I can't believe it.  One of the worse times of the year is almost over and, looking back, I am shocked at how fast it has gone.  February.  Yes, February has the Super Bowl,  and although I really enjoyed watching a still healing New Orleans grab a championship against another team I admire, it didn’t have my Dolphins, sorry, our Dolphins.  And after the big game, what is there?  Nothing.  The silence is almost deafening for football fans in February.  Fan sites go from fever pitch in the playoffs, to a smaller group who like to speculate on other teams once their own team is eliminated, to the die hard core that we see now.  People like myself and you, if you are reading this near the time of posting, who will dig for any little tidbit or rumor no matter how insignificant it may seem so that we can talk about the sport we love.  Just so we know it is still there.

Ok, ok, I know it's an abomination of everything holy that us Phin fans have to actually sit here and watch as the Jets make an improbable march to the Super Bowl. On our home field no less! Isn't this the same Jet squad Miami beat twice this year?

We won't get into the possibility of the Jets actually making it to Miami for the big game because quite frankly, Peyton isn't going to let that happen. No way. No how. But, what does have me interested is reading several Dolphin and Jet websites and seeing the reaction of both fan bases in regards to the Jets deep playoff run. Most Jet fans, and even a pretty good amount of Dolphin fans seem to think that NY has passed Miami by and will keep them in their rear-view mirror for years to come. One Dolphin fan even posted a thread claiming that we are "3 years away" from being able to compete with the Jets. Again, wasn't this the team Miami beat twice this season? I'm here to get those Dolphin fans to step away from the ledge. There's no reason to jump, and Miami is going to be just fine. Yes, the Jets are in the middle of an improbable playoff run, but quite frankly, anybody who expects that to automatically translate into Jet dominance over the rest of the AFC East for the coming seasons is simply clinging to fools gold. A few reasons not to worry:

-Is Mark Sanchez really that great of a QB? Is he going to ever reach the status of a Top 5 QB in this league? I think the resounding answer to that is: NO! Personally, I don't think Mark Sanchez will turn out to be much more than a solid game-managing type of QB. Now don't get me wrong, with other pieces in place you can win a lot of games with a QB like that, but I still don't think he will ever be the "franchise" type of QB that the Jets thought they were getting when they moved up to take him. -The NY defense is Revis and 10 other guys who are ok. Not great, but ok. In all seriousness, Revis is going to be giving the entire AFC East headaches for years to come. He's got HOF written all over him. But that's just one player. Look up and down the rest of that defense. I don't see any other player on there that makes me think Miami is dead in the water for the next few seasons. Calvin Pace? Solid player, but not a game changer. Bart Scott? If he played as well as he talks, he'd be the greatest ever. Vernon Gholston? Been a resounding bust so far. Dwight Lowry? Solid corner, but not the shut-down type of guy that Revis is. Obviously with Rex Ryan at the helm, this is a solid defense, and simply having Revis allows them to do so much. However, this is the defense that Miami ran roughshod over during their first meeting in 2009. Who's to say we can't do it again?

I really wanted to be in the playoffs again.  In reality, we probably would not go deep with this team barring some series of small miracles, but I wanted to dream for a week like I did last year like many of you wanted.

There's a saying with young teams in all sports, "You have to learn to lose before you learn to win."

I think our team is a prime example of that right now.  And it's probably part of the reason so many teams take a step back in the second year.  It is also probably part of the reason that this is all so frustrating to watch.  Blown leads, blown opportunities, comebacks after a half or 3 quarters of inconsistency, only to be snuffed in the dying moments of the game.  That's a team that can compete, but is learning from its losses,  so it can learn to win. 

Of course, we still need to add talent, especially at safety, Linebacker (inside and out) probably nose tackle, and of course a true number 1 wide receiver has been a hot topic all year.  But look how close each week this team has come. All while being injured at QB, CB, NT and RB times 2.   We have the talent to compete with anybody in the NFL.  Just ask Indy and New Orleans.  But we need to learn to win.  That comes with keeping up the intensity for 4 full quarters and delivering consistently on both sides of the ball.  Houston beat us today, but look at how they let us back in the game.  Same as Tennessee, up and down all season.  Yes, just like us...learning to win.  We still have holes like any team, but at least we have some depth now to fill in with injuries.  Remember a few short years ago when a no name guy would be forced into action and all we learned was why he belonged on the bench?  Now when an injury occurs, more often than not, young guys, or older backups come in and deliver.  Henne, Wake, Smith and Davis have a lot to learn, but the future looks bright when you see how they have played with limited experience.  This is a growing year and I think we have had plenty of growth as a team.  We played meaningful games to the end of December with a bunch of backups in some of the most key positions. 

The media marveled at how the "almighty" patriots did that  last year and we did same thing in the second year of a rebuild.

After the game, join us at the Miami Dolphins 5th Quarter Show. It's a live postgame show hosted by Barry Buetel and Nat Moore and will features press conferences, player interviews and much more. We think this has been a great addition to our online game day line-up.

Join us by clicking here, immediately following the game!

I know it doesn’t seem like it will but the sun will come up tomorrow and we will be a better team. I, like many Dolphin fans, have some fatigue from the phrase “next year” but we have to remember we are still rebuilding from the worst season in Dolphin history.

Mistakes cost us this game. Last year we set a record for protecting the ball and this year we have gone in the opposite direction.  Turnovers along with a few questionable calls by the coaching staff have us on the outside looking in for this year’s post season. Originally, I planned to lament all the mistakes in this game and commiserate with all my Dolphin brothers and sisters but I decided to look at some positives.