Same Old Song and Dance from the Miami Dolphins

Tell me if this sounds familiar: the Dolphins lost yesterday.

I could recap individual performances of note or game-changing plays, but it doesn’t matter. Who put up stats or made plays isn’t of any importance right now. It doesn’t matter that Chad Henne had a 90.4 QB rating. It doesn’t even matter that Henne threw an interception on fourth down to seal the Dolphins’ fate. The only thing that matters is this regime is over.

It’s time to go back to the drawing board.

The Bill Parcells regime (this is still the Bill Parcells regime) needs to go. Their strategy, drafts, and signings have been met with mixed results. The Dolphins returned to the playoffs the year the regime took over. The fan base was enamored by the team that went 1-15 the previous year making the playoffs. But since then, the Dolphins have been nothing more but mediocre.

Their performance yesterday only highlighted this team’s deficiencies. The defense can’t make any plays. The offensive line, despite all of the money invested, can’t protect Henne. The offense can’t make the plays it needs to in order to convert crucial downs. The offense can’t score a touchdown from the red zone.

Whether all of this is Henne’s fault is also irrelevant (although, some of the blame does fall on him). He is a part of the Parcells regime and, likewise, needs to go. I have been a Henne supporter since he arrived, but the truth is he is missing that “it” factor that makes good players great and great players special. I don’t need to explain “it” any further because anyone who watches sports, or pays attention in life, knows what I am talking about. It is that intangible trait that allows certain people to succeed much more often than they fail. That trait inspires confidence in those around them that results in everyone else increasing their effort. Henne is missing that gene.

Some argue for and some argue against the “Suck for Luck” theory. I’m against it, mostly because I know that the Dolphins have too much talent to finish with the worst record in the NFL. This team is nothing like the 2007 squad that lost 15 games and got the number one overall pick in the draft as its prize. For that reason, Andrew Luck will not be a Miami Dolphin.

But just because we are unlikely to get Luck doesn’t mean we can’t get a quarterback in the first few picks of the first round. Two quarterbacks that could potentially be available are Landry Jones and Matt Barkley. The problem is that both could still return to school, as could Andrew Luck. Even if the Dolphins couldn’t draft one of those three quarterbacks, they need a change at the position. Drafting a player like Nick Foles or Ryan Tannehill in the second round would be an option. Henne, Sparano, and this whole regime are not the answers.

Since this regime is not the answer, it is best to cut bait now. No need to wait any longer than after next week’s game against the San Diego Chargers. If the inevitable is going to happen, it is better to do it soon so that players on the roster can be evaluated and whoever the interim coach will be can be evaluated.

It is terrible to think that the Dolphins should be playing for next season after Week 3, but it is for the best. If the team takes the necessary steps now, it will hasten the process of returning to contender status, which is something this team and its fans have not known for a long time.


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