Playoffs are over for Miami, now what?
Playoffs ended in a ugly fashion, but what matters now is the fortunes of the future.
While the Miami Dolphins beat the odds for the season, the expectations of a thorough beat down by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Postseason was not — not even close.
The Steelers played a near perfect 1st Quarter, and the Miami Dolphins usual cold 1 Qtrs were as cold as the weather in their first playoff game in 8 years.
We all know the rest.
The only relevant concern now is the off-season?
As a quick pat on the back for the fans and the franchise, the team showed heart and resiliency all season. And probably most importantly, it appears that we have finally found the right Head Coach to get this team to where we all want to be.
And that H.C. cornerstone of Adam Gase is the key to having hope for the future.
In Gase’s post conference interview, he said that after the game he told his guys that he hopes they all remember this terrible feeling, so they can take this as motivation to work hard and get back to the playoffs –and make sure that feeling of loss does not happen again. For many of these Dolphin players it was their first taste of the Playoffs, and even though it was a bitter taste, it was still a taste.
Drug addicts need just a taste to have a relapse, so hopefully these Dolphin players will be similar and use this experience to be addicts of success by doing what it takes to earn more Playoff games.
Playoff games are won by good rosters run by good coaches.
Will Miami, from V.P. to G.M. to H.C. and most importantly the players, be hungry this 2017 season?
Even with an excellent H.C. , in order to build future success, it will mostly come down to talent.
A lot of fans are saying the future is bright. Some are saying, I don’t know. Some are even saying with a tough schedule next year, it won’t be pretty.
The reality is, if they have at least a good off-season, then they will succeed.
Conversely, if they fail this off-season, then it will be rough with equal degree of their talent acquisition short comings.
But, the key is not simply bringing in talent, but talent in needed areas: of which they have more than a few.
A lot of us questioned Mike Tannenbaum and Chris Grier in last years off-season. And while mistakes were made, they brought in some good players, brought back cap integrity, and made some good moves.
Even the best pay per head bookie service would agree it’s fair to say that Miami’s Front Office had a good off-season.
Of course, the devil’s advocate would say they had Laremy Tunsil thrown into their lap, and they spent 3 mid-round picks on Leonte Carroo who didn’t do much in 2016, and the back end of their draft hasn’t panned out yet.
Draft can’t be judged for a few years, so time will tell.
But, this will be a crucial moment for all involved. They will need 2016’s talent to step up and 2017’s talent to contribute immediately. If they nail these next few months and give Gase decent dose of talent, then 2016 will simply be a stepping stone to greater things in 2017. Bring on Free Agency and the Draft. Despite it’s end, this was a good year fans. Go Fins!!!