Miami Dolphins To Continue Losing Tradition
By Eric Roddy
While the Miami Dolphins and their fans celebrated their thrilling 37-35 win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, I was not cheering. It wasn’t that I wanted the Dolphins to lose, but I knew that the victory meant the return of HC Joe Philbin. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Joe Philbin, and there probably isn’t a person out there who doesn’t like Joe the guy. But Joe the coach is exactly that, an average Joe. A guy who can lead a team to a shutout win over the Chargers, a few weeks after giving the ball back to Aaron Rodgers and watch the Packers march down the field for an easy game winning score. That’s why I wasn’t cheering after Miami’s big win, not to mention the fact that the team had been eliminated from the playoffs just minutes earlier with Pittsburgh’s win over Kansas City. As if they hadn’t eliminated themselves losing to the Ravens.
Still, it was a little bit shocking to hear Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announce that Joe Philbin would return next season. It still stung, even though I knew it would happen following the ‘Fins’ big win. Part of me thought Ross was still enjoying the victory high, and had acted irrationally. But, two days later, he stands by his decision and we are faced with yet another Philbin-run Dolphins team next year.
I think we can expect the same type of season as this one next year. Ultimately, the Dolphins missed out on the playoffs by one game again this year. All they had to do was finish one game, whether it was against the Packers, Lions, Ravens, or even the Broncos or Chiefs. Every single one of those games Miami found themselves in the driver seat. Instead of pushing the pedal to the floor, staying aggressive and closing out the game, we saw Joe Philbin slam his foot on the break and crawl into the passenger seat awaiting the crash. Each time, Miami faltered, and it had everything to do with their head coach.
One game stands out in my mind that perfectly demonstrates Joe Philbin the coach. In week 6, Miami held a 24-20 lead against the Green Bay Packers with a little over 4 minutes left to play. They had the ball near their own 20, and decided to play it safe, and Green Bay had 2 timeouts remaining. On first down, Ryan Tannehill passed incomplete to Mike Wallace, a play that would not have resulted in more than a few yards (similar to a run play up the middle). On 2nd and 10, Tannehill found Jarvis Landry for 11 yards over the middle, and things looked good. Philbin looked like he knew what he was doing, and slowly lowered the pedal on the Packers D, who was extremely tired from playing all day in the Florida heat. Then a few plays later, on 1st and 10 from the Miami 35, Philbin showed his true colors and coaching philosophy. Lamar Miller up the middle for 1 yard. Ryan Tannehill incomplete short right to Charles Clay. And on 3rd and 9, Philbin told OC Bill Lazor to run Miller up the middle, and he gained 1 yard.
With 2:15 in the 4th quarter, Miami punted to arguably the best QB in the league and returned their exhausted defense to the field to fend for themselves. You can guess what happened next, as if it wasn’t headline news. The Packers marched down the field and Aaron Rodgers did his best Dan Marino impersonation and completed a fake-spike play. Then, Joe Philbin completely won the game for the Packers by calling Miami’s final TO to give Green Bay time to call the perfect play. Next play, TD, ball game Green Bay.
The point I am trying to make is that the Dolphins, led by Joe Philbin, will continue down their current path. There are arguably only two or three teams with more talent than the Miami Dolphins in this league. The Patriots, for example, are nothing outside of Tom Brady and Gronk, yet they time and time again win close games. That is 100% coaching, and it isn’t a coincidence that they have the best coach in the league. Miami on the other hand will continue to lose close games next year, it is not a prediction it is a fact. Without a gutsy and aggressive signal caller at the HC position, other teams will continue to make the necessary adjustments to beat the Dolphins in the 2nd half, especially in the 4th quarter. It is how the game works.
Can the Dolphins improve next season even under Joe? Of course, and I bet that they do. They had a daunting schedule this year, and will finish 9-7 (unless of course Rex Ryan gets his way again). That means Philbin has gone 7-9, 8-8. and 9-7 in three seasons. The only problem with that is nobody knows if 10-6 will be good enough to make the playoffs next year. Or even if the Dolphins do reach the post season, will they have what it takes to win a close playoff game on the road as a wild card? If you have to think about the correct answer to that question, then you must realize the answer is more than likely no.
Stephen Ross, it is not too late to decide against your decision. This Jets game, should Miami lose (I hope they win because I HATE the Jets), can provide Ross with an out to his previous decision of keeping Philbin. Will he change his mind? No.
But he should seriously consider.
FINS UP!