Miami Dolphins Season Ends

The Dolphins lost to the Ravens in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. I am not going to go over the game since the media has already done that a lot! What I am going to do is share an article with you from the Palm Beach Post.

Tony Sparano opened his eyes at 3:30 a.m. Monday ready to do what he had been conditioned to do for the previous four months: get ready for the next opponent.

Except on this morning, it was simply time to say goodbye.

Sparano drove to team headquarters in the twilight like a coach whose Dolphins had defeated Baltimore on Sunday, instead of having lost 27-9 in the first round of the playoffs.

"I woke up expecting to go to work and play Pittsburgh," Sparano said.

He sat in the film room. He watched tape of the loss. He broke down the game the way he had the previous 16. And when the tape ended and the room went black, he had one question to ask himself: "What the hell do I do now?"

The morning after the final chapter in one of the greatest turnaround seasons in NFL history, Sparano had one more meeting with his players.

"I think they understand that they really have changed the culture here," Sparano said. "The bar is raised and there are expectations that come with that and that's something that we can look forward to."

He told them he was proud of them. And that if they were paying attention, they could see the fans were proud of them, too.

Sparano reminded his players that fans had greeted them at the airport after the Week 17 victory at the New York Jets. And that fans had cheered them as they drove out of the parking lot after Sunday's finale at Dolphin Stadium. And that fans had carried home-made signs to the team's practice facility Monday to thank the players for an incredible season.

"All of a sudden, people know them nationally and people know what we're all about and where we're headed," Sparano said.

He told his players Monday what he could not in the locker room Sunday night, when emotions were still raw, when eyes were misty. He told them he was proud of them.

But Sparano also told his players that they should give themselves only one day to celebrate or mourn.

"I give myself a 24-hour rule, too," he said.

And now begins the process of building toward next year. And it starts with looking at how the Dolphins lost to the Ravens, who forced five turnovers and held Miami to 52 rushing yards.

"My vision would be to win one of those ballgames like we were in yesterday," Sparano said.

This week - a week when the staff begins evaluating players, coaches and even the offensive and defensive schemes - should have been planned out by now, Sparano admitted. General Manger Jeff Ireland told him that an "exit strategy" should have been in place in case the Dolphins had lost to the Jets.

"I couldn't bring myself to do that," Sparano said. "I told Jeff that. I said, 'I apologize, but I'm not going to be prepared for that. I can't bring myself to do that.' "

The season is over for the Dolphins, but now we can start to look at free agents, the 2009 draft class and get ready for next season! I will post a list of UFA's in the forum, so if you haven't signed up there, please do so and give us your input and opinions!

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