Hope Still Remains for a Dolphins Playoff Push

Sunday's loss to the Tennessee Titans was as upsetting a loss to the organization and its fans as anyone could imagine. They were dominated in all aspects of the game, from a far less superior team, as soon as Reggie Bush put the ball on the ground, during the Dolphins second drive of the afternoon. While they were punished and beaten down during a Week 1 road loss to the Houston Texans, that one is forgivable, as the Dolphins were still a team trying to gel and it was rookie Quarterback, Ryan Tannehill's first professional game. This loss to the Titans, on home soil, was much more upsetting.

Ryan Tannehill MUST rally the troops and escape Buffalo with a W

However, the Dolphins can't let that loss be debilitating or deflating as they head down the home stretch of their 2012 season. While more dim, there remains a flicker of light for the team's playoff aspirations. It all starts in Buffalo, tonight. 

Tannehill and the Dolphins have to put Sunday's loss to the Titans behind them and focus on finishing the season 5-2, as nine wins should get you into the AFC playoff picture this season. Here's how they can do it. 

The Fish have five winnable games left on their schedule, some may argue all seven are winnable. Beating the Bills twice and the Jaguars at home are absolute must wins. They will face more formidable foes when they host the upstart Seattle Seahawks a week from this Sunday. That said, if we know anything about this year's Seahawks, or any Seahawks team of the last decase for that matter, they are unbeatable at Qwest Field but often hapless when travelling outside of Washington State. 

If the Dolphins are able to win those four games, then a trip to Candlestick Park to play the 49ers and a home and home series against the rival Patriots are the games that remain. From a look at the math, they would need to win only one of those games to be primed for a playoff spot, which they are capable of doing. 

Tonight we'll get a great indication if the 2012 Miami Dolphins are a young team learning to win consistently under the helm of a rookie signal-caller in Ryan Tannehill or an ascending team ready to capitalize on a weaker schedule, similar to the schedule they had during their 2008 playoff push. Time will tell. 

Thoughts Around the League:

-Bill Belichek is the greatest Head Coach of my generation, perhaps the greatest coach of all-time. That said, can we remove the "genius" tag given to him? As a defensive coach, he's had four years to fix a defense that has sit near the cellar of the league, especially in the back-end. While he's acquired some great defenders in the past few seasons with guys like: Chandler Jones, Brandon Spikes, Jerod Mayo, etc, the pass defense remains one of the worst in the league. 

-Michael Vick's days in a Philadelphia Eagles jersey seem to be numbered. If the Eagles cut bait in the offseason, one of the more intriguing storylines is where Vick will land next. I still think Vick has good football left in him. Don't the New York Jets make the most sense?

-If the NFL trade deadline still laid ahead of us, do you think the Pittsburgh Steelers would be on the phone with Miami Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland about the possibility of a trade involving Dolphins backup Quarterback, Matt Moore?

-Why do the New York Giants consistently go into hibernation in the month of November under the tutelage of Head Coach Tom Coughlin? 

-Are we really jumping off this Atlanta Falcons bandwagon already? One loss, to a divisional opponent, on the road, and we're abandoning ship like the Titanic. Despite only having a slightly above average defense, the Falcons are still the most formidable team in the league and should still be favourites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February. Oh and, Matt Ryan is still the league's MVP and is knocking on the door of the "elite" class of Quarterbacks.

-We only may get to witness it two or three times, but how much fun will this Andrew Luck v. Tom Brady showdown be on Sunday? Luck is everything as advertised and more but Brady is still the King of the Jungle, something has got to give on Sunday. 

Tim Tebow & How The King May Solve The Tebowmania Riddle

Tim Tebow's legacy in Florida on display

Tim Tebow. You're not travelling far on the ol' interweb these days without hearing/reading/seeing that name. Even if you're not a football fan, your life has been taken over by "Tebowmania".

The question to ask is, how did this Tebowmania come to be?
Well, I first will try to debunk other explanations (although all of these I'm sure play a role in supporting Tebowmania) and then explain why I think Elvis Presley, yes the King of Rock'n'Roll may provide the best answer.

This is certainly unprecedented waters for the National Football League. The meteoric rise in popularity for a quarterback that doesn't look any better than you or me throwing a football. In fact, despite winning seven of nine starts this season, Tebow looks like he'll be pulled before the fourth quarter, well before he can make one of his "miracle" comebacks (seen below) and lead the Broncos to victory.

