r/miamidolphins • u/BigFinFan • 3d ago
Unimaginable!
When we were 2-6, who would have thought that we would be 8-8 with a chance of making the playoffs going into the final game if the season?
6-2 over our last eight games - and we have a chance!
Fins up!
25
u/VinPickles 3d ago
No meaningless games again for what, the 4th season in a row?
That is wonderful. Lets get another winning season and let the chips fall where they may (fuck you denver!)
Fins up! FINS THE EFF UP.
Gotta really commend the dudes for not checking out when everyone said we were cooked. Good shit. Good on the coaches too for keeping guys locked in.
Except Danny Crossman, he still sucks
13
u/timss1334 3d ago
Week 18 in 2021 was meaningless. We had already been eliminated in week 17 when we lost in Tennessee, after rebounding from 1-7 that year.
But, still, this is the most meaningful 4 year stretch since the early 2000s. Even if it's a little disappointing, can't take it for granted after the last 20 years of checking out at Thanksgiving most years.
44
u/RandoCollision 3d ago
The thing that still sticks out for me is the fact that Tua was symptom free within a few days of his concussion but somebody thought it would be a bad look to play him too soon, so instead of sitting him for a week or two, they put him on IR and he missed five weeks. We went 1-4 over that span. With even one more win, we would probably control our destiny right now and with two, we'd be in the tournament.
Put that on the list of very Dolphinish decisions that have set the dumpster on fire again and again.
22
u/strangedaze23 99 3d ago
There were people, including the fanbase, saying he should retire. It was a reaction to that chatter to allow him to step away from football and make that decision. It had nothing to do with his symptoms or whether he was medically cleared, it was all about Miami being able to say, we gave him time, he met with a number of doctors they all say the same things and he can and wants to continue to play. All to quiet that talk of retirement.
6
u/RandoCollision 3d ago
Yeah, I understand how bad the optics would have been if we put him back sooner than the media doctors recommended. And McD would probably have gotten fired if he played him two weeks later and he got sidelined again. He probably wouldn't be considered for a HC job again.
So I understand the decision, but dang if it didn't bite our prospects.
1
u/kikaintfair 3d ago
My thing is just that the teams job should be to do right by the players and the team and to a certain extent the fans, not do right by the media.
-1
u/HosaJim666 3d ago
He still SHOULD retire. I'm glad he hasn't suffered any subsequent concussions this year, but that doesn't change the fact that his body isn't physically built for professional football and the next time his head hits the ground might be the first time we see a dude die on the field.
5
u/formyburn101010 3d ago
I'm with you. "He should retire" is a totally reasonable opinion. People downvoting you is insane.
8
u/ExpressLaneCharlie 3d ago
It is insane. Because then every player should retire. It's far more dangerous to have repeated sub concussive hits than to have a concussion every year or two. The team at Boston University that pioneered CTE research has said as much in their official findings. Plus, the most dangerous concussions are the one that have lingering symptoms. Tua has never even stayed overnight in the hospital for one of his concussions. Do you see why saying Tua should retire is holding him to a standard that others aren't held to?Ā
3
1
u/Worried_Bath_2865 2d ago
Why, because you and the guy above think he should? Guess what? It's not your decision, it's his and his family's. No one else's.
1
8
u/EtherBoo 3d ago
Let's look at the flip side. Remember '22 when he was injured during the Buffalo game and came out only to return at the half. He said he felt fine and played against the Bengals and left the game in an ambulance. The result was the NFL implementing new concussion guidelines and requiring sideline evaluation for any bad hit (I'm not sure this is even used anymore).
So sure, he felt fine this time, but what happens if he gets another nasty hit the next week and a bigger/worse concussion? The Dolphins, again, are in the spotlight for not caring about player safety. Even if the doesn't, it's the talk of the league.
It's basically a no win situation.
2
u/RandoCollision 3d ago
I guess my frustration is with the circumstances more than the decision. There was no right choice, so they went with the one that protected him, the team, and their jobs. Being honest, I probably would too, but the consequences suck right now.
1
u/jrosen9 3d ago
Any bad hit unless the QB is is Josh Allen. Then you give him smelling salts and put him back in the game
1
u/EtherBoo 3d ago
As someone below put it... Josh is built like a horse, Tua is built like a jockey. Allen hides it much better than Tua.
