The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I only saw two things that Sparano did wrong in the Cleveland game.  He cheered a field goal, like he always does, and I think that sends the wrong message to the team.  And he isn't using Bush in the right way.  But by no means is he the reason we are losing.

I rewatched the game and I didn't see bad game planning or decision making.  You can't blame him for putting Smith on the tight end at the end when Dansby went out.  You can't blame him for the ridiculous fumble that cost points.  You can't blame him for the missed field goals.  You can't blame him for the idiotic penalties, particularly to the QBs head.  You can't blame him for the overthrows by Henne when the pressure started mounting.  You can't blame him for Henne running right into the defense several times.

We dominated that game.  We should have been up by 2 TDs by the 4th quarter easily, but somehow we manage to find a different player every week to let us down.  The last series should have never happened.  The missed field goal should have never happened.  The plays that were blown were blown by guys that have shown they are capable of making the plays and yet don't stay focused enough to get it done consistently.

It comes down to this...  We have an anti-clutch QB who fools you with his ability 20 to 20.  We have an anti-clutch receiver who fools you with his ability 20 to 20.  We are too young at corner.  Our veteran linebackers are making rookie mistakes.  Our premier pass rusher is getting too fancy with his pass rush.  The right side of our O-line is a liability (talent wise).  And our place kicker is having an off year so far.

I think people see Sparano praise the team and feel it is him not recognizing the problem.  I think he is trying to keep the pressure off of them in hopes that they will not turn on each other.  I am sure some of you will say that coaching can make players more consistant or something to that effect.  I don't know about that.  I think there are some things you can do, but for the most part coaches game plan, organize, break down film, evaluate and report to GMs and last but not least take the bullet when players don't make plays.

We lost to Cleveland.  I get it.  We are a disgrace.  Our players are going to get their coaches and themselves fired.  It just sucks that the coaches reputations will be tarnished when the players just can't keep their minds on their jobs. 

I get your point Doc. I'm a bit lost myself on where to put this blame. As you said someone new every week is letting things slip past them.

The counter to your point is that a situation like that falls onto the shoulders of the coach as he has not gotten his players into a position to effectively not make the mistakes they have been making. The mindset of a killer is not there.

oh please, Sparano is the problem. He doesn't win games. He is in a result oriented business. He needs to go. Not even up for debate. The man is a bad coach. Period!

The bar is set pretty low for him, win a home game. He can't even do that.

I don't know. This is just SO frustrating. Look at the players' numbers:
* a QB averaging 280 yards per game, with fewer INTs than Brady, Rivers, Ben, Sanchez or Matt Ryan.
* a ROOKIE RB who is averaging 101 yards per game on the ground, and despite missing week 1, is 12th overall in rushing yards
* 3 receivers on pace for 900+ yard seasons, with 2 of them on pace for 1000 and one nearly 1400.
* a defense that was advertised as "upgraded" over the 6th rank in the league last year, and that-- somehow-- gives up 416 yards a game.

I'm not saying it's ALL Sparano, but, WOW, it seems like it's not the players- at least not the ones on offense. Some- no MOST- of the calls leave me shaking my head. Henne actually looks like a good QB this year, but he's been put in situations that he can't possibly win in. -EK

Why did we lose game one - Sapp got destroyed by Welker, Carrol had to play due to Davis having cramps, D-line couldn't beat one on one matchups, and Jones took too many chances.

Why did we lose game two - Fumble by Thomas, D-line again couldn't beat one on one matchups.  Henne gets ball hit in throwing motion that ends up as INT in scoring territory, and Dan Carpenter misses two easy ones.

Why did we lose game three - miss by Carpenter, stupid penalties by Olshansky and Y-Bell, fumble in the red zone, ball thrown too high by Henne when the pressure was on.

These are player issues, not coaching issues.  You can say Allen should have never been cut in favor of Sapp and you would be correct on that being a coaching issue in the evaluation department.  But Sapp had a good preseason and plays special teams so you can understand why they took the chance. 

Even with the shitty individual performances listed above, we had a gameplan that put us in a position to win against all three teams we have played thus far.  Individuals making bad decisions lost those games. 

