AFC East is anybody's ... or nobody's ... or the Patriots'

Every new NFL season brings renewed hope, unless you're a fan of three teams not named the Patriots in the AFC East. 

The Patriots, like the smell of day old clams, hang about, linger and infuse themselves in every AFC East fan's living room, every year. Pats fans breath it in, while Jets, Dolphins and Bills fans scramble for an available window. It's been this way for 20 years.

Last season the tables turned and the Pats didn't get a whiff of the division title, and this breathed brief new life into the ol' four-team race. Suddenly, the Pats looked washed as a perennial runner-up, the Bills, looked the part of a world beater. Miami ascended, too, while the Jets might have been better if not for their odorous coach, Gas - er, sorry, Gase. 

In any event, we all knew that period of time would be short-lived, and that once the planets realigned, the Pats would again reign supreme. Now that hasn't happened just yet, but we the fans know it's imminent. The Death Star draws near and in its tractor beam will soon be a flopping Dolphin, a restless Buffalo and a sputtering Jet. It was only a matter of time before each squad returned to their rightful downtrodden slot.

And yet, there needs to be optimism at season's opening, right? 

After all, the Jets have a new quarterback, Zach Wilson, that everyone in the media tells us throws a beautiful ball. His hair is beautiful, too. He's the next Aaron Rodgers! He's very cool and calm. He's ... he's ... Joe Namath without the fur!

Hey let's wait and see because we've all heard this before - five times over!

Then there's Josh Allen, who apparently will be the MVP, people tell us. Really? MVP? Look, he's good but I'm not sure he's better than eight other quarterbacks - who are these snake oil merchants, anyway? They'd tell you Matt Flynn should have been an MVP if you gave them half a minute. 

And that leaves us with Tua, the nicest quarterback in the league with the best left arm going around. Few have faith in the Miami man, and yet the same folks once told us he was a surer thing than Ray Finkle hitting the ball laces out. Make up your mind internet sh*t-spinners! 

Well, these are the thoughts swirling around at the start of a much anticipated season, where only time will tell if one of the AFC East minnows can upend the behemoth in New England. 

Can you believe this, even when they come off a losing season we fear them. I feel like Roy Scheider in Jaws ... cue the theme song ...load the harpoons ... and grab me a new pair of shorts!

What To Watch For: Fins - Raiders In London

When square shouldered American footballers storm into London’s Wembley Stadium this weekend, 80,000 odd sports fans will hope for a spectacle. They’ll anticipate heroic quarterbacking, rampaging rushes and pulverising tackling. But just as it is for fans of an English club treading the waters of relegation, hope isn’t always nearly enough.

In a historical context, they don’t come much mightier than the Raiders and Dolphins, who have five championship titles and rooms full of legends between them. Unfortunately, most of that success occurred in the 1970s, when roughhousing was as lauded as route running. The two clubs actually played in one of the NFL’s greatest ever games, a playoff in 1974 that saw six lead changes and an impossible last minute Raider victory.

That, however, was back when Gerald Ford was the American President and Elton John got around shirtless. The current Raiders offense looks predictably futile, and Miami’s once promising outlook is sinking like a bloated alligator into the swampy Everglades. While good fortune in English football seems to follow, well, the fortunes of very wealthy club owners, the American game is more dependent on the cohesion of its elaborate 53-man rosters. Given the locker room bullying fiasco Miami’s front office faced last year, it’s easy to see how teammates can drift apart.

Now understand that I say this not with a columnist’s disdain for sporting mediocrity, but rather with a face paint coloured tear bleeding down my cheek, because these are, in fact, my two favourite NFL clubs. Perhaps like many of you, I grew up tuning into the glittery gladiatorial battles of this sport from a world completely foreign to airborne theatrics, forward passing and referees who spend more time on microphones than Japanese stockbrokers in karaoke bars. 

In Australia, at least, American football had long been scoffed at because its players wore so much protective equipment and there were countless stoppages to the game. However, with recent concerns about concussions, and the fact that spectators are just as likely to break from the action to check their phones as another timeout occurring, such criticisms seem antiquated. We’ve changed, but the football remains thrilling.

