A look back at the 2005 season

There isn't much news nowadays in Dolphins-land, so I thought I'd reflect back on the past season. Record-wise and expectations-wise, last season was a big success. The Dolphins finished the year at 9-7, including a six-game winning streak, and just barely missed the playoffs. It was a big turnaround from the previous year's 4-12 record.

When the season first ended, I thought the Dolphins beat expectations to finish with a winning record. However, the more I thought about it, the more I believe we should have expected a good team last year, and 2004 was the aberration. Remember that the team finished 2003 with a 10-6 record, Ricky Williams had just had a big year, and hopes were high for 2004. Then Ricky decided to take a year off, announcing his plans as training camp started.

That news knocked the team off-balance for all of 2004. If Ricky had stayed, the Dolphins should have had a winning season and been a playoff contender. In 2005, Ricky returned, bolstered by new draft pick Ronnie Brown, so it was reasonable to assume last year would resemble 2003, as if 2004 never happened. The trauma of 2004 altered our expectations of the team, but it shouldn't have because the Ricky soap opera threw everything off.

That said, I still think Nick Saban did a good job last season and it was a good idea to hire him. The former regime was taking the team nowhere, and the personnel decisions they made were horrible. At least Saban is starting to lay a sound foundation for the team (although I question the Dolphins' draft this year), and his overall philosophy makes more sense.