Dolphins face harsh reality of failed season
Even with injuries, Dolphins admit they have underachieved this season.
Miami has plenty of talent, but it hasn’t been able to capitalize on it, players say as they prep 6-9 squad for game with Buffalo.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — The names on the soggy Dolphins jerseys lying on the floor of the visiting locker room at Arrowhead Stadium said it all: WAKE, POUNCEY, LANDRY, SUH, STILLS, JONES.
Even with injuries taking a significant bite out of Miami’s roster, the remaining personnel should have done better than this.
The team sits 6-9 after losing handily at Kansas City on Sunday. Depend- ing on what happens in the finale against Buffalo, which is now meaningless for the Dolphins after they were eliminated from playoff contention, they will be at least three games worse than last year and finish five games — five! — behind New England in the division.
“It sucks, it sucks,” safety T.J. McDonald said. “You want to go to the playoffs, you want to keep playing. When you don’t win, it sucks. There’s no sugarcoating it.
“I definitely feel like there’s talent in here that it could’ve been, but for one reason or another, it just didn’t
happen. We can’t dwell on it now. We’ve gotta get better.”
There are some basic disclaimers that need to be given up front in any
assessment of the 2017 Dolphins. Starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was one of a 13 players, including potentially seven starters, to go on Injured Reserve and he was replaced by a retired, washed out, 34-year-old version of Jay Cutler that even the Jets passed on in free agency.
That’s not a great start. Things also went sideways with running back Jay Ajayi and cornerback Byron Maxwell, leading to their early exits.
Those who were left standing embarked on what was computed to be the NFL’s sixth-hardest schedule based on last year’s records. And that ranking doesn’t factor in that the Dolphins had to travel more miles than all but three teams because of giving up a home date for the league’s London Games.
That also doesn’t account for the opener being rescheduled because of Hurricane Irma, making Miami and Tampa Bay the only teams who had to play 16 consecutive games without a week off. That’s daunting for team that had taken some big hits before it even began.
“I don’t think anyone thought we’d be here,” said defensive end Andre Branch, who’s played hurt half the season. “We’ve got all the talent in the world. Everybody can see that, because when we put it together, you see special things.
“But it’s been that type of year. For us to say, ‘This happened or that happened,’ I feel like that’s an excuse. It’s the NFL, and you have to perform at a high level. We didn’t do that this year. We have to get better. When we go into the offseason, we have to hit it running. Everybody has to refocus and see what they did wrong. That’s what good teams do.”
Kenny Stills felt similarly, refusing to accept the easy explanations for Miami’s struggles.
“It’s been a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s been hard. It’s the NFL.”
As tired as that last phrase has gotten this year, maybe he’s right. Last year’s team found a way to overcome a 1-4 start and won three of its final four games after Tannehill went down in December.
The Chiefs, who clinched their division by beating the Dolphins, snapped back from a four-game losing streak in November. The Chargers opened 0-4 and still have a chance to sneak into the playoffs next week.
A big part of the Dolphins’ problem has been themselves.
The only quarterback in the league who’s thrown more interceptions than Jay Cutler is Cleveland rookie DeShone Kizer. Miami has given the ball away 26 times and has a turnover margin of minus-11 for the year.
Cutler, and Matt Moore at times, has quarterbacked an offense that’s managed to convert a meager 32.6 percent of its third downs. Only the Bengals are worse.
This is also the second-most penalized team in the league. The 112 flags and 934 yards only tell part of the story. Think of all the plays called back or penalties at the costliest times.
“It’s something we talk about every week,” Stills said. “When we lose a game, it’s penalties and turnovers. It’s something we’ve gotta clean up going forward if we want to win games.”
They committed all the deadly sins in Kansas City.
Stills and Jarvis Landry each killed drives that were rolling along Sunday by fumbling after the catch.
Miami piled up 11 penalties, including one by Ted Larsen after the whistle that turned a red-zone opportunity into a third-and-24 from the 30.
The Dolphins didn’t convert that. They didn’t convert any of their eight thirddown tries. The Chiefs, conversely, went 8 for 15.
As for all that talent? The best players were the ones making those errors. That undercut whatever firepower Miami had left.
“I definitely feel like we left some games out there,” Stills said. “We have no one to blame but ourselves.”