I was always taken by the Dolphins because of the masterful quarterback Dan Marino. His stellar, albeit Super Bowl ring-less career, was underscored by his fireball throws and equally fiery temper. He desperately wanted to win and as long as he was on the pitch, the Dolphins always had a chance of fulfilling that desire. Miami fans haven’t felt this way since Marino retired in 1999.

With the Raiders, it was two things in the early eighties: back then they played in glitzy Los Angeles and their fans were nutters who dressed as pirates, ghouls and gorillas, among many other disturbing creatures. You can see how this might appeal to a seven year old.

Anyway, here we all are many years later, with both squads seemingly much less than the sum of their historic past. Still, don’t toss your ticket aside just yet because there are a few storylines worth following for this London fixture. 

Here are four of them, one for each quarter, perhaps:

Keys to Carr: Since taking over the starting gig from the ailing Matt Schaub, the Raiders rookie QB Derek Carr looks like the franchise signal-caller the club has waited an eternity for. It’s been a revolving door for the team at its most important position, but now Carr brings athleticism, smarts, a good arm and above all else, the type of poise this mad pirate ship needs.

Dolphins D: Miami hasn’t had much to celebrate of late but nobody can question the effort of its defensive unit. These guys charge into the backfield as if the opposing quarterback stole a tub of Gatorade.

Jumpin' James Jones: The veteran receiver has had his share of miscues but also has the ability to make great catches. If he gets an inch in the end zone, he’ll typically out leap his man to secure the ball for a score.

Trouble for Tannehill: Miami’s QB Ryan Tannehill has had a lukewarm start to the season and so as you’d expect, his seat is now hotter than a south beach tan. He’ll need to post about 300 yards worth of passing and bag a couple of touchdowns to keep his starting job.

Florida Football And Its Leading Offenses

Life by the beach inspires an array of styles, not least of which is the irrepressible Hawaiian shirt. It’s an item that not only conjures the islands, but also California surfing, Miami boardwalks, and Andy Reid at the post-game podium.

For every elaborate floral print—and apologetic head coach—however, there’s a slick suit, and in a subtropical climate like Florida, there’s something both wildly insane and wonderfully cool about that. Of course, the man that made the suit-loose-tie combo iconic in the Sunshine State was Frank Sinatra, and to this day, the Chairman is the benchmark for making impossibly stylish sartorial moves.

Speaking of which, pro football’s three Floridian teams have also been daring to dream of greatness, if not on the sporting field then en route to it. For these clubs, 2014 might be highlighted by colorful runs from the locker room more so than actual footballing prowess. Still, in some circles, like club marketing meetings and around pro shop water-coolers, this might be a thrilling season. Indeed fashion, like football, is all about your perspective.

Which brings me to the latest ensembles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars, teams known for sun splashed decals. In the case of the Bucs, it’s not that their new unis are lacking pizazz, but more so that the team's brand and heritage has been put to the sword. Since the NFL banned the club from wearing its vintage creamsicle collection (due to nonsensical concerns over ill-fitted helmet switches), we don’t see it anymore. Instead, we’re faced with the bold red and beautiful pewter combination—now accompanied by an enlarged helmet logo—which is in its own way striking, and certainly useful to people short of sight.

Then there's the Dolphins, who have gone from their famed aqua to a distinctly brighter blue, and more notably, from a cartoon dolphin wearing a helmet to a sleeker elongated version completely void of protective head wear. What would Ol' Blue Eyes say? This proved a difficult adjustment for many among the Miami faithful, because the club's most iconic images are those awash with its venerable branding, that of Strock, Griese, Csonka, the Killer Bs, Duper, Mercury and Marino. You simply can't erase a winning formula. Well, you can, you just need a 40 year buffer since the last major success.

Finally, Jacksonville's new two-tone helmet is really quite astonishing. Did they run out of gold sharpies or something? I'm just not sure what to make of the whole amalgam, which seems more confused than Senator Keely in South Beach. When they called it the bold new city of the south, they weren't messing around, huh?

