You heard the same general concept from almost every coach of an 0-2 team after their loss this past weekend. From Chargers coach John Harbaugh: "I'm not deterred. No one in that locker room is deterred." From Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski: "We've got great resolve, we've got great resilience in that locker room." From Titans coach Robert Saleh: "I've got a lot of faith in the group we have." What else are they going to say?
They don't believe in themselves or their teams? Unfortunately, teams are what their records say they are, and beneath the belief that things will get better, there are some major, major concerns bubbling under the surface. It can start to get late early for some teams and, in turn, some coaches.
The popular stat is that from 2020 to 2025, only 16% of teams that started 0-2 made the playoffs, but what about the ones facing down the misery of not just an awful season but also larger developments? The seasons that set franchises back multiple seasons. After Bryan DeArdo ranked every 0-2 team's chances of making the playoffs, today we detail the panic meter for every 0-2 team, ranking them from least panicked to most panicked, taking the big picture into account.
Miami knew this was going to be a rough season. There was a wholesale destruction transitioning into this season. Eight of the Dolphins' nine largest cap hits this year are from players not on the team.
We expected the Dolphins to have the least talented roster in the NFL and be among its worst teams -- at best. So far, they are living up to that. Miami is 32nd in offensive success rate and 27th in defensive success rate.
And yet much of this is by design. It's unfortunate, hard-to-watch design, yes, but this is what it was supposed to look like. If anything, the Dolphins can be encouraged by several players from their 13-player draft class, which is far, far more important than any result.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
