Goodbye to a dismal season

Before the 2004 season began, there were high hopes for the Miami Dolphins. The team had just signed David Boston to provide a balanced offensive attack, complemented by its already impressive defense. Most people, including me, believed that the Dolphins would make the playoffs and advance far.

Then the Ricky Williams soap opera unfolded. Without warning, Williams announced his retirement right before training camp. The Dolphins were in a bind because the draft had passed and they were staring at a season without a number one running back. Then David Boston went down with a season-ending injury. Where the offense was once thought to be pretty good, it was now in shambles.

The Dolphins proceeded to limp through a 4-12 season. Opposing teams smothered the Dolphins offense regularly. At one point, the offense was creating more points for the opposition than for itself. The defense played well through most of the season, keeping the team in most of its games, but toward the end, the fatigue began to show. About the only bright spot of the season was that the Dolphins beat the to-be-Super-Bowl-champ New England Patriots on a Monday night game.

Now we face a new season with a new coach and the #2 pick in the draft. Hope is blossoming again, if for no reason other than the Dolphins can't possibly be worse than 4-12 in 2005.