Now none of these designs are offensive as such, it's just that they defy tradition. And if we start neglecting NFL traditions, then what do we have? That's right, an even grizzlier version of Coach Ditka. And nobody wants that. So the only way to subdue the poked bear is to get Errol Flynn back on the side of Tampa's hat, demand that Flipper straps up, and have the Jags revert to their all black dome. Anything less than these moves would be akin to Colin Farrell trying to be Don Johnson, the ultimate of Floridian vices.

Is Tannehill the right call in Miami, right now?

Former Miami Dolphins quarterback, Don Strock, was interviewed for The Finsiders blog this week, which was interesting because writer, Andy Cohen, later repeated Strock's answers on being a back-up to the team's current second-stringer, Matt Moore. He cleverly reported this in the story.

What stood out was Moore’s maturity and patience on a matter that would grind the gears of most QBs until they combusted. 

But it’s warm and sparkly down in Florida, you see, where spirals probably glisten a little more en route to the hands, cheerleaders seem more sprightly and full of bounce, and melting ice cream in the swelter tastes fruitier to the tongue. 

So why blow up over holding a clipboard in the sun, right? 

One nugget from Strock to Moore was, “Your time will come”, which the current back-up knows all too well.

Moore responded, “Well, it’s come true in the past for me. So if history repeats itself, I guess my time will come."

Moore is a guy who says the right things, and then when he hits the field, mostly does alright too. And they said Tom Cruise had all the right moves. Well, he did, until about the second Mission Impossible flick. It seemed to get a little strange after that. Perhaps it was all the John Woo slo-mo sequences that messed up his equilibrium.

The thing is, I’m still not convinced Ryan Tannehill should be Miami’s starting signal-caller, even after his decent rookie year. I like his upside, don’t get me wrong. He has arm strength. He can run. He looks business-like at press conferences and his wife hits it out of the ball park before the pitch is even thrown. 

What’s not to like about Team Tannehill? 

But still, I don’t really care about media moves and showy draft picks for the sake of ticket sales – I care about wins. And if you’re a Fins fan, you’d certainly be asking yourself after the Hall Of Fame Game on Sunday - other than how does Chris Collinsworth get the part in his hair to stay like that – should I be worried that Tannehill looked shaky?

Yes, it’s preseason. And it was just five plays. Yet, Moore came in, and as it always does when No.8 sets up shop behind center, the offense moved. Sure, he made a couple of questionable calls himself. We all have. I’m still getting ripped for a pair of pants in my closet I thought were men’s. This whole ‘skinny’ fashion trend is so confusing. 

The point is, Moore gives the team more - quite literally. Certainly he’s a little loose – somewhat Favrean, if you will. But as long as he stays retired when he eventually hangs the cleats up, and keeps the crotch selfies to himself, I’m on board.

Miami should be too. 

Jake Long goes incognito on Halloween

Dolphins left guard Richie Incognito has started a Twitter campaign to keep left tackle Jake Long in Miami. Long's eye has been wondering, you see, and Incognito is hoping a more cognito approach will change his buddy's mind.

Incognito began his digital mission following Long's visit to the Rams and has been at it the last two days. One of his best came at 8.45pm on Saturday night, when he Tweeted something sweet from the Incognito family scrapbook:

Who else will dress up with u on Halloween jake? #nobody #LEFTGUARDLOVE #brotherlylovepic.twitter.com/Y2EehGSffb

It'll be tough for Long to forget such special memories really, the kind only made when two large men are willing to be snapped arm-in-arm in their underpants.

(Then again, who the hell is that creepy bastard behind them??)

Five Better Ways for the Dolphins to Spend Fans' Money

The Miami Dolphins want to spruce up their stadium in an effort to win Super Bowl 50 in two years time.

The problem is they’ll need taxpayer money to cover the bill. That’s nothing new for South Floridians who coughed up millions for the Miami Marlins' ballpark, a year ago.

Upgrades to the Miami Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium are expected to cost about $400 million, and owner Stephen Ross has agreed pay at least $201 million. He's a very generous man, isn't he?

The Dolphins say upgrades will ramp up the arena for major events like Super Bowls, and especially the 50th, which Miami is clearly confident of winning because of its warm weather and superb off-field debauchery. 

