With the way the 2011 season started, I think most Dolfans believed the season would be worth enduring if they could knock off the Jets in the Week 17 finale.

And with New York needing a win to have a chance at a playoff spot, the fact Miami was able to hold off the Jets 19-17 Sunday gives the team and its fans a late surprise Christmas present.

For the first time in his three seasons, Rex Ryan will miss the playoffs, and for the Jets there will be much soul-searching this offseason, as the team imploded after getting off to an 8-5 start.

For Miami, it's a nice finish to what looked like a miserable season after that 0-7 start.

The Dolphins won six of their last nine games to finish 6-10, the same record they had in their last year under Nick Saban. It marks the sixth time in the last seven seasons Miami has finished with a sub-.500 record.

In the end, Tony Sparano lost his head coaching job, and though interim coach Todd Bowles went 2-1 in his three games, he will likely not be retained next season.

The team also saw enough of incumbent starter Chad Henne before his season-ending shoulder injury to realize he is not the future, and although Matt Moore played well in his absence, he is not a franchise quarterback either.

So once again, the Dolphins are in the market for a starter. Heisman winnner Robert Griffin III announced he will declare for the NFL Draft, and Andrew Luck is a lock to forego his senior season, but with the Dolphins picking towards the tail end of the top 10, they need Landry Jones to declare to have a shot at one of the elite quarterbacks (USC's Matt Barkley has already announced he's staying in school, which is a huge blow to Miami fans).

Despite missing the last game of the season, Reggie Bush had his finest year with 1,086 yards rushing, and he and Daniel Thomas give the Dolphins a nice 1-2 punch at running back.

Brandon Marshall also had a 1,000-yard season at receiver, though he dropped too many passes and was not much of a factor in the early going. Brian Hartline and Davone Bess are decent complements, but the Dolphins need a legitimate No. 2 to take the pressure off Marshall.

Rookie wideout Clyde Gates barely made an impact, except as a kick returner, and tight end Anthony Fasano, while valuable, is not a player who stretches the field as a pass-catcher.

On defense, the Dolphins were stout against the run, though they will be losing the retiring Jason Taylor and his seven sacks. They need another edge rusher to complement Cameron Wake, whose play fell off this season.

It's not a young unit either, as Karlos Dansby is 30 and Kevin Burnett will soon be there, though the secondary has youth with Vontae Davis, Sean Smith and Reshad Jones.

Still, the safety play needs to improve, so that may be another option in April's draft.

Even though this team missed the playoffs but appeared to be on the upswing the latter part of the season, it's not a young team, which means the veteran parts are going to have to be replenished soon.

Unless the Dolphins dramatically improve their drafting under Jeff Ireland, and until they get a franchise quarterback, they will continue to hover between 8-8 and 6-10 each season -- until the bottom drops out again like it did in 2007.