Keep in mind I am not saying coaching has been perfect.  We should have had better communication (faster) on defense in game one.  We could be blocking better in the return game.  We shouldn't use Bush as an inside runner.  We shouldn't celebrate field goals that aren't game winners.  But pay attention to the matchups and our players aren't taking responsibility for themselves from start to finish. 

Docphin, who PREPARES the team each week? The coach does. Not by himself of course, but ultimately it falls on him to make sure the team is prepared and you just listed off about 10 examples of players not being prepared to play.  Half of that falls on the players, but the other half falls on the head coach and his coaching staff. There are teams that are prepared to play week in and week out. Somehow those players/coaches get prepared to play and the Dolphins don't. It's certainly not all Sparano's fault, but there's no reason to give him a pass either. He should take as much blame as anyone else.

It's not all Sparano's fault, it's not all Henne's fault, it's not all Carpenter's fault, it's not all the O-line's fault, it's not all the defense's fault, etc.  There is enough blame to go around to practically every player and coach on the team.  That's what is so discouraging about the funk they are in.  Things are going right for Buffalo and they are 3-0, while the Fins are 0-3, and I would take the Fins' personnel over Buffalo if given the chance.

Shouldn't even be up for debate.....HE SUCKS...CLUELESS...GAME MANAGEMENT AT ITS WORST!

Will NEVER be a HC again in this league....way too may mistakes.

You have got to be kidding he is the head coach we are 0-3 he COACHES the players who are making the mistakes. Sparano is the problem and he has to go.

As Dave Gray would say, "It's hard to polish a turd", it's hard to say that the head coach is not at least somewhat part of the problem when:

The team starts out 0-3
The team has had back-to-back 7-9 seasons
The team is 1-10 at home in their last 11 games
Players, like Reggie Bush, are completely mis-utilized
Clock management / 2-minute drill management / Time-out management is bad

When the team is winning, the coach is a genius and the QB should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. When the team is losing, the coach is an idiot who should be fired and the QB should be benched for the back-up. This is just how it goes...but it's hard to ignore the repetitive, continued mediocrity that the Dolphins have been putting out on the field for the past few seasons now.

And one more thing about Sparano.

I've read in a few different places this week that "The players are going to get Sparano fired", which to me is backwards-facing logic.

Think of a player on the squad like Davone Bess, who is showing up to the games with his A game, working hard, putting in hours, etc...because Sparano is under or mis-utilizing him, his free agency value and his ability to re-sign with the club for a more lucrative deal is being compromised. Who wants to re-sign scrubs off of one of the worst teams in the league?

The head coach is accountable here - and therefore by contradiction, is the problem.

Smart players realize this.  We don't have many of those on our team.  The other guys don't seem to realize that a new regime means clearing out the house.  But our A game guys like Bess and Hartline aren't exactly dominating players, so even their A game isn't going to keep the coach in his job.  I am fine with the argument that we aren't using Bush right, but Bess, Hartline, Marshall, Fasano and Thomas all seem to be getting their numbers called in the way you would expect.  Henne is just sucking in the red zone and nobody seems to be winning their matchup when it really counts (particularly Marshall who should absolutely be our go to guy in the red zone).

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Is it not obvious that we are losing due to random mental errors by different guys at different times?  If they are playing good enough in one game and then not good enough in another was it because of the coaching that week?  No way.  Henne seems to understand his audibles just fine.  Can a coach make him not overthrow the receiver in the end zone?  Was coaching responsible for the two fumbles, three missed field goals, tipped pass, hits on the QBs head?  Cameron Wake seemed to be coached well enough last year, did the coaching all the sudden make him not be able to get around the tackle?  Is Taylor unable to beat decent left tackles because of coaching?  He has been in the league 15 years.  Are guys running the wrong routes like they did in the preseason?  How did that get fixed... COACHING.

The truth is I blame Parcels for his outdated "blue print" and Henning for his outdated offense far more than any other source of our failure.  Once it became clear that the "blue print" would only get us so far, Ireland and Sparano had to scramble to make us faster and more aggressive.  It is taking too long for the fans to handle after all the years of losing. 