Different standards are going to apply.
1
u/jrosen9 3d ago
Built like a horse or not, Allen was out cold for a few seconds after his head slammed the ground. Some of the brief camera angles even made it look like he had the fencing of the fingers. There's even circumstacial video evidence that smelling salts were used. Allen should have been out the rest of that game at the least instead he didn't even miss a play.
1
u/EtherBoo 3d ago
So what? Nobody made a big deal of it. Do you think the NFL actually cares about this?
Football is a violent and unsafe game. One guy built like a horse can take the hit, sniff some salts, and go back in and play like no big deal, other guys leave in an ambulance.
Unless there's a big deal made out of it and a big audience, nobody really cares.
2
u/BigFinFan 3d ago
Completely agreed! What still pisses me off is that the NFL treats Tua much differently than they did with Josh Allen and Dak Prescott - both of whom were concussed this year and did not miss a play.
6
3
u/RandoCollision 3d ago
The same week that Tua got his first concussion in 2022, Tee Higgins was knocked TF out on the field and the Bengals brought him back the following week. Curiously, in Teddy B's first start two weeks later against the Jests, a NYC-based medical spotter thought he demonstrated signs of neurological impairment after a routine tackle and removed him after one play.
Not the point of this very positive thread, but it does seem like we are always on the ass end of catching a break. If we go 9-7 this season, it truly would be a great turnaround. And if we make the playoffs, nobody will think of us as an easy out. Really need the Chiefs' backups to play like they want to keep Denver out.
6
1
u/BigMcLargeHugeGrande 3d ago
This goes back to 2022 when he had 2 back to back concussions in 4 days and the 2nd one was nationally televised, making Tua the poster boy for CTE. IR was smart for those injuries in 2022, but this one was not necessary and had everything to do with media service. Hell it made national news when Tua got concussed AGAIN on prime time against the Bill's. But obviously this one was way less serious and he didn't need to sit for 5 damn weeks. SMH
2
u/RandoCollision 3d ago
I just told somebody else I seriously believe that playing him might have been a medically correct decision, but if he managed to get knocked out the first week back, McDaniel's time as a HC would probably come to an immediate end. Likely Grier's tenure, as well. I understand it's bigger than wins and losses thanks to the optics. But dang...
One thing is for sure: When he retires, Tua will have either the best redemption story in years or the most snake bitten and divisive career of any pro sports figure in recent memory. I'm literally praying for the former, not as a Dolphins fan, but as someone who wishes the best for a genuinely good guy.
1
u/just4kix_305 3d ago
This right here - it was that concussion where he was carted off on national TV against the Bengals that led to Tua being the poster boy for all of it, whether that's fair or not.
1
u/chargeon2010 3d ago
Are you a doctor? Did you examine Tua yourself before coming to this conclusion?
0
u/RandoCollision 3d ago
Lighten up, Francis.Tua said he was determined to be symptom free. That determination requires a medical evaluation.
I literally just told somebody that there was no right choice and that I probably would have done the same thing. It's the circumstances that suck, not the people who made the decision.
1
u/Sirius_amory33 3d ago
Because players never lie about concussions. This sub loves to complain about internet doctors saying Tua should retire yet like to be internet doctors themselves pretending they know for sure what the team doctors and his personal doctors were seeing during their evaluations.
Tua didnāt clear concussion protocol by the time we put him on IR which was five days after the game.Ā
9
u/VinPickles 3d ago
People shitting all over beating teams on the schedule like the colts didnt just have their season destroyed with a 40 burger from Drew Lock and the NFLs 31st ranked offense.
Any given sunday. Still gotta win the games.
3
u/BigFinFan 3d ago
You can only play the teams that are on your schedule - regardless of their or your record.
9
u/Nov4can3 3d ago
If we win and the Broncos do as well, Iāll admit that Iāll be a bit disappointed but to go from 2-6 to 9-8 is a win in itself given how this season went. There have been many on here saying we shouldāve just started tanking for better draft position but Iād rather have a winning season any day. 5 consecutive winning seasons speaks volumes. I get it, we gotta win playoff games but considering what most of us went through as fans from 2000-2019, this is a huge upgrade.
