One game in: How do you feel about Jason Taylor?

[Spider-Dan]

The difference is that when Buffalo was good, so was Miami.  You said it yourself -

Buffalo beat us twice in the playoffs.  Once was a AFC Championship Game.  These losses were far more heartbreaking.

"Far more heartbreaking" than 2002?  I don't think I agree with that.

The Patriots never beat the Dolphins in the playoffs when they were winning.  The Dolphins were mediocre during those years and were expected to lose those games.

In 1997, MIA was 7-4 and in first place in the division, one game back of a first-round bye in the playoffs.  NE beat MIA twice in the next 5 games, then beat them in the wild card round.

The 2002 debacle needs no recap.

I still don't feel the need to justify this.

Then stop trying to justify it.

It seems like your argument for hating the Jets is "they beat us a bunch of times in a row earlier this decade, when we weren't any good anyway."  So why do you hate them?  If BUF goes on a streak against MIA, will they now become the hated rival, while the Jets become unimportant?

If you need to cite records and playoff wins and all that to explain why you hate a team, I don't think they're really your rival.  Dolphins-Bills has been relegated to the same dustbin of irrelevance as Steelers-Raiders, Vikings-Rams, Bears-Giants, 49ers-Packers, Jaguars-Titans, and Rams-Bucs; the same dustbin that Patriots-Colts will be in a decade from now.  Real rivalries like Cowboys-Redskins, Packers-Vikings, Steelers-Browns, and yes, Dolphins-Jets don't need that kind of justification.

[Brian Fein]

If you need to cite records and playoff wins and all that to explain why you hate a team, I don't think they're really your rival.  Dolphins-Bills has been relegated to the same dustbin of irrelevance as Steelers-Raiders, Vikings-Rams, Bears-Giants, 49ers-Packers, Jaguars-Titans, and Rams-Bucs; the same dustbin that Patriots-Colts will be in a decade from now.  Real rivalries like Cowboys-Redskins, Packers-Vikings, Steelers-Browns, and yes, Dolphins-Jets don't need that kind of justification.

Agree so why are you harassing me about all this?

[Spider-Dan]

Because you asked "Would Bryan Cox have played for Buffalo?" when he actually DID play for the Jets instead.

[Brian Fein]

Maybe the analogy as below would better squash this entire discussion:

Bryan Cox : Buffalo :: Jason Taylor : Jets

Anyone remember Bryan Cox walking off the field, middle fingers a-blazin, in Rich Stadium?  Cox was outspokenly hateful toward the Bills.  Similarly, Jason Taylor (and Zach Thomas, for that matter) has in the past been outspokenly hateful towards the Jets.

Bryan Cox playing for the Jets, in my mind, would be the equivalent of Jason Taylor signing for the Bills.  Inconsequential and generally not much to talk about.

Better?

[Doc-phin]

If you hate JT and/or Welker then you pretty much root for laundry.  Welker played hard for us when it seemed like nobody else did and we traded him in division.  That isn't his fault, it is ours.  I love his approach to the game and can't have anger toward him.  It bums me out every time I see him lighting up other teams but it isn't like I dislike him.

JT played admirably for us for years.  Like Hoodie said, he turned down a good offer by the Pats and took less to get back in Miami after we traded him away.  If he had forced the trade to Washington in a big way, we wouldn't have re-signed him the next year.  There was too much rumor crap going around in the media over that and we will never really know the truth but evidence points to Parcels seeing more value in trading JT than keeping JT.  Now JT goes to the only team that wanted him and was willing to compensate him reasonably and we hate him... B.S.  I can't stand the Jets, but JT didn't pick them over us or anyone else and I don't have any anger toward him for that.

Lets be clear...  Anyone who plays us is our enemy that day.  Anyone who plays for our rival is our rival.  Teams are teams but individuals are individuals and there is no treatury(sp?) in accounting for individual circumstances. 

If you hate JT, I don't understand why.  If you have grown to hate Welker, I might understand considering his overwhelming amount of time on that team.  JT is more of a Dolphin than a Jet and Welker is more of a Patriot than a Dolphin.  I honestly believe JT didn't want to be in this situation but wanted to retire even less.  Shame on you if you think you have any right to say when a person should hang it up, that is their decision or the decision of their employers!

[Dave Gray]

Now JT goes to the only team that wanted him and was willing to compensate him reasonably and we hate him... B.S.  I can't stand the Jets, but JT didn't pick them over us or anyone else and I don't have any anger toward him for that.

I just don't believe this to be true.

The Dolphins wanted to wait until the draft before they made JT an offer.  I think that is a reasonable request.  Also, I don't believe that no other teams wanted him.  I think that he chose the Jets.  Maybe their offer was better for him, which is fine, but as a fan, it wasn't better for me, and I don't have to be happy with it.

I'm not one bit upset about the Pats getting Welker.  To me, Welker wasn't the face of the Pats/Fins rivaly.

[dolfan13]

by the transitive property of hatred, i hate the jets, jt plays for the jets, therefore i hate jt

[Dave Gray]

by the transitive property of hatred, i hate the jets, jt plays for the jets, therefore i hate jt

The simplicity in your statement is admirable.  You'll get no argument from me.

[mecadonzilla]

by the transitive property of hatred, i hate the jets, jt plays for the jets, therefore i hate jt

Ummmm...I was told there wasn't going to be any math on this quiz?   

[Pappy13]

Bet Brady is wondering why JT couldn't have been signed by someone OUTSIDE the AFCE today.

[JVides]

I'll tell you why.

So, for him to leave on his own (where I believe that a little bit of patience would've allowed him to stay on our roster) to play for the Jets, to me, is unforgivable. 

Dave, the second the Dolphins drafted Koa Misi, Jason Taylor would've been out of their plans.  Don't kid yourself.  The Dolphins wanted to see how they did in the draft before bringing him back, and they did fine by adding Misi.  Taylor would have become expendable right then and there, and would not have been offered a contract.  Further, suppose the Jets moved on without him, they would likely have called him back the second Calvin Pace went out injured.  As far as I'm concerned, Taylor to the Jest was bound to happen at some point.  He wanted to play, they wanted him, the Dolphins did not.

I have no hard feelings and actually was happy to see him sack Brady, once more for old time's sake, last night.

[JVides]

That being said, I hope Jake Long mops the floor with JT's skinny ass come Sunday night.