An interesting aspect of the Dolphins’ radical rebuilding project that must be recognized is it seems to have significant fan support.

This isn’t a scientific assessment, but it appears that the majority commenting on social media believe Dolphins management is doing what needs to be done.

Good for them, because it will take a high level of faith to endure the atrocities this team is committing to the game of football Sunday after Sunday.

One could argue how much of it is blind faith in a franchise that hasn’t gotten much right through a revolving door of executives and coaches over the past 20 years.

But I get it, fans are fed up with the old one-step-forward-and-two-steps-back routine.

So many of them are all in on writing off this season of epic humiliation for the promise of an influx of fresh talent through a boatload of draft picks and salary cap space accumulated via an epic roster purge.

Tanking shouldn’t be rewarded

Personally, I hate the concept of tanking that has become a trend in the various team sports. The NFL should institute a lottery system so that such a blatant dive for the top pick as the Dolphins are doing isn’t rewarded.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores is correct is saying that such a strategy is disrespectful to the game, even as he participates in one of the most extreme tank jobs that has been undertaken.

It’s worse than disrespecting the game, it’s a disgrace. Smart teams don’t have to tank to stay competitive.

The Dolphins haven’t been in that category for too long, so they have taken desperate measures.

As always with desperation, it’s a tenuous undertaking.

It’s also tougher to pull off in the NFL than in other team sports, particularly the NBA.

It was good to see Dolphins GM Chris Grier speak publicly Tuesday in the wake of the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade to let fans know there is a method to what has appeared to be madness in the roster turnover of the past few weeks.

Grier explained that the Dolphins couldn’t resist when the Texans kept offering more for Laremy Tunsil, and only ceded to Fitzpatrick’s trade request only after all the top brass, including owner Steve Ross, were unable to talk him out of it.

Those deals inflated their impressive cache of high draft picks, Of course, they will have to expend some to replace those young former first-rounders.

And you see gaping holes to fill everywhere you look on the depth chart.

Maven view: No quick fix to this Dolphins mess

Grier aims for rapid turnaround

There is a belief pervading comments on social media that the Dolphins will be much better next year after a draft that includes three first-round picks and two in the second and with ample money to spend on free agents.

Grier somewhat fed that notion Tuesday.

“I don’t know if you really put a time frame with it. For us, we’ve positioned ourselves to where we think the organization will be in a good place shortly,” he said.

“How long that takes? Like I said, we’ll be aggressive in free agency. Again, we’re not going to sit back and not do anything. We’re going to be proactive and try and get this turned quickly.”

Maybe they will, and I hope for this long disappointed fan base will finally be rewarded.

They certainly have a wealth of draft capital to play in the next two years.

It is a stretch to think you can turn them all into winning players.

Look at the handful of draft picks from the first three rounds that remain on this stripped down roster and only Xavien Howard can be considered Pro Bowl caliber.

This year’s draft produced immediate starters in Christian Wilkins and Michael Deiter, so that’s a positive.

Looking at previous years, Kenyan Drake has potential that hasn’t been fully utilized. Jerome Baker and Raekwon McMillan are contributors but nothing special so far. DeVante Parker, Mike Gesicki and Charles Harris have fallen well short of expectations.

All of the rest are gone.

Yes, they have mined some gems in later rounds over the years, such as Reshad Jones and Jakeem Grant, and solid players such as Davon Godchaux and Bobby McCain, as well as Lamar Miller, Jay Ajayi and Rishard Matthews, the latter three long gone from Miami.

Draft a hit-or-miss proposition

But even the overall success rate of first-rounders is only about 50-50.

They will get their pick of the quarterback litter. They’d better choose wisely.

The best choice isn’t always the first one. Keep in mind, the Dolphins could have taken the quarterback who shredded them in Week 1. Instead, Lamar Jackson was available to the Ravens at No. 32 in 2018, when the Dolphins took Fitzpatrick at No. 11.

As for filling more needs with established players, experience here has shown that you have to overpay for prime free agents and they generally underperform.

What we know for sure is that a franchise that has had more than its share of bizarre chapters has never had one quite like this.

Grier has certainly heaped a mountain of pressure on his own back. Watching how he plays out this rebuilding game will be a lot more fascinating than anything the Dolphins do on the field the rest of this sorry season.

​

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

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How many more weeks of this?

