Ker-plunk, the Dolphins have fallen

Monday, September 27, 2004
Robert Henderson
MDBW Staff Writer

This is why Wayne Huizenga gave Dave Wannstedt a contract extension at the end of last season after missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year? This is why Rick Spielman was hired internally as the General Manager and not someone else like perhaps Randy Mueller? If this is the case, then Ricky Williams makes more sense than the Miami Dolphins owner! He got out while he still could – ran away before the offensive line had the chance to literally assist in his murder.

This is the first time the Dolphins have started a season at 0-3 since 1969. So, for most of us, this is the first time we have ever seen such a catastrophe. How ironic it is that there are hurricanes devastating Florida on an average of one per weekend, and a football team doing the same thing at the same rate!

So now what should be done? The Dolphins are three games into a disastrous season. Should we use the Dolphins game each week as background noise, weekly amusement, or just ignore it altogether to avoid migraine headaches and stark depression?

The Dolphins have never been this bad. Heck, even the Marlins did more in their five-year hiatus between 1997 and 2003. What are we as fans supposed to do about this? We don’t know because we have never experienced it. It has always been the aim to beat the playoff teams and push the Dolphins above that average point. Now, it will be an accomplishment to win one game!

So, will the Dolphins win a game this season? There is that game against the Arizona Cardinals on November 7th, but is even that a possibility? If this continues, which it likely will, I doubt there will be more than 10 to 20,000 people in the stadium for the final home game against the Browns. Dolphins fans have better things to do as they have proven when the team has had trouble selling out a home playoff game in the past. Why am I mentioning playoffs in this article? Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?

Forget about the fans though, what about the players? What are Randy McMichael, Chris Chambers, Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain, and Tim Bowens supposed to do? These are players who are used to the Dolphins winning tradition and have fought their hardest to get the team over the edge. Now they don’t have a laughing chance of doing that and you can sense and see their frustration. McMichael lashed out at A.J. Feeley last night after he received a one-hop pass from him. Last week he spiked his helmet into the turf and screamed at the offensive line. Sam Madison has also had his words with Feeley.

There is nothing left to play for, or there soon won’t be after a few more losses. Maybe Junior Seau can reflect on how he dealt with the San Diego Chargers’ annual terrible play. Teams like the Chargers and Cardinals are annual bad teams (minus the 1994 season when the Chargers made the Super Bowl or the 1998 season when the Cardinals won a playoff game), so they are used to losing and play for that week, or season when they can legitimately match up with other teams in the NFL. This is what the Bengals had done for so many years and they finally creped out of the crevice. The Chargers and Cardinals are slowly doing the same – they have hope for the future with LaDaian Tomlinson and Phillip Rivers for the Chargers and Anquon Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald being coached by Dennis Green for the Cardinals. The Dolphins tripped when Wannstedt became the Head Coach and have been falling slowly, trying to regain balance over the past four years. Now it seems they have finally hit rock bottom.

In reality of the NFL (which is often not the case in South Florida), Dave Wannstedt would not have retained his job last season. Now, he certainly must not retain his job. He has done nothing but driven this team deeper and deeper into the laughable franchise he made the Bears into. It’s too late now. Rick Spielman got him players like Ricky Williams, Sammy Knight, Junior Seau, David Boston, Marty Booker, Antuan Edwards etc., but with Wannstedt as head coach, all that talent has proven worthless. Booker, a Pro Bowl receiver, can’t even seem to get open.

This season is lost Dolphins fans. There might be a few games that the Phins squeak out an improbable win, but nevertheless, Miami will no doubt have the number one pick in the NFL Draft next April.