EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- At some point this season, everyone in the Dolphins organization will realize the truth that a sizable segment of their fan base has already grudgingly accepted:

Forget this season already. Cast it out. Toss it. Chuck it. Shift thoughts to next year and make everything you do now about next year.

Everything.

It might sound unpalatable to those who believe in heroically going down with the ship but when weekend after weekend offers nothing but heartache after heartache, it’s time to head for the lifeboats.

There will be no miraculous saving of this season as owner Stephen Ross suggested to me during halftime Sunday when he looked at his team, leading 14-10, and said, “It’s possible we win today and finish 10-6.”

No. It’s not possible.

And Ross knows that six days a week. But he allows himself on game days to let his heart guide his head.

And that’s fine because he’s a fan and a billionaire and both can afford such extravagances.

But by Sunday evening and definitely by the start of every new week, Ross has to abandon the fanciful fan role and look at his team like the billion-dollar investment it is. He has got to look beyond the next game and the next chance to turn this season around.

As the owner it’s his job to think long and hard about turning this thing around for real by next season, after meaningful and significant changes are made.

It seems Ross is doing that. I asked him for a promise that this team’s problems would be addressed by next year, starting with finding a franchise quarterback. I asked him if he could promise the team that is breaking hearts this year can do some quick mending by next.

Making smart moves

“Promises are cheap,” he said. “Of course, I can promise that. But beyond that I want to say we’re going to be doing the type of things that people will say, ‘Hey!’ and take notice of what we’re doing because we’re not just going to sit back idly, feel sorry for ourselves and be passive.

“I think everybody knows what needs to be done, and I think we’ll make some smart moves.”

Ross said the big moves cannot come until after the season, without being specific on what those are and whether smaller moves — such as change to an interim coach — might come before then.

“I bought the team to have a winner,” he said. “Right now, sure you think about a lot of other things. What if you’re doing this. Or whether you’re doing homework or not. I think about all that.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people, and I’m getting a much better feel for what is needed. But we still have [nine] games to go, and I’m hoping we win them all. I want to win every game that I can first.”

He’s not alone. The Dolphins, overmatched and underdogs, played like winners for three quarters Sunday. They played the Giants toe-to-toe and led 17-10 going into the final period.

They managed that despite missing guard Richie Incognito, cornerback Vontae Davis, running back Daniel Thomas, return man Clyde Gates and then losing center Mike Pouncey during the game.

They did it with a backup quarterback.

They did it believing in each other when no one else really would or could.

But when it was over, all they could offer was the same old story and the same old result. And that left coach Tony Sparano able only to praise his team’s spunk and guts but not really its execution and playmaking.

Heart not enough

“We swung hard, we didn’t win, it’s not acceptable, we’re still where we were before we started this thing but that group in that locker room has a lot of guts,” Sparano insisted.

That’s good — but ultimately not good enough.

Sparano and his staff changed the approach at practice this week and made tweaks to the plays used most in past losses. And the loss still made all the changes irrelevant. That, unfortunately, is the way it has been all season.

The coach patches holes during the week, and the team springs new leaks on Sunday. It was that way in the season opener all the way to last week’s loss to Denver.

After that loss, Sparano gathered his team and had backup quarterback Pat Devlin throw the Denver game ball over the fence lining the team’s practice facility and into an adjacent lake.

The Dolphins were, in a manner of speaking, throwing out the last game and moving on.

Well, they are 0-7 now. They lost a game they led most of the way before succumbing to defeat once again. Sorry guys, but it is time to throw this entire season out and move on.