Dolphins shellacked by Cardinals 31-10, brace for a long season

Miami falls to 0-2 after 31-10 loss @ Arizona

On Kurt Warner’s first drop back to pass, the 37 year old veteran floated the ball down the middle of the field, hitting receiver Anquan Boldin in stride, as he raced down the field untouched for a 79 yard score. Almost instantaneously, the all too familiar feeling of pure incompetence from last year’s debacle of a season began to simmer for Miami fans.

Then, one drive later, the simmer hastened to a full scale boil when Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald snagged a pass over cornerback Will Allen, made two defenders miss and sprinted towards the end zone, before being dragged down inside the 10 after a gain of 75 yards. The Cardinals capped the drive with another Warner to Boldin touchdown. By this point, the proverbial pot had overflowed.

Ladies and gentleman, meet your 2008 Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately, after all the turnover on the roster, on the sidelines, and in the front office and all the talk about “a new beginning” the Dolphins look stunningly similar to the team that took the field last season. The receivers cannot get open. The offensive line continually misses blocks. The defense cannot cover or tackle. And in a game the team declared a must win last week, the team was woefully uncompetitive. To put it as simply as possible, right now this team is just plain bad.

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After year after year of poor personnel decisions, the Dolphins and their fans must realize that no coach or vice president of football operations, even with hall of fame credentials, will be able to turn this team around in one season. Last year’s first round pick, Ted Ginn Jr., cannot even crack a three wide receiver set. John Beck, the second round pick from last season, is the third string quarterback and was in danger of being cut in training camp. Former first round pick Jason Allen cannot even beat out safety Chris Crocker, who has been responsible two huge touchdowns so far this season or Renaldo Hill, who is coming off reconstructive knee surgery. The team’s best player, running back Ronnie Brown, is a year away from being at the form he displayed last year when leading the league in yards from scrimmage before he tore his ACL. That is, if he can ever regain that form. The revamped lines have been outmuscled in each game.

The optimist will say, nonsense, the Dolphins, at 0-2, share the same record as AFC contenders Jacksonville and San Diego and Miami has a new coaching staff and a young team that will improve as the season moves forward. Indeed, perhaps all of this gloom and doom is misguided pessimism; an overreaction to one awful game. But this one horrible game is just another in a litany of many pathetic performances over the past several years. Enough is enough. If this team cannot stay competitive with a New England team sans Tom Brady, then it will be a sure sign to look ahead to next year. Enough is enough. It is time the Dolphins started to play it.

By Glenn Katzman
ProFootball-fans.com Miami Dolphins Correspondent