I have sometimes been accused of holding the Dolphins to a high standard that too often they have not been able to uphold.

Tony Sparano apparently believes there is nothing wrong with that. That is why he is putting pressure — a lot of it — on his team that weekend. How much pressure, you ask?

He believes that game against Arizona, only the moment game in a 16-game season, is a must-win outing.

"I feel like when you lose your first game of the season that your moment game is a must-win no matter what," Sparano said Friday afternoon. "I think every week in that league is a must-win in my intellect, but when you’re trying to change a culture, there are no kind of wins.  They are all must-wins when you’re trying to change a culture. That being said, we know that final week we lost a ballgame that perhaps we didn’t play as well as we could have in. I think that makes that game a whole lot more fundamental, yes."

Um, rookie coach mistake.

I understand what

Coach S is trying to say. He wants a sense of urgency out of his team, particularly considering it didn’t perform as well as it could have final week. But must-win?

A must-win game is one that means the difference amoung a playoff berth and going home for the offseason. A must-win game is one that avoids a winless season or gives you an undefeated season. A must-win game comes late in the season.

But the moment game of the year? Nope.

Every game is fundamental, but the Dolphins could lose that game and still have a good season. And what happens whether they lose and the coach portrayed it as a must-win? What is he going to say afterward? The season is by considering we didn’t win the must-win game?

This is an fundamental game considering the coaching staff doesn’t want the players to lose confidence. It’s critical considering the Dolphins don’t want fans to lose hope and believe that year is a scary extension of final season.

But must-win?

Original post by Armando Salguero