The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

This is your path to the playoffs.

8    Oct 31    MIA @ CIN  - Win.
9    Nov 07    MIA @ BAL - Loss.
10    Nov 14    TEN @ MIA - Win.  (But close)
11    Nov 18    CHI @ MIA - Win.
12    Nov 28    MIA @ OAK - Win.
13    Dec 05    CLE @ MIA - Win.
14    Dec 12    MIA @ NYJ - Loss.
15    Dec 19    BUF @ MIA - Win.
16    Dec 26    DET @ MIA - Win.
17    Jan 02    MIA @ NE - Loss.

That puts you at 10-6, which probably won't be enough.  From there, we will need to either steal a win against one of the three losses, and get some help with a rogue loss or two to grab a wildcard spot.

If everything plays out like I think it should, we will end up 10-6 and miss the playoffs.

Cincy just threw for 400+ yards AT Atlanta who has a good defense. If they keep that rolling they might destroy our swiss cheese secondary next week. Not gonna chalk that up as a win.

I actually think we can beat Baltimore and the Jets and the Patriots.  It'll be excruciatingly difficult but I believe it.

must win all games not against the 3 remaining elite teams (bal, nyj, ne), and will have to steal one against those others.

i think the best shot would be against baltimore, they didn't look all that impressive today.

I doubt we get swept by the Jets AND Patsies.

Atlanta's pass defense is one of the worst in the league if you consider yards allowed.  The Falcons get a lot of INTs, but give up lots of yards.

Even if the Dolphins go 11-5, playoffs are going to be hard to make given as right now the Dolphins aren't looking good on the tiebreakers. 

It's not over till it's over.  If I use my spreadsheet to determine strength of schedule from this point on which is based on how teams were ranked as of last week's Power Rankings by ESPN, Cincy, Houston and Tennessee have the 3 toughest schedules at 12.10, 13.30 and 13.33 respectively. Houston has 6 games against top 10 teams and Tennessee has 4 plus 3 more in the top half of the league.

Conversely Miami's remaining schedule is 16.80 which is far easier than it's been up to this point with 4 top ten teams but 5 in the bottom half of the league.  I can see Miami catching Houston and Tennessee in the standings.  Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New England, Kansas City, the Jets and Indy are gonna be harder to catch and that alone could knock them out of the playoffs but all of those teams except Pittsburgh and Kansas City have tougher schedules than Miami so nothing is out of the question just yet.

Team                  8     9     10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17    SoS
Cincinnati Bengals    16    1     5     32    2     6     1     30    24    4     12.10
Houston Texans        5     24    25    2     8     10    4     8     22    25    13.30
Tennessee Titans      24          16    14    9     25    5     9     13    5     13.33
Buffalo Bills         13    12    29    20    1     17    30    16    3     2     14.30
Cleveland Browns            3     2     25    31    16    32    20    4     1     14.89
Baltimore Ravens            16    7     31    19    1     9     6     30    20    15.44
Jacksonville Jaguars  26          9     30    11    8     28    5     14    9     15.56
Oakland Raiders       23    13          1     16    24    25    22    5     13    15.78
New England Patriots  17    30    1     5     29    2     12    15    32    16    15.90
Indianapolis Colts    9     10    20    3     24    26    8     25    28    8     16.10
New York Jets         15    29    30    9     20    3     16    1     12    32    16.70
Miami Dolphins        20    4     8     12    28    30    2     32    29    3     16.80
San Diego Chargers    8     9           22    5     28    13    27    20    22    17.11
Pittsburgh Steelers   6     20    3     28    32    4     20    2     31    30    17.60
Denver Broncos        27          13    24    21    13    18    28    9     24    19.67
Kansas City Chiefs    32    28    22    18    23    22    24    21    8     28    22.60

We still have opportunities to get tiebreakers against BAL and TEN.  Presuming that we actually win those, HOU is the biggest uncontrolled threat.

There's one other wildcard: the NYJ-BAL tiebreaker.  As in 2002, if we finish with the same record as the Jets (and they beat us in tiebreakers), but they lose to BAL in tiebreakers, we're done.

Of course, PIT still needs to play NYJ and NE before we can fully understand the tiebreaker dynamic.

I would not worry about catching KC.  I am hard pressed to think of a playoff scenario in which the AFCW has a wild card slot and the Dolphins make the playoffs.

In the hunt for the 5 spots filled by the AFCE/AFCW/AFCN

Jets 5-1
Pitt 5-1
NE 5-1
Bal 5-2
Titans 5-2
Colts 4-2
Texans 4-2
Dolphins 3-3

At this point the Dolphins should probably be hoping for Pitt to win the AFCN  as catching Bal is a lot more feasible if the Dolphins can win the match up in two weeks. 

In the AFCE it would be easier for the Dolphins to catch the Pats (2-1 in the division) than the Jets (3-0 in the division).  Having the Jets beat the Pats Dec 6 would probably be in the Dolphins best interest, possibly setting it up with the Jets having the division and the week 17 game when the Dolphins come to Foxboro be a battle for which team gets the wildcard. 

