12, 9-7, and 6-10 the last 3 years, is 0-5 really all that surprising? First year head coach Cam Cameron is learning the NFL, much the same way Jimmy Johnson did, Bill Belichick did, Mike Holmgren, and even fan favorite Bill Cowher did. On the fly with a very bad team that he inherited. May want to consider that when you begin to judge him. There will likely be at least 2 more years to do that. Cameron is not a bad guy, he is not a bad coach, like those mentioned above, he is taking a bad team, a team who only know how to lose, and is trying to make them into winners.
In order to do that, he must convince them to buy into his system. That is a tough thing to ask of any player on this team. Consider that Chris Chambers the oft criticized wide receiver is being asked to buy into not his first system, but his 5th offensive scheme. In 5 years. That become especially difficult when the 4 systems prior to this one have yielded failures and losing. That is the make up of this team. That is why on 4th down in a close game when you are sitting at 0-5 you punt the ball and take no risk. Play for overtime, play for a sure win, better odds, anything, to get your team to taste victory. On Sunday, that choice did not work.
This is the Miami Dolphins, and for all intent and purposes history has shown us that only a marginal improvement should be in store next year. The Miami Dolphins have 23 new faces on their roster, cheap replacements for overpriced players who underachieved while here. Next year will likely see more as Cameron tries to mold this team into the team he wants on the field. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, that is exactly what Jimmy did. What Holmgren did. What Cowher did. What Belichick did. What Schottenheimer has done 3 times. The 3 before Marty all won Super Bowls.
Miami was not afforded 4 or 5 years under Nick Saban. They wasted the time under JJ and DW. Cameron will get his 3 years, at least he should. This year is an evil that we must endure.
As many fans who have packed it in on the Dolphins squirm and complain, demand the head of the head coach and the entire staff, realize this. Changes for the sake of change only means that you are constantly changing. With no direction, no continuity, you don’t improve. You don’t win. This year is tough. This could very well be the worst season the Miami Dolphins ever have. If having a 1-15 season or a 3-13 season can yield a future like the Cowboys, the Colts, and many other teams, then I will surely sit through this one. Last year was expected, the departure of Saban was not. I have grown accustomed to this team losing, I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. I have also grown tired of seeing a merry-go-round with our coaches. It is time to stop at least part of the bleeding and see if one can change the other for better, instead of one yielding only the worst.