Miami Dolphin Expectations are an Illusion

Before getting into whether the Dolphins will win on Sunday in London, let’s take a little journey into illusion and see what comes out on the other side.

I’m not sure how illusions start… It’s amazing, simple clear logic usually matches actual results but those damn emotions somehow obscure the obvious. How many times have Dolphin fans heard this term recently, “he can’t be expected to learn on the job.” The object of that statement could be Ross, Hickey, Philbin, Lazor, Coyle or Tannehill.

He can’t be expected to learn on the job…

Well I’m here to present the bad news, everyone in this entire organization is learning on the job, starting at the top. Miami’s owner had no clue what it took to own a professional sports franchise five years ago. There are teams in this league with ownership ties to the infancy of professional football. Ross may have expected to dodge the shark-infested waters based on his experience selling real estate to Donald Trump, but unfortunately, it ain’t happening.

See, we talk about successful NFL franchises having long-term planning then conveniently forget about it 30 seconds later (another symptom of illusion). Foundations, not only in tenure, but also in a team’s style of play are indicative of long-term ownership.

The Dolphins were a “perfect” example of this back when Joe Robbie and Don Shula roamed the facility. The reality is, Miami last won a Super Bowl in 1974. The illusionists can point to that as lacking success, but they lost 3 Super Bowls over the next 20 years and were perennial playoff contenders.

Understanding what changed is easy, the long winning tradition ended with the death of Joe Robbie...
 
The league was simpler then and Robbie didn’t split time in New York or allow corporate “professionals” to his run franchise.  He did not select employees based off skillfully written resumes, his hires needed at least a day of NFL experience at the job they were interviewing for.

Robbie stalked the halls of that building and knew every nuance of his football team. Football was his passion and New York was a place where enemy Jet fans forced him to keep his hands in his pockets for fear of slapping them.

These are the roots of true NFL ownership and any newcomer is learning on the job...

Okay, let’s start… New England – Robert Craft, Denver – Pat Bowlen, 49ers – Jed York (nephew of Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.), Pittsburg – Dan Rooney, New York Giants - John Mara, should I continue…

The Seahawks are the closest thing to new comers to raise the Vince Lombardi trophy since Tampa Bay. The Ravens had the same GM for 12 years through 2 owners. The Saints had an experienced coach and a great QB, not to mention the feel good story after Katrina. Teams can rise quickly, but the ingredients better be dynamic.

What is it about Florida, Tampa gave up 2 first round draft picks for John Gruden and then foolishly dumped him when the local media pressured the inexperienced ownership. The same media-fueled Tampa fans that booed Gruden, are now wishing he was back stalking the sidelines with his leering Chucky glare.

BTW, a guy named Robbie gave up a 1st round pick for coach Shula, Hummmmmm… After Robbie was gone, inexperienced ownership listened to know-it-all media and well, you know the rest…

In Seattle, Pete Carroll brought NFL coaching experience, college national championships and a burning desire to prove himself at the NFL level. Sounds a little like Nick Saban without all the outrageous expectations.

In Miami, replicating the winningest coach in football history is the only option before the media starts down the road of eviction. Yes, the same media that ran Shula out of town…

Nasty Nick Satan was just too hardnosed for those “professional” football players. He wanted them to do what it took to win and they wanted to bask over on South Beach. The media drooled over the “unnamed sources” telling them Nicky Satan wasn’t the saintly version they built him up to be. Yes Nick made mistakes, but in time, he would have put a winning team on the field. The media was not going to allow him that time and he bolted.
 
Nick's owner, H. Wayne Huizenga is the same guy that allowed local media run off The Don. Yep, H. Wayne knew all about garbage collecting, but was too worried about press clippings to do what was right as an NFL owner. The Don should have selected his own successor when he was ready, leaving a foundation that would continue to grow for years to come.

Water under the bridge I know, so that brings us to our maligned head coach Joe Philbin...

Oh, the media is just warming up to axe old terrible Joe and every loss is like a dry stump feeding the bonfire…

He’s too stoic, emotionless, won’t tell the poor deprived reporters who is starting at QB…

The woo, the indignity, the disgrace of it all…

They resort to asking a QB who led the Miami offense to a grand total of 2 TDs in the last 2 games whether he thinks it’s fair of mean old Joe. The QB, like the media, certainly must know more than the despicable mouth breathing coach.

Here comes that quote again, “he can’t be expected to learn on the job.” He should be prepared after all, it’s okay for the QB to still be learning in year 3, but a coach who has never been a head coach, at any level, better know how this works. That shiny resume said he could do the job and by golly, the media could do it better because they certainly will tell everyone what’s wrong.

Never head coached at any level, but can’t be expected to learn on the job...

There’s that illusion thing rearing its ugly head again. How the hell are you not expected to learn something you’ve never done before? What does that mean? Is it me? It’s like asking a kid to deliver the paper as fast as the kid before because he's smart and has a map of the paper route!

Looking past the masters of the obvious might lead to the right questions...

Given enough time, will Joe Philbin learn to be a great NFL head coach? Is he smart enough? Does he understand the game well enough? Does he have the motivational skills? Can he see talent? Can he groom talent? These are the questions a great owner will ask himself. If the answers are affirmative than a great owner will stick by his guns and there’s a reason why.

Those names of old school owners had the perspective of experience to know how to select Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. They knew what a great coach looked like and had the conviction to rebuild with complete disregard to what the sensationalists had to say.

