For many seasons, the Miami Dolphins were just plain bad. Either it be their seven consecutive years of non-winning records, or the Jonathan Martin bully drama, or the constant coaching carousel, the Dolphins organization gave reasons for the national media to dislike them, or to use them as the butt of jokes.
Yes, after going 1-4 to start the season, the Dolphins caused analysts to assume that these were the “same old Dolphins” or to at least state that it was going to take a full season for the new coaching regime to make a difference in the overall results for the team.