We are what are record says we are guys. We have not beat a team with a winning record this season. Could have, should have, and we could be 7-1, but we are not. We are a 4-4 team and it's still exciting since we are winning. Did any of else actually think we would win the SB this year? Let's enjoy the season week by week and hope for improvment. At least we have a QB that can keep us in games and not throw a pick a game. He will only get better next year with some playmakers and a new LT that can actually stay healthy and block.

I agree with you Mak. This team has a long way to go and upgrades to find.

Seems the team needs to find a killer instict. They either blow teams out or lose close games. I'd like to see a couple of 4th quarter victories led by a Tannehill drive. Don't get me wrong, I think the kid is legit, I just want to see him win a couple of games to build that confidence up.

I'm wondering if some better execution, comfort and maturity could alleviate some of the defense and blocking issues, as opposed to finding new pieces. However, I'll agree that as it stands today I would not pay Long a huge deal.

How many fans thought we'd be 4-4 at this point of the season? I was thinking 5-6 wins this seasons, so, I'll take the .500 record. It is hard, but let's not get too far ahead of this team. Right now we are a .500 team, nothing else.

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I'd say "more" pieces, not new ones. Sean can start. Carroll and Jimmy Wilson are nice role players. But those two can't be 2/3 of your nickel package.

Everybody is looking at WR, but like I've been saying all summer and fall, pass rusher will be this team's first pick next year. I'd put money on that. They need a rush on 1st and 2nd down and need to be able to provide pressure with 4 guys on 3rd down. They can't be blitzing every 3rd down situation, especially against smart, accurate, timing QB's like Luck.

I expect them to bounce back next week against Tennessee. I think the 0-13 stat came into play in this game. They clearly didn't put in the work during the week that they had the previous one.

Coyle's coaching was awful. Why you're CB's have outside, off coverage technique on 3rd down and long when you're blitzing your inside linebackers is completely beyond me. Also, why no CB blitzes? Luck killed us outside the pocket, and we kept forcing him outside the pocket with inside blitzes. Just a stupid game plan with no adjustments.

I was thinking 10-6 if Matt Moore or David Garrard were the QB. However I lowered those expectations when RT came in mainly because rookies rarely take a team to 10-6. So with RT, I was thinking around 6-10 - 8-8 depending on luck.

I don't like this question though. This team has only been beaten once this year. They've beat themselves 3 times now. Good teams don't beat themselves. So while I watched a 3-0 streak and got buoyed by a team that prided themselves on not making mistakes, I'm now back to square 1. I have no idea where they'll finish. Probably .500 and missing the playoffs again. The only thing I know for sure is that they still have a bad habit of building my expectations only to let me down. So I'm back to the land of low expectations no matter what they do over the next 3 weeks. They could beat NE only to lose to J'ville the following week...so until they're in, I'll just sit here biding my time.

BTW...RT had a golden opportunity to prove to the team and himself he can carry the team. First down on the 50 behind by 3 is what most great QBs live for. The opportunity was there and he failed. He had a decent game and you can't fault him for the loss but he has yet to bring the team from behind. Until he does that, he will remain a 2nd tier prospect.

That is the problem with these guys. Their wins seem to come from other teams just falling apart or not executing. I'm not overly confident in them winning a shootout or executing on a final drive. A lot of it has to do with simply new coaches and schemes. It takes time (redundant statement of the year). Not a Super Bowl team but I think they have the personnel to be a winning team.

They are definitely better than I thought they'd be at this point and I've enjoyed watching some guys play at a higher level than anticipated.

I agree. Some in the media were saying we would win only 4-5 games. We've already matched their expectations.

I'll agree with the comment about Ryan leading some comebacks. We need to see that. Yesterday Luck was able to, now I want to see Ryan do it.
I think his accuracy issues yesterday may have been attributed to his leg being not 100%. He seemed uncharacteristically inaccurate in the 4th quarter on some of those crucial passes. I expect to see him win a few games on the last drive this season yet. He is developing far ahead of most people's expectations.

No. They lose when they give away the game by making mistakes. It has nothing to do with the other team falling apart. Missed FGs, INTs dropped that hit you in the hands, plays left on the field is what is killing them.

No. They lose when they give away the game by making mistakes. It has nothing to do with the other team falling apart. Missed FGs, INTs dropped that hit you in the hands, plays left on the field is what is killing them.

Bingo.

I had us pegged at around .500 and thought anything 8-8 or better is a step in the right direction. Now, after seeing Tannehill play the past month, I think this team is completely capable of not only going 9-7, but possibly sneeking into the playoffs. We're one game back of the Patriots for the AFC East lead, and we're still in the thick of the Wildcard hunt. Five of our last eight games are at home, that means if we simply win our home games we'll finish 9-7. I think we'll be in contention all the way into the last game of the year, if we finish above .500 then I think we might just get a Wildcard birth. Not too shabby for a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback.

