The No Name Miami Dolphins 2018
It’s time to start calling the Miami Dolphins the No-Name Dolphins again. The last time the team earned that nickname, the Dolphins won their first Super Bowl and made history as the only franchise to go undefeated. 46 years later, head coach Adam Gase is poised to take this team with no super stars on the roster on a championship run.
Entering the season, every NFL pundit pegged the Dolphins as losers. After the Dolphins cut ties with Pro Bowl players Jarvis Landry, Ndamukong Suh, and Mike Pouncey in the off-season, ESPN ranked Miami dead last among the NFL’s 32 teams. Miami Heraldcoluimnist Greg Cote predicted the Dolphins would produce another boring. middle-of-the-road performance and win between 7 to 9 games.
Instead, the Dolphins have come together as a family with no egos to worry about. When you get guys to belive in the system and to fight for each other, you are going to win a lot of games. Gase is doing just that. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is not going to draw comparisons to Tom Brady, whose New England Patriots take on the Dolphins this Sunday. But Tannehill is now playing at an elite level. He’s said that sitting out last year due to a knee injury allowed him to better understand what Gase wants to accomplish.
Gase made a bold move sticking with Tannehill. The Dolphins had the chance to draft Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson or could have signed Miami native and former high school football hero Teddy Bridgewater to excite the fan base. Gase has also stuck by Kenny Stills, the Dolphins wide receiver who continues to kneel in protest of the national anthem. Despite the controversy, Stills is a helluva a player who has three touchdown passes through three games. He’s also out there in the community helping people.
Tannehill, Stills and all their teammates are not celebrity players. There are no divas on this blue collar team. In fact, Miami Hurricanes get more attention than the Dolphins. Local football fans know most of the guys playing for The U, but it’s not like that with the Dolphins.
Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. On paper, they are a Super Bowl team with a quarterback that is going to the Hall of Fame and Pro Bowl wide receivers. Yet, the Steelers started the season falling on their asses before getting their first win against Tampa Bay. The New England Patriots were also pegged for another Super Bowl run because of Brady and their celebrity head coach Bill Belichick. People forget the Patriots have been so successful because Belichick surrounds Brady with no name players who are hungry to prove they have a champion’s pedigree. Now the Patriots have turned into divas and gone Hollywood, making their empire crumble.
Of course, the critics are saying the Dolphins are only winning because the team runs trick plays. When you look at the team stats, there is no way Miami should have started the season 3-0. But it doesn’t matter. Like the Al Davis, the late and legendary owner of the Oakland Raiders, once said: Just win baby.
Follow Luke on Twitter: @unclelukereal1
It’s time to start calling the Miami Dolphins the No-Name Dolphins again. The last time the team earned that nickname, the Dolphins won their first Super Bowl and made history as the only franchise to go undefeated. 46 years later, head coach Adam Gase is poised to take this team with no super stars on the roster on a championship run.
Entering the season, every NFL pundit pegged the Dolphins as losers. After the Dolphins cut ties with Pro Bowl players Jarvis Landry, Ndamukong Suh, and Mike Pouncey in the off-season, ESPN ranked Miami dead last among the NFL’s 32 teams. Miami Heraldcoluimnist Greg Cote predicted the Dolphins would produce another boring. middle-of-the-road performance and win between 7 to 9 games.
Instead, the Dolphins have come together as a family with no egos to worry about. When you get guys to belive in the system and to fight for each other, you are going to win a lot of games. Gase is doing just that. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is not going to draw comparisons to Tom Brady, whose New England Patriots take on the Dolphins this Sunday. But Tannehill is now playing at an elite level. He’s said that sitting out last year due to a knee injury allowed him to better understand what Gase wants to accomplish.
Gase made a bold move sticking with Tannehill. The Dolphins had the chance to draft Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson or could have signed Miami native and former high school football hero Teddy Bridgewater to excite the fan base. Gase has also stuck by Kenny Stills, the Dolphins wide receiver who continues to kneel in protest of the national anthem. Despite the controversy, Stills is a helluva a player who has three touchdown passes through three games. He’s also out there in the community helping people.
Tannehill, Stills and all their teammates are not celebrity players. There are no divas on this blue collar team. In fact, Miami Hurricanes get more attention than the Dolphins. Local football fans know most of the guys playing for The U, but it’s not like that with the Dolphins.
Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. On paper, they are a Super Bowl team with a quarterback that is going to the Hall of Fame and Pro Bowl wide receivers. Yet, the Steelers started the season falling on their asses before getting their first win against Tampa Bay. The New England Patriots were also pegged for another Super Bowl run because of Brady and their celebrity head coach Bill Belichick. People forget the Patriots have been so successful because Belechick surrounds Brady with no name players who are hungry to prove they have a champion’s pedigree. Now the Patriots have turned into divas and gone Hollywood, making their empire crumble.
Of course, the critics are saying the Dolphins are only winning because the team runs trick plays. When you look at the team stats, there is no way Miami should have started the season 3-0. But it doesn’t matter. Like the Al Davis, the late and legendary owner of the Oakland Raiders, once said: Just win baby.
Follow Luke on Twitter: @unclelukereal1