Media need to end Dolphins overachiever talk

By Adam Sweeney  |   Monday, July 06, 2009  |  Comments( 3 )

 Miami Dolphins
The way some NFL analysts talk about the Miami Dolphins, you'd think the teams the defending AFC East champions beat last year just rolled over and played dead. That simply wasn't the case. ESPN's James Hasty called the Dolphins the most overrated team in the NFL, explaining that their strength of schedule this year will expose them. Really? ...
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CommentsComments: 3
 No.1
Deof Movestofca		 04:10 PM
07/07/2009
Just recently saw comments similar to these at http://shashaty.blogspot.com/2009/07/on-paper-schedule-tougher-but-dolphins.html and I think much of the media skepticism stems from the following factors:
1) difference in strength of schedule
Counterpoint: What a team did last year means a lot less than it used to. If that's applicable to the Dolphins, then it should be as equally applicable to their "tougher" opponents.
2) "failure" to sign big name FA's- not only is their most heralded signing (JT) a former 'Phin, but scuttlebutt is that Saprano plans to use him sparingly
Counterpoint: hello?! that's been by design. Students of football history should remember that this is the exact same approach Belicheck used to build the Patsies
3) Brady's back- and look at all those nifty FA's the Patsies signed, too!
Counterpoint: First, this ignores that the Dolphins got some quality upgrades in FA's as well. Second, while still serviceable, most of the Patsies' FA signings are players that have seen better days. Third, the Patsies also lost a bunch of talent, although maybe not as much as they gained. Fourth, as good as Brady is, he can be made to look human if the OL fails to protect him (as the Giants showed)- nor is there any guarantee that he'll be the same once the game is for real again.
4) Dolphins just got lucky and surprised opponents with the wild cat
Counterpoint: A few points to remember before writing an eulogy for the wild cat: first, while a good argument could be made that the drop in productivity was due to opponents figuring it out, it's also possible that the 'Phins simply didn't have the proper personnel for it. Enter Pat White, 2nd round draft choice. Second, Parcells could have just taken the money and walked in the offseason, but instead chose to stay and make an even bigger investment in the wild cat rather than shy away from it. Although it's possible that he's gone the route of Uncle Al (Davis), his moves in bringing the 'Phins from a 1-15 team to 11-5 and AFC East champs would seem to indicate that he hasn't. Third, unlike many of the "gadget" offenses that the wild cat has been compared to (such as the run and shoot), it won't be the 'Phins' base formation. Thus, while opponents might know it's coming, the trick will be knowing when it's coming.
 No.2
hwayhway		 09:44 PM
07/07/2009
Add Kevin Smiley was injured and Ronnie Brown was recovering from injury. They had horrible special teams play in most of the early games and the secondary was swiss cheese until around game 10. Over achieve? Chad Pennington will have the entire training camp and a full season in the offense.
NE won 18 games two years ago and 11 games last year are they really going to be that much better?
 No.3
JimmyD		 04:53 PM
07/09/2009
I concur with most of the above, but it's still going to be a tough season. Those teams the Dolphins are going to play are not gonna lay down and die. The Phins will have to score points this year...especially in their division.
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