The Miami Dolphins: An Empire of dirt?

We are in difficult times. The world around us has changed and gotten darker. The economy stinks. And the Dolphins are missing the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years.

No one knows what will happen Sunday in Foxboro, Mass. when Miami ends the 2010 season against New England, the best team in the NFL. Will the Dolphins respond to this opportunity to salvage what has been a disappointing season? Or will we see the Dolphins we've gotten used to -- no offense, and usually good, but sometimes inconsistent defense -- fail for the ninth time in 16 games?

And what about afterward?

What will happen in the weeks and days after the season's final play? Will owner Stephen Ross keep Tony Sparano and Jeff Ireland? Or will he fire the last vestiges of the Bill Parcells era and start anew?

No one knows for certain.

I do know this: The glory days were long ago. And they haven't returned.

The Dolphins were once the winningest professional sports franchise on Earth. They boasted the fact every week in press releases. No more. Nowadays, they don't even acknowledge when they sign a player that might make them slightly less mediocre. That is not improvement.

Things have changed, folks. And for the worse. The end of this season reminds us. The franchise that was once a gleaming, shining beacon of excellence and, yes, even perfection for one fateful season ... gone.

More of today's Dolfans remember 1-15 than 17-0. Fewer of today's Dolfans remember their last playoff win. Or their last playoff game. Or their last back-to-back wins at home, for that matter.

The Dolphins, once a source of community pride, is now watching the community turn its attention to the Miami Heat. The Dolphins now more closely resemble, in the words of Johnny Cash, an empire of dirt.

 [Thanks to Dolfan Joe Alvarez who created this video and passed it along to me.]

Comments

[Pritchett54]

Trent reznor wrote those words, not
Johnny Cash.

[Darryl Dunphy]

Armando..What was the point of that? We are all suffering from the Players and everyone in between down to the fans. There are some tough questions that need to be addressed. As this Franchise tries to move forward we all see that it is falling behind. Players don't care about the past like they did 10-15 years ago. The 17-0 team looks great in the trophy cabinet, and gives Mercury Morris a platform to squwak.But does this attract free agents? Teams are turned over to fast, and the players are chewed up and spit out. There is little loyalty unless you are a superstar. And still you can end up with a rival if the money is right, or your fragile feelings hurt. It looks like another rebuild. At some point the heads that put this team together will get it right. Until then we will wait, and hope, and support our team.

[Marc]

It truly is a sad state of affairs and has been ever since #13 "retired".

[Marc]

Zach Thomas, JT, Brown, Crowder

All loyal, and all either forced out, or soon to be forced out

This frachise has no heart

[ALoco]

AEMANDO SAID THE DAYS OF GLORY .WHAT GLORY W/JASON TAYLOR ON THE FRONT ,I REMEMBER THE DAYS OF 1-15 HEADED BY JASON TAYLOR .

[Hayden Fox]

Relax. If they have a couple of wins in the last few weeks you would not have written that piece.

Cut the hyperbole.

Your writing has struggled like Omar Kelly lately.

[VA Fin Fan]

Cheer up fellas, the Fins will rise again... This team is close, hang in there and better things will come...

[corners]

You talk as if the glory days were just yesterday and this administration blew it all up.

Or is this just a cut and paste job from when we were 1-15 and you just have nothing better to write about?

Stir the pot some more, its obvious what you want ,which bothers me because you are supposed to be a reporter,not regurgitating your own opinions like this

[Armando Salguero]

Darryl, if I had wheels I'd be a bike. I don't.

They did lose the last couple of weeks.

And please be nice to Omar. He's good people.

[ALoco]

FOR ME THIS ARTICLE DOESN'T PRESENT ARMANDO AT HIS BEST,HOW WE KNOW IF BP STILL EMPLOYED BY FINS ?

WE GORT TO LOOK FORWARD NOT BACK WARD ,LET'S GO GET A QB AND A RB IN THE DRAFT AND ONLY THEN WE WILL RISE AGAIN .

[Armando Salguero]

Dear corners, please stop knowing nothing. It hurts the blog.

[ALoco]

WE SHOULD LET CROWDER GO PLUS R.BROWN AND BERGER .LET'S GET FAST,LEAN AND SMART PLAYERS .THE DAYS OF THE STUDS ARE OVER .

[ALoco]

BEAUTIFUL DAYS OF GLORY , TUNA CAME AND TURNED THIS TEAM AROUND ,YOU LIKE IT OR NOT .

P.S.....THE WORD GLORY SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR MORE HEROIC EVENTS NOT THE FIN AT 1-15.