Right. The tank-travesty of this Dolphins season is only two games in and already pushing historical levels of ineptitude.

It would be difficult to recall a more incompetent showing, particularly on offense, than Sunday’s 43-0 drubbing by the Patriots. That is, if memory was limited to less than a week and you’d already forgotten the Ravens running it up 59-10 against an all-but-invisible Miami defense in the opener.

Two first downs through the first three quarters against the Patriots. Two pick-sixes allowed (one of them should be charged to the receiver, not the quarterback). Seven sacks allowed.

So, 102-10 in the first two weeks at home. That’s how far this once-proud franchise has retreated in a strategic rebuild that must have been masterminded by Col. Klink.

Granted, an organization stuck in the throes of mediocrity for two decades needed to try something different. But in a league in which the system is geared for parity it should never be necessary for a team to strip itself to this depth.

For those who have bought into the process of rebuilding through the draft, it’s delusional to think these threadbare Dolphins are going to rise from this mess by stockpiling a handful of extra draft picks.

The way this season is going, there’s nothing for Dolfans to look forward to until next April 23 — draft night. But this isn’t a one-draft fix.

Many holes to fill

There are no guarantees in the draft, anyway, particularly for an organization with a subpar record of picking talent, dating to the previous century.

Now there are so many holes to fill, and they seem to have no qualms about digging more.

Yes, they need to find a stud quarterback. But if you can’t put a team around him, what do you have? You have Josh Rosen last year in Arizona. Or this year in Miami.

Trading away a young left tackle like Laremy Tunsil seems counterproductive, regardless of the return of high draft picks.

Now there are indications of willingness to trade DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, another recent first-rounder, and perhaps running back Kenyan Drake as well.

If coach Brian Flores can’t figure how to make productive use of these talented young players, I’m beginning to question his aptitude as head coach. Can only imagine what his players are thinking.

The Flores era couldn’t have gotten off to a rockier start.

Sunday’s game looked like what happens when a major college team faces an outmanned FCS opponent.

Like Bethune-Cookman did against the Hurricanes on Saturday, the Dolphins hung with the Patriots for awhile in the first half.

But even when it was still close, it felt as if the Patriots could do whatever they wanted. Especially when the Miami offense could do nothing at all.

Miami Miracle distant memory

“I thought they played hard,” Flores said of his defense. “I thought the communication was better, the tackling was better. I thought they played hard, and it’s a good [New England] offense. We got them off the field a couple times.”

Can’t knock the effort of the defensive players, especially in the first half. Later, when the runaway train gathered steam, that unit was gassed.

On New England’s final touchdown, a 10-yard screen to James White, the Fort Lauderdale native had four blockers escorting him to the end zone. None of them could find a single white jersey to block.

By then, the memory of the Miami Miracle had morphed to the South Florida Sham.

In the fourth quarter, the TV camera showed Dan Marino, who looked like he’d eaten bad fish at halftime. With good reason.

Is there any logical explanation for Kalen Ballage flubber-handing a routine swing pass into a pick six?

And what’s with a receiving corps with an aversion for the ball? Rosen, in mop-up duty, put deep balls right on the mark to Jakeem Grant and Preston Williams, and neither made the catch. Earlier, DeVante Parker was unable to outwrestle a defender for a spot-on long throw from Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Give Rosen a chance

As for the quarterback situation, there’s no question Rosen should be the starter going forward. He’s more mobile and showed the arm strength and ability to deliver the ball on target down the field.

Not to say Rosen could rescue this already lost cause — or that Fitzpatrick is necessarily to blame for the offense’s woes.

If this miserable season is going to achieve anything, why not find out what the former 10th overall draft pick (of Arizona in 2018) Miami traded a second-round pick for can do and get him some experience?

After the game, Flores said Fitzpatrick is the starter, for now. That could change before next week at Dallas.

Maybe it’s not even in Rosen’s best interest to play, considering the inability of the line to protect either passer. He nearly blew out his knee scrambling out of bounds.

But it’s madness to keep beating one’s head against the same door and expecting it to open.

How many more weeks of this?

​

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

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On the Monday of every regular season week, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz and his coordinators give a State of the U type press conference recapping the previous game and previewing the upcoming one. Having attended it, here are my takeaways from what they said.

