And here we are again. It just seems to be a reoccurring theme with this Dolphins team that just hasn’t been able to produce a quality team in the past 20 years. Every year, around this time, the Dolphins usually have a losing record and the conversation always seems to be tanking for a draft pick. With last year being an exception, the Dolphins are once again looking like an 8-8 or average team.

However, the Dolphins have had to deal with many different obstacles throughout this season. It started during training camp when starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill went down with a knee injury and went out for the rest of this season. Last year, Tannehill sustained a hit from Arizona Cardinals Calais Campbell which knocked him out of the playoffs and resulted in the Dolphins losing in the first round. Tannehill chose not to get surgery and ended up injuring the same knee.

When Tannehill got injured, the Dolphins needed to find a quarterback and Jay Cutler seemed like the perfect option. Cutler was getting ready for his new career as an analyst with FOX when he got the call from his former offensive coordinator Adam Gase and came to join the Dolphins. It seems as though all other NFL teams and fans saw how bad of a move this was except for us. Jay Cutler had been a bad quarterback but for some odd reason, we trusted him.

Leading up to the season, Hurricane Irma happened. The opening game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was postponed and the Dolphins subsequently lost their bye week. This forced the Dolphins to play 16 straight games with no breaks.

The Dolphins had an obscene amount of traveling to do for their opening games. The Dolphins had to travel to Los Angeles to play the Chargers and then to London to face the New Orleans Saints.

To make matters even worse, a video surfaced of the Dolphins Offensive Line Coach Chris Foerster snorting some kind of white, powdery substance. It was never confirmed what that substance was because Foerster resigned before he could get investigated. However, he entered a rehabilitation facility after the event so you connect the dots on that one.

Fast forward to Week 9, the Dolphins had lost three games straight and head coach Adam Gase felt the need to send a message to the rest of his players. Gase was frustrated with the way that running back Jay Ajayi was performing on and off the field so he got traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, the best team in the league, for a 4th round pick. And just for some comparison, the Patriots later on traded their backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second round pick.

With a current schedule of 4-6 and a daunting schedule ahead, it might be time to start looking towards the future. Now, don’t get me wrong, as a huge Dolphins fan I would love to see the Dolphins step it up, but I also understand reality. Right now, the Dolphins need to keep players like Jarvis Landry and Cameron Wake healthy and wait for our starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, to come back healthier than ever next year.

As always, PHINS UP!

Projected final record: 6-10