Dolphins’ 2008 goal: Avoid come-from-behind syndrome

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, May 20, 2008  |  Comments( 3 )

Miami Dolphins
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I was having a conversation with a friend and colleague about the current state of the Miami Dolphins and came away with the following progression of thought:

- The Dolphins were 1-15 last year but had a chance to win roughly a half-dozen of their other contests, losing six games by just a field goal.

- In five of its seven close-fought games, including its lone win over the Ravens in Week 15, Miami was able to hold its opponent to under 20 points.

- The Dolphins will field two youngsters (John Beck and Chad Henne) and a fairly ineffective veteran (Josh McCown) at quarterback in 2008.

- The Dolphins appear to have upgraded their offensive line considerably in just one offseason.

- The Dolphins have a fairly solid stable of running backs.

Individually, these thoughts have little or no meaning in and of themselves. However, when you consider all of these elements, an underlying theme begins to surface. Namely, that if the Dolphins want to increase their win total in 2008, they will have to fight hard to keep games close.

It’s hard to say whether Miami’s defense, which ranked 30th overall in scoring and allowed an abysmal 27.3 points per game last year, will show marked improvement this upcoming season. Still, there are other ways to ensure that teams don’t get the upper hand early, leaving the Dolphins in a literal no-win situation:

1) Establish the running game early and often: Whether it’s Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown or one of Miami’s recently acquired young runners, the team needs to make sure that opposing defenses get a healthy dose of its revamped O-line and the running lanes it should be able to create. Moreover, running the football often translates into winning the time of possession, and that usually leads to more notches in the win column. Lastly, an effective running attack will take pressure off of the Dolphins' upstart quarterbacks.

2) Avoid costly turnovers: Regardless of whether Miami’s defense rebounds from its wretched 2007 performance, protecting the football will be of utmost importance. Nothing helps an upstart defense more than an offense that holds onto the ball.

3) Minimize broken plays and long gains on defense: I’m going to go ahead and play my Bill Parcells card here. Parcells and his cohorts are known for isolating sore spots and addressing them quickly and effectively. Hopefully for the Dolphins, that will translate to fewer game-breaking plays given up by the defense.

The fortunes of an NFL franchise obviously can’t be narrowed down to just a few bullet points, but these represent some foundational building blocks for a Dolphins squad that’s looking to go from laughingstock to postseason contender.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
bardley80		10:31 PM
05/20/2008
I think the Dolphins could have a reasonably good turnaround this year. I'd say 6 wins isn't out of the question, though I...
No.2
mtrent		08:19 PM
05/21/2008
They might, but I feel that there season will be just average with nothing spectacular about it. I do not really feel that their...
No.3
everending		10:42 PM
05/22/2008
I think this season will be mediocre at best. But I think the future is far brighter. A lot of changes are in the works, but it's...
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