It’s the team with a history of losing that began as a powerhouse just three years ago. And that’s not really saying much. The Dolphins have played pretty well. They have to be content to be there. But what about the Dolphins’ off-the-field issue, which has required management and the franchise’s owner to publicly apologize to a women and her family members involved in a hotel room confrontation with Dolphins linebacker Jelani Jenkins? And how about their lowly 3-7 record?
I don’t know about you, but those are things that I think about all the time. At what point do the Dolphins start winning games, even if it isn’t quite worthy of their talent and strategy? Is this team destined to be a streaky club, like the Patriots? Or, perhaps more likely, does it want to make a run? Or is this all part of building a foundation, to take the Heat-like talent they have and do something with it? You never know.
The Dolphins are the same team with the same boss as they were a few years ago. But there’s much, much more importance placed on the front office and the coach being tight with one another, and the coaching being pulled in the same direction to make the team play — win — for the man in the stands.
Yes, the 2016 Dolphins brought in Blake Bortles, who seems to be adjusting quite well to the NFL, following up a successful college career. And they have Josh McCown, the epitome of what Dolphins should be looking for: a quarterback who can still arm it over the middle of the field with authority. Let’s go back and look at their other quarterbacks in 2016. Jay Cutler is an inconsistent pocket passer who likely could spend another season tinkering with his game mechanics. Last season, the Dolphins looked at T.J. Yates and Matt Moore, but settled on a much smaller profile quarterback, but also a keeper. And that quarterback was the worst of the lot, Ryan Tannehill. Oh, and let’s not forget Kenny Stills, who was the go-to guy last season. But being the No. 2 option doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a top-tier asset. I’m talking about talent, after all.
It’s up to Dolphins’ front office to see what they have here, and you can bet that Adam Gase is on the same page as those in the locker room. The franchise doesn’t need or want a full rebuild, but plenty of credit goes to Gase for seeing that his system still needs work, a fact the former Jay Cutler coach was likely up front about. As is often the case when trying to move forward, the team just needs to keep winning games and eventually those errant mini-crises, made public over the course of three years, will stop. It will happen, right?
I don’t know. But it’s just nice to think about them playing winning football.