The deal would keep the Phins---and presumably Marc Anthony in his shades---in South Florida through to at least 2034.

The plan includes adding about 3,600 new seats close to the field, improved amenities and a canopy roof that would shield fans from Florida's elements, while preserving a grass playing surface. 

While all splendid ideas, $199 million worth of taxpayers' money feels a lofty price tag for a few deck chairs and beach umbrella. Surely Ross could do better at Walmart?

So here are Five Better Ways For The Dolphins To Spend Fans' Money:

1. Miami Vice: Use $17.5 million to launch an FBI-led investigation into the Dolphins classic helmet logo, in which a cartoon dolphin sports a helmet with an "M" on it, instead of a cartoon dolphin.

2. Fishing For No.13: At least offer Dan Marino $55 million to return under center. If he doesn't accept, can they give him $40 million to be the team's quarterback coach?

3. No More Orange Seats: As Miami has one of the worst attendance records in the NFL, a few million to cover the cost of stand-in fans might help. 

4. Boom Boom Pow: Have you ever noticed the Dolphins' star owners are higher on glitz and glamor than football know-how? The better part of $105 million could hook the Fish local heavies like Andy Garcia, The Rock, 2 Live Crew and David Caruso.

5. Soft and Cuddly: Whatever's left should be spent on a Dolphins toy collection for the cute little girl in this Miami Dolphins cheerleaders video. Look, one minute you're quietly jumping around in a pit of plastic balls, the next a pack of scantily-clad Amazonians are crowding your space. Poor little thing.

Tannehill risky but right pick for Miami

The questions are falling like summer rain in Florida.

The Miami Dolphins are copping some heavy criticism for taking Ryan Tannehill at No.8 in the NFL draft this week. Some experts believe the Texas A&M wideout-cum-signal-caller is inexperienced, and somewhat inaccurate. The Palm Beach Post called the pick "a tremendous risk". No riskier than bright orange jerseys, really.

Most concede the young Texan has potential, especially because of his size (he's 6'4), fleet-footedness, and arm strength, which, if you watch his highlight reel or pro day tape, shows the player's ability to throw short, long, on the move, and both inside and outside the pocket. Already that's five throws more than Tim Tebow can make.

Tannehill's so-called rawness is the sticking point for many though. Most draft war rooms would have asterisked his inability to finish games at the college level, where on more than one occasion his inexperience saw him force passes, or simply make the wrong read. Scan a few news sites and you'll see the word "reach" repeated throughout Miami draft evaluations. SI.com's Tony Pauline, for one, believes there's real downside to the kid.

The questions are fair, but pessimistic. Look, there wasn't a consensus that Elle Macpherson would make it as a swimsuit model, but how'd that work out for you? Right now the Dolphins need to be excited about the future, after a mediocre free agency period, and, well, 16 years of patchy quarterback play. Tannehill looks and sounds like everything the Fins want from the position, and with new offensive co-ordinator Mike Sherman calling the shots, Tannehill's former college coach, the education continues. How many quarterbacks head into such a comfortable professional situation? How often does anybody doing anything head into such a welcoming scenario?

Furthermore, Tannehill, and his glamorous wife, will be fan favorites in a city that loves some glitz. If he can turn the packaging into an effective and entertaining product, the sky's the limit.

Doubling down on quarterbacks

They say fortune favors the brave, and at The Quarterback Casino this week, there were five fearless bidders for Peyton Manning. But there were also four losers at the close, and no matter what you think was whispered behind heavy doors guarded by burly earpiece-toting goons, there was only ever going to be one awarded the spoils. So I think it’s a stretch for some pundits and fans to start tossing their complimentary cocktails at the GMs who sat down at the Peyton Hold ‘Em table and left short of a flush. Cards were dealt, faces turned to stone, and perhaps some Jennifer Tilly-style cleavage was even dropped. But once those cards tumbled, all bets were off. The public went into a frenzy and everyone with a Twitter account was ready to pounce with 140-character assassinations. Sure, it’s human nature to hope for a run of aces in such matters, but really, how often do you land a king? 

