Smallest crowd of the season on tap for Jacksonville

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin came to the defense of South Florida Dolphins fans this week.

“Our fan support has really been excellent," he said. "It’s a loud atmosphere down at this stadium, and we’re looking forward to playing well in front of our home fans this Sunday."

Interesting. The Dolphins have struggled to fill Sun Life Stadium practically every game except the home opener and the Patriots game (when there were 20,000 Pats fans in the house).

Otherwise, the paid attendance has been anywhere from 52,000 to 59,000 and the actual attendance lower than that.

This week it'll be worse. This week, with the simply awful and uninteresting Jacksonville Jaguars coming to town, the Dolphins could have the smallest crowd of the year. Their paid should be the typical 50,000 or so.

But the team is aware the actual "crowd" could dip into the mid 40,000s.

The only way this game won't have the lowest attendance of the year is if the Dolphins lose Sunday and even more disenchanted fans stay home next week when Miami plays Buffalo.

"I haven’t really noticed to be honest with you," Philbin said. "I got a couple other things to be concerned about.

"I think our fans are very passionate. The ones that I have interaction with love the Dolphins. They’re loyal and supportive and it’s been a good atmosphere at the stadium."

Despite this being the lowest actual attendance of the year, the Dolphins are still expecting to broadcast the game live on local television. It would take an unexpected last minute change of philosophy to allow the blackout to stand.

The club has broadcast the previous six home games despite not having sellouts by meeting the NFL threshold for showing games.

Comments

[Clue]

Mid 40,000 are we really expecting that much people to wtch this snore fest??

[Jay]

Doubt there will be 20,000 in actual attendance

[Buster]

OMG First!!??!! Now I KNOW this team is in truble !!!

[Buster]

So is my spelling.....trouble of course...

[CLIPBOARD]

First

[CLIPBOARD]

Fifth or sixth I guess.

Armando, know one cares playa!!!

[Buster]

Lol ...no Clipper..we missed :-(

[Buster]

Exactly....no one cares.....Let's Go Heat !!!

[Not A Flavor Of The Month Nitwit]

You won't care about the Heat, either, when they are losing again someday. You didn't before.

Fairweather jagov.

(and for the record, GO Heat AND Go Dolphins!)

[austin]

philbin's act is getting tired. he might get more respect if he just comes out and says he understands why no one wants to pay to see the irrelevant product they are producing.

[Buster]

So if we win...what is that win # 6?.....so with at least six wins..we draft like 10th or so???

so we suck just enough to loose interest, but not enough to get the into the first couple of picks.....

....typical...here comes another Jeff Ireland draft disaster...

[Buster]

.....yo...nitwit face KMA

[Todd McShay]

Miami Dolphins select Dion Jordan, Oregan

[Buster]

Exactly Austin....why does he even try to dignify with an answer what is blatantly obvious.......the field product fails to excite....

[fin4life]

Dashi, Gronk had an injured back that kept him out for a year, not a broken neck. And my biggest problem wasn't the Dolphins passing on Gronk - it was passing on Hernandez 58 times so they can field a team of 53 linebackers in that draft. Worst draft by far under Ireland. Pure suckage.

Mark in Toronto | December 13, 2012 at 12:54 PM

Mark From Last Blog,

That particular draft will haunt me for sometime still. I remember the 93 draft when Shula passed on the BIG 3 LB's out of UM (Darrin Smith, Mike Barrow, Jessie Armstead) known as the Bermuda Triangle. He passed on D.Smith in RD-1 for McDuffie then took T.Kirby instead of moving on Barrow RD-2 bur what hurt the most was that the best of the group who was slidding because of injury Armstead we passed on 6 times!! Taking such memorable players like Ronnie Bradford (DB) Chris Gray (OG) and some guy named O'Neal before the Giants took their 6 or 7 time Pro Bowl LB!

The 2010 draft was tough to watch because it seems to escape everybody that we took Misi in that pick ahead of Gronk which may end up netting a serviceable DE in the future (I feel better suited there can play the run well and rush off the end in 4/3) but we passed on ELITE talent. In RD-3 we passed on arguably a better T.E. IN Jimmy Graham out of our own backyard for J.Jerry again a player some had rated higher than RD-3 but that was the draft before the Rookie CAP were everybody and there mom made the jump. Then the WHOPPER was taking AJ Edds ahead of Hernandez with Ireland in an interview stating that he was going to be a GREAT situational passdown LB, huhh??

