…for what it’s worth, of course.

Look, I’m a Dolphin fan.  Can’t help it.  First got into Football the year Dan Marino became quarterback.  It was quite a wild ride following his career.  He was easily one of the best, perhaps THE best quarterback ever… certainly the best to not win a SuperBowl (which, alas, is the way so many judge a football player’s legacy).

And he was great in a time when the rules weren’t quite as nice toward receivers.

Year after year the Dolphins were SuperBowl contenders, though unfortunately they only would go with Marino to one SuperBowl and lose it to Montana and the 49ers.

Still, each year was nonetheless a thrill and there was never a doubt we’d make it to the playoffs and would always feel there was a chance to make it to the big game.

Since Marino’s retirement, the Dolphins have sunk into what is essentially a frustrating mediocrity.  With a one year exception (that I can recall), they’re never outright horrible yet have not been good enough to consider a strong post season/playoff team.  Sure they’ve made it to the playoffs here and there, but any realistic fan knew they would be lucky to make it out of the first round of the playoffs and into the second, much less beyond that.

We’ve had so many seasons ending with between 6 and 9 wins and not all that much more, and a big part of their failure is in finding a quarterback who is anywhere near as skilled as Marino was.

Which, in a way, brings us to the latest SuperBowl, wherein New England QB, and quite possibly the best QB ever, Tom Brady, played one hell of a game and had the best stats of any QB in any SuperBowl ever… and yet his team lost to the Eagles.

Nonetheless, New England under Tom Brady have won 5 SuperBowls and made it to several others which they lost.

And its looking like perhaps we’re seeing the end of that run.

Why?

Coaches are leaving the team.  Several free agents are about to leave.  Some may retire.  There are rumors the team’s coach, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady aren’t quite seeing eye to eye.  That perhaps there’s further pressure going on with the team’s owner, Robert Kraft.

Further, Tom Brady, as brilliant as his performance was in this SuperBowl, is going to be a year older.  He’s 40 now, which is a very old age for a football player.  Sadly, there have been excellent players who, suddenly, no longer are as good as they were.  Their speed, their endurance, whatever, drops just a little, but its enough to turn them from an excellent player to one that no longer is good enough to continue on the team.

I’m not saying this is the case with Brady.  He may come back and do fine.

But what about the rest of the team?

In Dolphin coach Don Shula’s last year, he was given carte blanche to make a SuperBowl run.  He loaded the team up with previous first round picks and the team… didn’t do all that well.  Afterwards, the players spread out to the winds and the team began its drop, hastened by Marino leaving.

While New England didn’t go the route of Don Shula’s last year, I get vibes from that NE team that they’re in a similar situation.  As I said above, coaches are leaving.  Players are leaving.  Perhaps the coach might be leaving.

NE has had a fairy tale ride these past many years, having a team that has excelled more than any other.

That ride may be reaching its end and, like my Dolphins, hard times may be around the corner.