Are you as optimistic as me? (with The Daily Poll)

     Today's column by me (click here) is one people will tend to love or hate. Flying under the banner, 'Success ahead? Signs indicate a turnaround,' it puts an unapologetically positive spin on the immediate future of our beleaguered Big Five sports teams: Dolphins, Heat, Marlins, Panthers and UM football.

     Coaching changes, impactful drafts and other factors have things looking up all the way around. Do you agree? I'd encourage a dialogue on the topic here, and invite you to tell which of these teams has you the most hopeful at the moment and why.

     The poll that follows asks which team inspires the most optimism right now. That's a broad question open to interpretation. Your overriding factor might be which team is closest to being a contender again or might be something else. Remember, though, this is NOT a what's-your-favorite-team poll, but one asking which team's fans should realistically be most hopeful today.

     Vote, then expound with a comment. Expounding is fun! Also it provides a cathartic release that may be beneficial to your mental health and also may help you lose weight without diet or exercise.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Comments

[Jimbo]

Dolphins. hard to come off a 1-15 season and feel good about that. Silver lining has the potential to be a golden lining. Owner cleaned house. GM, VP cut much needed dead weight. Offseason moves appear very good-NOW. All appearances look to be upward, small payoff this year, playoff contender in 2.

Marlins. Young team, talented team, winning now. This team has a record of purging and winning when no one expects them to with no-name, young, solid ballplayers. The tragety with this team is the local market hasn't completely bought into the Marlins and backed them financially as hoped.

UM- program on the rebound. One of the best home grown recruiting areas in the country.

Heat- bad team, not going to get better in a while. Next yrs Heat will lead the NBA in losses again. DWade is injury prone, team should trade him for muscle.

Panthers- two thumbs down.

[OC Dolphin]

Got to put my vote in with the Marlins. Baseball teams can turn it around overnight, given just one season with good arms. It is much more difficult to turn around the other four teams.

[Paul]

Definetly the Marlins, for the simple reason that they're the only team that has begun proving they can win. Playoffs next year for the fish (get those starting arms back and healthy), probably 3 years for the Dolphins, and god knows when for the heat, probably two or three years.

[N. J. John]

Statistically speaking, if the Dolphins manage to win two games this year, that will be a 100% improvement. I do not believe any of the other teams mentioned can match that type of improvement.

[raoul duke]

I'm optimistic JT can beat this flatulence problem with determination, committment and a daily regiment of kegaling exercises. Love ya JT. You can do it!!

[raoul duke]

JT if you should actually read this blog I really love you as a player. Unfortuneately I have the emotional development of a fifteen year old and can't resist a good fart joke.

[raoul duke]

Now if Parcell's could just get the jack hammer out of his fat a*** everything would be a friggin rosegarden. "PPPPPRRRRT"

[N. J. John]

raoul
Do you know why farts smell?

For the benefit of the deaf!!!

[Fla]

UM football a "Big Five" program? Please. The alumni are all in New Jersey. ACC games didn't even sell out the lower bowl. The students can go for free and don't bother to show up. There are more UF and FSU fans in South Florida anyway. Hey Cote, wake up, it isn't 1990 anymore!

[Stav]

I'm really surprised that there is so much optimism for the Fins and so little for the Heat. The Heat have two good players in Wade and Marion (though I wish Wade would rest this summer). Get past the curse of the tanker (which means no top pick for the team that tanked its season) and they could pick up a truly great player. Three is all you need to be a top echelon NBA team. Look at the Celts: tanked last year, cursed to the 5th spot for tanking, made wise trades and three guys led them from worst to first.

On the other hand, the Fins have Jason Taylor and nothing else. We can hope that Jake Long is for real. We can pray that Beck or Henne can lead us to the promised land. We can wish for the miracle of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams playing more than 12 games. But even if all three of those prayers are answered...we still have holes everywhere else on the field.

[Gary Offerdahl]

Dolphins and Heat. If say the Heat get a top 3 pick they will be right back. Look at San Antonio when Robinson got hurt and they were able to draft Duncan.

