Dolphins Spitting Mad After Ravens Loss
The Miami Dolphins have become the face of average in the NFL. The defense, once considered the strength of the team, couldn't force the Ravens to punt on Sunday.
And if the team put as much heart into their play as they have into being upset over an alleged spitting incident, the team would be barely hanging on as a .500 team.
The Dolphins were essentially neutered in Sunday's game in Baltimore. The team had been riding high, winning all of their road games this season. But then the Fins ran into the Ravens, who were head and shoulders better than the Dolphins in every aspect of the game.
Fins quarterback Chad Henne couldn't figure out the Ravens defense while throwing 3 interceptions. The Dolphins running game mustered only 73 yards on 17 total carries. Perhaps most stunning, Ricky Williams only had 1 yard on two carries.
Henne and wide receiver Brandon Marshall had a total of 3 fumbles in the game and even the ever-reliable Dan Carpenter missed a field goal during the game.
Defensively, the Dolphins couldn't stop Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who only missed 7 passes in the game and the Ravens running game which mustered over 150 yards on the ground. The Dolphins special team also got humiliated again on a fake punt.
All in all, the Fins were either average, or simply awful.
But after the game, the Fins weren't talking about missed assignments, interceptions, the running game, or anything of importance. Instead, the Dolphins were literally fighting mad over Ravens fullback Le'Ron McClain allegedly spitting in the face of Fins linebacker Channing Crowder.
Crowder called McClain, "a bitch-ass punk," and a "ho." Fellow linebacker Karlos Dansby suggested that if the league doesn't do something to McClain, the team could do something about it when they see him in the street.
Crowder went on to mock the crew as "Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller." McClain said he didn't spit on him and if he did, he wasn't trying to, both players were in each other's faces.
But that's the point of this year's Dolphins team. Outside of Dansby, the defense hasn't been focused much on stopping anyone. The offense has been, well, awful. It's gotten to the point that if you want to keep the Dolphins off your yard, just put up goal posts.
There was plenty of celebration over the past few years for the reclamation project former Dolphins president Bill Parcells undertook. While Parcells put together a nice foundation with the team, he didn't finish the job, which has become his m.o.
He built a nice foundation in Dallas, which quickly fell apart. He built a nice foundation with the Jets, but couldn't finish the deal. He did the same in New England, getting to the Super Bowl, but couldn't win the big game.
So the Dolphins are now left with a team that's more focused on whether or not someone got spit on rather than the fact that they were outcoached and outplayed by the Ravens.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in the offseason that he thought the team was capable of winning the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for Ross, he's shown so far he's much better in attracting celebrities than putting together a winning team.
The Dolphins will likely be searching for a new head coach by the end of the season, the only question will be who will want to come in and take over the circus. While many names will be thrown out there, the two who need to be at the top of the list are Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden.
Both demand discipline, carry winning pedigrees, and have shown an ability to develop young players into winners. All of which the Dolphins desperately need.
