Is the glass half full for the Dolphins at mid-season?
Miami has mostly played to the level of their opponent and have not beaten anyone by more than four points since opening day.
This is bad.
Miami is a balanced team that has a demonstrated capability of adjusting their style of play to compete with the best teams in the league.
This is good.
Miami is below average in passing yards (19th), rushing yards (21st), passing yards against (22nd) and rushing yards against (23rd).
This is bad.
For every positive thought there seems to be a “but” attached to it and vice versa.
The bottom line is that they won their first must-win game of the season against Cincinnati and gave themselves a chance to make the jump from pretender to contender in the second half.
With 11 days for Miami to prepare for Tampa Bay, the Miami Dolphins are getting what feels like their second bye week of the season. They get a chance to watch football on consecutive Sundays, before facing a second half of the season with a small margin of error.
While the Miami Dolphins have a good philosophy of taking it one game at a time, we take a look at the forecast, which is only partly cloudy.
The Miami Dolphins will come up victorious in two consecutive must-win games against the 0-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 4-3 San Diego Chargers.
The Carolina Panthers may be able to steal one from a Miami that has trouble putting teams away. A loss here drops them to 6-5.
The next two games are on the road at the 4-4 New York Jets and 3-5 Pittsburgh Steelers and the team will be happy to steal one on the road and remain in the playoff hunt at 7-6.
With their back against the wall, Miami will bring their “A game” in the revenge portion of their schedule and take care of New England at home and the Buffalo Bills on the road.
Finally, with a 9-6 record, they will host the New York Jets and earn a ten win season.
That is good.
Ten wins may not earn a post-season spot.
That is bad.
The Dolphins 3-2 record is the biggest factor leading me to believe that the team will take advantage of the schedule’s weaker half. However, any Miami Dolphins prediction should be given with a plus or minus 1, with Caleb Sturgis setting up as the difference between a 9 win season or an 11 win effort that allows them to challenge for a division title and a first round bye.
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