In the AFCS the Dolphins have a chance to get the tiebreakers over the Titans.  Catching the Texans (3-0 in conf) will be harder than catching the Colts (2-2 in conf).  But the Dolphins are behind the 8 ball here being only 1-2 in Conf.

I hereby declare the Miami vs Patriots game is a "Must Win" game!  Also, the game against Baltimore in two weeks is potential very essential to making the playoffs.

If the dolphins win out .. they make the playoffs .. that's the end of that .. so we know what to do .. win out

Frankly, I'd rather have them lose out and get some good draft picks then have them come up just short of the playoffs and get nothing but bad draft picks and a more difficult schedule.   Also, I can't see them going any better than 8-8--especially with this gutless, stupid offense. 

I agree with Dave.  Considering the division, assuming the Jets and Pats continue how they have been, there's little chance that BOTH wild cards will come out of the East.  That would mean that:
Baltimore, Houtson/Indy, KC/SD
would all miss the playoffs.  Depending, naturally on who wins the other divisions...
Realistically, just based on the remaining schedule, I see the Pats/Jets and Ravens getting the 2 AFC wild card spots.

Conversely, I think there will be a sub-500 team qualifying for postseason from the NFC this season.

Pitiful.  The NFC is embarrassing.

Is it really a bad thing if the Fins miss out on the playoffs?  This is a team who had no real aspiration of winning it all anyway.  I'd rather them take their lumps this year, learn from the mistakes, have a good draft, and go for it all next year.

It would be awesome if the Dolphins made the playoffs this year, and I still think it's possible.  There's a butt load of games to be played, and the games almost never go as analysts predict.  But there's a lot more to be gained by missing out on the post season and getting a better draft pick.  If the Fins were serious contenders entering the season, I'd say different, but they just areren't.  I think they're headed in the right direction, they just need one more good draft to really make a difference in the AFC.  (preferably on the offensive side)

I'd like an offensive coordinator change, too, while we're at it.  But that will take care of itself organically.

If this team doesn't make the playoffs after the owner said publicly he expected (not wanted but expected) his team to be playing in the Super Bowl back in march/april, after he made Dansby the highest paid MLB in NFL history, after he made Marshall the highest paid WR (at the time) in NFL history, after he made Mike Nolan the highest paid DC in NFL history, after he now just made Bess the highest paid "slot" WR, and  don't forget he has the highest paid Left Tackle and Right Tackle currently in the NFL, YOU GOTTA WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!....I fully expect wholesale changes to the front office and coaching staff. Carl Peterson will be the new VP of football operations and depending on how bad we finish I expect to see Ireland and Sparano gone. 

Ross is doing contract negotiations too?  I thought he was busy looking for the next hip hopper to partner with and not "making" contracts. You make Ross sound like Jerry Jones. He has nothing to say about what these guys were paid.

I DO NOT WANT TO SEE SPARANO FIRED.

This team needs contiguity in the coaching staff, and Sparano hasn't done anything to warrant being fired.  IMO Sparano may be the best Dolphins' coach we've had since Shula.

What I DO want is to get this young team some postseason experience.  There's something to be said for falling apart in the playoffs.  We see it every year.  I would like the Fins to get one playoff game under their belt, so that next year or the year after, when they're ready to make a run at it, maybe they don't have the playoff jitters and can act like they've been there before.

Just sayin'...

That's assuming too much.  Neither the Jets nor the Pats are out of reach.  They are only 2 games up and the schedule gets much easier for Miami.  Miami will have to beat at least 1 of the 2 at their home probably and maybe both, but the way that Miami has been playing that doesn't really seem all that hard to believe.  Certainly they won't be favored in either game, but they'll have a chance.

My memory banks recall a Dolphin Team starting 9-1, feeling like they were the best team in the NFL, only to lose the last 6 games of the season and miss the playoffs.  So lets not go granting wins to the Pats, Jets, Ravens, Steelers, Indy, etc. BEFORE they EARN them.  Look at the top teams from the NFC last year, they are struggling this year.  I can't believe how some of you "fans" cry over a couple losses when the season isn't even half over yet.  The Dolphins are a healthy young team, talk to people who aren't Fins fans and they would say the Dolphins have a good team.

Not saying they don't have a good team, not crying either.  Just stating a fact that THUS FAR the Jets and Pats have been superior.

Seems like that would be a fact.  Perhaps not.

No, that's a fact, but the season isn't over and things change quickly in the NFL.  That's a fact too.

10-6 ? That sounds awfully optimistic. Sure some "easier opposition" towards end of year, But a Sparano coached team? Tough to win every game at the gun.

At no point was Marshall the highest paid WR in the NFL. Never. You can cook the numbers a lot of ways, but we got a GREAT deal on Marshall.

Not sure about Dansby and Bess, but I seriously doubt it with Dansby... with Bess it probably comes down to how you go about defining "slot receivers" in a contract context.