The Dolphins have to win 6 games this year. Easy schedule too so that is a huge, huge improvement over last year

[raoul duke]

LOL. Yes but NJ John how would Helen Keller with no sense of smell recognize a fart?

[raoul duke]

NJ John this is hypothetical of course as we're just saying for sake of discussion Helen had no sense of smell because of gentic defect.

[Fish Boy]

The Phins are NOT the same 1-15 team from last year. The offensive line is totally revamped (except at Center). The defensive line has changed, and Ronnie Brown will be healthy and the biggest difference is a FULL year of.......RUN RICKY RUN!!!

GO PHINS!!!!

Blessings

[N. J. John]

A fart by any other name is still a foul gaseous emitance from the rectum. Remind you of anyone?

[Jimbo]

NJ John. One person comes to mind. Goes by many different cute names but has the same smell all the same. The one that rants like an angry 9th grader. Well, typical 9th grader has a broader sense of the English language.

[raoul duke]

Sadly Jimbo and NJ John I hate to admit this but it's precisely that 9th grader mentality that endears him to me. Forgive me Dolphin Brethren. His hate I overlook or perhaps selectively ignore would be more apt way of phrasing it.

[raoul duke]

Hey Parcell's did you crap that diamond out of your rectum yet? I'm glad you're with Fins. I love way you deal with media but you still get on my nerves at times. If you knew me personally you'd wish you could make me do wind sprints till my heart exploded.

[N. J. John]

I am perplexed, I’m not sure of whom we speak.

[Damikey]

The Phins will win more than we hope to expect,but when we do lose this year, the other team will go home hurting more than they did last year. We are gonna leave some marks on em this year, the snickering stops now.

[r. duke]

N.J. John I assumed you and Jimbo were referring to bostonian.

[I-Win]

If the Dolphins inspire the most optimism right now then a lot of people need to lay down the crack pipe.

This is a franchise that has "inspired the most optimism" every year for the past 7 years...

Anyways I think right now it's the Marlins and Heat in that order. But I voted for the Heat cuz Riles, Mickey Arison, and Dwyane Wade have proven that they are committed to winning compared to Jeffrey Loria (Marlins Owner) or Wayne Huizinga (incompetent Dolphins Owner).

[Finsfan in CT]

I HAVE to say upfront that I AM biased. The Dolphins are the ONLY Florida team I root for. That being said, I am also prepared to back up my contention that the Dolphins ARE the team with the most optimism (even if by default)!

The Canes have the advantage of turning over their roster completely every four years. However, they are also in a conference that is no longer highly respected, they don't have any REAL signs of being championship caliber (and, of course, that is the ONLY thing that matters in College Football)

The Marlins? Need I say more? They have gutted their team, trading away their two best players! They should have a "low-income housing" sign posted in front of the stadium when they play because their payroll is so low!

The Heat? They DO have Dwayne Wade and a POSSIBILITY at the #1 pick but management is unsteady (who wants to put the over/under on Riley returning to the bench at 2 years?) and they looked like they just gave up last year!

The Panthers? How many people in Florida ACTUALLY KNOW that the NHL is still playing? Of that percentage, who CARES?!!!

The Dolphins, on the other hand, got instant credibility with the addition of Parcells as "head football guru", something this franchise needs since Huizenga didn't know WHO to trust (should I bring up the Marino debacle?) Miami has the makings of a good Oline, Dline and WANTS to believe that Beck or Henne will be the next superstar QB!

On the negative side, they DO play in the tougher AFC AND in the same division as those pesky Patriots! However, of all the franchises in Florida, the Dolphins have the most attention and that will not be changing soon!

[raoul duke]

Oh yeah regarding Dolphins season, Fins go 11-5 win Super Bowl in a rout against who the hell cares. Beat Pats like a drum in AFC Championship Game 145-3. Whatta ya say Flip are you with me brother? When JT asked how he was able to get to Brady so often JT responds "PPPPFFFT" ahhh they obviously couldn't take the smell of our success. Parcell's no longer impacted actually smiles and hugs JT like he were his own son.

[Jimbo]

Usually optimistic but not as much as Flipper on the Fins issues. The team is STARTING to go in the right direction. 1-15 season was hard to swallow and would have never thought a team as sucessful as the Fins were for decades would end up like that. I am hoping for a competitive team this yr and step in the right direction for this new & young team.

