Strength of schedule may be Dolphins’ undoing in 2009

By Adam Sweeney  |   Tuesday, April 14, 2009  |  Comments( 3 )

Miami Dolphins
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Congratulations, Miami Dolphins. You engineered one of the greatest single-season comebacks in sports history last year, going from a 1-15 laughingstock to an 11-5 division champion. For your effort, the NFL is rewarding you its toughest schedule (on paper) in 2009.

Much of Miami's success last season came from a changed attitude from the top down, but there is no way you can say the schedule didn't help the Dolphins amass some wins. Look at the New England Patriots as an example of how strength of schedule can mean so much. Do you think that Matt Cassel and the Pats would have finished 11-5 in '08 against the teams the Pittsburgh Steelers were facing? Probably not.

Some say that strength of schedule is the key to a team's chance at success. If that's the case, the Dolphins might be in trouble in 2009. They go from facing a schedule in the bottom 10 of the league to the toughest, with opponents sitting at a .592 winning percentage.

The Dolphins will play all teams in the NFC South and AFC South. And because they won the AFC East in 2008, they get the pleasure of facing the AFC North and AFC West division winners. That puts the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers as teams they will go head to head with. Of course, they also have to battle division rivals New England, the New York Jets and Buffalo a total of six times.

There are two saving graces about this tough journey, though. One is that the rest of the AFC East is going to have to face virtually the same schedule. The other positive of facing formidable foes is that everyone will truly get to see how good this Miami team is. If the Dolphins can't cut it, the brain trust of Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland and Tony Sparano can trim the fat and make sure the club is better come 2010.

Ultimately, it's not the end of the world for Miami. Consider it a chance to see how good this team really is.
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About Adam Sweeney

Adam Sweeney spent 4 years as an opinions and arts & entertainment columnist with the Lone Star Lutheran, also working with Sports Illustrated.com. Along with his work on Realfootball 365 he currently is a contributor for Film School Rejects, SLAM Online, Talkhoops.net, and C-Heads ...
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