this loss hurts but actually not nearly as much as the BUF one. We made tons of mistakes today but showed a lot of heart on the road against a good team. The 4th Q comeback was huge. So we're not going to the playoffs this season but did anyone really think we were? More important, we are a young team that plays well in crunch time for the most part, and I think we've found our QB. I feel more confident with Henne at QB than anyone since Marino. He's got a gun and while he's thrown some bad passes, for the most part is just money on 3d and 4th down when it matters most. Again, this is just his first year, he will only improve. Say he gets only 25% better next year--I'd say that's pretty close to top-10 QB range.

I have good hope for the future. We have a young OL that will be together for the next few years, and is already pretty good. We've got a WR corp that needs only to add a #1 type guy (true, hard to find but still possible) to be a really good group. Our RBs are good enough as is--hopefully we get RB and Cobbs back 100% and this will be a strength--though I'd be OK with drafting a stud. We've got potential pro bowl CBs for the next decade. Bell is good, Wilson's gotta be replaced but maybe Clemons can do it in-house. Our biggest concern I think is OLB due to the age of Porter and Taylor, but Anderson and Wake have flashed real ability and there's always the draft and free agency.

So--while today's loss hurts, at least they came back and made it interesting today, and this year. The future looks bright--next year could be really good. How long has it been since we've been able to say that?

Yeah I think sometimes we take for granted the fact that this team should not even be competing for the playoffs given where they were 2 years ago.

We finish 1-15 2 years ago bring in Parcells and Sparano to start fresh and rebuild the team which after finishing 1-15 should take 3-5 years but there we were the next year 11-5 winning the division.

Now this year we have overcome

faced with a tougher schedule
starting QB out for the season
best running back out for the season (midway)
starting the year 0-3
getting it done with a rookie QB that had never started in NFL before
winning 4/6 games against division opponents
a couple 4th Q comebacks with our rookie QB (Jets,Titans)

AND WE`RE STILL IN IT ???

All that and we are still in the wildcard hunt with 3 weeks left in the season ??? even after this loss we are still in the hunt??

Very bright future in Miami !! Henne will learn a lot from this season.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2009 12:43PM by razorghost.

sorry no rational thought possble at this moment

my problem is this...going back to marinos start (pretty much as far back as i go)the fins never come thru in the clutch(ok maybe not never but pretty damn close)
im not talking about beating the pats two weeks ago, they are good for that when they are written off. Im talking about games liek today. They are right on the verge of th enext level(lagitmat econtenders)and are playing a nother borderline or good team.They almost always fail.Sure they can beat the bottom dwellars but not the top level teams when it counts at least not on my watch. Just venting for the most part and now that im done i dont even feel better.UUUUGGGHHH!!!!...nope still nothing

angryseas, this game proves they are not at that "next level." but we're close, and I'll take that given where we were 2 yrs ago and where we've been the past 10 yrs or so.

This team is gonna make a lot of people cry come next year!

yeah just venting more than anything i guess but even back to the marino years we really have never been a mentally tough team when really needed. Yes we are getting closer rbut damn how many next years must we wait.Any how just venting so my wife doesnt have to hear it esp living in new england having to live with the pats who are tehe exact opposite when it comes to mental toughnes......serenity now serenity now..ahh still nothing ...gonna have to go to the booze

All things considered, I am very pleased with the season. I would like to see Pat White play at least half a game this year at QB.

my thoughts:

Needs for 2010 draft (in priority): I&OLB / DT; RB; both Safety positions

Needs for 2010 Free agency: WR

Needs for pending Ted Gin trade: draft pick / higher draft pick.

Big need: BP to stay another year.

It all depends on what happens with the CBA. If everything stays as is, and 2010 is an uncapped year, we can forget about getting any WR help in free agency. Part of that deal is that it will require 6 years of service time for free agency. That means all of the big names, like Brandon Marshall, Vincent Jackson, Braylon Edwards, and Steve Breaston will all not be available as free agents.

berkeley223 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Our biggest
> concern I think is OLB due to the age of Porter
> and Taylor, but Anderson and Wake have flashed
> real ability and there's always the draft and free
> agency.
>
I said it the last 2 years, and I STILL think our biggest concern is ILB, not OLB. Right now we're one of the top teams in sacks this year. A good portion of those came from the OLBs (Porter, JT, Anderson, Wake). Our run defense hasn't been that great, but a couple good ILBs will help with that in a HUGE way. I remember Zach Thomas stuffing RBs all the time, whether they tried to run inside OR outside. Another player like him would, instantly, move our defense up a few notches.

Amazingly we're still in the hunt for a playoff birth. Only difference now is that we don't control our destiny very much at all. The attitude that the coaching staff will be portraying this week is definitely the right one, and that is that the only game that matters right now is the one we're about to play.

On a side note, I am not going to bash the Dolphins for some of their mistakes this year, or this game. I've been a dolphan my entire life, growing up in a household were screaming @ the TV and being grumpy most weeks as a result of the game on sunday was common place. I love this team with all my heart, 1-15 or playoff bound. Doesn't matter. Last year was a Cinderella Season. Those don't happen very often. This year was a very respectable performance from a team that has been severely hampered by injuries:
Starting QB
Starting RB(best player on the team)
Starting NT(key to a good 3-4)
Starting CB(with a rookie replacement)

Did I miss any? You start the season and I tell you that those injuries are going to happen and ask you what you think our record will be, what would your answer be? Honestly, I'm frekkin happy as all hell that every single game Miami competes like they have heart. I think that shows our coaching staff and FO has and is doing the right things to propel this team to the next level. The future looks very bright to me personally, and for me to be able to just say that makes me a very happy Dolphan.