So what is it about Tebow? Let's look at potential reasons for this Tebow hysteria.

He's an exciting running QB?

• Tebow certainly makes exciting plays but Michael Vick is a far superior athlete who's far more exciting as a similar style QB. When Vick entered the league in 2001, there was significant buzz surrounding him. He sustained this hype throughout his first year as the starter for the Atlanta Falcons with his dazzling runs and cannon-like arm. However, as his statistics started to dip and the Falcons became an inconsistent club, the buzz around Vick dwindled. Sure that sounds reasonable, but in relations to Tebow, even Vick's WORSE statistics are better than Tebow's BEST statistics. Plus, in 2004, Vick led the Falcons to an NFC Championship game (which they eventually lost to the Philadelphia Eagles). Vick, despite inconsistencies and mediocrity, was still making unbelievable plays and still winning games but cannot sustain the hype he created earlier in his career. So why in despite of below average QB play and realistically zero chance to make any splash in the playoffs (if Tebow and Broncos get that far), does the national football media dedicate so much air-time to Tebowmania? I don't have any doubt that even if Tebow starts to lose more games than he wins, he'll still garner the hype and adulation from NFL fans, writers and analysts. 

He's a winner?

• Yes. Tebow has won seven of nine starts this season but can you guess which quarterback has an even better winning percentage, Arizona Cardinals QB, John Skelton. Where's all the praise for Skelton? Skelton has a pretty remarkable story, the first player drafted from Fordham University since 1968! Plus, think about some cool nicknames we can give this guy, "Helter Skelton".
• Tebow has certainly succeeded more than his predecessor, now Kansas City Chiefs QB, Kyle Orton. However, what's never discussed is that new Head Coach, John Fox was implementing a new offence and defence going into the 2011 season, and oh by the way, there was this lockout thing that cost all NFL teams, including the Denver Broncos, valuable Training Camp time to learn said new offence and defence. The Broncos were destined to start slow, which they did, going 1-4 out of the gate with Orton at the helm. I think even if the "iconic" Tebow was under center at the start of the season they would have struggled anyway.  
• The Denver defense, that certainly has adapted to John Fox's 4-3 scheme after playing the 3-4 system for each of the past two seasons, has made significant strides. In fact, they've only allowed 16 points per game in Tebow-led victories. Rookie LB/DE, Von Miller is having an outstanding rookie campaign and could very well be the second-coming of Lawrence Taylor. 

He's extremely spiritual?

• Tebow embraces his spiritual side and expresses his love for the Lord in any pre or post-game interviews. While spirituality can be a polarizing and hot-button topic in sports, Tebow is hardly the first athlete to be open about his religion. NFL Hall-of-Famer, Reggie White was an ordained minister and often expressed his spirituality to any reporter that stuck a microphone in front of his face. The same can be said for future Hall-of-Famer and Superbowl winning QB, Kurt Warner. Kurt Warner in particular, was not only a better QB than Tebow, he won an aforementioned Superbowl and has one of the best rag to riches, rise to prominence stories in NFL history; yet he still never was the center of such hysteria.

The King shares a lot in common with Tebow

So why do we have Tebowmania? I'll answer your question with a question...

Is Tim Tebow the NFL version of Elvis Presley? Think about it... Here's a few reasons why he may well be...

• Elvis performed what was, at the time, thought to be African-American music. Similarly, Tebow is a running-style QB we're accustomed to seeing African-American QBs play (Vick, Randall Cunningham and Vince Young). 
• Elvis, because of his style of music and his risque dancing techniques was a wildly polarizing figure that adored himself to millions of teenagers and young-adults but was also the wrath of an equal number of middle-aged parents and grand-parents because of his raunchy dance moves. Tebow is just as polarizing as half the nation believes Tebow to be a great quarterback and the other half believes he shouldn't even be a backup in the league.  
• Elvis crossed over to many platforms outside the music world, starring in many movies. The King's hip gyrations are also a signature move that are still mimicked today. Tebow has already been the subject of TV scripts as SNL recently aired a Tebow skit on their December 17th program. Also, like Elvis, Tebow has his own signature move, "Tebowing"

Despite Elvis Presley's success in music and Tim Tebow's success in athletics, comparisons between the two are valid. Tebow may lead a renaissance of the quarterback position from pocket-passer to running improviser. If you recall, Elvis led a renaissance of his own, some sixty years ago. Rock'n'Roll.

Let's just hope the Tebow story ends a lot better!