The Manning free agency story has reaffirmed an ugly truth about modern water-cooler conversation, and that’s that every opinion, and every warped or misguided piece of gossip is shaping the collective perception about sports stories, even if all the information published is inaccurate. In particular, I take exception to the incessant slaughtering of the Miami Dolphins, as both a brand and an organization, first by a number of columnists, and broadly across social media, as if their current circumstance - being a mid-tier ball club - is the result of a flawed business strategy. This so-called hopelessness, not merely the ups and downs of off-season gambling, is said to have undermined the Fins ability to sign Matt Flynn, and perhaps Alex Smith, too. Seriously? Somebody sound the shark alarm: the Dolphins are in trouble!

Even if the Fish are starting to smell, even if what chronic tweeters like the Steelers' Ryan Clark says is remotely true, we have no real evidence to suggest that it was the basis of Manning’s choice to play in Denver. The fact that John Elway is the head honcho in Mile High would indicate that Manning was hooked on the Broncos from the start. None of the other four teams in play employ Elway either, so in that regard, they were each equally disadvantaged, and equally flawed in their chase. But because Miami so hastily pursued Flynn after Manning, and missed there as well, the stink of the initial miscue is more pungent, at least in the public arena, where apparently opinion now trumps fact. That little context is provided to the endless vitriol of rumor spewed across the web, and that only a tiny percentage of people – usually players, agents, and some reporters are actually informed about these dealings – makes it implausible that we consider it, or that so many columnists fuel the fire further. In some cases, it seems, the players don't even know the truth themselves, as we saw with Smith traveling to Miami in search of new options.

And now the online consensus is that Miami's signing of David Garrard was a desperate and floundering move from an organization is complete disarray, due mostly to the perceived ineptitude of GM Jeff Ireland. Heck, fans in Miami have taken to the streets over this. My question to those spinning this agenda, including the Tweeters, Commenters, and News Churners, is what is the club supposed to do at this juncture? If they do nothing, after missing on two quarterbacks, one of whom hasn't proven a thing outside of playing well in two NFL games, then certainly their inactivity would be ridiculed. By inking Garrard, who has played well in recent seasons, including 23 touchdowns for a 90.8 QB rating in 2010, they at least have an additional QB option. If the team signed him after 2008's AFC Wild Card Game it would be regarded as genius. Instead, now, it's a major risk because what you did five minutes ago isn't just fresh in the mind, it means the world. In this light, Matt Flynn is a superstar because he won a meaningless game late last season.

Hey here's something to tweet: Matt Moore won six games last year as the Dolphins starter, and was a play away from beating both the Cowboys and Giants too.

This article first appeared on Technorati as Broncos Strong Hand, While Dolphins Go Fish 

Elway's Manning Audible

Things were looking so hopeful for Dolphins fans a week ago, with the prospect of Peyton Manning, already a part-time Miami resident, making sunny South Beach his full-time home as the local team's quarterback. How sweet life could have been in this scenario: endless sun, pina coladas, presumably better baseball on its way, and the world's greatest signal-caller kicking ass and taking names in the modern Orange Bowl - the Fergie Bowl.

Then a chilly air swept through, blustery and burly like the man blowing it. John Elway, the greatest signal-caller of an earlier era, rode up to the Free Agent Saloon as Denver's saviour, like he has so many times before, to talk the same shot-gun language as Peyton. He probably ordered a whiskey sour, threw a warm arm around the highly-coveted pilgrim, whispered a few sweet audibles, and Bam!, every other team in contention was staring at the rear-end of a one horse race. Yippee-ki-yay MF!

In many ways this isn't fair on Dolphins, Cardinals, or Titans fans, whose clubs have truly legitimate and logical reasons to offer Manning a roster spot. What, after all, is reasonable about Manning going to Denver? Because Elway is there? They had Orton and blew that. They have Tebow and are ruining that. Now, almost as if to alleviate the ramifications of those misjudgements, the Broncos seek Manning's services, and look more like landing him than any other NFL club.

