Its a matter of perspective.

If your goal is get to the playoffs only its a bad thing.

If you want to get beyond the first game then good competition is what you need to prepare your team to win in december.

We need to get beetter for sure, but the schedule could be the thing to raise our game. Hope were up to it.

last season we had one of 'easiest' schedules which had us playing the weak Arizona Cardinals, and the last place in the AFC North Baltimore Ravens

Turns out that they were two of the top 4 teams in the NFL, so our 'intended' easy schedule turned out to be harder than it should have been.

Hopefully a similar thing happens and some of our tough opponents slide down easing our season a bit.

The potentially more difficult schedule is a necessary thing if this team is to improve. Will the Dolphins have a mediocre season as a result? It's too hard to say right now. Depends on the offseason and injuries (eg New England).

I do not think Henne will play (as the starter) in 2009 as long as they have a healthy Pennington. They believe (as do I) that he can lead them to a championship. I see Bob Griese in spades when I watch Pennington work.

As for the media, they are completely down with what Sparano, Parcells and Ireland have been doing. I've yet to have a conversation with the locals or the national guys who cover the Dolphins often (eg Tim Graham) where I hear criticism of how the team is being run now. That's refreshing.

Re Free agency, I think guys out there will be more eager to come to Miami now that the team is back among the better teams in the NFL. They can more easily see what the Dolphins need and how they fit into the big picture. That's a pretty compelling way to help make a sale.

realist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> last season we had one of 'easiest' schedules
> which had us playing the weak Arizona Cardinals,
> and the last place in the AFC North Baltimore
> Ravens
>
> Turns out that they were two of the top 4 teams in
> the NFL, so our 'intended' easy schedule turned
> out to be harder than it should have been.
>
> Hopefully a similar thing happens and some of our
> tough opponents slide down easing our season a
> bit.

Exactly! We really won't know until we play the games.

Hope doesn't win football games.

I can't ever remember having more fun watching football, but despite our phenomenal season we're not exactly lighting the league on fire. Let's be honest about the fact that there is a lot of work yet to be done, an opinion that even Parcells shares.

All good points but I would like to add a few more....

1. As tough as our schedule COULD BE, it all starts in the AFC East. Jets have a new coach and QB questions and I doubt Favre will want to come back to a locker room with players that don't respect him. We should be better than them next year.

Buffalo could and should improve as they have the talent to do it but when you have trouble winning with obvious talent, other things are at play that usually haunt a team until you find that winning chemistry...as we know all too well.

NE will be the key and they will be dangerous again with Brady at the helm. Their Defense is getting old and can be beat by our offense but their offense can kill anyone. We have to plan for this and gear up with a play maker in the secondary to counter Welker and Moss and get more pressure on the QB with more pass rush in addition to Joey. We need a corner that can eliminate one receiver or one side of the field on his own and make Brady afraid to throw near him (Nnamdi) so the rest of the DB's can protect the rest of the field.

2. As for the rest of the League, we need to have way better play from the offensive line and be able to play against the top defenses in the league as we play Pit, Tampa, Tennesse, Atlanta, Carolina and San Diego who will be good again with Merrimen back.

We were a victim of circumstance this year as we lost two valuable starters in Thomas and Smiley. We will definitely be better next year. Especially when we add a better Center. We will also have a new Line coach which should help.

3. We are not as far away as some would believe and could remedy this by adding just a few players.

Last year in free agency we added Chad Pennington, Randy Starks, Ernest Wilford, Josh McCown, Chris Crocker, Charlie Anderson, Justin Smiley, Reggie Torbor, Boomer Grigsby, Keith Davis, Nathan Jones, David Kircus, Joey Thomas and Sean Ryan...not to mention...Andy Alleman, Al Johnson, Joey Haynos, Brandon London, Davone Bess, Nate Garner, Brandon Frye, Erik Walden, Tyrone Culver and Courtney Bryan.

That's 23 players not including trades for Akin Ayodele, Jason Ferguson & Anthony Fasano.

Forget the massive surge of last year. We don't need to do that again. Forget signing most of the 2nd and 3rd tier players and concentrate on top tier players like....

Jason Brown, Nnamdi Asomugha, Vernon Carey, Yeremiah Bell and Julius Peppers (LOL.

Mixed in with second tier players like Jahri Evans (G) and Renaldo Hill.

Fill in the blanks thru the draft....we need two ILB's and a FS early like Laurinaitis and Clay Mathews and Louis Delmas and a WR.

Trade Satele and Wilford to someone in a package deal..like KC.

I can't wait to see what we do. 80 days until the draft!

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“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

Now that there are 4 divisions in each conference, the difference between a 1st place schedule and a 4th place schedule is just 2 games. 14 of the 16 games are among common opponents with your division rivals. So, yes, we had an easy schedule, but so did every team in the AFC East. And next year, with the AFC East playing the AFC South and NFC South, our entire division will have to play tough schedules.