1) Diaz’s approach to recruiting

When Manny Diaz became the head coach, one of the first things he did was establish “The New Miami” rebrand in an effort to excite the base and modernize a throwback identity. That rebranding is at the forefront of recruiting, which Miami should have a natural advantage given it is in the apex of prime talent real estate. It hasn’t been easy, however. Miami has led the nation with 19 decommitments in the last recruiting cycle and has lost 13 this time around. A majority of those decommitments came from prospects that gave a verbal pledge to Miami early in the process only to later change their minds and put out a statement on twitter via notes app that ends with some combination of “PLEASE RESPECT MY DECISION!” and “NO INTERVIEWS!” That has led to a new approach from Diaz.

“What I will tell you broadly is that there’s some things we are changing in terms of what we will do to take a commitment,” Diaz said. “Not all of those things are necessarily grandfathered, but there are some things going forward. What it means to be committed to Miami and a series of criteria that has to happen for that happen. There’s a series of criteria of what happens once you are committed to Miami that’s never been in place in the past.”

He compared recruiting to sales during the presser, using his podium microphone as a metaphoric example.

“I have to create value and I have to make you want this, but before you value it, I have to value it,” Diaz said.” Part of that is not tolerating people not respecting the University of Miami, not respecting their hometown team. That’s something very personal to me. I want it to be personal to our staff and I want it to personal to our players. And that’s OK. Other people can go other places and that’s why there are 130 schools, but the University of Miami is going to get back where it needs to get back to with players that love the University of Miami. They love what it means to be a Miami Hurricane and they understand that value.”

Diaz had a little more polished version of Mike Singletary’s “I want winners!” speech during his first game as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

2) Moneyball Manny

Diaz went for it on a 4th-and-1 in the third quarter against North Carolina. While it came up short and the Hurricanes turned the ball over on downs, Diaz did not second guess his decision because it was backed up by data, which is an important element to his coaching style.

“I’m big into data,” Diaz said. “The Moneyball effect has filtered into football. I equate it to playing blackjack. We know we want a team that wants to be aggressive and go for it on fourth down. Once you understand the data, you trust you’ve made the right decision. It’s been calculated.”

That’s not to say that he’ll go for it in every fourth-and-short situation. Diaz said that those decisions “depends on score, time of game, depends on the opponent.” 

“Your kicking game has to factor in as well,” Diaz said. “How often does any college kicker make a kick from 37 yards? All of that goes into the science of it.”

3) The quickest way from point A to point B is…

The Hurricanes gained 179 rushing yards against North Carolina and DeeJay Dallas looks to be a future NFL running back after back-to-back impressive performances this season. Enos mentioned where the Canes offense want to go on the ground during his press conference.

“We’re gonna run north,” Enos said. “When we get the ball, we’re not gonna be an east/west team. We’re gonna run the ball downhill.”

Cam’Ron Harris gained 60 yards and a touchdown in 10 carries against UNC, giving Miami a one-two punch to Enos’ liking.

“One thing that happens with running back in my experience, have been around some really, really, good ones, is when one’s on the sideline watching the other one run hard, he kind of realizes ‘when I get out there, I better run as determined and just as hard.'” Enos said. “That’s what we tell the guys. If you want more carries, you got to earn more carries.”

4) The more the merrier for Dan Enos

Against North Carolina, nine different Canes players recorded a reception and two running backs received double digit carries. Miami offensive coordinator Dan Enos emphasized playing a large amount of players on offense during the first two games. With the home opener against Bethune-Cookman expected to be a blowout early, plenty of players can expect to see the field on Saturday.

“It’s a lot better for your moral when you have more guys playing from a mental standpoint,” Enos said. “Coming over to practice for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, they all come over with maybe a little bit of jump to their step, knowing that they’re gonna have a chance to play.”

5) Why you should go to the Bethune-Cookman game

After a neutral site game and road game to start the season, Miami will be home for the next five games. In fact, from now until the last game of the season, the Hurricanes only game outside of the state of Florida is on Oct. 26 at Pittsburgh. The home opener against Bethune-Cookman and the Central Michigan matchup afterwards are expected to be a anti-climatic blowout where the fans would naturally leave once the tailgate buzz wears off. Diaz offered some valid reasons to come to game despite the expected outcome.

