MIAMI _ Happy holiday _ and NFL awards _ season, sports fans!
As you dig into those leftovers, let's dig into a couple of potential silver linings for an otherwise dreary Miami Dolphins season.
Because lost in the losing has been some admirable performances by names that might not even be known to casual Dolphins fans, let alone supporters of the league's 31 other teams.
There's a Pro Bowl case to be made for as many as three Dolphins players, even if coach Brian Flores on Thursday preferred to focus on team, and not individual, goals.
"Nobody can make a play without the 10 other guys," Flores said before the team's Thanksgiving practice. "If you're a receiver, it's hard to get any stats as receiver is somebody doesn't throw you the football. It's hard to get any stats running the football if nobody blocks. It's hard to get an interception if you don't have any pass rush. It's hard to get a bunch of sacks if you don't have anybody covering.
"I know there's individual stats and accolades, in a team game like this, in a lot of instances, somebody or a group of people helped you get your stats or your accolades."
That's all true. But here's another way to look at it: Individual excellence here should be celebrated even more, given the surrounding cast for the Dolphins' best players.
So in the giving spirit of the season, let's make the postseason awards case for the best of the 2019 Dolphins, even if the odds are steep that others will recognize them.
(All of the following stats are through Week 12's games.)
