Talking Ourselves Into Believing the Miami Dolphins Are Good

Ryan Yousefi wrote:While the Dolphins' four straight wins have us feeling warm and fuzzy inside, forgive us if we're having a hard time buying that this miraculous turnaround is a sign of things to come. Dolphins fans are a jaded bunch with lots of scar tissue from injuries inflicted by the John Becks, Chad Hennes, and Ray Lucases of the world. We lived those days. They happened.
It might be time to come to terms with the fact that the Dolphins are actually good at football. Not a believer? Let's talk it over and see if we can't change your mind.

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/talking-ourselves-into-believing-the-miami-dolphins-are-good-8231820

This is a good article to remind us what the Dolphins really are.

I understand and I can empathize.

What we are seeing this season is a reversal of the very forces that aligned to bring in the Chad Henne, John Beck, Ray Lucas types. Bad front office structures with poor or past-their-prime talent evaluation (Parcells), poor coaches, bad drafts and bad big-splash free agent signings.

To an extent, we are seeing improvement across all those areas, and we are seeing signs that the team is going towards a power running attack with a game manager, deep-threat QB at the helm. Coupled with a solid defense and pass rush, this recipe is tried and true.

Front office talent evaluation remains suspect, but the past couple drafts at least netted some players that are very good starters, if not pro-bowl caliber. Plus we do have elite talent like Suh and Jones.

Overall, a very different squad resulting in a very different opinion on our future, which is a stark departure from the past decade or so.

The roster is full of holes.  Overall talent-level on this team is not good, particularly on D, and will be our undoing this season.

That said, 2016 is about establishing a culture and establishing strong schemes on both sides of the ball.  So far, mission accomplished on all counts.  The schemes the coaching staff have implemented are solid and are able to hide the warts on this roster - and that is GREAT.  This team now has direction and identity, and it's easy to see a plan for moving forward.

So, are the Dolphins good?  I'd say they're OK this season, and should at least be in the playoff hunt - even though I ultimately expect them to miss the playoffs.  But I don't care too much about this season.  I'm much more concerned about the future, and right now it's FINALLY starting to look bright. 

The key is the draft.  The Miami drafts MUST get better and the team needs to start focusing on difference-makers instead of role players.

The final two games of the '13 season scarred me far worse than Fiedler, Lucas, Beck and Henne combined.

I've decided to just feel however I want about things. Right now I want to feel good, so I am. If this turns out to be a mirage and they lose out, I'm not going to let it affect me.

Well, not *too* much anyway...

As long as Ryan Tannehill is the Dolphin's QB they will never be an elite team.

Going into the season, I said I would be satisfied with 8 wins, especially if the team shows development.

Well, we are seeing development for sure, and now 8 wins doesn't seem like enough. I'm hoping for 9, and would be thrilled with more than that.

We are finding ways to win. Two weeks ago, it was Drake with a kickoff return. Last week, Alonso with a pick-6. Yesterday, Tannehill delivers two touchdowns over the last 6 minutes of the game. I stole that from Armando, only fair to return the favor

Anyways, looking at our schedule and the resilience of this team, along with the improvement of Tannehill, and the solid play of our defense, 9 wins feels achievable. We've suffered key injuries, and yet we still do enough to get the job done.

Outside of the Patriots, the Ravens may be the most dangerous team we face. They played well against the Cowboys yesterday, but Dez Bryant played like a beast and Elliott eventually overwhelmed their defense. They will present a very tough challenge for us. Never underestimate Harbaugh, Flacco, and the Ravens defense.

However, the 49ers, Cardinals, Jets and Bills do not scare me. We can go 3-1 against those teams. That gets us to 9 wins. I like our chances more if our offensive line gets well again. Our defense keeps improving, and that's going to be key.