What's best for the league, and for fans, is being lost here. Manning will take his sore neck to frosty Mile High and possibly jeopardize his production with challenging conditions and an inferior offense. Then, the other quarterback-lacking clubs will overpay sub-par QBs who'll notch pedestrian numbers and help their teams miss the playoffs. So instead of seeing one dynamite Manning-led outfit, with football's John Wayne at the helm for one last hurrah, we'll have four mediocre clubs with distraught fan bases, desperately and sadly hoping Brett Favre un-retires.

Jets fishing for a playoff spot

The New York Jets need a holiday miracle to make the playoffs this season, one that requires a win in sunny Miami but also hopelessly counts on losses by other teams. One of those teams is the Tennessee Titans, quite possibly the only club more unpredictable than R-E-X-'S New York.

Jets coach Rex Ryan is the master grandstander who promotes his team better than he manages it. As such the Jets who regularly follow the Patriots in the standings and struggle to overcome rivals like the Dolphins seem a great deal more intimidating than they actually are.

That’s always been the point of the Ryan-led Jets though hasn’t it? To be scarier than the Big Blue, the Big Tuna, Big Ben or any other NFL bully. But when push comes to shove Gang Green is largely uninspiring on offense. That’s never a good sign when thwarting high-scoring division foes is imperative to your survival.

For what it's worth, the team's rushers are capable of storming the trenches and can help the Jets eat up the clock. Against the Giants, for instance, the Jets squeezed the ball for 36 minutes. The problem is that it's less productive time than it should be: in the first half the so-called home team couldn't muster a single play of more than 20 yards. You can't even win a daiquiri-infused game of touch at Secretary Cleary's house with that output.

Sure, quarterback Mark Sanchez completes a few brisk passes here and there. Sometimes he even extends the play and zings it near the first down marker. But of course those sequences too are trivial if they don’t prolong the drive. Still, Sanchez throws these balls soundly, as he should. It's mostly when he flings down field that his lack of accuracy really hamstrings the Jets attack. When they needed pivotal deep yardage against the G-Men, for example, the offense continually floundered - converting just 4 of 21 on third down. And yet Coach Rex Ryan kept dialing up the pass as if Broadway Joe was commanding his huddle. Off-Broadway Sanchez threw an unconscionable 59 times.

The Jets QB is a confounding talent really: tough, nimble, exuberant and industrious, but short on patience and vision. He’s restless in the pocket. His feet shuffle and his throws leave the hand like he's tossing softballs into an apple basket - with anxious focus. Then conversely he’ll pop the secondary with a couple of carefree darts. Who knows which carnival game he might favor on any given play.

It's hard to see the Jets overcoming a stout Dolphins defense this final week. It certainly won't happen if Sanchez does more passing than handing off: he just doesn't have the repertoire to counter the likes of Vontae Davis, Yeremiah Bell or Karlos Dansby. No, Sanchez is at his best when dropping it short on acute routes of around eight or nine yards. Those angles are easy, quick to locate, and the ball hits its target before defenders can manoeuvre inside.

But as reassuring as this brand of football is for the Jets, it’s a low-octane, scaled-back approach that has hampered their postseason chances. Quick jabs might wear down Kansas City but won’t knock the Dolphins’ knees.

If only Rex could devise a strategy as boisterous as the one he brings to the podium.

Article first published as Jets Fishing for a Playoff Spot on Technorati.

Swimming against the current on Andrew Luck

"Fish, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends."

- The Old Man and the Sea

The Miami Dolphins have scuttled their chance at Andrew Luck, and how do you think Fins Nation is coping? I guess they're feeling betrayed or bewildered, to paraphrase Nathan Lane's Birdcage alter ego.

But unlike most Fish fans, I'm actually on board with Miami's new penchant for victory. Am I Ray Finkle crazy, you ask? Just maybe. But there's something about winning that defuses all pessimism, chases away the bats in the belfry, and turns the masochistic notion of self-inflicted defeat on its head.

Why - no matter what's at stake - would anyone want to lose professional football games anyway? Don't we have any pride or integrity anymore? Apparently, the alleged "Suck for Luck" campaign is far more enticing than doing the right thing. And, I guess, Miami haven't done the right thing at quarterback for a long, long time.

