Miami Dolphins Week 7 fan confidence jumps during bye week
Our SB Nation Reacts poll is back and things are starting to improve for the Miami Dolphins.
The Miami Dolphins are coming off their bye week with the Indianapolis Colts on the schedule for later today. How are the fans feeling about the team after the off week? Did the Week 5 win over the Patriots and a week of preparation for Indianapolis give fans some confidence in the direction of the Dolphins in 2024?
This week’s poll included two questions beyond our normal fan confidence poll. We asked you what the biggest adjustment Miami needs to show they made during the bye week and if you think the Dolphins will make the playoffs this year.
You can check out the results to our SB Nation Reacts poll, brought to us courtesy of FanDuel sportsbook, below.
Miami Dolphins fan confidence
The Dolphins improved to 2-3 on the season with their Week 5 win over the New England Patriots. The win did not seem to immediately register with the fan base, with just eight percent of the respondents indicating they were confident in the direction of the team. However, the bye week seems to have improved some fans’ outlook on the team.
Heading into Week 7, the fan confidence poll jumped up to 20 percent. The leap up to 20 percent ties Miami with the Philadelphia Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders fan bases in the respective poll results. It moves them ahead of the Denver Broncos (three percent), Jacksonville Jaguars (five percent), Dallas Cowboys (nine percent), and New Orleans Saints (18 percent).
It does, however, keep them in the basement of the AFC East, where the Buffalo Bills have 91 percent of their fans believing in their direction, followed by the Patriots at 65 percent. The New York Jets are sitting at 28 percent, an improvement from 17 percent in Week 6, likely caused by the trade for wide receiver Davante Adams.
How will Sunday’s game against the Colts impact Miami’s fan confidence poll? We will be back next week to get your thoughts.
Week 1: 85%
Week 2: 82%
Week 3: 15%
Week 4: 9%
Week 5: 5%
Week 6: 8%
Week 7: 20%
Dolphins bye-week improvements
The start to the 2024 season has not been to expectations for the Dolphins and their fans. What needs to change for the team coming out of their bye week and facing 12 straight games to finish the season? We asked you.
The dominant answer, receiving six out of every ten votes, was the need for improved offensive play calling from head coach Mike McDaniel. When you add in the second-place result, “stick to the run”, which is part of the play calling, McDaniel is taking 84 percent of the results. Special teams finished fourth with nine percent of the vote, while stopping the run was fourth with just seven percent.
Dolphins playoff chances
The Dolphins have struggled early this season, but are still sitting in a prime position to be able to claim a playoff berth this year. Will they be able to fight their way into the postseason? You do not seem to think they will.
Just 24 precent of the fans expect Miami to make the playoffs. That leaves 76 percent of the fans thinking the Dolphins will not be in the championship tournament this year. It has been a rough start to the 2024 season for the Dolphins. Will they be able to prove the fans wrong and get back into the AFC playoff picture?
Indianapolis Colts fan confidence.
The Dolphins are back on the field this weekend, so we have an opponent’s fan confidence poll to review. The Colts have started the year 3-3 and are sitting in second place, two games back, of the Houston Texans in the AFC South. The fan conference poll for the Colts seems to mirror the .500 performance for the3 team this year.
Starting the year with 80 percent of the fans feeling positive about the year, the fan confidence fell to 19 percent by Week 3. It has since moved up and down, roller-coaster style, leading to a 52 percent positive rating in Week 7.
Colts fan confidence:
Week 1: 80%
Week 2: 77%
Week 3: 19%
Week 4: 48%
Week 5: 66%
Week 6: 26%
Week 7: 52%