Finger pointing rises as the record of the Miami Dolphins falls
By Brian Murray
As the season record of the Miami Dolphins worsens, the finger-pointing increases and changes from week to week. Where does the blame fall?
When the Miami Dolphins started the season 3 – 0, everyone was heaping praise on the team. Ryan Tannehill was on the brink of a stellar season. Matt Burke had the defense hitting on all cylinders and the front office made all the right preseason moves.
Since that auspicious beginning, Miami has lost four out of their last five games. Now fans are throwing blame everywhere, wanting players traded, asking for Adam Gase’s head and talking about the need for a new GM and Executive Vice President.
For the most part, sports fans can be a fickle bunch. It seems that when a team goes from, can’t do anything wrong, to being on the verge of collapse, the supporters can turn on their team in almost a mob mentality.
Over the first three undefeated games, Ryan Tannehill had a completion rate of 73% and threw seven touchdowns, against only two interceptions. He was rated as one of the top QB’s in the league. This was finally that huge breakout year everyone anticipated!
The next two games, both losses, his completion rate dropped to 56%, with one TD throw and three INT’s. Then came the calls for Brock Osweiler to come in, time to give up on Tannehill after seven years of waiting. Well, they got their wish. Ryan has been out with an injured throwing shoulder ever since.
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Brock Osweiler enters the scene. Miami beats the Bears in a wild game, back to their winning ways! Osweiler throws for 380 yards and tosses three touchdowns. They asked for it and their savior has arrived.
But wait, the Dolphins lose the next two games. In the last loss to the Houston Texans, Brock throws an interception and not one TD. He goes from hero to goat. Everyone declares, “Time to draft a QB next year!”.
How about that defense? In those first three wins, the defense only surrendered four touchdowns and had eight takeaways. The Dolphins finally appeared to have assembled the personnel to stop the run, allowing an average of 89 yards per game. The front office had made the right off-season moves and Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke was a genius.
Hold the phone! The following five games Miami gave up an average 33 points per game. Running backs were gaining in large chunks, at the pace of 175 yards per game. The opponents’ quarterbacks were finding wide receivers wide open. The takeaways dropping to six in those five games. Fans are calling for Burke to go and the front office overhauled.
I think you get the message. The first three games seem a to be a long time ago, a different season in many ways. The scapegoats are many and the fans don’t hesitate naming them. Is it the coaches fault, poor game planning? Are injuries a factor? Do the Dolphins lack the skilled personnel? Who do you blame?