basketball092

Fins fantastic? Ummm... no E-mail
Written by Jimmy da Saint   
Monday, 22 December 2008 08:02
Many hardcore and casual football fans alike, are looking at the turnaround down in Miami and wondering how the Dolphins have gone from cellar dwellers to contenders in just one year.
The answer is simple…strength of schedule.

dolphinsIn the 2007 season, the Dolphins had the 8th toughest schedule in the league. They were matched up against the NFC East, so they hosted Dallas and New York while visiting Washington and Philadelphia. They also faced two tough foes in Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
We also cannot discount the Tom Brady factor. There was no chance of the Jets stealing a win against New England last year. Overall, the Dolphins faced opponents who had a .512 win percentage in 2006.

Fast forward to 2008 and the Dolphins have found the road to be much smoother. If you glance at the strength of schedule this year, you'll have to scan all the way down to 23rd before you find Miami.

t's not hard to see how things start to turn around when you replace the NFC East with the NFC West.
The Dolphins have had the luxury of beating Seattle, St. Louis and San Francisco. It goes a long way towards improving your record when you go 3-1 vs. the NFC West rather than 0-4 vs. the NFC East. The Dolphins opponents had a winning percentage of just .465 during the 2007 season.

With all of the good luck and favorable scheduling, the Dolphins have also certainly improved and find themselves in the thick of the divisional race. It's a 3-team race with the New York Jets and the New England Patriots, but the Dolphins aren't going to win.
Miami is 7-0 vs. teams with a losing record and they are just 2-5 when facing teams that are .500 or better. The Dolphins have won 7 of their last 8 because the schedule is in a soft stretch. They will face another weak opponent this week, but it's at Arrowhead Stadium where the Chiefs tend to play their best football.
The Dolphins then finish up on the road against the Jets. That outcome doesn't look good for Miami either.

Meanwhile, the Jets face the lowly Seahawks, but they do have the dreaded cross-country flight up to the Great Northwest. They finish up with the Dolphins at home.

The Patriots host Arizona this weekend and finish up at Buffalo.
It's very possible that the Jets and Pats both split the final 2 games and finished tied for the division crown while the Dolphins go 0-2 and end the season hoping for a wild card spot.
 

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