November 27, 2003 is a date Miami fans should recognize. The Dolphins went to Dallas on Thanksgiving and beat the Cowboys 40-21, leaving coach Bill Parcells "a little embarrassed." The question is, was Parcells embarrassed because his team didn’t perform or because Miami scored 40 points. Considering the Dolphins have not achieved the 40-point barrier since, it's Miami that should be embarrassed.
The Miami Dolphins are 17 and 19 since Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill began this epoch in team history. It’s been two seasons and four games of mediocre results featuring astonishing moments of brilliance followed by head-scratching moments of incompetence leaving experts and fans to wonder if expecting more is an exercise in futility.
Analyzing the X’s and O’s, this many passes and that many rushes, offensive play calling and defensive alignments doesn't seem to matter. Perhaps the missing link in Miami has nothing to do with X’s and O’s or on-field assignments but is more about the psychology of winning a football game.
The Dolphins come to play when the stakes are high. In 2013 Miami beat some hefty challengers - the Colts, Falcons, Bengals, Chargers, Steelers, and Patriots. That’s a six-pack of some very good football teams with great QBs. If six of the eight 2013 wins came against playoff teams, that means the losses came against lesser competition.
Miami lost to the Ravens by 3 points, the bills by 2, the Bucs by 3 and the Panthers by 4. After going to New York and blowing out the Jets 23-3, they lost 20-7 at home. The only other team Miami beat by more than 10 points was the Browns and every other victory was in the 4-point range or less. The narrow margin in victory or defeat is enough to make a fan go stark raving mad!
The last time the Miami Dolphins scored 40 points was against our old buddy Bill Parcells 11 years ago. Against the Raiders, Miami led 38-7 in the 3rd quarter and cruised to a 38-14 victory.
Could that one easy victory actually highlight the psychological issues in Miami?
The Dolphins don’t expect to dominate football games…
Oh my, we’re kicking the snot out of the Raiders, how did that happen? The Patriots and the Broncos scored more than 40 points last week. The Giants, the Colts and even the damn Vikings did it the week before. Over here in Miami, it’s been over 11 YEARS since 40 points have blinked on the scoreboard… 11 YEARS!
Good teams do not take their foot off the peddle, they score and score and score, why?
Because they want to kick your ass!!!
They want you to remember the ass kicking when you play them again. They want you to see them on your schedule and mark it off as a loss, a humiliating ass kicking loss! They already have you beat before the game is even played.
Now, sit back and think about our two heroes, Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill… Are you scared, are you thinking, these guys are going to kick our ass!
No, there is no fear, it's wonderment which team and QB will show up!
Miami kicked the Jets ass in New York last year and then showed zero swagger by allowing the same Jet slobs to come into the Dolphins' own house and humiliate them...
What is that??? No Swag... No Swag...
There are no easy wins, there are no inferior opponents in the NFL. There are no easy series of downs, there is no safe lead in the 3rd quarter, this is a gladiator sport and the object is to destroy your opponent so they are scared to play you ever again. Any team deciding not to show up will look, like the Dolphins when they play teams they think they should beat.
Why do the Dolphins have trouble with Buffalo?
Because they kicked Miami's ass and the Fins are scared. SWAG... Buffalo got Swag!
Swag must be in the face of every opponent, on every down. How many great first halves have preceded collapses in the second half? Okay boys, we got this… We’re going to run the ball and eat the clock. Bend but don’t break, let them have some yards and use the clock and we’ll get out of here with a win.
No, you won’t... You lost your SWAG!
If a team was capable of building a huge advantage in the first half, what’s to stop the other team from doing the same in the second? Kick their ass on every play, on every individual performance for the entire game and suddenly 40 points or more appear on the scoreboard. Whoa, it’s magic, it's SWAG!
Hoping Ryan Tannehill is accurate this week is not going to cut it if the present Miami team has any true thoughts of being dominate in the NFL. Domination is not just about winning, it’s about Philbin and Tannehill wanting to kick the other team’s ass, and not stop kicking their ass until the game is over. It's about swag.
The Dolphins need to make teams afraid to play Miami. They need to start this week against a very good Packer team. When Ryan Tannehill shows up with something to prove, he plays like it. When Tannehill shows up with a weak game plan designed to control the clock and keep him on his feet, he plays like a loser. He misses easy throws, makes poor decisions and accepts defeat because he doesn’t play with swag… He plays not to lose.
Tannehill needs to get hit, he needs to play with abandon. Russell Wilson is hit less because he uses his legs instead of sitting in the pocket and playing some game from Dan Marino’s era. The moment Atlanta reigned in Michael Vick, his swag went to the dogs and he has never been the same.
Philbin and Lazor must see the tape and know, when Tannehill moves in the pocket and takes hits running the football on zone reads, he is much more effective. The hits wake him up. The objective is to place talent in a position to kick the opponent’s ass, not play within some system. Play with confidence to the strengths that created a first round draft pick. (confidence is the real word for swag BTW).
If Joe Philbin wants to be a success in the NFL, he will accept nothing less than his players kicking their opponent’s ass on every single play.
When 40 points is expected, the Miami Dolphins will find their SWAG...