[PN]

Armando you are all over the place man. One day you are saying they should stick with Henne the next you are throwing him under the bus. The dolphins are not back yet. We get it. But don't forget we won one game just three years ago. Our problem is we didn't rebuild our franchise when Jimmy Johnson left. We tried to sign an aging veteran or trade draft picks to find a qb instead of scrapping the whole damn thing and starting anew. We have shown progress with a totaly revamped lineup. Yes we need to keep adding pieces but we will and I think we are alot closer than you think. This team with a few additions is not that far behind new york. In fact we have beaten them 3 out of the last 4 times we have played them. I too can't wait until we return to our glory days but if you are being serious we have had very little glory since 1975.

[Darryl Dunphy]

Armando..I have nothing against Omar. Enjoy his work as well. I'm just not sure where you were going with this one?

[Marc]

Reminds me of a saying my buddy used to use Mandy...

"If my Uncle had t!ts he'd be my Aunt"

[VA Fin Fan]

Mando I dont blog much, but I read your posts religiously. I respect your opinion a lot, so I will fire this question at you. Do you honestly feel the roof is caving in? 7-8 is not the end of the world, one maybe two good players would be the difference IMO.

[Rick in Oz]

Yeah...really Armando....what the hell was hat? Boy that was just uplifting....thanks for that....seeing how I am already disappointed that the Phins did meet the expectations we had for them, I am surprised you did not come all the way here to Austalia and cr_p in my Christmas stocking just to top it off.

[Marc]

This whole article is kinda Captain Obvious, but, it's about time someone besides me and other angry bloggers bash the team. They deserve it...

LOSERS

Closer than we think?

Have you watched a single game this season, or last, or the last decade?

In the past 3 years, save the NE/Wildcat fluke game

Name a SINGLE opponent we've handled with ease?

[ALoco]

LET SEE ....THE BEST FINS RECORD FOR LAST 12 YEARS ARE THE LAST 3 YEARS UNDER BP .SO WHAT I AM MISSING HERE ?

[Marc]

You're missing plenty id!ot

[ALoco]

the steroid guy is mad ,he's missing the glory days.

[Sandoval]

Its true and sad.

[VA Fin Fan]

Marc, you are right, they deserve it, they lost. They are an inconsistent team with a limping offense to boast. Judging by your your passionate posts you are a die hard fan like most of us in here, but have patience my friend, someday someone will figure this out. As a fan all you can do is cheer when times are good and dream when times are bad.

[Eric]

the frachise is dead and irrelevant. we already knew that.

[0x80]

Fire the owner! Sell the team to the Russian Mafia! Let them just buy our way to glory. Let's stop messing around with silly owners and the silly coaching carousel. Fire the owner. Bring in the foreign money, make the fins truly international.

[Joe]

Armando, who was the offensive coordinator of the 1984 Dolphins, and is he still available for next season?

[biff]

Why are you guys berating Armando's blog post, everything he says here and that video he re-posted are correct we were once great and have been awful recently. It has been a painful decline from the greatness of the 70's, and then the marino era to the mediocrity and worse that the team has now become.

[aj]

WOW!

[Pcola Fin]

Some of you are missing the point. This organization is closer to being the Aints like the Saints used to be. We have been a playoff team once in eight years. Hello? That's depressing. We keep thinking next year and next year never comes. So yeah this is getting very old and it's time we realize we have fallen into the same area of teams such as the Lions and Bills. We haven't been relavent in a decade.

[BrianInHubbardOhio]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but 10 years ago tomorrow was our last playoff win. More salt for the wound I suppose....

[0x80]

I think its safe to proclaim the Parcells era a complete bust. There have now been 5 regimes since Shula, and not one has been remotely beneficial. Fire the owner, sell the team to some rich owner in Abu Dabi, they'll make something happen.

[kula]

Whatever the state of the team, and however much that video bummed you out, you have to admit, that it was really well done. I almost shed a tear for my team, that once was.

Kudos to Slippery Soaap. Great Vid.

[Yann]

over the last 20 years, who 's been worse than The Dolphins?
Browns & Lions, obviously. Texans also. Seahawks have been irrelevant too. But that's pretty much it...Sad, very sad.

[Pcola Fin]

We need new OC (duh)
We need a seam TE (begged for one last year's TE rich draft and didn't receive)
We need to fall in love with our QB in the first round and GO get him (I like Mallett as a guy who we can realistically go after)
We need to play rookie QB right away. NO MORE veteran discards! Please learn from the mistakes of the past 10 years! Please.
We need to get a few interior linemen via FA. Easier to fill that position there instead of draft.
We need two RBs in mid to late rounds to equals thunder and lighting. At the very least one RB with HR ability to go along with one of the big backs on our current roster.
Do all those things and just maybe we can start to compete in today's NFL. That's my two cents.

