As I prepared and waited all year, starting from January of this year until September, I had excitement built for the 2004 football season. Starting January and continuing through the summer months, I was very excited for my team and how they will perform this year because of some good pickups. Then with one decision by one man, the season and the organization really took a downhill turn and it is rolling quickly down to the bottom as the season is moving along. My excitement turned to worrying and then move after move helped improve that and built my hope high up until kickoff, but now as the season is three weeks in, the season is basically over because of bad moves in the off season having more to do with the front office and not as much to do with Ricky Williams leaving. The time to start cleaning up and getting rid of some bad parts is after this season, too bad that it’s a few too late.
Let me just make it clear who my team is. I am talking about the Miami Dolphins. An organization with pride and always making smart decisions, taking care of their players, willing to give up anything and pay up to put a good team out there every season. This is a team I have enjoyed seasons of 9, 10, 11 wins every football year with my worst season as a fan coming at 8-8 because of rebuilding and new coaching. Have I been spoiled? Probably so, but that also makes this season even harder to accept.
Several key pickups during the winter and spring were supposed to help, a new playmaker at WR, new offensive lineman, new QB, added depth in the secondary. But all have seemed to be bad pickups, not the defensive side of course, they are always good, but the ones that were supposed to take this offense to the next level, and sure Ricky Williams was supposed to be part of this plan, but that is one guy and a whole team doesn’t sink with one guy.
The Dolphins have started off 0-3 for the first time since 1969 and there are several reasons, but mostly because of bad coaching, bad decisions, and a man that decided to quit on his team.
This summer, one week before camp was to open, one of the best RB’s in football decided to quit on his team, and go smoke pot for a living. First it was he wanted to do something else and didn’t have a heart for the game any longer, and then it was he wanted to be free of rules and smoke pot, and finally it was that he wanted more money and wanted to run less. That to me sounds like a man in a lost world, a place where we could never understand without being there ourselves. So I could sit here and blame him for leaving one week before camp, but then again, I don’t think he even understands or knows what he wants in life, so he has more issues to work with and deal with and he needs to work those out, that is something past football and past me or any other football fan to look at and judge, it is about LIFE itself.
Although that was a tough pill to swallow, the Dolphins can sit there and point their finger right at themselves. By Dolphins, I am talking about the GM and the Head Coach. Those two guys were the ones that ruined the 2004 season by making bad moves and roster changes. Ricky left, but that was one guy. The whole offensive line was revamped, and yes the 2003 line was bad, but not terrible. They gave up a 2nd round draft pick for AJ Feely, a 3rd string guy in Philadelphia. They traded away their leading sack guy for a WR and 3rd round pick, and then used the 3rd round pick to trade for a RB from St. Louis, which by the way was 3rd string and now, out for the season. All these moves were all bad. Why not let go of the worst 2 linemen and sign the 2 they did, and use the rookie they drafted to build it and make it stronger. Why not sign one of the QB’s that are veterans out there, Warner, Collins, anybody but Feely!!
Yes the Dolphins lost a star RB, but were they forced to cut the whole offensive line and sign just 1 or 2 talented guys and the rest equal to those cut? All that did was make it harder for the line to gel. Oh and I failed to mention, the one guy they did keep was the worst lineman last year that lost a couple games himself and now is on the bench after two games. Did they have to start the season with a 3rd string RB and 3rd string QB as their main guys? The answer is no and it goes back to bad decisions by the organization that has nothing to do with a man leaving to smoke pot. Why not get a better QB that could carry this team more and not have to depend on if a star RB was available, a QB with more experience, option of keeping some of the offensive line together so there would be some unity, and for the past 5 seasons picking offensive guys in the draft and not always on the defensive side of the ball. For all football fans out there, here is a perfect example of thinking about defense and not the whole team, Anquan Boldin was passed up last season in the draft for Eddie Moore. Yes, Pro Bowler Boldin for a guy on the team as a backup LB. Make sense? No, me either, but the Wannstedt era has had plenty of head scratches.
The Dolphins need to get a new head coach, and a new GM, and look forward to bringing in some guys who are missing pieces. Because as bad as this team looks, there are a lot of defensive stars on this team and key pieces and several top NFL playmakers on the offensive side of the ball but with no QB to throw it to them. Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, David Boston (back in 2005), Randy McMichael are all top notch playmakers and all capable of being stars in this league. The Dolphins owe it to those stars on offense to let them show their talents by getting a QB that can use them and a line that can block. Most of all, they surely owe it to the defensive players that have put all their heart into each game, guys like Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, guys that have tried to carry this team and have kept Miami in each game so far, just to watch the QB give the other team 7 points in 2 of the 3 games, basically the game. The only way they can get this team back on track, start cleaning the mess and it all starts in the front office and right down to every coach on that staff.
So my advice to my team and I hope they follow, it is time to move on and fire Dave Wannstedt and get a guy in there that can use the talent he has, because with a top 5 Defense every season, and even with Ricky Williams for two, he still had his team watching the playoffs from home, and that is just unacceptable when there are 7 pro bowlers on a defense and the RB of the team leads the NFL in rushing. I think that is all you need to know about Wannstedt and his ability to coach in the NFL. Having a top D and a great RB should mean playoffs, if you think that isn’t enough in this league, go talk to Baltimore and Carolina and Tampa Bay and see how far you can go with a good coach and a talented and great D!
