As a fan of the Miami Dolphins, I go through the emotions of cheering for my team, just like all other fans. We put a lot of energy and emotion all year long from the time training camp opens until the season ends. The Dolphins have been through a lot over the past two decades, and this year, they put together the most talented team that I can ever remember in my lifetime of 43 years. The Dolphins made the playoffs last year, and that was an accomplishment, so the goal this year was to get back to the playoffs, win a division to host a playoff game and win a postseason game for the first time in 23 years. 

 The Dolphins were 9-3 and looking and were exciting to watch, especially on offense, and their defense was starting to come around. They were also three games ahead of the Buffalo Bills for the division, but just like that, the Dolphins crashed and burned. The Dolphins had their meltdown in the final 3 minutes against the Tennessee Titans, choked away a 14-point lead, and lost. That was a game that started it and started getting back into the same old Dolphins mood. The Dolphins bounced back and won their next two games, including a walk-off win to beat the Dallas Cowboys and clinch a playoff spot. Then they had a no-show against the Baltimore Ravens, and they found a way to lose against the Bills at home in the 4th quarter to lose the division title. The score doesn’t even indicate how badly they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night, 26-7. 

Last year, the Dolphins were 8-3 and then lost 5 in a row and got into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth with their 3rd quarterback. This year was a repeat of the Dolphins collapsing again, and that’s what makes this season even more frustrating and hard to accept. The Dolphins didn’t learn from last year. Fans will say the Dolphins had a lot of injuries, and that’s true, but a lot of teams have injuries this time of the year. The Dolphins, unlike last year, had their starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, playing the entire season for the first time in his career. The Dolphins also finished the season with 4 of their last five games at home, where they have played extremely well under head coach Mike McDaniel. The Dolphins still found a way to mess things up. 

I know the Dolphins had injuries, but you must overcome the injuries. Plus, you had your quarterback in Tagovailoa playing, and his play in the last six games of the season has started to make me wonder if he is the quarterback who can lead us. He had chances in the last month of the season to prove he’s a clutch franchise quarterback, and he came up short with the game on the line. Plus, just like the rest of the team, it doesn’t play well against better competition. I know his receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were hurt, but a quarterback has to lead his team and raise his level of play, and he failed.  

 

The end of the season has made me wonder if McDaniel is the right coach to lead us now. For all the stats and big plays the Dolphins make with his offense, it’s the second year in a row that this team has faded down the stretch under his watch. The Dolphins don’t look like they are making any halftime adjustments. The offense, which McDaniel calls the plays for, but Frank Smith is the offensive coordinator,  is too predictable against better defense. He also looks over-matched against better coaches. Maybe he should give up the play-calling duties and focus on the other areas of the football team. That could be a start. For all the excitement McDaniel has brought, it hasn’t been enough to get the Dolphins over the hump. 

The Dolphins are going to have a lot of decisions to make as they are over $40 million dollars over the salary cap, so tough decisions will have to be made. Guys like Emmanuel Ogbah and Jerome Baker may be let go, as well as others. Plus, the Dolphins have made big decisions on free agents Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt, to name a few. They also must decide if it’s time to move on from Xavien Howard, who has lost a step as a shutdown corner, and Terron Armstead, who is constantly injured and barely played half the games this year. The Dolphins also must decide if they want to extend Tagovailoa or let him play out his 5th-year option. Right now, I would let him play out his 5th year because his play down the stretch has raised some serious questions with me, and the Dolphins don’t want to make the same mistake they made with Ryan Tannehill. Tagovailoa may have played all 17 games and led the lead in passing yards, etc., but he choked with the game on the line. 

My wife told me the other day the Dolphins had a good year. I told her yes, the Dolphins won more games than last year and made the playoffs again, but they were 9-3 and had a 3-game lead in the division, and just like last year started out with the same record and crashed with the most talented team that I can remember. This is going to take a lot of time for me to get over as a fan to get over. I’m so mad, frustrated, depressed, etc., with this team, knowing they had everything in front of them to win the division and potentially have multiple home games in the playoffs to make a run, only to choke. To make matters worse, we let the Bills off the hook, and they are still playing and live in the Central New York area, and this isn’t a good time for me because their fans are as cocky as can be when they win. It’s going to be a long, depressing off-season to get over the end of this season. The season had a lot of highs and excitements, but in the end, they crashed and burned with everything in front of them. 

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