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While most of the stuff you read today and tomorrow will be about giving thanks, I have decided to write a little piece on what I am not thankful for on the Miami Dolphins.
Let me just say first that I do, in fact, have a lot to be thankful for, and I appreciate what I have in life. I am not encouraging you to start thinking about things that you aren't thankful for, because that isn't healthy and helps nothing. I encourage you to think about everything that you have in your life and appreciate it because there are a lot of people that would love to have what you do. I will be writing solely about the failures of the Miami Dolphins and why I am not thankful for those failures.
So, with that being said, I have a bunch of things not to be thankful for in the Miami Dolphins Organization, and here are a few:
Dan Henning, Offensive Coordinator
Who else would you have me start off with? I have been writing so much about Dan Henning this past week that it is getting old, so I am going to keep this short and simple. Just know that he has been terrible this year in play calling, and he hasn't been able to work the offense around his players' strengths.
A .500 Record
Blame it on whomever you want, but a .500 record in a division with the Jets and Patriots and a tough conference like the AFC just isn't good enough. I expected a lot more from this team, and they have disappointed. It is incredible how little the Miami Dolphins have been able to use their weapons on offense.
This has made players like Davone Bess and Brian Hartline do well, but they haven't been able to make up for the mediocre numbers of Brandon Marshall, Ronnie Brown, and Ricky Williams.
Injuries
This is what has really hurt the Miami Dolphins recently. A few weeks ago I believed that the Dolphins still had a good shot at making the playoffs, but injuries have been consistently popping up all over the roster, and they have, pretty much, crippled Miami this year.
The offensive line has been hit the worst, though, and it really showed with a scoreless effort against the Bears on Thursday night. I am not completely sure what the Dolphins should try and do to prevent injuries from piling up so badly, but I hope they can figure something out before next year.
17.2 Points Per Game
That is 29th worst in the league. That is unacceptable for a team whose owner predicted the Miami Dolphins would be in the Super Bowl this year. With so many weapons you would think that the Dolphins would be scoring more than 28 other teams in the NFL instead of scoring less than 28 teams, but that isn't the case here. This is largely Dan Henning's fault, and it should be fixed by next year if the Dolphins want to be successful in the near future.
Brandon Marshall's Inability To Score
This goes with the 17.2 points per game, but it is still an issue of its own. Brandon Marshall is a beast, plain and simple, which is why I am baffled that Dan Henning doesn't find ways to use him more, and that he doesn't find better ways to use him.
Marshall has 58 receptions and 693 yards. How do you only score one touchdown with 693 receiving yards? I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but leave it to Dan Henning to find a way.
Special Teams
Special teams for Miami hasn't been really bad lately since the Dolphins promoted Darren Rizzi to Special Teams coordinator, but it cost the Dolphins early in the season. It cost them the game against the Patriots, and it hurt them numerous times before Rizzi came in. Miami's return game was largely useless, and they allowed a lot of long kick returns by other teams. Rizzi seems to have cleaned up Miami's special teams for the most part now.
Note that I am not including Dan Carpenter in this, because he has been great and has won the Dolphins multiple games that the offense couldn't.
That is most of what I am not thankful for on the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have had a couple of things to be thankful for, like the play of Cameron Wake, Vontae Davis, Brian Hartline, and Davone Bess, but not nearly as much as things not to be thankful for.
Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment letting me know if there is anything not to be thankful for that I have left out.
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