sad, but i feel the same way. that game showed me that this team (coaches/players) do not deserve to be in the playoffs. to be in the drivers seat, then follow it up with 3 disgusting losses was enough for me to concede the fact my team is not ready for the big stage. last year was great, we won the f'ing division... no one can ever take that away from our team. Pennington had a great year and we took care of the ball. we didn't win by a lot but we played ball control football and the wildcat was key.
this year with Pennington going down was almost a blessing in disguise IMO. Henne was forced into the starting lineup and performed. we have now seen what he can do, and know what he brings to our game. he can make some throws penny cant, accuracy and arm power are great, but this off season he needs to develop more touch on his passes and play better under pressure/keep his composure. outside of that, his accuracy is dead on, can throw a 20+ yard laser, and he can stretch the field.
interesting side note: the morning following Miami's loss on WSVN Drew Rosenhaus "predicted" miami will part ways with Joey Porter and Ted Ginn. alright you may say we could all see this coming but i guess the coaching staff is through with giving Teddy chances... and 2.65 mil is a little much to pay a KR/WR who catches approx 35-40 balls... i forget the year, but i remember hoping to draft DeSean Jackson, he was there for us but because he was from Cal (or some school not known for receivers i believe) we passed him over. very similar in stature/speed to ginn, but jackson's unafraid to take a hit.
as far as rooting for losses...i would never do that. but as with any system, all season long i was always looking for improvement. to be honest with all of you, this year i rarely watched the scoreboard. i was more interested in watching us "grind" out wins with solid play. a W or L mattered, but only little.
the harsh reality is that while we all will, year after year, watch our Phins fight through the season and (hopefully) beyond, the players of our team will be interchanged, and player/management loyalty is non existent.
the last dolphin i truly cared about was Dan Marino. as a kid i remember saying this is the year, praying for him to get a ring... he deserved it most in my eyes, after all. through the injuries, eventually the coaching staff came into question, his receivers were never good enough (in my eyes)... Shula was seen as being from a different era, the fans started clamoring for the SB coach from Dallas (i remember seeing on SportsCenter, as i would watch every morning before school, this one sign in particular reading "IT'S OVER ROVER, LET JIMMY TAKE OVER"
and the village idiot, jimmy Johnson's pathetic attempt at a running game, horrible draft choices (less surtain, madison, taylor, thomas)... it became evident that Marino's body was breaking down and the likelihood of it happening for him was slim. when he retired i was upset, i remember watching his presser that morning (Jan?) and feeling sorry for him. (to this day,I still hate jimmy johnson for what he did to Marino)
what I'm getting at, especially now that i live in the area (Ft Lauderdale) no one player is bigger than the TEAM. Maybe it was my youth, I'd watched Marino my entire life (born '81) but i have no such connection anymore. sad for the players who lost, but reality is, they all make a paycheck win or loss or draw.
LIVE AQUA BREATHE ORANGE
"I don't really care what happened in the past, I'm not afraid of challenges. I look forward to them." - T. Sparano