Miami Dolphins 2020 schedule released on Thursday. Here’s what should you be expecting
By now you know the NFL schedule will be released during a three-hour show on NFL Network starting at 8 p.m. on Thursday. Each team has also received permission from the league to host a schedule release show on its own platforms starting 30 minutes before that cable show because, well, it’s a sponsorship opportunity.
The Dolphins promise The Big Show (a wrestler) and Darius Rucker (a musician) will be on their Facebook release show.
And that’s great. But amid all the social media exclamation points about the looming Dolphins’ schedule announcement I hope the folks running this show remember Don Shula passed away three days ago and a big party is definitely not good form right now.
Announcement, yes.
Facebook show, yes.
Party, feels weird to this observer.
Not the right time. The Dolphins usually strike the right note on such things because they’re run by sober folks with bright minds. I’m just ... softly reminding.
About that actual schedule: Former ESPN insider John Clayton said on 93.7-FM in Pittsburgh that the NFL schedule the first four weeks of the season will match the AFC versus the NFC, or each team’s non-conference games, with the division games being played later in the year and primarily in the final month of the season.
I have not been able to confirm this report, but if true it would actually make sense. It would give the league a chance to open with games that I suppose could be canceled should the current COVID-19 mess force the league to play a shortened schedule.
In that case, the league’s division and conference games would have a greater chance of happening if they’re played later in the year. Those games, as everyone knows, are what most impact division standings and conference playoff seeding.
[Update: The New York Daily New and New York Post are reporting the Jets open up against the Buffalo Bills. Thus the Clayton report cannot be accurate as it pertains to the entire AFC East.]
The AFC East is playing the NFC West this year.
The Dolphins have home games scheduled against the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. And they have road games scheduled against the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers.
What follows is the home and road games the Dolphins will play in 2020:
Home
Buffalo Bills.
New England Patriots.
New York Jets.
Kansas City Chiefs.
Los Angeles Chargers.
Los Angeles Rams.
Seattle Seahawks.
Cincinnati Bengals.
AWAY
Buffalo Bills.
New York Jets.
New England Patriots.
Arizona Cardinals.
Denver Broncos.
Jacksonville Jaguars.
Las Vegas Raiders.
San Francisco 49ers.
And now a little something about expectations: The folks in Las Vegas who make a living on such activities have decided the Dolphins over-under on wins in 2020 is six.
So after winning five of their final nine games last season with a roster lined with multiple retreads and unproven youngsters, the 2020 Dolphins added 10 veteran free agents by spending approximately $250 million, with approximately $150 million of that coming in guaranteed money. Then Miami drafted 11 more new players, five of them in the first two rounds.
And after doing all that, the Dolphins are going to improve ...
One game?
One?
You cannot be serious. The 2020 Dolphins win only six games, someone royally messed up.
Look, I’m not saying the Dolphins should be favored to win the division. But they should be expected to win.
And now let me do some quick math ... 16 games ... Calculating a winning record ... Yeah, that’s at least nine wins.
So 9-7. That’s a fair target at this stage. Obviously, things may happen in training camp and the preseason that change the strength of various teams on Miami’s schedule. And things may happen with the Dolphins that could possibly change the team’s quality.
If that happens, a readjustment is appropriate and fair.
But today? Why not 9-7 for the 2020 Miami Dolphins?
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 12:23 AM.