Another example of coaching not being the issue...

If John Jerry performed as expected (year one to year two), we would have been good at right guard and Carey would have been adequate at right tackle.  If coaching was the problem, why is the rest of the O-line OK?  How much better would we be if we didn't have to max protect with Fasano to cover Columbo's ass?  Now all we do is question Sparano because of his O-line history and use it as an example of how bad of a coach he is.  So what is the truth?  Can Sparano all the sudden coach every O-line position but right guard?  Common guys.

^ I think that "Mental Errors" are part of a coach's job to eradicate. The Patriots are a great example of a team that commits few mental errors a game - their coach is a future hall-of-famer. The Dolphins seem to always commit those annoying mental errors at the worst possible times (in the red zone, with the game on the line, etc...). Why is that? Why is it that the Dolphins' players are the ones making the mental errors at the critical times? Is it just the players like Bush and Marshall and Henne...or does coaching play a part here?

I think that great NFL coaches know that X's and O's and mechanics are only a part of the job - building confidence and the psychological aspect of it all is what really makes players play on Sunday and show up in the clutch and cut way down on those mental errors that seem to plague the Dolphins.

Being a "player's coach" isn't necessarily equal to being a good / great coach.

So which one is it? That we have an anti-clutch team or that we have an outdated blue print? They are not mutually exclusive.

I respect the opinion.  My opinion is that intelligence is more of a factor.  Look at the players the Patriots have had and the truly successful ones were typically smarter. 

Smarts list (who would you pick as the smartest and not just best coached):

Henne or Brady
Marshall or Moss (lazy at times maybe, but not dumb)
Bess or Welker
Dansby or Bruschi

Hell, I could go on forever really.  Wish I knew the Pats current defenders better, but I could probably do the same type list for O-lineman.  Notice how we don't see players like Ochocinco and Haynesworth benefiting from the awesome coaching, Why?  Dumb!  ;D

As far as the "which one" question...  Anti-clutch refers to our current status.  Blue print refers to how we got here.  Not really mutually exclusive.  The blue print is being adjusted and really began when we got rid of Henning (could make an argument that it began with Marshall, but not so sure).

Disagree with one thing Doc said. 

Stupid penalties.  That's on the coaching staff.  I saw "mental errors" somewhere in an earlier post.  What made Shula and Belicheck great coaches is that they eliminate them.  Penalties are mental errors. 

But you are correct, Doc.  There's a lot of shit going wrong with this team that Tony Sparano has nothing to do with. 

Someone turned the stadium into a cocktail party and a sideshow.  That's not the head coach's fault.  Someone gave away one of our biggest homefield advantages in terms of September heat.  Not the coach's fault.  Someone thought it'd be a great idea to throw a ton of money at a guy known for fumbling the ball and maybe once a year returning kicks for touchdowns.  Someone thought it would be a hot idea to stick a nightclub inside the stadium. 

i don't see the "gameday experience" having anything to do with the football teams performance.

it's pretty simple, this team is bad because it has bad players.

Blaming sparano is the easy way out. This organization needs a change from top to bottom. It's just amazing how the mindset of scoring few points & hope the defense holds is a consistent philosophy. Ever since Fielder was the QB. This team does have talent. Just not enough to play this way. Sparano is only part of the problem.

Because the gameday experience being created has absolutely nothing to do with football.  It has to do with being trendy.  Being trendy creates a bunch of fairweather fans and a team that can't win at home. 

A small dose of celebrity ownership is probably good for publicity.  There's nothing wrong with the occaisonal shot of random celebrity owner or fan in the stands/press box.   

Putting in a nightclub, the whole orange carpet thing,  fruitifying the stadium with that Jimmy Buffett bullshit and creating an atmosphere more suitable for a cocktail party is counterproductive.  You wind up with exactly what we have and what I warned everybody about when this all started: a team that can't win at home and a displaced or at this point completely lost fan base.

