What if you were drowning and you had to fight for every piece of air; What would you do?
Dolphins by nature aren’t animals that drown in water. In fact, they’re the opposite, they embrace the water. As for our beloved Miami Dolphins, they too are starting to embrace water as well. The entire season has been set with a Super Bowl aspiration and this team hasn’t quit on themselves. Even in the midst of a difficult situation with a 4-5 record and the last place standing in the AFC East division, they keep on fighting. Fans in Miami have been upset because this team has put up some bad performances and in the past haven’t executed well, but this is a team that we can’t give up on. We’ve got to believe because we can see that the proof is in the pudding, this team isn’t quitting.
Football is a game about heart and determination. It’s a physical game, but at the same time it’s one of the biggest mental battles. When Miami played against the Philadelphia Eagles they needed a bit of momentum and with their 20-19 victory they might have gotten it. Defeating a team like Philadelphia on the road without one of your best defensive pass rushers like Cameron Wake should be applauded. Missing Wake presented an obvious challenge, but Miami stepped up. They still played physical, and defensively they didn’t fold. With their determination, even heaven smiled upon Miami as Ryan Tannehill threw Jarvis Landry one of the most awkward game- winning touchdown pass of his career.
The Dolphins will have a challenge to make the playoffs. It’s not as bad as it seems. They are one game out of the sixth spot for the wild card. Going 0-4 in the division is what’s hurting but if the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets lose enough games Miami might sneak into the playoffs because they are only one game out of the spot. Out of the last seven games the Dolphins have on their schedule, five of them are at Sun Life Stadium. Going on a five game-winning streak at home could become a ticket into the playoffs. In addition out of those seven games, Miami has to play only three of them are against teams with winning records. The team might be able to make a run if they can execute and not make ill-advised mistakes. Even Landry noticed that the momentum of the team is starting to shift and they can’t give up.
“Now, coming into the second half of the season, it’s time for us to start peaking. It is time for us to gain on the momentum … and now go on an eight-game winning streak. “We do not believe in luck. Everything happens for a reason. At the same time, when you count on luck, you do not believe in yourself.”
It’s also that type of determination that gets coaches to say words like what Dolphins interim head coach Dan Campbell said during the postgame conference.
“When you get in games like this and its a dog fight, your impact players, you need them to step up and make plays and ours did today….I’m proud of the way they fought,” said Campbell.
To take it a step further, his postgame speech to his players is just as inspiring as his first game was.
VICTORY SPEECH!!
"We play with one another, for one another."#StrongerTogetherhttps://t.co/myaukPlU25
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 15, 2015
The theme of the team now is to only to focus on what they can control and playing the Dallas Cowboys next week will not be an easy task. Brent Grimes hasn’t been playing his best, but we shouldn’t believe he won’t have a good game against Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. We need to expect that the coaching staff will do their diligence to make sure Bryant doesn’t have a huge game. With Reshad Jones in the secondary, Bryant might be in for a difficult time.
It all starts next week against Dallas, the final stretch of hope to make the playoffs.
D’Joumbarey A. Moreau covers sports in Miami-Dade & Broward County. You can follow him on Twitter@DJoumbarey.
