It seems crazy, but it was just 8 short weeks ago that even die hard Dolfans had already given up on the season. It was understandable. The national media had deemed the Miami roster “devoid of talent”. Rookie Head Coach Adam Gase was in over his head. Gase, billed as a “quarterback whisperer”, couldn’t fix Tannehill. Fans chanted for backup Matt Moore. In fact the only positive was that the Dolphins could finally cut Tannehill loose at season’s end and move on from this experiment. It was easy not to believe.
But then the unbelievable happened. The offensive line was finally healthy and playing together and Jay Ajayi ran all over the Pittsburgh Steelers and followed that up by doing the same to the Bills. Fans complained that the bye week would kill the team’s momentum. Matt Darr’s dropped punt seemed to signal the typical Dolphins team, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, but Kenyan Drake had a different idea. Usually, it would be Tannehill throwing a pick six to lose the game, but instead, it was Phillip Rivers. There is no way that Tannehill could lead any team to 2 scoring drives in the final 5 minutes. . .but he did just that. San Fran QB Colin Kappernick would certainly end the streak, but Suh & Alsonso stopped him at the 2.
Even still, the majority of the sports media, both local south Florida & nationally, don’t want to believe. They have spent years badmouthing the franchise, badmouthing Tannehill, badmouthing the owner, the front office, and the multiple stadium names. They have a lot of time invested in the meme. Now, they claim they won “winnable” games and squeaked by in doing so. Riding a 6 game win streak, they are still a prohibitive underdog to the Baltimore Ravens.
Fans are scared to believe. They have had too many years of heartbreak, and in a lot of cases, embarrassment, from our favorite franchise. Too many years of draft busts, too many years of bad teams and too many years of horrible coaching. Fans are afraid to believe, figuring they will only be let down again.
But this just feels different. It feels like the franchise is changing. It seems unbelievable.
Do you believe?
@carlccrowley