We now have actual fans paying a lot of money to go to a cocktail party and hoping that a football game might actually break out. 

the "gameday experience" is nice to poke fun at but it has NOTHING to do with ANYTHING.

It does if you lose your fan base, which this team has managed to do.

LOL, the fact that they are 1-11 at home in there last 12 is why they are losing their fan base.  To blame it on anything else would be retarded.

ha ha ha ha ha, the "gameday experience" isn't what lost the fan base. LOSING SEASONS did and not winning home games did!

Seriously people, come on!!!!

It feels weird when MikeO and tepop are on different sides of an argument.

I think Sparano is a pretty big part of the problem, but I think the GM who's been supplying him with subpar talent to work with has to shoulder a big part of the blame as well.


Kinda like watching an underground boxing match to the death between a Nazi and an al Qaeda terrorist...you just cross your fingers that both of them throw the death blow at exactly the same time. ;)

uh, if you are actually reading the posts we are on the same side of the argument. But why let facts get in the way. Keep playing in that imaginary world in your head

I was mistaken... and the world is set right again.


Personal attacks. Sigh...

you complaining about personal attacks is very funny! :D

Pot meet Mr. Kettle!

What does "homefield advantage" consist of?

Does it consist of being able to sleep in your own beds at night?
Is it the comfort of being in your own locker room?
Perhaps it is the short, familiar drive to the stadium?

Of course not.  IT'S THE FANS.

When THE FANS don't care about the game, you don't have a homefield advantage!

^^^ yep and when you lose the fans stop caring.

It has nothing to do with orange carpets, cocktail party's and water parks

?

Now I know I'm absolutely 100% right.  And just because I feel like showing off, I'm going to.

We'll take a team that actually wins.  The Green Bay Packers.

Do they have a nightclub in their stadium?  No.
Do their fans suddenly stop going to games because of the weather?  No. 
Do they crow about being the only publicly owned sports franchise?  No.
Does the inside of their stadium look like a cocktail party? No
Does the ownership decide they're going to not play home games in December because well, it's just too damn cold?
No.
Does their stadium go for all this trendy shit?  No.  It's a tribute to football history in there. 

Do you want me to keep going?  I can.

They go to games because the team is a championship contender year in and year out. They had Farve and Rodgers 2 Hall of Fame QB's to watch week in and week out. They win and they have superstars. THATS WHY THEY GO! If the Packers started having celbs and a gold and green carpet and a water park next to the stadium PEOPLE WILL STILL GO! They wont STOP going to games  ::) ::)

Your stance is silly. Good Teams=Sold out Games   Bad Teams=Empty Stadiums End of story. End of debate

I think their point is that the reason why no one shows up is because the team loses. No one cares about the stadium if they win constantly. I wou
D tend to agree with that. Granted, I haven't been to a game since last season or maybe two years ago, but I didn't notice anything there that would turn me away other than the product on the field.

Ok I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this. 

Cleveland Browns.  Bad Team.  Full stands. 
Buffalo Bills.  Bad Team.  Full stands. 

Nobody gives a shit about "the gameday experience."  They're there for a football game and they want to see their team kick somebody's ass. 

They don't request to play warm weather games in December.
They serve shitty beer and bad hot dogs.
The Tailgate parties start at about 8 in the morning regardless of how shitty the weather is.
No trendy shit. 

Yet the stadium is full because the team hasn't lost its fan base.  These teams are marginal, yet they continually beat my beloved Dolphins' asses. 

Lets just say, if the Dolphins were 8-1 and had lets say a chance for home field in the AFC and in November and had an upcoming game with Baltimore lets say, do you think a fan would say....Miami vs Baltimore this week, Fins are 8-1 but I'm not going. I don't want to put up with that orange carpet nonsense and that Venus and Serena as owners really upsets me they might be in a box upstairs, screw that hollywood atmosphere, I'm not going to watch a BIG AFC game with my favorite team the Fins. I will stay home and watch

Do you think any rational person wouldn't GO TO THE GAME if they had the chance or had tickets?? SERIOUSLY???? That is your stance, that this side-show stuff which has no effect on anything keeps people away. It's the horrible team that is keeping people away. If the Fins were 8-1 or whatever, just a good team....people would go.