6
u/GazzBull 3d ago
Building a winning culture means something. Next step is playoff success but methodically putting together winning seasons will be noticed by the players who want to compete
3
3
u/Unlucky-Evidence-372 3d ago
Yeah. Theres a lot of haters in this sub. We had a rough start with Tua being out. We have played great since. I dont know about next week. I think the broncos are heavily favored against chiefs B teamā¦. Either way Go Fins! Great season, I thoroughly enjoyed it
7
u/Tua_Dimes 3d ago edited 3d ago
Not very unimaginable given the schedule.
-Win over the Rams (10-6 team ranked 11th)
-Win over the Raiders (4-12 team ranked 27th)
-Win over the Patriots (3-13 team ranked 30th - 4 way tie for bottom 4)
-Win over the Jets (4-12 team ranked 28th)
-Win over the 49ers (6-10 team ranked 22nd with multiple key players on IR)
-Win over the Browns (3-13 team ranked 32nd)
The only impressive win was the Rams. We lost some expected wins and really upset nobody, we just had an easy schedule.
4
u/winwin08 3d ago
Careful, common sense gets downvoted round these parts.
3
u/Tua_Dimes 3d ago
Often does. From what I can see our strength of victory is .284, which I don't want to do the math for the entire league and I can't find any updates for week 17 rankings quickly through google, but usually anything below .3 is incredibly low for the league. The W/L total of all 8 of the teams we beat is 41-103.
1
u/kikaintfair 3d ago
Still impressive record down that stretch nonetheless. As disappointing as it is not to upset anybody, we also rarely get upset ourselves. If you look at those wins by those bad teams we beat, they beat some really good teams. Browns beating the Ravens for one.
1
u/Tua_Dimes 3d ago
Browns then vs when we played them are a totally different team, though. Winston, Chubb, Tillman, Njoku, Swaim, Strong, Owusu and Delpit for example are all out and were all top end contributors to that Ravens game. We played their 2nd and 3rd stringers.
4
u/Jd283509 3d ago
Honestly if we go 9-8 thatās 5 straight years of winning football. Havenāt had that since 1999 - 2003. With that context itās clear Grier isnāt going anywhere this offseason.
2
2
2
u/DonaldTPablonious 3d ago
I said back then that we would go into Jets week with the playoffs on the line because thatās our life as Dolfans.
1
u/AccomplishedMove145 2d ago
Hate the what if game but if Tyler played those first games like he did last weekend the dolphins couldāve been pushin for the division
1
u/AccomplishedMove145 2d ago
Everyoneās panties are all twisted this is average team I think of you get two decent guards theyād be killers like the ravens or bills
0
-7
u/Wintermute0311 3d ago
You guys are more than welcome to look at this season as some kind of success if you'd like. I don't know. Moral victories i guess. It just seemed to me like we regressed in all three phases. Offense, Defense, special teams......all worse. We're even less sure about our 50 million dollar a year QB than we already were last year. Coach is on borrowed time. Seemed like a massive step back in every way. Just a bad season all around.
-8
u/slughtz 3d ago
Grier thought Tua was better than Hubert - WRONG! Grier - gives an unproven gimmick rookie coach, McDanials a contract extension- WRONG AGAIN McDanials is the main reason the Dolphins are SOFT and players with minor nicks are sitting out on the sideline or missing games- embarrassing Grier gives Tua, a small un athletic extremely vulnerable with a weak arm, a franchise QB type contract because he has to double down on Tua being better pick than Hurbert- WRONG WRONG! Grier built to get deep-into playoffs and/or Super-bowl during 23/24 or 24/25 season- Now that team, without Tua again, in 24/25 season went 2-6 and now at 8-8 hopes to make the playoffs with help, and THEY AGAIN DONāT EVEN KNOW IF TUA WILL PLAY AGAIN THIS SEASON
3
u/CreakingDoor Cleo āIām a Hall of Famerā Lemon 3d ago
Brother.
If youāre gonna do it, spell their names right?
88
u/HosaJim666 3d ago
Unimaginable? Literally every Dolphin fan thought we could win enough games to almost make the playoffs but not get a good draft pick. That's our specialty.