Dolphins surge to 3-0 but what should Miami Dolphin fans expect from this team

Are Miami Dolphins fans expecting too much?

 

Miami has surpassed all early season expectations – In most power rankings they are just outside of the top 5. The have beaten two teams that not just made the playoffs last year but that were outright Super Bowl contenders in 2012, so the sky is the limit right ? What often happens with success is that it builds confidence. That is how win streaks often happen. Now this is all great and as a fan it really is something to enjoy. At some point though you have to take a hard look at what the ceiling is for your team .

So Miami wins their first 3 what does this actually mean? First off it’s very easy to find examples of 3-0 starts that fizzled right in our own back yard (division) The Bills and Jets have both had similar starts in the past few years just to implode later on in the season, 3-0 means only that you have started well. Miami has yet to play any crucial division games and they do not even have the division lead, that honor goes to the Pats who are 2 – 0 in the division. Still I don’t want to understate 3-0 either, the 3 wins have brought about a perception that this team is actually quite good. It has bought the Dolphins respect from most of its early season critics, a team originally thought to be mediocre to average is now on the radar screen.

This is also the toughest part of their schedule so these 3 wins open up a lot of possibilities. After spending approximately 200 million in free agency one would hope to see improvement but does this buy a Super Bowl? That still seems out of reach at this point, Denver is probably printing up their tickets already.  Does it buy a division crown? Maybe but this shouldn’t be the deciding factor of whether the Dolphins have had success this year or not. Miami merely needs to get a Wild Card berth to call this a successful season. A win in the playoffs, a division crown, even a Conference championship appearance, all of that is merely icing on a rather delicious cake. Fans can dream of great things and someday soon Miami may have all the tools to get there but in reality this is still a young team.

So what failure would be is not winning enough games to make the playoffs. That expectation of the playoffs is certainly higher now than at the start of the season. So Dolphin fans, our team may stumble a bit and they may lose 6 games or so but they have improved and they are now respectable and competitive and that is something new. Its been a long time since the dolphins had a team this good. Enjoy the ride and don’t expect everything all at once, teams that eventually win championships generally get there in strides and not just all at once.

Written by: Coolcat