This one hurts deep in the soul. We had a chance for a special season and blew it. Every November feels the same for the past 20 years.
I'll dig deeper on rewatch, but my big picture view is this: Miami ultimately fell to its true level. We won games we could've lost, and we lost games we could've won. At the end, we were who we were all year.
We have a national championship offense. We have a bad defense. And we lack discipline overall. We came into this game ranked 120th in penalty yards per game. With the season on the line, we made two of the most immature penalties in team history. That was not a fluke.
Add it all up, and you get 10-2. Do I expect major defensive staff changes? Yes. But that isn't the only area we need to improve.
Mario ultimately owns all of it. He missed a rare opportunity. Now, the ownership cuts both ways- you can't blame him for the defensive misses and then ignore the strength of the offense. We were blessed to have Cam Ward, but he also landed Cam Ward and built his supporting cast. The question now becomes whether we can improve elsewhere enough to compensate for the loss of such a unique and special player.
This season will be remembered one of two ways: the beginning of something sustainable, or a fun, ultimately disappointing fluke like 2017. For true progress, this team needs to remake its defensive identity. You can fire coaches and recruit better DBs. But when you get bowled over by an Arena League running back with the season on the line, that's a cultural issue. When you look confused all year, it's deeper than talent. We had four NFL players in the 2022 secondary, and it looked just as lost as it did this year.
Was there progress? Of course. Should anyone expect us to build on that progress? That's a hard sell. The fanbase has every reason to be cynical. But none of us are going anywhere, so let's hope the build continues and we have enough material to tell lies this summer.
