Is Miami Dolphins interest further diminishing in South Florida? Some discouraging news
A six-pack of Saturday Dolphins notes:
• Is Dolphins interest again diminishing? It’s too early to say, but the rating for the Dolphins-Seahawks opener was pretty discouraging.
Despite being played in the attractive 4 p.m. window, the game drew a disappointing 14.9 rating in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, equal to 14.9 percent of local homes with TV sets, or about 244,000 homes.
Last season, Dolphins games for the season averaged a 16.9 rating, worst among the 28 markets with only one NFL team.
For perspective, last Sunday’s Dolphins rating was still very good compared to all other TV programming.
The Heat comparison is apples to oranges, but if you wondered, the only regular-season Heat games this decade that drew comparable or better numbers than a 14.9 were the Heat’s Christmas appearances and games during the later stages of its 27-game winning streak several years ago.
Ratings nationally were down too last weekend. The Thursday night opener was down 8 percent nationally than last season’s opener, the Sunday night game 14 percent. CBS’ single-header was down 20 percent from opening day last season. Steelers-Redskins and 49ers-Rams were way down on ESPN.
• An indication of how much coach Dolphins Adam Gase thinks of safety Reshad Jones: Jones tells us he was the only player asked to speak to the team in the moments before the Seattle game, “to get the team ready. Guys respect me.”
Jones, incidentally, said he and the Dolphins have had preliminary talks on a new contract (his deal runs through 2017) and “something will work out.” Jones protested that contract by sitting out most of the offseason program but returned by mid-June.
• This was satisfying: Seattle Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman made a point to tell Dolphins receiver Leonte Carroo after Sunday’s game what a good job he did and how physical he is.
• And then there was this reaction to Andrew Franks’ blocked 27-yarder against Seattle: While his mother, grandmother and aunt called to cheer him up afterward, Franks said his father said: “Why did you do that? Stop sucking!”
Franks wasn’t upset by that; he said that’s just how the family dynamics work.
As for the kick itself: "I just hit it a little lower ball than I'd usually like, especially that close," Franks said of the miss. "So for me it's really I want get more height on it. It was sort of a perfect storm. I sort of hit it right at their front, [and the] O-line got pushed back a little bit, so sort of a perfect storm, I think."
• Former Dolphins receiver OJ McDuffie worries that receiver DeVante Parker’s hamstring issues could be a long-term issue.
“You start to worry - is it going to be that way all the time?” McDuffie said. “[Receiver] Gary Clark had hamstring problems for us when he got here and it was something he could never get over. [Hamstring problems] can start working their way up your body, to your back. Your gait changes. You are hesitant at times.”
McDuffie believes the Dolphins “need a top-end guy to be [dynamic]” and Parker is the only option: “The whole feel gets compressed otherwise if you don't have someone to beat you deep. It makes it harder for Jordan Cameron and Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills to get open.”
• Keep this in mind regarding the Dolphins: Under the current format, only 12 percent of teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs.
• For Saturday Marlins nuggets, including Ichiro’s big plans, and media notes, including radio changes and Dan Le Batard’s amusing shot at Skip Bayless, please click here.
This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Is Miami Dolphins interest further diminishing in South Florida? Some discouraging news."