“These next five weeks are going to say a lot in terms of where this team is and what happens in our season in the ACC Costal,” Diaz said. “I would come just to watch Cam Harris and DeeJay Dallas run the ball. I’d come to watch Jarren Williams play and I know for a fact, I’d come watch Shaquille Quarterman, Mike Pinckney and Zach McCloud play their last run of games at home because those are guys that you want to say five years from now, ten years ago, that every time I had a chance to watch Shaq Quarterman play, I watched him play. And if it happens, come watch Lou Hedley punt. That might be worth a ticket too.”

Honorable mention: UM defensive coordinator Blake Baker on his defensive personnel

“Talent is not going to be out issue, I think experience is our issue and there’s going to be some growing pains.”

MIAMI GARDENS — It is one thing to talk of tanking as a concept.

The reality of it?

That was the atrocity on display Sunday when the Dolphins offered the resistance of tissue paper in a 59-10 walkover by the Ravens.

In their inaugural season in 1966, the Dolphins lost 58-24 at Buffalo, the most points allowed in a regular-season game in franchise history before Sunday.

The only loss more one-sided and humbling than this one was the 62-7 playoff thrashing at Jacksonville in Dan Marino’s final game.

Ironically, two decades later they are still trying to replace him and have sold their soul for the chance to draft another magic quarterback. Or so they hope.

No question, the Dolphins were in need of a major overhaul, a radically different approach than has failed miserably over the past two decades.

The debacle Sunday showed what tanking looks like, what happens when you take a stripped-down roster into games that count.

More from Maven: Flores vows to do better job of coaching

Disaster on defense

It looks like giving up a 49-yard run on the first play and never being competitive in the game.

It looks like having such a talent deficit with the opponent that you fall behind 28-0 just over a minute into the second quarter, as the Dolphins did.

Dolphins icon Larry Csonka tweeted, “New personnel. Unrehearsed. This is tough to watch. “

Particularly on defense, which is coach Brian Flores’ forte. Obviously, he is not directing the Patriots defense anymore.

Nonetheless, all of the scheming and attention to detail and punitive dashes to the TNT (Takes No Talent) Wall were supposed to yield a unit that knew what it was doing out there, albeit limited in talent.

But this Dolphins defense look disorganized, clueless, lost.

It was a total pushover. It had no answer to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

Jackson produced the best passer rating (158.3) in Ravens history and rookie Marquise Brown debuted with 147 yards receiving, including touchdowns of 47 and 83 yards on his first two catches.

I didn’t think there was a scheme issue,” Flores said. “There was an execution problem and we weren’t getting aligned. We’ll be better next week.”

Seriously? Next week, Flores’ former team, the defending champion Patriots, come to town.

Trade fallout lingers

There may well be a morale problem, stemming from trading away Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills and other veterans at the end of the preseason.

The Tunsil trade seems a reach too far into the tank. Left tackle is one of the cornerstone positions and he was a rising star still on his rookie contract. Sure, they got three high draft picks in the deal, but those will be late in the round from a good Texans team.

And they will need to draft someone to fill the void of Tunsil, which will be a reach.

Meanwhile, Sunday was no isolated bad day for the home team. Be prepared for a month of NFL Sunday’s like it.

For the aqua-clad people in the stands, it means little return in entertainment value on those pricy season-ticket plans.

That is what tanking the season is all about. It was on display in all of its teeth-gnashing splendor.

“We’ve got problems on offense, defense and special teams. We’ll try to fix them all,” Flores said. “Schematically from a personnel standpoint, we’ll try to fix them all. We’ll try to put our players in the best position to win. We’ve got a lot of work to do from that standpoint.”

Problem is, there is no immediate fix for this season.

Dolfans can point to a huge cache of future draft choices as hope for the future. But this game illuminated how much talent will have to be mined from upcoming drafts to field a competitive team, and gave an indication of how long that could take.

Let there be no mistake, the Dolphins will be picking near, if not at the very top next April.

But there’s no guarantee the strategy of suffering through losing seasons and stockpiling draft picks will work.

Look at Cleveland, which endured a 1-31 stretch in 2016 and 2017. This is supposed to be the Browns’ year. They started it with a dud in a 43-13 loss to the Titans.

Imagine how their fans feel today. Probably worse than Dolfans.

Roster turnover hurts

There were some boos early from the home crowd at Hard Rock Stadium. They had one highlight moment to cheer when DeVante Parker made a leaping 49-yard catch between two defenders.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who made history by starting for his eighth NFL team, led a spunky touchdown drive before the half, with undrafted rookie Preston Williams punctuating his first NFL TD catch with a resounding spike.

