Year after year, Sunday after Sunday (and an occasional Monday night), since I was 4 years old I have thrown on my Miami Dolphins jersey, and watched my beloved Miami Dolphins. Little did I know when I was just a kid picking the Miami Dolphins as my team that I would follow them religiously growing up in Northern Indiana. I think I'm the only Phins fan within a hundred miles of here. And here I am. If you're a fellow follower of the Fish you know the struggle, the endless drama of the franchise's changes since Dan Marino's departure. I was there for the days of Jay Fiedler's mediocrity, the disappointment of Brian Griese, Ray Lucas, AJ Feeley, Sage Rosenfels, and Gus Frerrote, the undeserved hype of previous stars Daunte Culpepper, Trent Green, and every sub par QB in between. I remember waking up to Ricky Williams'’ retirement on ESPN. And also the situation with Nick Saban and how he lied about his offer to go back and coach NCAA football, we were miserable.
Its been a rough few years and I know, just like you, that when someone asks who your favorite team is and you reply, “"the Dolphins..."…and they think your joking. But finally, I think were on the right track. Big Tuna is steering our franchise in the right direction. No I don't think were going to be a playoff contender this season or even next season. But I like the roster changes, the coaching changes, and the aggressive edge that both are bringing to us slowly but surely.
The Dolphins preseason this year was strong. But that's the funny thing about preseason. It doesn't count. I can't count how many times I have heard Lions fans bragging about how tough they look during the preseason every year. And every season Detroit has been garbage. Miami looked pretty rough against the Jets and the even worse against the Cardinals. I had a horrible feeling that we were in for another long, hard season.
But everything changed Sunday the 21st of September. The Miami Dolphins came out swinging against the mighty New England Patriots and won. And not only did they win, they played the most physical football game that I have ever seen the Miami Dolphins play. Ronnie Brown in the shotgun out of the "Wildcat" formation, faked reverses to Ricky Williams, rushed for 4 TDs and passed for another?! Joey Porter and the Miami Defense hold the Patriots to 13 points?! A remarkable effort on Miami's part. Not to mention an enormous emotional victory for the Dolphins team. A 38-13 win over the Pats, who would have guessed?! But the big question now is: can the Dolphins utilize their bye week and come out and play like that against the San Diego Chargers next weekend? Only time will tell. Because I watched the Chargers tonight on MNF. And they cleaned up against a Jets team that beat Miami in week 1.
To be quite honest, I think Miami can come out of this season breaking even with wins and losses. Or even pull out a 9-7 record if they continue to play with the intensity that they showed against the Patriots. It would be an incredible turn around from last season. Maybe the biggest turn around in NFL history. And I would love to see it happen. But on the other hand, even if this is Miami's first and last win of the season, at least we got those damn Patriots.