That was considered the deepest T.E. class which again some seem to forget and the Dolphins needing to replace David Martin (Fasano is and will always be better as the 2nd option in the double T.E. formation) simply ignored the position. If you want to simply make it worse we were sitting at pick 11 that Yr. when we traded down with S.D. passing on F.S. Earl Thomas and DE JPP for the 2nd RD pick lost in the Marshall trade (for all of 2 Seasons work) In hindsight truly one of the worst drafts in team history! Had we stayed put could have been JPP, Graham and Hernandez all picked without trading and all were considered GREAT athletically freakish talents compared to the serviceable group we netted, puking over the memory!

[fin4life]

I feel your estimate of 40,000 is generous Mando, it looks from all the Orange-n-Aqua seats visible on TV to be in the 30's at best.

[Buster]

.....yep...that sounds like our Jeffy-boy.....

[Rob M]

2 horrible teams. Who wants to pay money to go see that??? Not me.

[dolffnman]

This is what happens when owners listen to the fans. Fans know absolutely nothing about football. So they make decisions based what the fans want. Case in point they had a solid team last year that finished 6-3. A team that really needed a good QB to make themselves competitive. A team with a solid offensive and defensive coordinator. A head coach that was attached to a inept QB in Henne, but when finally was forced to make a move to Moore all of a sudden looked like a good coach. Last year the team played much harder for Sparano than it does for Philbin. But in the end they clean house and make a desperation draft for a mediocre college QB just to please the fans. In the end that gets us another 4 years of the phins sticking to their guns about their decisions because admitting failure is not an option.

[Rob M]

Throw in the fact that by going you are feeding cash to Ross and furthering the employment of Jeff Ireland....forget that....count me OUT!

[Texas_Dolfan]

Should be easy to get tickets then. I actually thought from when the TV cameras are on the lack of crowd that there is far less than 40k.

Maybe Ross should sell game day seats for a couple bucks. He can call it throw back day. You pay a 1960's ticket price and get a free throw back Chad Henne Jersey.

[Buster]

The difference between the Fins and the Heat....is that the Heat have a GM who has a clue....(like HOF status)..and an owner who has basketball sense....

...unlike Ireland who is clueless, and Ross who doesn't know football from footlongs...

[Mark in Toronto]

Austin, more respect from whom exactly? Not his players at least. That would be an absolutely idiotic thing for him to say to the media.

[Mark in Toronto]

f4l, excellent post, caught it in the last blog. I replied there. Such a horrific weekend.

[finbukaki]

Trading down and missing Earl Thomas and JPP was a disgrace. 09 taking Davis instead of Clay Mathews. 07 taking Ginn when Patrick Willis was on the board?? I thought for sure he would be our guy.
Gross incompetence in talent evaluation has, is, and will be our achilles heel.

[Dink%]

This is a BAD football team.lol

[Mark in Toronto]

McShay, Dion Jordan is a great prospect and should definitely be in play when the Dolphins draft. A pure game wrecker along the lines of Aldon Smith, Von Miller, and Chandler Jones

[2 watt]

cheap ross.
lol

[Sammo]

This will be the one game our d dominates all year. They know its henne throwing the ball and they know him quite well. He knows our d but I think its more likely henne makes more mistakes than than our guys. Get pressure on chad and the turnovers will come. Jones should have a field day in the middle.

[DC Dolfan]

Mark, what do you think about the idea of getting Josh Cribbs as an all-purpose player (maybe take over Clay's role)? He's going to be a UFA. He could also handle returns with Thigpen. He's one of those big-play guys everytime he touches the ball. Not too sure if he can catch, but that would be a plus (as a 3rd WR or something).

[Mark in Toronto]

bukaki (hee hee) I would agree with most everything yu sai except Davis v Matthews. Matthews went 27th or whatever for a reason. He had one year of college prodcution and was a former walk on. He was far from a sure thing. Davis was proven and was the best pure corner in that draft. Although if the Dolphins had just re-signed Andre Goodman, they could've gone with Matthews or Nicks or Britt. Oh well.

