Omar Kelly has covered the Dolphins for over a decade.
Now, Omar Kelly ‘seems to be’ buying into Miami as a Franchise on the rise.
Omar Kelly gets called a Miami Dolphins troll by some and realist by others.
No matter how you slice it, he hasn’t been much of a believer in the Dolphins success, and the truth be told, he’s been mostly correct — until this season.
I’ve found myself disliking his cantankerous shtick at times — my fandom prefers a more gentle criticism of Miami. But, I have still read many of his articles and watched his videos over the years, nevertheless.
He’s a hard-ball beat writer — that’s his angle. I get it.
But, Kelly is close to the players and the team, and that type of insight that’s invaluable for those of us who like to try and ‘figure out’ the team’s direction, personnel and coaching staff (for me and many the game extends past the 60 minuets of play).
Recently, Kelly has been delivering his insight with a different tone. And that’s the main crux of this article: true winners have the ability to turn critics into supporters.
And ladies and gentlemen, that’s what this Miami Dolphins team is doing.
Now, there’s no firm conclusion that Kelly has ever been a ‘critic’ of the Dolphins or not — it could have simply been tough love. But, what isn’t debatable is the changing of his tenor on Ryan Tannehill and the Dolphins Franchise.
And that my fellow fans that is a beautiful thing to behold, because it’s a sign that things are truly changing for the better.
Kelly views this Bills game as a key moment in defining this team’s direction.
Watching Kelly defend Tannehill these days and expressing high-regard for the team’s direction says a lot about how far this 2016 Miami Dolphins team has come…
…And more importantly, how far this team will go, because he’s not the only one changing their tune.
The odds from all the ‘money boys’ those into pay per head sportsbook was 7 wins for the season.
The Dolphins have already passed that expectation and are now about to leave it far behind in the rear-view mirror with win against the Buffalo Bills this Christmas Eve.
This is where I totally agree with Kelly. Statistics have Miami with a a 92% chance of making the Playoffs with one more win! Now that’s change you can believe in.
Look, just about every Miami fan has had their ‘doubting Thomas moment’. Not many can say they believed every step of the way. And for those who did, bravo! My ‘moment’ came after Titans game, when just about every aspect of this regime seemed uncertain in my mind.
And of course, just as I doubted them, they rose like a Phoenix — my timing has never been hot-to-trot.
Kelly now views the Dolphins as a Franchise on the rise — and more will join him.
I had spent months writing articles in support of this regime, defending my stances with a million taps of the keyboard — I was all in, and all out if they flopped. It wasn’t just commitment from an emotional standpoint, but from a football knowledge standpoint. So, when the Titans travesty occurred, my defeat was all encompassing. It hurt my heart and more importantly my pride as an football evalautor. With wheel barrels full of crow at my doorstep, I wasn’t a happy camper.
That experience is why I have some empathy for Kelly. Because early on in his career, his barrels of crow were geometrically greater than mine. And that couldn’t have been easy to swallow.
But, that’s the beauty of this new regime, this 2016 season, and the future: it doesn’t suck, and might just end up being special.
It’s time to turn the page from the disasters of the past and smell the freshness of a new era. As the Dolphins perform better, the writing will be more positive from the real sports writers, the fans will be more unified, the home crowds will roar louder, and game time will be a thing of joy and not trepidation. And, this hack writer is here to tell you, just like Kelly’s tune is changing, so will all those who doubt that the Dolphins franchise has returned to respectability. Go Fins!!!