Enjoy today. Savor today. Appreciate today.
That feeling you've had since Sunday evening? Remember it. Bask in it. Hold on to it for as long as you can.
Because when the clock strikes midnight, and today turns into tomorrow, everything changes.
Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins have been everywhere this week. From national television, to national sports talk radio, to features stories on front pages of the most well respected websites, everywhere you've turned the Dolphins have been there.
For the first time in a long time, this team is in the headlines for all the right reasons. No bullying scandals, no collapses, just a good, solid football team.
I must say, it's been a breath of fresh air. I've covered this team for a long time now, and nobody wants to see it end less then I do...
But make no mistake about it, starting tomorrow, and permeating all the way through to Thursday night, things are going to change. And come Friday morning, for better, or for worse, we will all have a much clearer, much more accurate picture of who these Miami Dolphins really are.
Going on the road, and playing the best defense in the league, coming off a bye week no less, is hard enough in itself. I believe this will be the greatest challenge these Dolphins have dealt with all year long.
But it doesn't stop there. In fact, it's only just the beginning. Four days later, Miami will host Buffalo on Thursday night in a game that will undoubtedly hold serious playoff ramifications. And let's not forget, these Dolphins haven't beaten the Bills since 2012.
Two games. Two fierce, unforgiving, top 10 defense. Two legitimate playoff contending teams.
Four days.
Now the real fun begins. Now we see if Ryan Tannehill has truly taken that next step. Now we see whether this defense is, what NFL Network called a "championship caliber" defense. Now we see just how good this offense line is.
Beating Oakland, and Chicago, and Jacksonville, and San Diego was all well and good. They were impressive wins. They were hard fought wins.
But they weren't playoff wins. Those wins didn't prove that this team is really ready to make a serious playoff run. Sorry, but they just didn't.
Oakland is winless. Chicago is a mess. Jacksonville has the most generous quarterback in the league. San Diego has the pass rush of a JV football team.
Nice wins? Sure. Absolutely. But playoff type wins? No. Not yet.
Beat the six win Detroit Lions on the road, then follow that up with a victory four days later against Buffalo, and then you're getting somewhere.
Put up a QB rating in the triple digits against these two defensive lines, and then you're in that next tier of quarterbacks.
Find a way to shut down Calvin Johnson, and Reggie Bush, and Golden Tate, and Matthew Stafford, and then you're truly a championship ready defense.
These next four days are exactly what those wins in September and October were for- to make this stretch meaningful. The third round of a major championship is referred to as "moving day." Its the day where the real, big time contenders separate from the pack and charge towards the front.
November, in the NFL, is the third round of a major championship.
Two games. Four days. With everything on the line. Moving day for the Miami Dolphins is about to begin.
Fall may be in the air today.
But starting tomorrow, winter is coming.
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