Nostalgic feelings have turned bitter. If you're 55 years old, you were 12 the last time Miami won a Super Bowl and 23 the last time Miami played in one. Doesn't Don Shula, 86, deserve better?
Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase says the problem with the offense is a variety of issues, and he feel good about the defense in their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati on Thurs., Sept. 29, 2016.
The latest makeover by the latest coach under the latest general manager isn't working. At least not yet. Fans have a right to be impatient. Promises, promises — that's all they've heard as the team has gone through more incarnations than stadium names.
It's not surprising the Dolphins are 1-3 at this juncture, but the way they've played is.
Owner Stephen Ross is blamed for failing to find answers. Vice president Mike Tannenbaum is blamed for roster changes that seemed odd during the offseason and goofy now. New coach Adam Gase is blamed for not elevating the play of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
There's an abundance of blame to go around, and the players deserve their share. Plug one leak in the dike and another one springs open. If it's not run defense, it's pass protection. When the run defense improves, the cornerbacks regress. The offensive linemen can't block, or the linebackers can't tackle. When the running game shows potential, the passing game turns dysfunctional. Or vice versa. Will we see the good DeVante Parker or the bad DeVante Parker? Is Kiko Alonso for real? Is Ndamukong Suh worth his weight in gold? Punter Matt Darr, however, is on track for MVP.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is upset about the teams loss to the Cincinnati Bengal, 22-7, in Cincinnati on Thurs., Sept. 29, 2016. He feels the offense had one of the teams worse performances.
It's become tiresome — and tiring — to list the Dolphins' shortcomings. The one that never goes away is at quarterback. Except for a 74-yard touchdown strike to Kenny Stills, Tannehill couldn't get the Dolphins closer than the Bengals' 39-yard line as Miami scored zero points in quarters two through four and went 2 for 11 on third downs, which makes the offense 12 for 45 on third downs this season.
Tannehill held the ball too long and got sacked five times. He got stripped of the ball again.
"Ryan has to step up on the fumble," Gase said in his first criticism of the quarterback. "Not everybody was on the same page. All of sudden he looks like he doesn't know what he's doing. I know he's going to figure out a way to get this thing turned around."
A week after talking about Tannehill's movement in the pocket against Cleveland, Gase was asked whether Tannehill can be taught to improve his presence in the pocket and replied: "Yes. I think we need to do a better job of actually blocking guys, too."
Gase delivered the message that it's no time to panic, that mastering the revamped uptempo offense is a "learning experience."
"The way this offense goes is, the longer you're in it, the easier it gets, the faster you can play, the easier the checks are," he said. "We are struggling where we're trying to get in the right deal, somebody makes a mistake, we get the wrong read, we mess up the protection.
"Everybody wants to say the sky is falling and fall apart. You got to keep working. Good teams keep working."
Are the Dolphins good? It's a maddening question. Is Tannehill, 30-38 in his fifth season, good? It's a maddening question.
"He is an ascending talent and checks all the boxes you are looking for at the position," Tannenbaum said when Tannehill signed a six-year, $96 million contract extension last year.
Miami Herald Miami Dolphins reporter Adam Beasley recaps the Dolphins loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati on Thurs., Sept. 29, 2016.
Ross might have bet all that money on the wrong guy to build a franchise around in today's quarterback-centric NFL.
It's not just Tannehill, though. Terrelle Pryor killed the secondary last week and Gase benched cornerback Byron Maxwell. So Cincy receiver A.J. Green (173 yards on 10 catches) killed the inexperienced secondary on Thursday. In the cluttered backfield, it's running back by committee, with four guys in rotation until Arian Foster returns. Mike Pouncey and Branden Albert are injured and the offensive line is improvising. Cameron Wake isn't playing enough.
When they crank up the 44-year-old "Miami Dolphins No. 1" fight song in Hard Rock Stadium, it just doesn't sound right. Maybe it will later this season. Maybe. Let's hope.
But right now, those prison-jumpsuit-orange uniforms are the only thing that's different about this same old team.
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