The Bills havent had full stadiums in years. Hate to break it to ya. You think the Bills moved games to Canada for fun? Uh, no. Because nobody was going to Bills games IN BUFFALO!! And guess what, a couple more losses like today they won't be going to them in a month or so either!!!!

Cleveland has a football history that goes way further back than Miami. Plus they lost a team for god knows how many years. They have the fear of god in them the team could leave at anytime. It's a little different situation than Miami.

You just made 2 HORRIBLE examples to back up your weak stance.

EXACTLY Mike O...fed up of all the excuses, even fans against fans, calling the ones who see this whole mess clearly "fairweather fans".  Any pro team that sucks this badly at home year in , year out will lose fan base.  We have sucked 11 out of 12 seasons....even the LIONS were having trouble drawing fans, until this season...HMMM?...why?  ..because they are 4-0!

The stadium sells out when they field a winning team with a legitimate superstar.  At this point we have none of the above :'(

They're actually perfect examples.  Nobody said anything about the stadium selling out.  I said they hadn't lost thier fan base inspite of their mediocrity, and they don't piss all over their own homefield advantage and make it worse. 

And since I used to live near Buffalo I know exactly why they moved 1 home game a year into Canada and it has more to do with the economy than anything else.

 ::) give me a break. If the Bills were selling out home games, they don't move a game to Canada. They moved the game cause the team has sucked for a decade now and nobody goes to games in Buffalo anymore. They have trouble selling out. The economy sucks everywhere that excuse is so weak.

Moving a game to a "neutral field" in another country isn't pissing over your fanbase and losing home field advantage? Moving a game in DECEMBER vs the DOLPHINS into a dome and away from the snow isn't losing your homefield advantage?? HA HA HA H!! Sure, ok! ::) Because that is what Buffalo did a few years back

The Bills moved 8 games to Toronto for the greedy price of 80 million dollars.  All of this lining the pockets of Ralph Wilson, despite the Bills having sold out every game in the 2007 home season.  The biggest goal of this family run enterprise is to relocate the team to Canada, in order to avoid inheritance taxes.  In canada, inherited money is tax free.

1.  Buffalo moving to Toronto is like Notre Dame playing in Chicago.  And no the two don't compare.  You're going from one cold weather stadium that takes about an hour and a half to get to to another cold weather stadium that takes an hour and a half to get to.
 
2. You keep mentioning selling out the stadium, and I'm talking about pissing on your fanbase.  More often than not, in spite of losing and Ralph Wilson, and snow, Buffalo sells out.  Cleveland sells out.  If you piss on your fanbase, you can win every game you play and nobody will show up.

3.  The Browns were lost and Buffalo moved games to Canada because of exactly the same things.  Owners who want new stadiums from a broke city at tax payer expense.  Cleveland and Buffalo have been shitholes since long before the current recession.  And yet they still fill or almost fill the goddamn stadiums.

4.  You mentioned in another post you want to give up 3 homegames for 3 successive games overseas.   Please tell me this was meant in sarcasm.  We've been discussing ad nauseum reasons this team doesn't draw and doesn't win at home, and you want to give away not 1 homegame to a nearby city, but 3 home games to other countries?

It's SKYDOME in Canada. Hence, DOME!!!!! When Miami played  Buffalo there in December the roof was closed. Once again....DOME!!

And I didn't say Miami should move 3 home games. I said the NFL as reported on CBS NFL TODAY said anyteam that does will get a financial incentive. Who that team is, don't know. I am not saying Miami should do it. But would I be shocked if they did, nope. Not with our owner

Right.  Very good.  Dome.  Closed Roof.  Stadiums still equally accessible for vast majority of Bills fans.  And the fans still tailgate like crazy and make the drive in 30 degree weather or colder.  It doesn't keep them away. 

But its taking away the Bills "home field advantage" and pissing on your fanbase. What you are procaliming Ross is doing with his sideshow acts.  ::)

Whatever. believe what you want.