Dolphins Show That Dedication, Business Sense and Luck Can Turn Fortunes Around

The now 0-15 Lions have many believing that a winless season is not only possible, but probable. This is 0for08, FanHouse's eye on the Detroit Lions and their quest for a winless season.

The Detroit Lions have been the laughingstock of the NFL this year and have nearly completed a winless season. Last year, the Miami Dolphins were the laughingstock who nearly went the entire season without a victory. If not for an overtime win over the Ravens, Miami would have been the league's first 0-16 team.

While the Lions are heading into Week 17 trying to avoid infamy, the Dolphins are looking for an AFC East title. A win over the New York Jets would put the Phins at 11-5 and make them division champs.

Miami did what the Lions are sure to do: flip the entire organization. Miami hired Bill Parcells to run the team, Tony Sparano to coach it and sprinkled in new coaches and players to execute their plan. Luck played a part as Miami, arguably, got the best end of the Brett Favre saga in the offseason. When the Jets dealt for Favre, they dumped now-Miami quarterback Chad Pennington.

This was a franchise that just watch its head coach leave for Alabama despite saying he would stay, had their fans boo during a team-held draft party, they had several player arrests, there was the whole Joey Porter/Levi Jones fight in Vegas and they had an uncomfortable stalemate with Daunte Culpepper.

Though the Dolphins won just one game last year, it wasn't as if they were that bad. Six of their losses came by exactly three points. Ronnie Brown was playing at an All-Pro level before going on injured reserve at midseason. They also played three games in horrible conditions. They had their game with the Raiders postponed 30 minutes due to lightning storms, clogged through the wet pitch of London's Wembley Stadium against the Giants and played an entire game through a downpour in Pittsburgh.

Also remember that the Falcons and Ravens have recovered from horrible seasons to become playoff teams this year. Atlanta is just a year removed from Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino. Both have rookie head coaches and rookie quarterbacks.

No, I'm not saying that Lions fans need to expect big things next year. But it is possible to get what seems like a complete mess cleaned up in a reasonable amount of time.