Poll Question for U guys:

Which QB will win the competition to start this season?
A. McCown
B. Beck
C. Henne
D. someone else

???????????????????????????????????????????

[duber]

not to be a putz about this, greg, but surely you know that "are you as optimistic as me?" is poor grammar (subject pronoun necessary here). but yeah, i am. love your stuff.

[good ship lollipop]

No, Sparta never fell to Persia. Persians have only reached as far as Athens in Greece.
After Thermopylae (480 bc) the Persians were defeated in a naval battle in Salamis (480 bc) and a battle in Plataies (479 bc) by a coalition of several Greek cities. The Persians never went back in mainland Greece.

[good ship lollipop]

By the way, why are dip-shits from New Jersey advocating for Miami teams?

[raoul duke]

Jimbo My head tells McGowan at beginning but just for the hell of going against the grain I'll say Beck stater by midway through season or sooner despite Henne probably making more sense. I can hear the laughter already...

[David Tucker]

Marlins have a stadium deal finally in place and are playing great. They've sure given a lot to be optimistic about!

[OC Dolphin]

Jimbo,

Mr. Duke has it as if he were time traveling.

[Noel]

Jimbo,
Probably McCown, but he might not finish the season as the starter.

[the shadow knows]

Jimbo,

with the pressure off in year two, and the expectations now upon chad henne, who was not as good a college QB as john beck, i am expecting a major improvement in the sophomore QB and can foresee him taking the snaps should mccown falter. he got thrown into a terrible situation last year and should only improve in year two. henne willbe QB #3 for the dolphins

[Tom]

Jimbo

I'll be very surprised if McCown does not start the season. But either Beck or Henne will be the starter by game 10 unless McCown plays well ala Derek Anderson in Cleveland. My guess between Beck and Henne is Henne because he is the Tuna's boy, while Beck, unfortunately for him, is Cam's boy until he does something good for the Tuna.

[Rosie]

"good ship lollipop" aren't you the guy on my last gay family cruise that George Takei affectionately referred to as "stubby"?

[ginrai]

I have optimism for all of the teams. I know they are going to pick up sooner than later.

[Dave in VA]

Raoul, Helen Keller could FEEL a fart, and TASTE one. She didn't need to hear or smell. Truely and amazing individual.

Jimbo, I think McCown will start the season then Henne will take over. Beck may have had better numbers than Henne in college, but he hardly played on the same stage and against comparable competition.

[Mr. Woodcock]

I would like to think that the Canes are rising but school is still way out on whether Coach Randy is any good.

[N.J. John]

Good ship lollipop--- surely an all day sucker, on the giving end naturally. Still can’t understand what an asshole from Boston is doing on a Dolphin blog.

[raoul duke]

LOL. Dave in VA yes sense of touch and taste how could I forget. I was up earlier than usual this morning 7:00am est(I work eve shift starts at 3:00PM)and one of my first thoughts was Jesus it's after sunrise I wonder if Dave in VA is thirsty somewhere?

[Dave in VA]

Yes Raoul, very thirsty. It's damn near beer:30 right now!

[BILL RUSSELL]

the good ship lollipop, the bostonian, patrick, southie, did i forget anyone? all the same sewer rat from south boston. this low life, could gag a maggot.

[Jimbo]

Guys, I see Greg Cote took my idea from yesterday and the QB question is today's official topic.

My guess: Beck will win the job, Henne #2 and McCown #3.

I would be pleasantly surprised to see anyone of them win the job and do good enough to start all 16 games.

[Dave in VA]

I noticed the same thing Jimbo. He should have atleast given you a plug...

[the shadow knows]

Dave in VA,

tom brady notwithstanding, big ten QBs stink it up in the pros! how many even come close to their status as collegians- brian griese? jim harbaugh? mike tomczak? jeff george? how many ig ten QBs have won super bowls other than bob griese? compare with the pac-10: plunkett, aikman, rypien, elway; SEC: namath, starr, manning, manning. the big ten is competitive within the conference, but seems to gag when going up against the more sophisticated paly of the pac 10 or sec. ohio state at usc will tell a lot about the respective conferences, as OSU returns 18 starters while usc will have a new QB, new defensive front, new OL; says here the trojans by 10!!

