The mystery of Dolphins’ TV rating; Heat backcourt struggling

A six-pack of Thanksgiving media and Heat notes:

• One of the mysteries of this Dolphins season, off the field, is why the team’s TV ratings remain at historically low levels, despite the recent on-field resurgence.

Dolphins games generally have drawn ratings between 12 and 14 this season, including a disappointing 12.7 for Sunday’s Rams game, which is equal to 12.7 percent of Miami-Ft. Lauderdale homes with TV sets. That’s down from a 16.9 average local rating for Dolphins games last season.

Yes, NFL TV ratings are down nationally this season, but have risen somewhat since the election. (That’s not the case in South Florida.)

And Dolphins ratings in South Florida are much lower than the home team’s ratings in most NFL cities.

Which leads to two conclusions: 1) The Dolphins’ five-game winning streak hasn’t appreciably increased local interest. 2) Nielsen’s ratings are flawed and the homes being monitored don’t accurately reflect Dolphins interest.

Keep in mind that sports bars aren’t included in ratings, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Nielsen’s numbers are underestimating Dolphins’ viewership. But there’s no way to know for sure.

• Fox is sending Dolphins-49ers to just six percent of the country: Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Fresno, Cal. and the Reno/Lake Tahoe market.

Fox assigned Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Chris Spielman (who was lured away from ESPN last summer) to the broadcast. The Dolphins are in a stretch of three games on Fox in four weeks…

Carolina-Oakland was cross-flexed from Fox to CBS before the season and will be CBS’ primary double-header game in the 4:25 p.m. window on Sunday, but part of the country (including South Florida) will get Patriots-Jets instead… See 506sports.com for full Sunday maps.

• Dolphins studio analyst John Congemi will be ESPN2’s analyst on UM-Duke Saturday, incidentally.

Here’s the weekend college football TV schedule on one of the most enjoyable viewing weekends of the year, courtesy fbschedules.com:

Friday, Nov. 25, 2016

And Saturday’s schedule:

• Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, on a team that is 28th in scoring at 95.1 per game, ahead of only Dallas and Orlando: "Our offense is not where it needs to be. We were making some strides in terms of getting some open looks. [Wednesday’s 107-84 loss at Detroit] was very poor, and that is my responsibility. I'll look at everything right now to get us more organized, get guys comfortable and get them to their strengths. Everything is on the table.”

• Injuries remain an issue. On their most recent game notes, the Heat listed guards Goran Dragic (strained left elbow) and Dion Waiters (strained right groin) as questionable, though the team says an update will be provided before Friday's 8 p.m. game at Memphis. Guard Wayne Ellington (thigh contusion), center Willie Reed (hyperextended right knee) and forward Justise Winslow (sore left wrist) are listed as out.

The Heat and Grizzlies play again Saturday night in Miami.

• The Heat’s backcourt simply must play better. Goran Dragic has made at least half his shots in just three of his 11 games this season and is 5 for his last 20. Dion Waiters, shooting only 36.9 percent for the season (exactly four points below his career average) is 16 for his last 41.

Josh Richardson is 3 for his last 16, Tyler Johnson 7 for his last 29.

If you missed it Wednesday, here’s the latest on the Chris Bosh situation and scenarios where the Heat’s cap flexibility would be severely impacted.

Twitter: @flasportsbuzz

This story was originally published November 24, 2016 at 2:14 PM with the headline "The mystery of Dolphins’ TV rating; Heat backcourt struggling."