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Dolphins begin offseason frustrated but optimistic
By STEVEN WINE
AP Sports
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) - When Marty Booker scored the Miami Dolphins ' final touchdown of the season, he and teammate Chris Chambers launched into a choreographed alley-oop play around the goalpost and drew a penalty flag.
Excessive celebration? You might say so, given that the Dolphins were on the verge of a meaningless victory and will now sit out the postseason for the fourth year in a row.
Still, six consecutive wins to conclude Nick Saban's first season as coach were cause for jubilation.
It's the longest current winning streak in the NFL, remarkable for a team that went 4-12 last year. But the late surge is also bittersweet - it matches the second-best winning streak to end a season by a non-playoff team in NFL history.
Miami finished 9-7 by winning at New England 28-26 Sunday.
"We're on the right track, heading in the right direction," defensive end Jason Taylor said. "Unfortunately, right now, we're out of track. We just have to wait now and tee it up next year."
Saban won't put too much stock in the streak. He knows a lot of work remains before Miami challenges New England for supremacy in the AFC East.
With the Patriots ' postseason berth secure, they played mostly reserves Sunday and still nearly forced Miami into overtime.
The Dolphins ' other five wins during the streak came against non-playoff teams. But Miami revived optimism for a long-proud franchise in the midst of its longest playoff drought since 1986-89.
"We made a lot of progress in competitive character, attitude, confidence and belief that winning was possible," Saban said Monday. "Those were the things that changed. Those are the things we want to build on in the future.
"I'm personally hungrier now to try to do the things we need to do to continue to get better here. Having the team have a little chemistry and belief is inspiring to all of us."
While Saban is confident he has created a foundation for success in 2006 and beyond, every position on the roster nonetheless faces a possible shakeup this offseason.
When asked about areas that need improvement, Saban mentioned quarterback first. Journeyman Gus Frerotte threw a career-high 18 touchdown passes, but at age 34 he's hardly a long-term solution. He might return as the caretaker starter for another year if Saban uses his first-round draft pick - No. 16 overall - to take a quarterback.
"It's a critical position in every organization," Saban said. "If we can improve that position, because of the nature of the position, we will certainly take steps to do it."
Saban will also likely revamp the offensive and defensive lines and secondary, and he'll be in the market to add a receiver to complement Chambers , bound for his first Pro Bowl berth, and Booker .
Change is possible even at running back, where Ricky Williams and rookie Ronnie Brown combined for 1,650 yards rushing. Brown showed he's capable of a heavier workload, and trading Williams would help Saban address other needs.
But a big offensive shakeup might be unwise, considering the Dolphins averaged 26 points in their final six games.
"I'm excited," Brown said, "especially for the fact that we've grown a lot as an offense and in the last few weeks we have become a good offense. To end on six straight wins feels real good. It's something to look forward to going into the offseason and give everybody some momentum to get ready for next year."
Mixed with the optimism is frustration that early-season stumbles kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs.
As they tune in to the postseason telecasts, they'll be watching two teams they beat in September: Denver and Carolina .
But they also lost to Atlanta , Buffalo , Cleveland and the New York Jets . Each finished with a worse record than Miami .
"You can always sit back and think about what could have been, what should have been," Taylor said. "But it doesn't do you any good.
"We made our bed. We've got to sleep in it. It's nobody's fault but our own."
By STEVEN WINE
AP Sports
DAVIE, Fla. (AP) - When Marty Booker scored the Miami Dolphins ' final touchdown of the season, he and teammate Chris Chambers launched into a choreographed alley-oop play around the goalpost and drew a penalty flag.
Excessive celebration? You might say so, given that the Dolphins were on the verge of a meaningless victory and will now sit out the postseason for the fourth year in a row.
Still, six consecutive wins to conclude Nick Saban's first season as coach were cause for jubilation.
It's the longest current winning streak in the NFL, remarkable for a team that went 4-12 last year. But the late surge is also bittersweet - it matches the second-best winning streak to end a season by a non-playoff team in NFL history.
Miami finished 9-7 by winning at New England 28-26 Sunday.
"We're on the right track, heading in the right direction," defensive end Jason Taylor said. "Unfortunately, right now, we're out of track. We just have to wait now and tee it up next year."
Saban won't put too much stock in the streak. He knows a lot of work remains before Miami challenges New England for supremacy in the AFC East.
With the Patriots ' postseason berth secure, they played mostly reserves Sunday and still nearly forced Miami into overtime.
The Dolphins ' other five wins during the streak came against non-playoff teams. But Miami revived optimism for a long-proud franchise in the midst of its longest playoff drought since 1986-89.
"We made a lot of progress in competitive character, attitude, confidence and belief that winning was possible," Saban said Monday. "Those were the things that changed. Those are the things we want to build on in the future.
"I'm personally hungrier now to try to do the things we need to do to continue to get better here. Having the team have a little chemistry and belief is inspiring to all of us."
While Saban is confident he has created a foundation for success in 2006 and beyond, every position on the roster nonetheless faces a possible shakeup this offseason.
When asked about areas that need improvement, Saban mentioned quarterback first. Journeyman Gus Frerotte threw a career-high 18 touchdown passes, but at age 34 he's hardly a long-term solution. He might return as the caretaker starter for another year if Saban uses his first-round draft pick - No. 16 overall - to take a quarterback.
"It's a critical position in every organization," Saban said. "If we can improve that position, because of the nature of the position, we will certainly take steps to do it."
Saban will also likely revamp the offensive and defensive lines and secondary, and he'll be in the market to add a receiver to complement Chambers , bound for his first Pro Bowl berth, and Booker .
Change is possible even at running back, where Ricky Williams and rookie Ronnie Brown combined for 1,650 yards rushing. Brown showed he's capable of a heavier workload, and trading Williams would help Saban address other needs.
But a big offensive shakeup might be unwise, considering the Dolphins averaged 26 points in their final six games.
"I'm excited," Brown said, "especially for the fact that we've grown a lot as an offense and in the last few weeks we have become a good offense. To end on six straight wins feels real good. It's something to look forward to going into the offseason and give everybody some momentum to get ready for next year."
Mixed with the optimism is frustration that early-season stumbles kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs.
As they tune in to the postseason telecasts, they'll be watching two teams they beat in September: Denver and Carolina .
But they also lost to Atlanta , Buffalo , Cleveland and the New York Jets . Each finished with a worse record than Miami .
"You can always sit back and think about what could have been, what should have been," Taylor said. "But it doesn't do you any good.
"We made our bed. We've got to sleep in it. It's nobody's fault but our own."