[Dave in VA]

Shadow, I was comparing the stage Henne played on and competition faced compared to Beck, didn't say the Big Ten was the toughest conference in the NCAA. Let's be honest, Michigan is a prime time program nation wide, BYU hardly comes to mind when you're thinking of top NCAA football programs. Here's a link to the opponents Beck faced during his career at BYU.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/players/103736/gamelog;_ylt=AhJaq6o26gRH3G4X7a3U41HA.88F

By the way, Michigan is going to suck this year. I have no problem with Beck, I like him and think he's been unfairly judged for not accomplishing the impossible last year. I just think Henne has been exposed to a more "pro-like" game through his college career and will develop faster than Beck.

[Jimbo]

dave,, I think Beck would have thrived at Michigan. Did he go to BYU out of religous obligations or did he have to "settle" on BYU because of mediocre talent???? In all fairness, a few decent NFL QB's came from BYU in comparasin to MANY FL, UM, FSU, and other big schools being terrible NFL QB's. Penn St QB's included in the flops, as I want to be fair and not give the impression that I am biased against Florida schools.

I have that gut feeling that Beck will turn out to be the best of the 3 this yr. BYU runs a pass happy O, no option, no wishbone, no wing T. Your right, you cannot judge Beck by last yr,,,the young man was set up to fail....man, i could just kick Cam in the ass if i ever met him. what a waste.

[Jimbo]

shadow, a lot of variables and differences of the nfl qb requirements of the times. back in the 70 and 80's the qb's called the plays too.
now it solely comes down to ability, ability to adjust to nfl speed, others talents around you and most importantly 'coaching'. for a QB to thrive in the nfl today they need more outside help then ever. If Tom Brady would have come out of Michigan and got drafted by the Cards or Texans..he would have failed 2.

[naples jack,patsfan]

Jimbo- The big thing with Brady is he is driven, plus he has football smarts. The first day he met Bob Kraft, he told him, he would not be sorry the Pats drafted him. Plus having a defensive genius like Belichick coaching him, does not hurt. Nobody reads defenses like him.At michigan, a lot of polotics, with Drew Henson, he got screwed.

[Frank "Mr Optimism"]

Cote, you asked and I answer. I think Henne Starts and Finishes the season as our QB, and With a good OL and decent Ground Game, should do OK... Rothlisberger proved that the formula can work for a Rookie,, Defense will need to be competitive and getting better as the season progresses.. I have broken down every game below... In my optimistic opinion only!!!

Game 1 JETS (Home) Sparano has them ready. Close game but we win by 3

Game 2 az cards (Away) Long road trip, but big win over Jets carrys us to another win.

Game 3 N.E. (Away) Still too early "Good Effort" Loss

Wk 4 Bye, rest and recoup.

Game 4 S.D. (Home)LT and Chambers make it rough on us, close loss

Game 5 houston (Away) Big week to bounce back, 2 TD victory

Game 6 Baltimore (Home) Could go ether way Rookie QB's battle it out. "pick em"

Game 7 Buffalo (Home) Close game we win by 3
Game 8 Denver (Away)Broncos hit hard Loss
Game 9 Seattle (Home)Damn West coast teams another Loss
Game 10 Oakland (Home) Revenge for last year.. To Bad Dante ain't there WIN
Game 11 N.E. (Home) Our House we Pull one out Close/BIG WIN
Game 12 St Louis (Away) Confidence carrys over Win the "Long Bowl"
Game 13 Buffalo (Canada) I hope this is indoors,, Good Defense 3 in a row
Game 14 San Fran (Home) Riding a High, JT gets 4 sacks
Game 15 K.C. (Away) At this point if we are still winning I don't see K.C. Beating us.
Game 16 JETS (Away) Complete the Sweep and get into the playoffs,

So thats 11 wins 4 losses and a Pick Em

Go ahead and Slam me. Just look at the W/L record of who we are playing first..

GO PHINS