At 4-4 this team is no doubt better than I expected ..... still incomplete, but I'm happy they're not out there embarrassing themselves.

After 8 games, the running attack has virtually disappeared which in turn has dragged the passing offense down with it since we do not have personnel to attack consistently. I'm also still waiting on the first "Tanne-kill" .... the AZ game was as close to one as possible, albeit the Cardinals have been a joke ever since. We have an overall pedestrian scoring offense. The play at the tackle spot has been almost dreadful. On defense, if the pass rush cannot generate sacks it's clear that this secondary is still suspect at getting stops or making key plays. We're so stout vs. the run that I believe as the season progresses, teams will attempt to substitute the run via the short passing and screen game which looks to be wearing these guys out at times.

Kudos to the special teams unit. For the most part it's playing it's backside off, especially Thigpen.

In the mean time, Omar Kelly was tweeting stats on Tannehill and Martin ....

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I'm very happy to see this team at 4-4 right now when you consider how young this team is and the pieces this team still needs.

Ryan Tannehill has played exceptionally well at the quarterback position, especially when you consider the kid has played 19 games at quarterback, or a season plus in the college game. Andrew Luck has played a lot more while at Stanford and it shows. Still, I am very happy with what I see in Ryan and he can only get better with more weapons around him.

I think you can also make a case that Luck has more weapons to work with, as the Colts did a nice job of drafting young talent around him when you look at the young TE's they drafted in Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, the retained Reggie Wayne and drafted burner T.Y Hilton out of FIU. Donnie Avery is another wide receiver that can stretch the field also.

The Dolphins are another good, solid draft and free agency class away from being a solid contender. They have cap space and draft picks, and even though they have some big decisions to make, this team has the ammunition to get better.

Right now the Dolphins need more pass rush help and a big play wide receiver and a tight end that can be a threat down the seams of a defense. Charles Clay could be that, but he has not shown enough so far. More cornerbacks need to be added as well.

At the beginning of the year I would have been happy with 6-10, 7-9. 8-8 would have been more than I could have asked.

Sure, the team could easily be 7-1, but it is what it is. I really believe this team finally is going in the right direction with a quarterback of the future and a young team that only can get better.

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Did you read my post? I didn't say a word about why they lose. All I said was their 4 victories came when other teams sucked. They have yet to BEAT a team down the stretch with a game winning or convincing drive. That is why they won't get too far this year.

I completely agree with what you're saying about why they lose. They beat themselves and lose as a team or choke in key moments.

I agree, it appears that we're one draft away from being a good football team. Right now we're mediocre. We have five picks in the first three rounds. I think we could very easily address most of our issues with those picks. Whatever else we can fill in with free agents. I think Ireland and Philbin will have a team fully built around Tannehill by 2014 and we'll be a very good football team that is set up to run the AFC East for a long time.

I am very happy to see the team playing the way it is.
I do find it funny the mention of a new LT. This past offseason I advocated trading Long before his value went crashing downhill, but I was told I was completely crazy.

This past offseason I advocated trading Long before his value went crashing downhill, but I was told I was completely crazy

He had a good year and a bad year. This was the year to find out about Long. Hindsight 20/20 and you were right (you're still crazy though...lol) about Long. The problem is that Long was under the old salary rules for draft picks and it's hard to trade players for it counts agaisnt the cap. This isn't Madden.

The best thing we can do with Jake is let him play the season out, then put a 1st round tender on the guy after the season is over. Teams will no doubt be drooling at the chance to get the guy, afterall he's an All-Pro left tackle and perennial Pro Bowler. Despite his struggles this season, I think a lot of teams will be willing to chalk it up to him not fitting the zone blocking scheme. I think a lot of teams would still want a big bulldozer of a left tackle like Long.

That and if a team is trading a supposed building block, franchise LT then red flags would be going up and the price would fall. He's not a malcontent and Miami doesn't need to dump salary at this point so teams would wonder why Miami is pursuing this move.

Maybe he isn't what he was a few years ago, but I'm sure most teams would prefer him to their current option. The big question is whether or not Miami wants to overpay for his services and risk a guy who has injury issues.

I'd say pass on the long term big money deal. Long simply hasn't proven he can be a long term asset in this offense just yet. He will need to improve drastically over the 2nd half of the season to even be in consideration for a big money long term deal in my eyes. At this point, I'd rather see us let him play out the season, then put a 1st round tender on the guy.

I thought my odds of being right were pretty good. The warning signs were there. I knew it would be a risk if they did it and Dolphins Nation would have been in an uproar.

Thing about the cap part is that he was in the last year of his contract. It wouldn't have been a problem.

Now Mak, you will have to start giving me credit for being the football genius that I know I am!!!

Now Mak, you will have to start giving me credit for being the football genius that I know I am!!!

Never doubted you bro!