[marc is an idiot]

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY is an idiot like Marc. Over the last two years this so called human has advocated for the torture of animals. He has stated kids should be given steroids. He is proud he uses cocaine and degrades women. He is a heartless, cruel, drug abuser who cares for no one or nothing but his own pleasures. F U Marc. Human trash.

[cowkilla]

Hey Mando, how about get some meat for us man..I want to know whats going on behind closed doors over there at the Miami HQ's. Have you spoken to Ross? What rumors have you heard? Give us some of that instead of reminding me and everyone how horrible our team has been since the '80's

[Shoe]

MARC IS DIRTY PERSON HIS PARENTS CAN"T BE PROUD.

[DyingBreed]

If there were only one thing I could bring from the past to the present. It wouldnt be the 72 Dolphins it would be 25 cents a gallon gas. Or buy a brand new spacious home for only $25 G's.

Football is just what it was designed to be, a pass time. Every great dynasty eventually comes too pass. If football's the #1 priority in life then you're doomed to gloom. LOL.............

[ALoco]

NICE POST MR DB .

[DyingBreed]

I also think everyone bashing Chad Henne should have to play at least one snap under center in a 3rd and long situation with the blitz on, including myself. Then we will see if having courage and fire is as easy as we make it sound. LOL................

[ALoco]

THE CUBAN IS AT IT AGAIN

[mrmikejohnson]

Unfortunately, the Dolphins will be bad until Stephen Ross sells the team and Brady and Manning retire.

[DyingBreed]

who cares if the Dolphins ever become great again. I rather have a cure for cancer, aids, and world peace.

The whole world is going crazy and why the hell doesnt Cheetos Cheese company make cheese cakes! LOL....................

[Phin4Life]

Thats because America is not what it was, and will never become what it was supposed to be. America has become the Ghetto of the world.

[Jon]

Wow, depressed much? This team was 1-15 then went 11-5 the next season. I think most fans realize that things can turn around quickly in the NFL today. Look at teams like the Chiefs and Rams. Even the Saints. Its never as bad as it seems. Yeah this season was a huge let down, but look at the positives. They have young guys like Long, Davis, Misi, Bess, Marshall, Wake, and Dansby that they can build around, regardless who the next regime is. That's a hell of a lot more then Wannstedt, Saban, and Cameron left combined in their tenures.

[DyingBreed]

Why does the hell does my phone conpany try to sell me tv service and my tv company tries to sell me phone service. Why the hell am I not allowed to have a cell phone in a jail cell!

[ALoco]

DB,

YOU TALKING LIKE A REAL PERSON ,A REAL SMART MAN .GOD BLESS YOU .I PRAY TO GOD TO FIND A CIURE FOR CANCER .

[DyingBreed]

Where the hell is that giant sized spider who spun the world wide web. What the hell was the guy who created the browser really looking for.

Why did Jeff Ireland really wanna know if Dez's mother was available for a little after hours partying!

[DyingBreed]

Was it really Dez's father Jeff Ireland was really after. Enquiring minds want to know!

[DyingBreed]

Why are the past covers of life magazine filled with so many dead people!

[DyingBreed]

Why the hell is a mens magazine called Playboy when it's girls we most like to play with. That being the case, then why the hell is it a bad thing when little boys play with dolls, and not such a bad thing when grown men do!

[Ryan]

This year was bad, but we are not that far off. Good defense, outstanding WRs and a franchise left tackle. The RBs are fine, just need a little help with the play calling and one more good OL.

The real problem is at QB...or OC, or both. Fix those two and life is good

[oscar canosa]

We don't want no glory days just a chance to compete in the Playoffs.

[Joe]

Just get us a QB the rest will work itself out!!!!!

[DyingBreed]

Beautiful fade td pass just thrown by Nick Fowles. Keep an eye on Nick Fowles of Arizona tonight guys!

[bottoms up]

Db meets JD (Black Label)

[DyingBreed]

If looking for a qb outside of the 1st rd Nick Fowles of Asizona is a top candidate!

[DyingBreed]

OK ST wr Justin Blackmon may be available for us at #16 too. He has over 1,700yds recieving this year!

[0x80]

If Sparano is still here, which is most likely, he is going to be in win yesterday mode. Rather than use a pick on a rookie QB who will do him no good in 2011, he will be forced to turn his attention to the multitude of other offensive positions that can potentially help us beat losing teams at home.