This Is How The Great Collapse Of '93 Started

First there was a loss to a good Giants team that was one Emmitt Smith heroic performance in OT away from winning the NFC East that season. But everybody was still high from the Cowboys win (I know I was) and it wasn't a conference game, so it was no big deal, right? They could "afford" to lose this game.

Then the lost to the Steelers. But it was only by a point, and the Steelers were a playoff team, they'll just win the next game and...what??? It's against the Bills???

The Bills loss was the "uh oh!" moment when people started realizing hey wait a minute, could they actually miss the playoffs???

But surely they'll beat the Chargers, right? I mean, they're 6-8, they have nothing to play for...

Okay okay, so they lost four in a row. They can still get in, all they have to do is beat the sorry Patriots and...wait, they lost AGAIN?!?!

Only real differences are that this time around the first three losses came on the road instead of at home, and (so far) the supposed star QB has actually played. But both times there was a road loss to the Chargers, the collapse started with an NFC matchup, and the Bills were involved. Pats game was on the road too.

I am actually fascinated to see how this plays out.

McDaniel wanted to see his team face adversity? Well, it's here. And it's probably much worse than he was hoping for.

To see how the team - and McDaniel / Tua especially - will be really interesting to watch.

One thing last night did for me: It took the emotion of the season totally away. It was just too much watching this hapless offense and toothless defense. Any dream of winning the AFC east has been dashed, and the playoffs seem like some unattainable fairy tale.

I just want to see if this team responds in a good way - to a season which has clearly reached "the brink"...

white1 wrote:One thing last night did for me:  It took the emotion of the season totally away.  It was just too much watching this hapless offense and toothless defense.  Any dream of winning the AFC east has been dashed, and the playoffs seem like some unattainable fairy tale.

I just want to thank you for understanding how I feel and why I feel it.

I can see how you'd think it would be interesting, you're still *just* enough of an optimist to think they can pull out of this death dive. I see it as a foregone conclusion, which is never interesting even when viewed with complete objectivity and no emotion involved. But that's fine. Maybe you'll be right.

Speaking of past Dolphins December death dives, this situation also reminds me of '97.

Fins had a stretch where they scored 24, 30, 24, 34 and 33 to reach 9-5 (with a JJ offense, no less ) and then all of a sudden...they get shut out by the 2-13 Colts and lose to the Pats 14-12 because just like this season the offense suddenly got figured out overnight.

(Speaking of which, there seems to be a myth going around that the Fins mostly just lose December games on the road in cold weather. And over the past 35 years they have, but they've also lost many many December games in domes, at places like San Diego and at home too. The tendency of this team to collapse in December transcends mere earthly forces such as weather.)

At least that team made the playoffs where they...lost to the Pats again 17-3. And from everything I read and heard about that game, the Pats ought to be ashamed they even allowed the 3! Oh, and OC Gary Stevens was fired afterwards and never got back up to coordinator level again.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1997.htm

And then there's '99, when the only thing keeping JJ's final team from losing their last SIX and missing the playoffs after an 8-2 start was a goal line stand against, ironically, the Chargers. And Marino started every game in that stretch, too.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1999.htm

white1 wrote:
One thing last night did for me:  It took the emotion of the season totally away.

Absolutely. And for me, that's a good thing. I'm a much better person when I'm watching the Dolphins play with no real expectations of winning. It's like flipping a switch. I can just sit there and watch, and whatever happens happens - I have no investment.

Fortunately last night I knew the game was over after I saw each team's first series. As I posted in the game thread, I just had a bad feeling. I had all my Dolphins gear off and put away long before halftime started, and actually wrote the majority of my 'game thoughts' post at halftime and into the 3rd quarter. I didn't yell at the bad plays, I didn't cheer at the few good plays - I just watched.

I do expect the Dolphins to win a couple more games and make the playoffs, just because they have 3 winnable games after the Bills, but if I'm wrong so be it.

Yeah, I don't know why I got suckered again... That damnable Lucy Trigger will show up... eventually.  Who knew that was what we were seeing right before the half ended in the Houston game???

It was like some vile, nefarious practitioner of the evil mystic arts chanted the curse and the Lucy Trigger went into effect... the wheels came off the Dolphins playoff wagon and the long ago distant chants of "MVP!" for Tua were gone; not even a distant echo faintly heard to remind Phins Phans of that long gone empty forlorn hope.

In any event, I figured BEFORE the season anywhere from 8-9, 9-7, or maybe even 10-7.  Right now, 10-7 would be an "inconceivable" magical GIFT IMO. This team has flaws, holes, and a supreme lack of quality depth but now I am beginning to wonder if my concerns about a first time HC are legitimate. Even with all the flaws and holes and lack of depth, the last two games look like a horrendous lack of gameplanniung and adjustments by the offense and the defense.


10-7? Simply Inconceivable at this point.

JMP wrote:I do expect the Dolphins to win a couple more games and make the playoffs, just because they have 3 winnable games after the Bills, but if I'm wrong so be it.  

I promise not to rub it in. By that point I might not even be posting anyway, for one thing.