6 replies on “The Dolphins Need to Clean Up”
Hate to break it to you…. …but the Dolphins probably werent goin anywhere this season anyway, ricky or not. ricky’s retirement is just a sad excuse for dolphins fans so they dont have to admit their team is bad.
Sure they have a good defense, but an aging less explosive one at that. And they have ZERO offense. I like what Fiedler has done in his career, hes a winner, but cmon, you cant keep switiching between QB’s every week. Dave i cant spell his last name should be fired already. Hes had enough second chances. And where are the recievers. i thought McMichael and Chambers were dependable recievers, so fare they have done nothing.
This team wa heading in a sad direction and its juss gettin worse.
i agree well, im as diehard a Dolphins fan as you find, and i agree Wannstedt has to go, and also agree this team was built poorly this year, so Ricky or not, the line would of done nothing in terms of holes or blocking for any QB….take Marino and Ricky and put them back tehre and they still are terrible beacuse the line is terrible. i do have to say that McMicheal is a great player and so is Chambers, but how do guys that catch the ball show up to play if a QB cant get the ball there OR if there is no blocking by the line for the QB to even take a look down the field? and i must disagree, the defense is in its prime, 30 yrs old isnt old, Jason Taylor and Zach are in their few years of the top of their game, and Surtain is great…and there has been some youth added this year, so the defense sint a worry, coaching and the offense(mainly QB and line) are!
great players in my opinion, a great player is someone who can perform at a high level and it doesnt matter who your supporting cast is. Terrell Owens with the 49ers. A great player on a bad team these last few seasons. McMichael and Chambers are talented, but they lost a few points in my book cause they havent responded well under pressure.
Great players? I agree that TO is a great player, and in my opinion I think Randy McMicheal is one of the better TE’s in this league, and Chambers can be one of the best WR’s in this league…..but I didn’t say that they are great players, i said they are top playmakers in the NFL, which is true, they are…..but, I also said:
Randy McMichael and Chambers are all top notch playmakers and all capable of being stars in this league.
Keywords there are “capable of being stars in this league”, i realize they arent TO, but I think they can be up in that category, I do think McMicheal can be Tony Gonzalez in a better offense and Chambers can be in the top 5 WR’s in the NFL, but how can they perform under pressure when the QB can’t get them the ball?????? I have to disagree with that, a WR and TE can do so much…and last time i checked TO didn’t have such a great year last year in SF, just a few TD’s to state the facts, and that is all he had, which goes to show no WR can perform up to their level if they play with a QB that cant seem to throw a football or with a line that cant block….but that might be just me, but i must say I have watched both players and have seen them in many games since they came into the league, and they are really good and in my opinion, 2 of the best but its too bad right now they cant show it, but hopefully soon they will.
qoute i do have to say that McMicheal is a great player and so is Chambers
moving on…
Well i havent really seen the Dolphins play too much this season, but to me, it seems that McMichale and Chambers arent even on the field. I rarly heard announcers talk about these players after they make a big play. it seems they arent even apart of the team. If not recieving the ball, the they should eb showing those crappy linemen how to block, they should just go in and kick the crap outta somebody. Randys a big guy, he can handle it.
Agree to disagree Yes, in my opinion they are great players, but I guess in your definition, i should say really good? I did state that they are capable of being stars because even though I say great, i consider them to be a level down from the stars in the league, currently. so i agree with you that they arent at that level yet, and by your definition i will say they are really good players.
as for not hearing about them, a player isnt talked about much unless they have a chance to make a play, and for them to do that they need a pass to catch. now, Randy is a great blocker, and a leader, he got up into the OLINE’s faces and had a few things to say to try to get them going, just a few games back…..he plays with emotion and with leadership and does anything he can when he does see a pass to make it into a good play….and he blocks, and leads, and catches and just makes plays….i have seen 3 of the 4 games Miami has played and i will just say Randy has been talked about a lot, including this past weekend against the Jets when it seemed he was the only one doing anything good….since Chambers was out of this game with an injury.
so as far as saying the announcers arent saying much about the guys, well, after 3 games this year, i have to say chambers hasnt been talked about much but Randy has…..and they are both good blockers but you wont hear an announcer say anything about blocking because one thing that isnt something they give praise for as much as they should and the other thing…..and i have watched and analyzed Miami this year for the 3 games so i have seen it…..the RB never gets more than 2 yds, a WR has no chance ot show he can block down the field if the play never makes it past the DLINE……and if you dont believe me, look up the Dolphins yards per carry this year and see for yourself…..so both can catch, both can block, and i dont judge talent by what an announcer has to say, but that is just me.
Here you go: 4 90 239 2.7(average/carry)
239 yds in 4 games? are you kidding me? This article was about how bad Miami’s offense is this year and who is to blame. I will stand by the comment that Chambers and Randy are stars and would be top notch with a better offense, or should i say QB and line. Funny thing is…randy is already in the top 3 TE’s in this league:
Eric Johnson SFO 4 28 298 74.5 10.6 25 2.0 16 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 1 1
Randy McMichael MIA 4 24 274 68.5 11.4 37 4.9 18 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Alge Crumpler ATL 4 16 250 62.5 15.6 33 5.3 10 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
But I will agree to disagree…..since you think they arent that great and arent talked about by the announcers, then ok. I would still have to say they are in the top few in their positions. More Randy than Chmabers because i know TO and Harrison and Moss and some others are better at this point in their careers.
Thanks for all the comments though, been fun reading and seeing other views.