Entering this weekend, the Dolphins are 7-6. A wise man, not exactly beloved in South Florida said: “you are what your record says you are.”
That wise man, Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells was familiar with winning football. That same man, earlier this week was compared to one man down in San Francisco as a Parcells type of coach-Jim Harbaugh.
In fact, Armando Salguero said in his column last Monday, that owner Steve Ross could look at Parcells if he makes coaching changes in Miami.
Hmmm. Let’s back up for a minute.
The Dolphins take on the rival Patriots for a chance to keep their playoff hopes alive.
To Dolphins fans, this game is the biggest of the season. For one, winning the game means bragging rights in sweeping New England for the first time since the Saban era, we think. Clearly, the Patriots are a juggernaut at home winning every game stemming back to last year.
This season, the Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is playing nearly identical football with 21 TDs and 9 interceptions. The main difference in Tannehill’s game this season is his yardage. He’s doing more with less, but completing more passes and has a six game streak with better than 65% of his passes completed.
The best and most positive aspects of the Dolphins team have been the play of wide receiver Jarvis Landry. Landry has not only excited the fan base, but he’s made GM Dennis Hickey’s second round pick pay off. One the Dolphins fans weren’t expecting after already had their alpha receiver in Mike Wallace.
At this point, there are those fans that applaud Jarvis Landry because he catches everything, even in traffic, something Mike Wallace doesn’t do, except give excuses for why he doesn’t connect with Tannehill for deep passes.
The question remains, will the Dolphins play good football and play for their coach?
First, the Dolphins have every incentive to win given the murky and uncertain playoff scenarios.
Next, it is possible the Dolphins play up for New England like last year in late October, only to falter in the 4th quarter. However, the Dolphins could play poorly as they did to close out the 2012 season.
One thing remains, do the Dolphins have enough in the tank or does last week’s shouting at Joe Philbin by Jared Odrick ring true of what really is going on in Miami. More dysfunction leads to poor play, correct?
Back to the notion of Harbaugh, it ain’t over until it’s over. We can thank Yogi Berra for that quote.
Phins Up!!!
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