20 Years ago I would have agreed with you. Then I saw Jacksonville Destroy the Dolphins in 2000, Marino's last game of his career and had to see my hero walk off the field under those circumstances, humiliated. Then I saw them lose 27-9 in 2008 because they were a flawed team and really didn't belong in the playoffs. 30-12 in 2016 again because they were not a playoff caliber team. In my humble opinion Miami is not ready for the playoffs this year. If they were healthy, I would feel differently, but they are not, not even close really. Now maybe they get healthier in the next week and a half, but I'm not optimistic. If they get Parker back and perhaps Preston Williams too (where is he?) that would change everything. It's easy to think that you always want your team to be in the playoffs but after you see them get routed in the playoffs when you know going into the game that's a real possibility it becomes harder to swallow each time it happens. I get it. It sounds horrible and I'm not saying that I DON'T want them to make the playoffs, I'm saying that the reality is I don't think they have much chance of doing much in the playoffs and so not making the playoffs THIS YEAR won't be the end of the world to me. I'll deal with it either way. If the Dolphins happen to play great this weekend and beat Buffalo then I'll be extremely happy and much more optimistic about their chances in the playoffs, but right now I can't even imagine that. On the other hand if they get ripped by Buffalo and then somehow back into the playoffs because someone else loses, I won't feel good about that. Right now I'd rather wish that next year Miami is in a much better position to not just make the playoffs but challenge for the AFCE championship and perhaps a shot at a home playoff game and maybe the SuperBowl then. I was a teenager when I first started to root for the Dolphins in the mid to late 70's. I came on board too late to see those great teams of the early 70's. Everything was blue skies and butterflies back then. I wished for the Dolphins to be in the Superbowl every year, not the playoffs because back then the playoffs were a given. Now I'm 57. I'm too old to wish for the playoffs. I want something more. I want to wish for a Superbowl. I want to wish that because the playoffs are a given. That's where my mind is right now. Sorry to say that, but it's the truth.
Going into this year, for me major improvement and a winning record were the major goals, playoffs were just a bonus. Like I said a while ago, we blew up the franchise and started from scratch like Dallas did before their dynasty in the 90s (and a few other less successful examples, but let's stick with Dallas as the blueprint). They went from 1-15 to 7-9, then 11-5 and a wildcard spot, then 13-3 and a Superbowl win.
Our year one was looking much like Dallas up until we snatched those 5 wins late, and our year two is ahead of the curve in comparison - that said, they already had a future HOF QB on their roster playing exceptionally well, and had a tough draw and a tough division featuring two other '90s Superbowl winners plus another perennial contender. Our draw and division in comparison is very soft...
I also have bad thoughts about the way that 2008 season finished (and 2000, although I never bought into 2016 TBH), and we got there courtesy of a soft draw and reality hit from that point on. That said, I got a feeling this team is better, it's been built up differently and is better equipped to handle it. I really like the way the team rebounded from the Kansas City loss, which again gives me hope...
So with a playoff spot up for grabs, I think it can only be good for the team to win and get there. A lot of this has to do with Flores and Grier, it took a while but I think we finally have the right guys making the decisions.
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