They gave those coaches the opportunity to learn…

Folks in Miami just want to skip that whole learning part…

Tannehill should be great, well in all likelihood Tannehill may be the only bird in this nest that actually has experience and he has shown the same tendencies throughout his entire QB career. Here comes the illusion again, we see this strapping youth, height, weight, arm strength, foot-speed, brains, brawn, every freaking tangible thing that could be asked for in a QB.

It’s the illusive intangibles that differentiate Ryan Tannehill and Tom Brady. The "W" in the win column. The furious 4th quarter rallies that make you sit back and say, "wow this kid's got the stuff!" Brady did that in college... Just sayin.

I’ve hear people argue that Dan Marino wasn’t that good because he never won a Super Bowl and then predict Ryan Tannehill will be great.

Will be great… Tannehill can learn on the job, but the owner, GM, HC, OC or DC not so much. Let’s get back to the illusion thing. Of all the folks listed above, only one of them is actually on the field during a game. Only one of them is affectionately referred to as the “Field General.”

Those management folks who do not take the field have never held their positions in the NFL before, not one of them. So are we expecting Ryan Tannehill to teach them?

This is the illusion I’m trying to point out, how the hell can the expectation be so enormously high for a group of individuals that are indeed learning on the job?

So there is only one answer people, only one route to success…

They all grow up together; we all suffer the same defeats that teach them how to win together.

I don’t like it.

I hate it, but I know any magic, is an illusion. If the plan is well thought out, success will follow when the pieces grow into place.

Was Stephen Ross expected to walk into the NFL and know instinctively how to build a franchise?

Was Dennis Hickey expected to have the greatest draft in NFL history on his first attempt?

Was Joe Philbin expected to understand not breaking the sanctity of the locker-room would lead to a scandal ignited by the press?

Did anyone really think Bill Lazor would call perfect games his first year as an NFL play caller?

Can Kevin Coyle truly be expected to disguise the lack of proficient players at linebacker for more than one game?

Those questions are reality.

I read all the lofty projections about games Miami should win, winning records and post-season play. I’m not sure if anyone even noticed the silence over here in reality land…

“PLAYOFFS, PLAYOFFS! DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT PLAYOFFS!”

Let’s just start learning how to win against the Raiders. Just one little victory, one right call, one complete pass, one QB pressure, because…

The Miami Dolphins from the top to the bottom are learning how to win in the NFL…

Demanding anything more, is an illusion.

Was Bill Parcells Naive

A look back at the Dolphins decision-making process can give us some insight into what led the team to the abysmal start in 2011. The stop signs should have gone up right away when the Dolphin staff actually thought they could build a team off a gadget play like the wildcat.

The decision showed a certain naiveté about the NFL and the ability of opponents to figure out how to stop a one trick pony. The word naiveté would not commonly be associated with Bill Parcells and it leads one to wonder whether he knew he made a mistake. Perhaps he baled when he realized the wildcat was foolish and jeopardized his perception as a man with great football acumen.

Parcells was responsible for drafting Pat White with the intention of using him as a key operative in the wildcat. He believed a gadget play could somehow change the face of the NFL. He brokered the deal to bring in a troubled WR who, he thought, could take short passes out of the formation and turn them into big plays.

Fool me once, your fault; fool me twice, my fault… Ireland’s penchant for oft-injured free agents like Chad Pennington, Justin Smiley, Jake Grove and Reggie Bush begs to question whether why he has a tendency to overlook health issues when making critical personnel decisions. This is amateur stuff and keeps bringing back the word naiveté.


Naiveté: Showing a lack of sophistication and subtlety in critical judgment and analysis.

Bill Parcells built a reputation from a great run with Giants and the ability to get the most out of his players. His coaching stops afterward never reached that level. Perhaps he was a great cook who was not very good at doing his own shopping.

His moonlighting as a czar has proved one thing; Bill Parcells was a good coach and nothing else. We can’t fault Steven Ross for this; in fact, we should praise Ross for seeing through the façade. If I’m the owner taking over a Dolphin team whose brain trust thinks the wildcat is the wave of the future, the first word that comes to mind is… Naiveté.


In the proper perspective, does the coast-to-coast run for Jim Harbaugh sound so outlandish? No, this fiasco was dropped in Ross’ lap by Wayne Huizenga who proved to be totally naive when it came to understanding the NFL. Every name Huizenga pulled from of the hat came from advice he got from other “football people.”

Since when does a billionaire decide he is not capable of choosing the talent to run his business? It happens when a billionaire is in the wrong business. Ross was correct in going after Harbaugh for the simple reason that he was willing to go for someone fresh of his own choosing. Dolphin fans can only hope Ross is not so naïve to believe others are better suited to run his business than he is.


Ross may have jumped the gun but he gave Dolphin fans reason to hope he will not show the lack of sophistication and subtlety in critical judgment that has plagued the Dolphins since Joe Robbie sold the team.

Dolphins fans have seen had enough naiveté Mr. Ross, what we need is a leader.

You Tell Me: Do You Trust The Miami Dolphins Front Office?

Once again I had to move back the "You Tell Me" to Wednesday, but this is going to be a good one, so it was worth your wait.

There have been a lot of questionable moves by the Miami Dolphins recently, and I want to know what you guys think about the men behind those moves.

I want to know from you: Do you trust Stephen Ross, Jeff Ireland, and Tony Sparano to make the moves necessary to build a winning team? Are they capable of coaching and managing this team well enough to win?

When Wayne Huizenga gave up his ownership of the team, many of us thought that the Dolphins would be able to rebuild again, but now I am not so sure about Ross being much better.

I want to know what you guys think, so let me know.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing your opinions on Ross, Ireland, and Sparano.

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