Midseason Report

The biggest stories of a wild start to 2016 season.

- Alain Poupart

The Dolphins have arrived at the midway point of the 2016 regular season, and they got there riding a three-game winning streak following their victory against the New York Jets on Nov. 6.

Much like their performances on the field, which went from highly impressive (Pittsburgh) to downright discouraging (Tennessee), the first half of the season was a rollercoaster ride featuring player discipline, redemption, injuries and a sudden retirement.

As the Dolphins prepare for the second half of the season, let’s revisit the headlines of the first half.

JAY TRAIN ROLLING

Jay Ajayi’s story of redemption not only was the biggest story involving the Dolphins in the first half of the 2016 season, it was one of the biggest stories in the entire NFL.

In putting together a two-week run — pardon the pun — almost unprecedented in team or league history, Ajayi offered the perfect response to being left behind in South Florida when the Dolphins traveled to Seattle for their season opener.

Ajayi’s emergence left the Dolphins confident they can have a playoff-caliber running game despite the failed Arian Foster experiment.

FOSTER FINALE

The signing of Foster in mid-July was a low-risk, high-reward move for the Dolphins, so it wasn’t necessarily a major blow to the organization when he decided to retire the day after the victory against Buffalo in Week 7.

Foster battled injuries almost from the start and it was clear by the time he retired he wasn’t the same guy who rushed for 1,200 yards or more four times in his career. The emergence of Ajayi made Foster’s departure even easier to handle.