The Miami Dolphins have just one playoff appearance since 2001 and had the worst record in the NFL in 2007, but have been far from horrible in general over the past four seasons under general manager Jeff Ireland.

RealGM has been using a statistic called the Trench Counter to rank NFL teams since the 2007 season. 

The Trench Counter accounts for average yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards, first downs and turnovers to determine how well teams control the game in the most meaningful ways.

The Dolphins rank 19th in Trench Counter from the 2007 season through 2011.

Below are their season-by-season rankings, Trench Counter totals and actual record in parentheses.

2007: 30th, -7.6 (1-15)
2008: 8th, +4.3 (11-5)
2009: 24th, -2.4 (7-9)
2010: 17th, 0.0 (7-9)
2011: 16th, +0.5 (6-10)