Week 1 Loss = Season Over

[Dave Gray]

...and we're the underdog, according to Vegas.

With a tough start to the schedule, you absolutely have to beat Cleveland, and then hope to steal another game in the next 4, to be 2-3, through the hardest part of the schedule.  If we lose this first game, there's no way we pull ourselves out of that hole.

Week 1 is essentially a playoff game for us.

[Landshark]

Cleveland hasn't shown anything special.  I find it hard to believe this team is an underdog.  That being said, I do agree that losing to them would put this team in a hole they may not be able to get out of.  And if that happens and the Dolphins end up having another season like the past four, Ireland is out the door.

[Spider-Dan]

Week 1 = must win!

So I guess your point is that if Miami doesn't win in week 1, they should immediately start playing backups for the rest of the season to see who is worth keeping around next year?

I can only hope this thread was in jest.

[Brian Fein]

I agree with Dave, but also disagree, kinda. 

A week 1 loss to Cleveland potentially puts you 0-5 going into the bye.  The next 4 games are against league juggernauts.  Who makes the playoffs after starting 0-5?  Then the wheels fall off, fans start wanting to bench Tannehill, fire Philbin, fire Ireland, and burn down the training facility because it must be bad luck.

Well, if you look at the rest of the schedule, its feasible they can still pull off 9-7 after an 0-5 start.  That combined with a lot of suck from other teams means you have a shot.

I guess what Dave is saying is that Cleveland is one of the easier opponents on the schedule, so you have to come home with the W.  If you can't beat Cleveland on the road, you won't have much hope to beat anyone.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Week 1 is never a must win.  It isn't even against a division rival.  Week 7&8 are your must wins. 

[Spider-Dan]

I agree with Dave, but also disagree, kinda. 

A week 1 loss to Cleveland potentially puts you 0-5 going into the bye.

A win against Cleveland potentially puts you at 1-15 for the year.

This line of thinking is dumb.  0-1 is not even remotely close to 0-5, no matter who the first opponent is.  Winning the first game will not make @IND any easier, and losing the first game won't make @IND any harder.

If MIA loses to CLE but beats the other 4 teams, is the season still over?  Of course not.  This is why "must win" claims in the first half of the season are absurd.  When four of the last six Super Bowl champions have finished the season with 10 wins or less, the idea of a must-win game in Week 1 is frankly ridiculous.

Think about the reverse scenario:  if Week 1 were at SEA, would winning that game mean that we should all start printing up 2013 World Champion t-shirts?  Of course not.  One game is one game.

[Pappy13]

Is everybody forgetting that Miami beat both Seattle and Cincy last year? Those 4 games after Cleveland aren't easy, but Miami definitely should not go 0-4 and even 1-3 would be a disappointment. Lets wait to see how those games fall out before declaring the season over even if they should lose to Cleveland.

[Sunstroke]

Miami went 2-3 in the preseason? Season over...

[Brian Fein]

Dave's "week 1" claim is based on the assumption that all of the next 4 opponents are potential playoff teams and BETTER than Cleveland.  So, it follows that if you can't beat Cleveland, you can't beat the others.

Week 2-5 is the toughest stretch of the schedule.  All of those teams are better than Miami.  If you lose to Cleveland, you need a miracle to overcome the next 4 games.

[Fau Teixeira]

dolphins will start 5-0

[Dolphster]

I always get a kick out of people overreacting to every win (Playoffs, baby!) and every loss (we suck, season is over).   So preemptive overreacting before the first game of the season is played takes the greatness to another level.  

[Phishfan]

Here is our typical debate about what equates to a must win game. I'll save everyone my usual response that nothing as part of a game is a "must" (but I will slide it in this way 

If we do not beat Cleveland I expect this section of the board is going to get pretty busy. If we do beat Cleveland we still have several tough opponenets coming up in a row. This still is not a team that I see winning the division so we really need to rack up some quality wins against teams that we may be competing with for a Wild Card (which Indy and Baltimore could potentially be). That is why Hoddie's comment about division rivals is off the mark I think.

I don't think this should be the teams's thinking but in honesty we are not really competing for the division. We are ultimately in a competition for a wild card.

[Dave Gray]

I am not being facetious.  I really believe that if you want to make the playoffs, you can't fall too far behind.  Considering the difficulty of our schedule, this Cleveland game is one you have to get.  Of course it's mathematically possible to lose the first game and rattle off several wins afterward, but that's just not realistic.

I think that if we lose our opener, considering how difficult the next stretch is, the season is over before it begins.

[Brian Fein]

And if you don't think that fans' attitude affects the team, you're wrong.  Every day the media members are in the locker room directly asking questions to players that fans are commenting and discussing.  Your opinions get to the coaches and players via various sources.  So, when the team is 0-5 and the fans want everyone fired, that attitude will permeate through the franchise and the snowball will continue.

0-5 is the worst thing that could happen to this team. 

[Spider-Dan]

If you lose to Cleveland, you need a miracle to overcome the next 4 games.

Does beating CLE make ATL worse?  Does losing to CLE make NO better?

One loss is one loss.  If you really think the "season is over," then should MIA start playing backups?
No?
Then please stop saying things that even you don't believe.