Dolphins get to write their own ending

MIAMI — Last season, we dropped the tagline of the Groundhog-Day Dolphins, who had been as disappointedly consistent as the calendar for most of two decades. The That’s-So-Dolphins idea dropped off after this September start.

That leaves the Yeah-But Dolphins as the only surviving tag waiting to go.

You know them. You tell someone about the Dolphins good season and …

“Yeah, but they haven’t beat a winning team.”

You say they’re setting up nicely for a playoff run and …

“Yeah but they haven’t won a playoff game in two decades”

You say they rebounded nicely from that Tennessee Titans meltdown against the New York Jets last Sunday.

“Yeah, but let’s see what they do against a good team like Dallas.”

This conversation can change quickly today. These Dolphins can go from implausible to plausible, from maybe to magic, from next stage to center stage with a win against a Dallas team that has many of the same questions as these Dolphins and more of the hype.

Or it can trend the other way with a loss.

We’re at the time of year when things shift seismically because of a funny bounce or missed block or injured star on either side. That’s compounded for these Yeah-But Dolphins by an ending schedule involving three contending teams after playing 11 losing teams in their first 14 games.

Who are the Dolphins? That’s what people are asking. But the funny part of that question is this team has a stronger identity than any other Dolphins team in decades. Vic Fangio’s defense is a top10 unit that creates havoc by being second in the league in both sacks and touchdowns scored and can be so star-studded cornerback Jalen Ramsey is semi-frustrated about so few passes being thrown at him.

“Everyone wants the ball thrown at them,” cornerback coach Sam Madison said.

The offense? Its identity is equally clear Fast. Creative. A passing team (first in the league) than can run (fourth). A big-play offense that is nonetheless in the bottom-third in turnovers.

By this second year Coach Mike McDaniel has refined his playbook to what it does best, too.

“I’ve always found that at the end of the season, typically … our offense is more complex because they have spent more time and have been more diligent and know more things,” McDaniel said. “And we have new motions and different snap points and new combination blocks and all sorts of things that are building.

“It’s one of the best parts about everything that we are doing here. It’s truly a players’ scheme because it’s highlighting what they do well and having them evolve live speed during the course of a season.”

How many NFL coaches talk about a “players’ scheme?” When is the last time a Dolphins team knew its identity on offense and defense like this? Was it Dan Marino’s last great run with a top-10 defense to the AFC Championship Game in 1992? Do you have to go back even further considering that was a oneoff for that team in that stretch?

This much is certain: This has all set up nicely for the Dolphins right down to the schedule. Buffalo, to end the season, is in Hard Rock Stadium. Baltimore, next Sunday, will be operating on two days less rest thanks to a Monday night game across the country in San Francisco.

Dallas is a good team and at home a great team. But they’re 3-4 on the road like Sunday in Hard Rock Stadium and something was exposed as they got ran off the field last Sunday in Buffalo, 31-10.

It wasn’t just how the Bills manhandled Dallas. It’s also that you have to go back 11 years to find a Super Bowl winner (New York Giants) that lost by double-digits in December. This is the time of year the real contenders get hot.

Can the Yeah-But Dolphins drop that final tag and get hot now?