Miami isn’t the sexy pick to win the AFC East this year.
Not only is Miami not the sexy pick this year, they’re expected to end up at the bottom.
At this time last year, the Miami Dolphins were considered by many a sexy pick to win the AFC East. We all know how that turned out.
Now, after an active off-season with a lot of house cleaning, the Dolphins are only a month away from the start of their 2016 training camp, and they are no longer the sexy pick. In fact, most are predicting their season to end ugly – very ugly.
Quite often, the Dolphins have been dubbed the sexy pick. But, all too quickly, they revealed themselves to be an ugly duckling that had used a whole lot of make-up to cover their flaws. However, there are cases when an ugly duckling has blossomed and turned into a sleeper pick the next season. Could Miami’s 2016 season be that dorky girl next door who turns into a beautiful women over the course of a summer break?
Now, while I’m not saying the Dolphins are certain to win the Division, with none of the best sportsbooks in the world giving the Dolphins a chance, maybe they are a sleeper poised to out-pace expectations.
The Patriots are the obviously the clear favorite, even with Brady’s 4 game suspension, at -210 to win the AFC East: (This means one would need to wager $210 to win $100 if they bet on the Patriots to win the AFC East). The next closest team is the Bills at +500, then the Jets at +550 and lastly the Dolphins at +1100: (For example, if some one bet $100 for Miami to win the Division they could win $1100).
The question I have is, are the Dolphins really that much worse then the rest of the AFC East?
While Miami was nearly swept last year in their AFC games, they did pull off an impressive defensive suffocation of the Patriots in the final game last year. So, will the Dolphins play more like they did in that last game or more like they did in their other 5 AFC East games? I would probably say that the Dolphins will most likely play somewhere in the middle great and terrible and manage more than one division game, and that alone could have Miami beating the odds makers.
Every time Miami has been dubbed the sexy pick, they have failed to live up to expectations.
On paper, the Dolphins appear to have become better in the trenches, and that usually is a quick step in the right direction. Also, considering that the Dolphins still have most of their key contributors from last year’s season, which was supposed to be the team to finally win the East, then it’s quite possible that they may out perform this season. Let’s face it, there is far less pressure this year in terms of expectations than there was last year. Maybe, we could see a team playing looser and with a chip on their shoulder, and this could be another aspect that helps Miami beat the experts.
This year, the Dolphins could very well be taken too lightly. Do I think they will be a playoff team this year? It’s very hard to say with a certainty without every seeing Gase as a head coach during game-time. But, I do think they are going to have a better record than last year, and if Miami can finally get a couple of lucky breaks then anything is possible. Every season, at least one team goes from last to first. Maybe this year is our year? Go Fins!!!