By halftime, with the Dolphins trailing 42-10, fans were sitting dumbfounded in their seats or retreating up the aisles, presumably to a bar.

The big question about the Dolphins going into the game wasn’t could they find a way to win?

It was, who are those guys?

I counted only 20 players who were on the roster last season. A dozen joined the team since the final preseason game. Fifteen hadn’t appeared in an NFL game before Sunday.

Two who had just joined the team started on the offensive line, Danny Isidora at right guard and Julien Davenport at right tackle. Jesse Davis, who played all preseason at right tackle, moved to left tackle.

An offense that aspires to be successful running the ball had 21 yards rushing, averaging 1.8 yards a carry.

Josh Rosen created a mild stir from those still watching when he entered late in the third quarter and threw a short completion on his first pass. His second pass was intercepted.

“He told us, let it sink in, remember this feeling,” said cornerback Eric Rowe, a former Patriot who was victimized on Brown’s first touchdown catch, said of Flores’ message to the team. “I think everybody is going to remember this feeling because that’s just going to motivate us to push harder in practice.”

“We’re going to let it sink in. Let that [expletive] hurt. Let it hurt, let it hurt, because it does,” safety Bobby McCain said.

Get used to it, folks. These are your 2019 Miami Dolphins. And it’s going to hurt. A lot.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

(Photo of Ryan Fitzpatrick by Jasen Vinlove for USA Today)

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This past week has been a rocky one for the Dolphins and the NFL in general. The difference between words and actions make reading Miami’s plan difficult. Are they tanking? Their actions say yes, yet coach Flores insists they are not. In any case, whether they’re tanking intentionally or not, 2019 is going to be all about player evaluation and development. It has to be, since winning is unlikely to be something they do a lot of.

So with that in mind, here are the top three players to keep an eye on as the Dolphins face the visiting Ravens to open the 2019 season.

Jerome Baker, LB

When facing off against a running quarterback like Lamar Jackson, containing him becomes crucial to success. If he finds a hole to run through, Jackson will take it and he will make the defense pay for letting him have it. That’s where Jerome Baker comes in. More than likely, the Dolphins will have extra defensive backs on the field throughout the game. That extra speed is very reminiscent of the Bill Belichick defense that Flores comes from. But Baker will be closer to the action, and his sideline to sideline speed and ability to shoot gaps and rush the passer will be crucial.

As one of the team captains, Baker is being looked at as one of the defense’s cornerstones. It will go as he goes. If his preseason performance is anything to go by, Baker could become one of the league’s best as time passes. Keeping Jackson in check will be quite a challenge.

Albert Wilson, WR

With Wilson listed as questionable with his hip injury, it’s unclear whether or not he’ll be back to full speed against Baltimore. Nevertheless, the reason Wilson is worth keeping a close eye on is because his future with Miami may be just as questionable as his game status. Wilson is under contract through 2020, but the Dolphins have made trades that suggest they aren’t beyond subtracting talent to add draft capital and cap space.

If Wilson shows signs of being back to his old self, and a WR needy team looking to contend comes calling, Miami may pull the trigger. Trading Wilson at this time would save the Dolphins around $7 million in cap space, and another draft pick would fall right in line with what Miami wants for the rebuild.

Isaiah Prince, OT

Prince went from a preseason backup to probable starter almost instantly. The Dolphins traded Laremy Tunsil, and now have only four tackles on the active roster. Prince is the only one besides Jesse Davis – who recently signed a three-year extension – who has experience in Miami’s offense. Thus, he’s the best candidate to start at right tackle on Sunday. That makes three rookies starting on the offensive line, the other two being guards Michael Deiter and Shaq Calhoun.

Prince had his ups and downs in preseason, but that’s to be expected for a young player. Prince started at right tackle for years at Ohio State, even getting a chance to protect first-round QB Dwayne Haskins. He showed steady improvement through college, but it’s no secret that OL coach Dave DeGuglielmo got frustrated with Prince a lot throughout camp and preseason. This will be a real test of what Prince is capable of. Depending on how he develops, he could be Miami’s long term right tackle, or further proof Miami needs to invest heavily in the trenches in 2020.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for six years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung