For 60 minutes, Miami needs to just go for it with controlled, all-out effort.
Only the top teams in the NFL play for a full 60 minutes.
We are on the eve of the Miami Dolphins first regular season game of the 2016 season. It will take a full 60 minuets of all out effort, and likely an occasion or two of brash daring to just go for it in order to pull off a major upset.
The top pay per head bookie software in the world is not giving the Dolphins much of a chance of that happening. Miami initially opened up against the Seattle Seahawks as a +7 point under dog; however, the line has steadily gone up to +10.
The Dolphins will be playing on the road in one of the more difficult stadiums in the league, and will need a Herculean effort if they want a chance to win this game.
Even the most enthusiastic Fin Fans realize that.
The Dolphins are going to have to show that they are finally able to play a full 60 minutes and play with a combination of both intensity and composure. This is a very difficult attitude to manage.
But, if you watch Adam Gase, you see that’s who he is by nature. And a teams attitude is disseminated from the top.
The biggest thing key will be how does Coach Gase handle his first game as a Head Coach? Will we see creativity seeking to attack on both sides of the ball? Or will all the talk about aggressive play be just that, alot of talk? We have had plenty of that and enough is enough.
Can Adam Gase really walk the tightrope of being both controlled and aggressive? Or will he lean to too much one way or the other too often and at the wrong time?
Now, I do not want Miami going for it on fourth and short on their own 20 yard line. However, against a superior team, there will be times that a 4 down mode might be wiser than conventional wisdom…and the difference between winning and losing.
Fortune does favor the bold.
Playing all out for 60 minutes is what separates the good teams from the bad.
Joe Phiblin never coached like this till he was on the cusp of getting canned — by then it was too late.
It wasn’t who he was. In the end it was fear motivating him, not boldness.
Through the Dolphins 4 preseason games, Gase showed a propensity to go for it on fourth downs in an attempt to re-boot his team.
Was it just preseason guts?
We shall see very soon.
It’s highly unlikely that Miami could beat the Seahawks by settling for field goals, time after time. So, a successful fourth down conversion can offer two things: it shows your offense you have confidence in them to gain the first down, and then it also shows your defense that if the conversion fails you believe they can get the ball back by making a stop.
Sometimes, a single 4th down conversion can win a game.
Of course, sometimes a single missed 4th down conversion can lose a game.
I hope Miami doesn’t need that big play, earned on a big risk, but I’d rather see them be aggressive than have the formula being set of a slow death by playing it ultra safe.
Will we finally have a team that’s a scrapper, fighting tooth and nail for 60 minuets and is willing be bold when its all on the line? Opening day is almost here…and in less than 24 hours, we see what the 2016 Miami Dolphins are made of! GO FINS!!!