So whether the Dolphins intended to suck or not, the Luck conversation has taken its talents from South Beach to Indianapolis, a club whose lack of depth makes Paris Hilton look like Thomas Friedman. You have to feel for Colts fans, right? Without Peyton Manning in the line up, their team looks more like the 1986 iteration that lost its first 13 games than the championship-caliber squad No.18 usually commandeers. You see, so many questions churn through the mind of the hopeless fan: Do I even watch the game on Sunday? Are we really giving up, simply to secure one player in the next draft? Can Peyton and Andrew Luck co-exist anyway?

At least Colts owner Bill Polian appears at ease with the hopelessness: "The bottom line is that if the right person is there (in the draft), and it has to be the right person, then now is the time to make that choice," Polian said on his weekly radio show this month. "Peyton and I have spoken about that, and he's OK with that."

Well sure he is. Nobody's replacing one of the game's greatest ever quarterbacks as long as he's healthy. I don't care if you're Andrew Luck or the second coming of Johhny U. Peyton's job is safe for now, and that might just be enough to keep Colts fans from bolting naked across the prairies. The thing is, we'd get it if the fans surrendered altogether, wouldn't we? If they started burning throwback jerseys and lobbing horseshoes at each other. It's difficult to stay committed to an NFL season once your team is in a 0 - 3 hole, let alone 0-11.

Look, I've also watched my Miami Dolphins spiral this season, from a team that boasted a potential top five defense, and dynamic tailback ready for real superstardom, to an easy 'w’ for every opponent. Three games in, and the Fins were drowning. The offense sputtered, the defense floundered and the team's most important player, its quarterback, never warmed up more than, well, during the warm up. Suddenly, being a Dolphins fan really did suck. While other fans hovered excitedly around TVs and tailgates to cheer on their respective clubs, being a Finatic was nightmarish.

But thanks to the papers, bloggers, and constant chatter of social media, Dolphins fans were invited to rekindle interest in the season by supporting a losing cause. Sucking was the new planking, or something. Problem was, Coach Tony Sparano refused to sleep with the Fishes, and together with his staff, rescued Miami’s season against the odds. Sure, it won't be a playoff year, but suddenly things are looking, let’s just say, respectable.

In week 9, unloved back-up Matt Moore played perhaps the best game of his career in a 31-3 drubbing of the Kansas City Chiefs. Moore was 17 of 23 for 244 yards and three touchdowns, which was good for a 147.5 passer rating - the best in the NFL that weekend. Stats aside, it was Moore's new command of the offense and accuracy that wowed fans. His cross-field toss to Anthony Fasano after a fake roll out to the right was Brady-esque. It was the first win for Miami in 2011, and the onslaught was enough to earn Moore AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors from the NFL.

The consensus is that Moore isn't the long-term solution in Miami, but who cares? In week 10, he completed 20 of 29 passes for 209 yards, en route to a Fins 20-9 defeat of the Redskins. “Dolphans” haven't had this much fun since Chad Pennington showed up Brett Favre in the last game of 2008. Great Miami moments - save Fergie belting out national anthems and the occasional tennis star sighting - really feel like they're every three years or so now. But with Moore in the mix, the optimism needle is on the move. Last week, he kept the pedal down and threw 14 for 20 with three TDs. What's next, jumping the Jets in the AFC East? Well, as wide receiver Brandon Marshall told The Miami Herald after the Skins game, "Anything is possible."

So what if we don't get Luck. We've competed, and yes, conquered. Our season, which was close to being completely void, now has some meaning. Instead of asking what might have been, we can focus on what's happening - today. Our defense alone, led by the rampant Karlos Dansby, is worth the price of admission. In fact, as of Sunday, that group had gone twelve straight quarters without allowing a single touchdown. How do you like that action Rex Ryan?

Real Fins fans, the kind that care about their team each and every contest, are feeling pretty fortunate right now - big shot prospect or not.

So good luck to you Indy. But remember, fortune, as they say, favors the brave.

Article first published as Swimming against the current on Andrew Luck on Technorati.