Cameron Wake had never made the playoffs. The 34-year-old had never even had a winning season in seven previous years with the Miami Dolphins. Yet, Wake isn't celebrating a 10-5 record that secured his first postseason action.
"There were games that we lost that we obviously should not," Wake told the Palm Beach Post. "What's our record, 10-5? I'm disappointed in our record. We shouldn't have lost five games. There are games that we lost, hands down, we should have won.
" ... Looking at the guys, looking at the way we play, how we're built, I was not the least bit surprised. If anything, we should probably beat some teams by more than we did."
The Dolphins could also have been 0-5 to open the season if Browns kicker Cody Parkey made a chip-shot field goal.
Credit coach Adam Gase for feeling out his team and making adjustments on the fly. Placing the offense in Jay Ajayi's hands turned the season around. Realizing Wake could handle more reps than just the situational pass-rush role he had to open the year, energized the Dolphins' defense. Wake and Jordy Nelson are the leading candidates for NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
The veteran, however, isn't breaking out the pompoms for merely making the postseason.
"I don't think anybody's thinking about, 'All right, we've made it. Yeah, it's over,'" Wake said. "No. If anything, this is where the journey begins, hopefully."
The first leg of that journey is Sunday's divisional tilt versus the New England Patriots.