That's a fair statement and I agree with you.  My prior post is directed more at members like MikeO, who don't seem to use much perspective.  For some it's let's bench that guy and go to the backup because he had two bad plays, or we need a full scale coaching staff change if we don't make the playoffs, or let's scrap the rest of this season because we are only 3-3.  Like it or not the Dolphins are still in re-building mode.

^^ couldn't agree more....

Dansby its 100% true. Highest paid LB in NFL history. I am sure a linebacker will be a FA next year or the year after who will get a bigger deal. But Dansby CURRENTLY is the highest paid LB in NFL history. Bess the highest paid SLOT/3rd WR in the NFL currently. Long and Carey the highest paid LT and RT in the NFL currently. And yes, BRANDON MARSHALL was the highest paid WR for about a month until Houston gave Andre Johnson a new deal. Numbers don't lie. All public record, LOOK IT UP!

but he HIRES the people who pass out those contracts. So if your gonna spend all of his money....you damn sure better win or else you GET RID OF the guys who passed out the big contracts!

Simple concept, really!

But if the coaches SUCK, I don't want that continuity. That's the BAD continuity!!!  And Saprano has been bad this year. And last year he was bad. Time Out vs the Saints that cost us 4pts. The 2pt conversion call that almost cost us the 2nd Jets game. Not picking an o-line and sticking with it this presseaosn which is showing with our lackluster play. NOT firing our special teams coach after last seaon. Some STUPID challenges he has done to cost us timeouts. DID YOU SEE THE QUOTE THIS WEEK WHERE SPARANO BLAMED HARTLINE's FUMBLE vs PITT ON CHAD HENNE!! Said it was Henne's fault!! Sparano has come off clueless of late. Not giving anyone a lot of confidence!

And so far this group seems clueless, except for Mike Nolan but he ain't gonna be here long someone will give him a head coaching job anyway so..

I realize what you are saying but in actuality he hasn't hired anyone as far as football goes. Bill Parcells has done all of that and he was on board prior to Ross. If I rememebr correctly Ross had no say until Parcells stepped down. He still might not depending on if Parcells resignation is official. His contract gave him total control of the football team.

Brian Urlacher and Bart Scott both have contracts that are nearly identical to Dansby's. Like I said before, there are many ways to "cook the books"... make the contracts look like something they're not... and we don't always get the details. On paper, Urlacher's contract is the biggest per year and Scott's is the biggest total money. If you count outsider linebackers as well, no one comes close to Aaron Cury and his 6 years, $60 million, $34 million guaranteed. Any way you slice it, Cury's contract far outstrips any of the others.


So you're saying Bess is a 3rd WR?

Bess clearly fills the role of Welker (who was also signed as a slot receiver) for the Dolphins.

He may be what is stereo-typically called a 3rd receiver, but as the team's leading receiver last year and clear #2 this year (50% more looks AND yards than Hartline), it's not a very productive designation any longer.


Long isn't and I explained this to you already. Jason Smith and Jason Peters are both paid more. Regardless of the metric you use, Long is NOT the highest-paid offensive tackle in the NFL. Sorry.

We can discuss salaries and positions all you want, but the Rams are playing Jason Smith at right tackle, so the argument is easily made that Carey is NOT the highest-paid right tackle.


No, he wasn't. I explained it to you, but I'm not going to look up yet another set of numbers for you just because you have the memory capacity of a gold fish. Search the forums if you feel like it.


Numbers most certainly lie when you don't have all of them. And they are NOT public record, not ALL of them. And you seem to be cherry picking the numbers you like and doing a piss-poor job of it.

Aren't you tired of being wrong?

When you claim that Saprano "sucks"...realitive to what?  Don Shula and Bill Belichick?  No, he is not as good as them.  Realtive to them yes, he sucks.  He took over a team that went 1-15 and the following year the team went 11-5 and won the AFCE, with team considerably less talented than the Jets or a Bradyless Patriots.  Last year he was slightly one game below "average". 

 :D  :D  :D Wow...just wow.   :D  Awesome.

Had no say until Parcells stepped down? What are you talking about. The day Ross bought the team he had say and could have fired EVERYONE if he wanted too!

Sparano should not be fired.  Everything the team is doing on the field for the most part, disciplined play, high effort levels, energy, correction of mistakes, that's all there. 

We simply do not have as much talent on the field as the Jets and Patriots.  The only people maybe and this is a big maybe that I have a question about on that whole staff are the special teams coach (who they just switched) and Dan Henning who at times looks brilliant and other times completely baffled and is also baffling to watch.  I don't think he's calling the same plays he called when Pennington was in there and I don't know if you call a game for him the same way you call a game for Henne.  They're two completely different players.

Take away Mike Nolan and Miami has the WORST group of assistant coaches I have seen in a long time. Guys Sparano brought in.

Sparano is supposed to be an o-line "guru"....yet we went from the #1 o-line last year with a top rushing attack and made UN-NECESSARY changes in an UNCAPPED year to make our o-line worse.

That and the fact we are a team that spends a ton of money, a ton and our record gets worse under Sparano year after year.........time for a change

It's funny how the post replies are mixed. Honestly I don't care any more.