Don't ask the Dolphins (7-4) about the sixth seed in the playoffs. They didn't know they were in as of Monday, and they don't want to know.
"We haven't really talked about it, we just talked about being 1-0 this week because this is our next game," Dolphins tackle Ja'Wuan James said, via the Sun-Sentinel.
James added that he doesn't know where Miami sits in the playoff standings because "what's been working has been working. We've just been focused on the next opponent and I feel like we have to keep that approach."
His words echo what defensive end Andre Branch said on Good Morning Football on Monday. Branch was almost taken aback when host Nate Burleson shifted the discussion from his clothing line to the Miami Dolphins being Super Bowl contenders.
"No, we haven't brought it up at all, our mentality is just to win the week," Branch said. "We go in each and every day just to be better than we were yesterday. Coach (Adam) Gase, we trust him, he's our leader and we just follow his lead."
It's hard to tell what is the right approach anymore. Coaches talk about putting their foot on the pedal or taking it off around this time of year. Head coach Adam Gase sounds more like Bill Belichick than anyone; refusing to live outside the week to week bubble.
"It's hard to look down the road because you have so much focus on what's going on that week, there's so much work that goes on just to win that one game," Gase said. "I know it sounds easy to do to just say, 'Well we've got this team after this, and this team after this,' but you can't look past anybody."
It sounds like the right approach. Miami was almost caught in a pretty significant trap game this past weekend against Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers. If they falter against Baltimore (6-5) this weekend, we may not be talking playoffs, either.