There are so many ways to look at this upcoming game, and the opportunity it presents for our team. Indifference is an acceptable viewpoint. Disgust and ignoring this game altogether is also an acceptable viewpoint, after all, we’re fanatics, and emotions run high when you’re a fanatic, so after 5 straight losses there will be some at that far end of the spectrum who have just tuned. Hope is absolutely an acceptable viewpoint, and I’d say most of us here, despite what we might say here, or even to ourselves and our families, hold some hope that our Miami Dolphins can suit up at hard Rock Stadium, even with their 3rd string rookie 7th RD pick Skylar Thompson starting at QB, and just go out there and demolish the Jets. OK, maybe even eke out a win in a tough fought battle, hopefully not a sloppy win. A win that shows me this team somehow deserves to be in the playoffs, because despite the 5 straight losses, as my level headed friend Stanger says, ALL the games count, and the 9-8 record, while not impressive, qualifies us for the playoffs.
The cancellation of the Bills vs Bengals games has thrown quite a strange monkey wrench into the 2022 NFL Playoff structure. I’m not going to get into all the scenarios at the top because frankly, none of that applies to our Dolphins who are at the bottom of this structure, and possible even the very bottom, depending upon who wins this Sunday. There may be coin flips to determine which team has home field for certain games, and other games may be played at neutral sites if necessary if top seeding issues occur.
Our game Sunday is the big concern. Our team must step up, and take care of their own business. They need their best players to show up big, not just put on the uniform and go through the motions. It’s not how I wanted us to get into the playoffs, especially when we were 8-3 and the #2 seed, but getting a win Sunday gets us in. That’s the focus, get the W. We have a lot of talent on this roster, and those guys need to lead this team to a win, and that means Tyreek Hill, Xavien Howard, Bradley Chubb, Melvin Ingram, Christian Wilkins, Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips, Jerome Baker all need to have a positive impact on this game. The Jets have a better defense, way better, but our defense needs to be better on Sunday. I feel like we can always say in some way or another, “The defense didn’t lose this game”, but how many times this season could we say “The defense WON the game”? That’s what we need to be able to say this weekend. I can only imagine we will be very conservative on offense this weekend, the Jets strength on defense is their pass defense. The Jets have 44 sacks which is 7th in the NFL. They are 2nd in the NFL in yards allowed with 3080 yards passing. The Jets are 2nd in passing TD’s allowed at 15. I don’t think Mike McDaniel is going to have Skylar Thompson throwing the ball all over Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.
All hands on deck!!! Those that are injured, with the exception of QB Tua Tagovailoa who is still in NFL concussion protocol have to do their best to play, and play well to help this team get a win. LT Terron Armstead did not practice Thursday, but you have to think he’ll be playing on Sunday. The other non participants in Thursday’s practice were T Kendall Lamm, T Eric Fisher, and WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. (hip injury). The Dolphins have now placed T Eric Fisher on IR, so signing Fisher at all was a waste. Of those three, most likely Cedric Wilson is the only one who may play. Notably absent from the injury list in any form whatsoever are our running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., which is oh so important. RB Myles Gaskin is on IR and will probably not play again in 2022, so that leaves a healthy Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Salvon Ahmed. I’m hoping to see an awful lot of running, and not a lot of running awful. We need this run game to be at its best against the Jets. We can throw the ball, but they have to be easy completions, we can’t go out and challenge that secondary. We have to get the ball in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle’s hands somehow because they are the playmakers. Screen passes, end arounds, jet sweeps, all of the above but we have to have our best guys handling the ball.
The Jets on the other hand will be playing loose, they have already been eliminated so their focus is ending our season. It’s a legitimate rally cry, “The Dolphins don’t make the playoffs through us!!!” Veteran QB Joe Flacco will be starting. Joe Flacco is very much like the Jets current situation, playing for pride. This is no audition for a starting job, and Mike White’s absence in this game leads me to believe that White is is a strong candidate in the mix for the starting QB job next season. QB Zach Wilson simply hasn’t earned a stronghold on the QB spot, although I find it hard to believe that he’s completely out. I think he’ll be given a fresh start next year and hope he comes in with a more mature mindset and some humility, and comes in and works hard to regain respect from his teammates who clearly made a choice donning Mike White t-shirts during the season. We need X to shut down Garret Wilson and either Keion Crossen or Kader Kohou to shut down Corey Davis. We need no running space for Zonovan “Bam” Knight or Michael Carter. I assume Crossen will be on the outside again and Kohou inside which means Kohou will be on slot receiver Elijah Moore most of the time. I think the Jets will be taking shots, again, there’s no consequence if they lose.
Playing loose and not having any consequence is a double sided coin though. If things are going well while you’re under those circumstances, it can snowball and the loose team with nothing to play for but pride and the chance to play spoiler can really take off (no pun intended) (maybe). On the other hand, if the Dolphins come out hot on both sides of the ball, score a TD on a long, grinding drive and then force a 3 and out and do the same and then make another stop and score again, sometimes the will of the team playing for nothing can be broken quickly. This is what I’m hoping for, not counting on. Considering the last 5 weeks, and the last 5 losses, it would be foolish to expect this. This is a huge test for Mike McDaniel, as there are reports in Miami that if the Dolphins lose Sunday, there are many heads that might roll, including the rookie HC Mike McDaniel, who at one time had this offense looking like the most prolific offense in Miami since Dan Marino was here. GM Chris Grier is also on the hook here. Of course if the HC goes, the rest of the staff is in peril, and rightly so. I’m tired of this kind of talk. Exhausted really. This cycle has us where we are now, and I believe patience is what is most necessary. There’s no question that Mike McDaniel has a strong offensive mind. What he needs to improve on is in game adjustments. He should be given the chance to do that. That almost certainly means retaining GM Chris Grier, because no GM is going to want to take a job where he can’t handpick his entire staff. I think perhaps the one head that needs to roll is the owner, Stephen Ross. His illegal meddling in affairs has cost this team a heavy penalty, not just the loss of 1st RD picks, but the respect and trust of the NFL, which is so evident in the Tua Tagovailoa concussion issue. No other team has to worry about whether they clear a player in concussion protocol as much as the Dolphins, as it seems like national news that the Dolphins were cleared recently by the NFL that no wrongdoing occurred in the team’s handling of our QB after he showed concussion like symptoms after the Green Bay Packers game. It’s not a good thing to be under the NFL microscope on everything the team does.
#stangerstrong
#DamarHamlinStrong
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
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