[OUCH]

TANNEBUST is the 29th ranked QB.

[2 watt]

omar is not a fan of rt.
lol

[The Shoe Fits]

Miami: The only sports market in America where people think it's 'cool' to switch their allegiance from one local team to another like they're changing a pair of shoes and act as if cheering for ALL your hometown teams to do well is somehow weird.

And you wonder why the rest of the country views you as a bunch of plastic, front-running phonies.

[austin]

mark, i stand by my comment. do you think philbin gains respect with his players by contradicting what is blatantly obvious? i think it makes him look like a donkey.

[CadillacDeVille]

Great ESPN story on Tanne:

http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/52236/does-tannehill-lack-the-clutch-gene

[Mark in Toronto]

DC, Cribbs is an interesting player but he's going to cost and I'm not sure he does anything Thigpen can't do. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I see it. I'd like a more traditional receiver that just gives the defenses something to think about. Make Hartline and Bess go against the 2nd and 3rd corners ona team

[CadillacDeVille]

A small crowd and a blackout would be best for everyone.

We have nothing to gain by beating J'ville.

Ireland has everything to lose if Henne goes ape$hit.

[Buster]

Wow.....so one person speaks for the rest of the country.....and I thought all along that only Mitt Romney held that delusion....

[The Shoe Fits]

I don't speak for the rest of the country.

You don't speak for the rest of the fanbase.

[Mark in Toronto]

Austin, my thinking is that whatever the coach says to the media means shite. It's not the truth, just the political correct jargon that gets us chatting on blogs and buying papers (do people still do that?). Players don't liek being sold out ot the media, they much rather prefer dealing with things one on one and behind closed doors. Think about you and yyour workplace, if your boss has a problem with you, do you want it communicated in the employee newsletter or dealt with in confidence?

[Christ's Sake]

Philbin's act is getting old. Fast..

[fin4life]

c'mon fin......are you gonna re-hash old drafts and the "picks we shoulda made" forever?--cant you say that about most teams, i.e. a lot of teams missed these and other players......easy to say all of this now but if teams knew that Graham or Gronk (or Brady......or MARINO!) were going to be as good as they turned out, they wouldve drafted them--geez, at this point, you could easily make a case that Gronkowski shoulda gone in the top 3-4 picks in the draft, knowing what we know now--but who had him rated THAT high?

Posted by: benz | December 13, 2012 at 01:48 PM

Going into that draft we had needs at DT,DE,Safety,T.E. and WR.

In going back and reading Mark's post I remember we were all thinking if DT (D.Williams remember Ferguson roid issue and age) ) JPP became the darling especially after posting a 4.45/40 at 6'6"/305 pds. and don't forget him at speed back flipping down an entire Football Field (If you didn't see youtube Wake hadn't really busted out yet and Porter was shown the door with Merling the slacker his Bio said he was and we passed on UM'S Calais Campbell for him whose a monster in Arz.)

Erik Berry and Earl Thomas were can't miss with Gibril Wilson in need of replacement and of course the T.E.'s (Gronk, Graham, Hernandez) Gronk had injury issues besides the back problem causing his slide. In Miami we all knew the potential of Basketball player Graham at T.E. and Hernandez flunked a Drug test smoking the ickey but was worth the risk RD-4. The point is like Mark posted had the F.O. simply read this blog that draft could have netted these need players because they were discussed here one and all for 2 months before that draft. These weren't players who came out of left field and were all serious needs when we drafted 4 LB's with our 7 picks.

[Buster]

Never, ever said I did ....whereas you on the other hand made the rest-of-the-country generalization.....

....and that is what makes a blog.....differences of opinion.....if we all agreed it would be rather vanilla..

....but then maybe the flavor fits the container.....

...whatever....it's already boring....

[ALoco]

TO
BE
OR
NOT
TO
BE...................

TO,COMEBACK OR NOT TO COMEBACK ??????????

MARINO,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, THE BEST QB IN HISTORY AS DASHI CLAIMS ?

