Miami Dolphins Loss Exclamation To Fans Frustrations

You have to wonder if privately Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross wishes he hadn’t said Joe Philbin will return in 2015. He won’t publicly admit it but if he isn’t thinking it he should remove himself from all matters football. Today’s game against the New York Jets is the exclamation point to fans frustrations that have now spanned yet another year. 2015? If you are asking now if the team is going in the right direction the answer would most assuredly be no.

Fans didn’t have to look to far to see what an emotional coach could deliver. Rex Ryan of the Jets was coaching what will likely be his last game with the team and the 3-5 Jets responded with their best game of the season. They wanted to win for a coach who was leaving. On the Dolphins side of the ball we watched the team fall flat…again, for a coach who’s team should be justifying the declaration by Ross that their coach was staying. Instead they appeared to play for nothing more than the seasons end.

The Dolphins season is over after today’s 37-24 loss but it could have been worse. Consider that as fans we play the what if game all too often with the Dolphins. If the Dolphins didn’t turn the ball over here it could have been a score and wouldn’t have been for the opposing team. Well that works both ways. Had Geno Smith not fumbled the ball which led to a Dolphins touchdown, the game could have been a touchdown less for Miami. If the Jets opted for a field goal instead of a 4th and one dive, Lamar Miller isn’t running the ball back 97 yards for another TD. In fact if you play the what if game the Dolphins could have been beaten 40 something to 10. Yes it could have been that bad.

Today will mark yet another season that has seen the Dolphins fail to make it above .500. The last time was way back in 2008 on the heels of the Wild Cat. It marks two consecutive seasons at 8-8 where two wins gets you into the playoffs. It’s disgusting and it is exactly the continuity that Stephen Ross doesn’t need but is accepting.

The Miami Dolphins didn’t play to win today, they just played. It was a wasted 1,000 yard season for Lamar Miller and a wasted 4,000 yard passing season for Tannehill. When it was all said and done the media, the fans, the rest of the NFL were talking about how a soon to be fired head coach got the most out of a very bad team while no one was talking about the coach who will be staying and couldn’t elevate a very good football team…at least a very good one on paper.

The coming days will not bring a change at head coach but it probably should have. It may not bring a change at defensive coordinator but it probably should. Change for the sake of change is never good but retention for the sake of mediocrity isn’t good either. The Miami Dolphins are wasting a talented roster with talentless coaching and it’s not likely to stop in 2015. Enough of just doing enough it’s time to start doing more but alas that won’t likely be the case.

Today’s game will be the last memory etched into the minds of Miami Dolphins fans as the off-season plays out in front, it will be the lasting impression as the team picks up the ropes to enter to 2015. It’s not pretty and it very well could repeat itself in another year.