Same old story: Dolphins once more enter offseason full of questions
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Sunday's season-ending loss to the Jets by the Miami Dolphins is an example of why no game is truly meaningless.
Just last week, a thrilling home win over the Vikings was followed quickly by the news that Joe Philbin will be back next season, satisfying the players and some of the fan base.
Switch to this week, and the Dolphins find themselves up 24-14 early in the third quarter against the Jets thanks to a franchise-record 97-yard touchdown run by Lamar Miller that gave him more than 1,000 yards on the season.
Ryan Tannehill, established as the franchise's future at quarterback for at least another season, is on his way to a 4,000-yard campaign, giving the Dolphins those yardage marks for the first time ever.
Things are looking up, even if the team isn't going to the playoffs for the sixth straight season. Right?
Not so fast.
Three plays later, Eric Decker takes advantage of Cortland Finnegan -- not for the first time on the afternoon -- for a 74-yard touchdown, and the Jets are right back in it.
Follow that up with the realization that Mike Wallace, who isn't hurt, isn't going to play the rest of the game. He's just sitting on the bench, sulking.
One hour later, and the Jets have scored 23 unanswered points to win 37-24. A supposedly meaningless game suddenly isn't.
"They outplayed us in every single area of the game. They outcoached us, they outplayed us, and they deserved to win, without a doubt," Philbin said.
While Philbin dissected the loss, things were getting really bizarre next door in the locker room.
Wallace, who has voiced his displeasure about the lack of the deep ball in the offense, is approached at his locker.
The questions come, and so do answers, but not from Wallace. Instead, it's fellow receiver Brandon Gibson speaking for his teammate, who stands with his arms folded, making the occasional disapproving facial gesture.
Gibson explains how there was a disagreement with a coach, which led to the staff making a decision to bench Wallace for the second half.
So, as always with this franchise over the past decade, there are once again more questions than answers heading into an offseason.
Yes, we found out in 2014 that Tannehill and Miller can be effective starters. We also discovered that Jarvis Landry is a viable returner and receiver and Bill Lazor can run an offense.
However, we also discovered that this supposedly elite defense isn't, as shown by the fact they gave up an average of 32.2 points over the team's final six games. There weren't supposed to be any questions regarding this defense. What happened?
Will defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle lose his job over this disastrous finish? If he does, who would want to come down to Miami to work under a head coach who barely held on to his job this season and will be in the final year of his contract in 2015?
And now this Wallace thing could really get ugly. We saw what Philbin did with Brandon Marshall and his attitude. Will Wallace be the next one shipped out for a couple of draft picks? Probably not with the monster five-year, $60 million contract he signed before the 2013 season, but who knows.
With all that said, the main question everyone wants answered is when the Dolphins will return to the postseason.
Yes, injuries at key positions this year hampered those efforts, and a few close games could have gone Miami's way, leaving them potentially at 11-5, but as the old adage goes, you are what your record says you are, and Miami finished 8-8.
Even the normally calm Tannehill had reason to vent after this defeat.
"Does it feel good to lose? No. I hate losing," Tannehill said. "I put a lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of blood, sweat and tears. So do a lot ... everyone in this locker room does as well. Any time you don’t come out and finish the way you want to, it hurts.”
What also hurts is that the Dolphins are now 43-53 over the last six seasons and have one nine or more games just twice in the last 11 years.
Next season, no matter who's on board his barely floating ship alongside him, it will be put up or shut up for Philbin and his crew, that there is no question about.