I DISAGREE WITH HIM AND RESPECT HIS UNINFORMATIVE VIEWS ..........

[Art]

Armando, sure the stadium will be empty - would you pay $200 to watch the Jags and the Fins?

[ALoco]

MARINO WAS A VERY GOOD QB,THAT'S ALL..

BRADY,
MONTANA
MANNING ........THESE ARE THE BEST ,EVER...

[ALoco]

ART,

OUR GARAGE MANAGER PAY FOR ARMANDO'S TICKET...

[chief uppa u.s.]

Marino. 1-10 in road playoffs.Can you say chchchcCHOKER.LMAO

[Buster]

Lol @ Aloco......like telling someone you respect their right to wear their gawdy, styleless, unflattering choice of attire......

....gotta luv it

[THE FINAL SCORE]

Jacksonville Hennes: 31
Miami Philbins: 20

Bet on it.

[fin4life]

Last year the team played much harder for Sparano than it does for Philbin. But in the end they clean house and make a desperation draft for a mediocre college QB just to please the fans. In the end that gets us another 4 years of the phins sticking to their guns about their decisions because admitting failure is not an option.

dolffnman | December 13, 2012 at 01:46 PM\

Sparano is responsible for single handedly destroying the Jets. They look like we did and don't forget his Fav. player from the 2010 Mobile Sr. Bowl Tebow being the Wild Cat trigger man he pushed for. He got the job because his Bro-In-Law Parcells has alot of influence with the Jets having gotten G.M. Tannenbaum his job and selling him Rex. Their seeming loyalty to Parcells will have one if not both fired at Seasons end by Owner Woody Johnson.

By the way Starano maybe a saint can't imagine afemale from the Parcells family lot but he's been over inflated as a Coach at any level in the NFL. Everybody talks about his great work with the Dallas OL but that had some luck to it. In 04 after all they had Flozelle Adams (LT), Larry Allen (LG) Andre Gurode (C) Kyle Kosier (RG) Marc Columbo (RT) these players still were in their prime's including Columbo and when Allen went to S.F. Leonard Davis fell in their lap who maybe wasn't a Tackle but ended up a fine Guard on that team with every single player making at least 1 Pro Bowl. It amazes me how people forget they were considered one of the 2 or 3 best units and a real strength before age zapped them.

[bond, david bond]

The only way we will increase tickets sells immediately is BENCH TANNEHILL IMMEDIATELY!

[2 watt]

matt moore > roger moore.
lol

[bond, david bond]

If they went to Matt Moore, we would win out and possibly get the last playoff spot. Ofcourse, that still makes too much sense though. Someone is definitely getting paid under the table to sabotage the dolphins season each year.

[Box Score]

Henne: 25 for 40 for 380, 4 TDs, 1 INT
Tanne: 19 for 38 for 205, 1 TD, 1 INT

Jax: 31
Mia: 20

[nlopez]

If Ireland comes back next year....there will be no one in the stadium...Any word on Polian???

[Buster]

Fin4life....for the record....Parcells is Sporano's Father - in - law....
..........married to Bill's daughter....

.....but we get the point....:-)

[fin4life]

Mark, what do you think about the idea of getting Josh Cribbs as an all-purpose player (maybe take over Clay's role)? He's going to be a UFA. He could also handle returns with Thigpen. He's one of those big-play guys everytime he touches the ball. Not too sure if he can catch, but that would be a plus (as a 3rd WR or something).

DC Dolfan | December 13, 2012 at 01:57 PM

I don't know if any of you watch the new Jim Rome show on Showtime after Inside the NFL Wednesday's but Cribbs was on it last night discussing something I hadn't heard regarding Kick offs. It seems this week there was an owners meeting with the Commissioner and Comp. committee about eliminating Kick offs altogether.

Cribbs and Bill Cowher were interviewed on the program and were dead set against it but apparently it is a very big possibility there will be no more Kick offs as soon as 2014. The move is intended to better protect players from getting creamed but I feel Goodell is now really going overboard with another player in Jared Allen saying he would like to see all of Goodell's work as Commissioner done away with.

[Ron Son]

No one wants to watch the 2 worst QB's in the NFL.