Schedule Predictions 2017

[Dave Gray]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/team/schedule/_/name/mia/miami-dolphins

Looks like about 8 wins to me.

If you get hot, you take maybe 10.

[Tenshot13]

16-0 guyz

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

OT: You play both Jets games, than both NE games, then both Bills games.  A bit odd.  I do like the concentration of div games late in the season.

[Sunstroke]

Miami has it's "You folks better take us serious" breakout campaign, going 12-4 during the regular season and making it all the way to the AFC Championship game.

[Spider-Dan]

Three straight national primetime games before the bye.  Hmmm.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Three straight national primetime games before the bye.  Hmmm.

Total of 5 games in which it is the only one on TV.  That is a lot for a team that hasn't won a playoff game in a decade and a half.

[BeanCounter]

Is anyone worried about the amount of travel this team is going through during the first 5 weeks of the season?  From Miami to LA to NY to London back to Miami is brutal.  I think this travel will catch up to this team and cost them 1 or 2 games during this stretch.  First 5 games are all winnable, but I see them going 3-2 to start off the season.

Games 6 to 10 have 3 tough road games (@ Atlanta / @ Baltimore / @ Carolina) and 2 home games vs the Jets and Raiders.  I see them going 2-3 or 3-2 in games 6 to 10.

After their bye they play 2 games against the Pats, 2 games against the Bills, a home game against Denver and a road game against KC.  I think they split against the Pats, sweep the Bills, win against Denver and lose on the road at KC.

Overall, I see the Dolphins going 9-7 or 10-6.

On a side note, I personally hate the fact that this team is put at a disadvantage by playing a "home" game in London.  If the NFL wants to play international games, adopt a 3 game pre-season (1 home game / 1 away game / 1 neutral site game) and 17 game season (8 home games / 8 away games and 1 international game).

[Spider-Dan]

Total of 5 games in which it is the only one on TV.  That is a lot for a team that hasn't won a playoff game in a decade and a half.

Thursday Night and London games don't really count, as the NFL frequently schedules the worst game of the week on those venues.

But OAK, CAR, and NE shows the league thinks MIA will have a good product this year.  Specifically, a Sunday Night game that's not against a team from Boston or New York is a massive leap for the Dolphins.

[Fau Teixeira]

i see 11 wins in that schedule .. that'll do

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Is anyone worried about the amount of travel this team is going through during the first 5 weeks of the season?  From Miami to LA to NY to London back to Miami is brutal.  I think this travel will catch up to this team and cost them 1 or 2 games during this stretch. 

It shouldn't.  From what I have read distance isn't the issue, it is arrival time home.  In other words arriving home from London at 10 pm after 9:30 am game will effect the Tenn game less than arriving home at 2am would if you played the Buc on MNF even though that would be a short flight.  The only time in which Mia might arrive home after midnight and then play a game less than 10 days later is flying home from LA.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

On the subject of travel and rest.....I think this is a better analysis

https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/66r94b/i_analyzed_the_2017_schedule_to_calculate_each/

of a schedule than miles traveled.  Based on it Mia has a pretty average schedule +1.  Even if you factor in you subtract 2 days for travel to a home game it still comes out as a pretty average schedule at -1.

[Spider-Dan]

I just noticed that MIA does not have their bye after the London game (but NO does).  That sucks.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I just noticed that MIA does not have their bye after the London game (but NO does).  That sucks.

Dolphins specificly requested a bye week later in the season, rather than after London. 

They have 2 prime time road games, one is Thursday the other is before the bye.  That is huge.  A bye helps a lot more after a long flight home after an 8.30 pm game than after a 9.30am game.

[masterfins]

I think this is a great schedule for Miami, unlike last season.  Not too tough early on, only one potentially frigid December game.  Eleven wins, possibly twelve and division title.

[BuccaneerBrad]

Dolphins vs Bucs on opening day.  Looking forward to some chatter on here for that