Evaluating The Phins: An Essay Analyzing the Problems & Potential, Flaws & Failures

A Miami Dolphins Evaluation Essay:

An Analysis of the team’s problems, potential, flaws, failures and future.

There have been and will continue be several suggestions, grumblings and analysis relating to the present state of the Dolphins. I’ll expand upon the reason for this, but let me state up front that this team has to be judged as an expansion franchise, Year One. If we took away both past prejudices toward the Front Office, past frustration with failure, and past expectations for certain players, I think the grumblings would fade away.

Some will argue that the front office never should have been hired in the first place. In fact, some of the visceral attitudes at present partially stem from this negative feeling. The negative feelings toward Parcells and his men (he’s one of those polarizing people) are clearly present on discussion boards. This is partially evidenced by the instantaneous murmuring at every move by the staff that seems to fail in any game or quarter or play. Such criticism is supported by questionable decisions by the coaching staff on use of players– why isn’t Jason Allen starting? Why is Ronnie Brown limited? In other instances, by their having jettisoned the two “faces” of the Miami Dolphins the last ten years – Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. While ultimately this criticism may bear out to be true, it is premature.

Others argue that it is past drafts that have left the Dolphins talent cupboard empty and much evidence can be mustered to support that. Still others, particular positions: the defensive secondary or wide receiver positions that were virtually ignored in the draft and free agency other than the questionable signing of Ernest Wilford – who is struggling to suit up on Sundays, let alone be a playmaker. The lack of a QB with experience and an NFL arm is also a factor noted by many; so, too, the inexperience and lack of cohesiveness on the offensive line.

Arguments can be mustered relating to all of these and more. Certainly, talent accumulation, sound coaching, big playmakers and good fortune at “Crunch Time” are broad principles that produce winning franchises in the NFL. So, in what ways are these missing (or are they?)? What is the fundamental problem and where does the solution rest? (I find it very easy to poke holes in arguments or positions; it’s much more difficult to find a solution).

Even though one can question the front office hiring (beginning with Parcells, then Ireland and Sparano), it seems to me both impetuous and prejudicial to focus on this as the problem (though the guns of frustration are clearly centered in this direction). Such criticisms at this juncture are over-scrupulous.

All three are in new positions. Parcells has never run a team without coaching. Ireland, a relatively successful talent man for the Cowboys, has never been a GM and Sparano, a decent offensive line coach has never been at the helm of a National Football League team. All three will make mistakes – as is the case with anyone taking on a new role in any career. The hope is that all three have the capabilities, given their experience, to succeed at their respective positions. All three have had enough success to warrant their positions. We really won’t know the final outcome until they have had time, years, and they leave the organization at some point. Who ever thought, in the middle of the 2006 season, that Tom Coughlin would be a SB winning coach? I suspect most wondered whether he’d even be back as the Giants coach. We can whine about the past (much of our complaining strikes me as partial bitterness about the way the past group was treated and, as noted, partial prejudice)– as I am occasionally prone to do – but as the saying goes, “it is what it is,” and you have to deal with reality now.

Fundamentally, the problem facing perennially bad teams is the failure to build a true positive identity. Certainly the Dolphins lack this and this, I believe, points us toward both the problem and the solution. Developing an identity as an individual means finding your confidence. That requires two important factors: a work ethic and finding a skill at which you can excel. Not everyone will be a beauty queen, a star athlete, a movie star or an international business mogul. But, they can find their identity in discovering where their talents lie and exert great effort in developing those innate abilities into successful skills. The age where this is most difficult for people is generally between 13 and 22 or so (though many don’t come into their own until much later in life). I have a good friend who is in his late 70’s now, and is arguably the foremost southern religious historian in the United States (He’s recently been honored by both the American and Southern Historical Associations). He’s made appearances on multiple television shows in the past – GMA, the Today Show, Nightline, etc.. He’s written the official biography of both Oral Roberts and Pat Robertson (soon to be released upon completion). Visiting with him recently, he noted that he flunked out of two colleges before he found his niche. What does this have to do with the Dolphins and football? If the application is not apparent now, hopefully I’ll make it so momentarily.

In a sense, the Dolphins the past several years have been like a struggling teenager or perhaps, better, a floundering college student – changing majors (coaches/GMs); striking out in the dating scene (players); showing a bit of promise here or there but then fizzling out and even dropping out. They’ve had some bad breaks. What they are looking for is an identity as a franchise, not just at CB or TE. Finding this identity takes a few years at the grindstone. Going through the difficulties and late nights and mistakes – but never quitting when things get tough. The difficulty is, as it is in all of life, maintaining faith when things do not go your way. This will be, and in a sense is, the Dolphins greatest problem. Fans, media, and even many players, as well as potentially the front office and coaching staff, are susceptible to losing faith if things go badly in the short run. Fans are already teetering on this with every new loss. Such is also a reflection of our short-term perspectives in society. We are a culture that wants it yesterday not tomorrow. No one can tolerate dial-up internet. To think that players and team management are not susceptible to this is unrealistic.

Indeed there are severe weaknesses at particular positions but I’ve been around long enough to witness players who appeared weak and could not even make the roster of bad teams, find great success. Johnny Unitas, arguably the greatest QB of all time, was released by the then hapless Pittsburgh Steelers. Wes Welker had to have friends beg for a scholarship to Texas Tech, then was cut by the Chargers and could not even get on the field ahead of the likes of Ron Bellamy, Derrius Thompson and Bryan Gilmore in a wretched 4-12 season for the Dolphins in 2004. Last year? 112 receptions for 1,175 yards and 8 TD’s. The simple point is that what appears to be ineptitude at this juncture can turn around with the right effort, coaching, and circumstance.

The first essential in changing identity is ridding past negativity. That means, doing a complete rebuild. You have to die before you can be reborn. That’s essentially what Parcells recognizes. It is the Marine addage - break down completely to build up. But, when you do that, you essentially become an expansion franchise. This is where the Dolphins are right now and to fail to recognize that will leave you, as a fan, in a state of perpetual frustration and impatience.

Another fundamental feature to finding identity is stability. This is where faith and constancy come into play. If you repeatedly switch majors every semester out of impatience you will never succeed. But, it is also true that looking back at the last major and lamenting that (positively or negatively) is not going to help you succeed with your current one. So, with the Dolphins, their first hope is to maintain the present organization – with only tweaks here and there – over the next three years plus. Second, they have to acquire innate talent (the GM role), then teach and discipline that talent, molding it into a team (the coaching staff role). It is important to see that “talent” is not just raw physical or even mental ability. It also includes the ability to be a “team” player, to learn to trust in others, to have faith in the coaching staff, etc., as well as the innate ability to develop yourself into a skilled player at your particular position. By the way, these qualities are often ones that remain unseen by fans – regardless of how many games we watch.

The front office has made it clear that it seeks to build the team through strength on the offensive and defensive fronts and in special teams. That is clear from the draft and free agent signings. Given the youth at those positions this will take some time. It will also require another addition or two. There is, right now, no clear big-time playmaker or two along the defensive front – a necessity to be truly successful. That still will require more talent infusion (though not as much as elsewhere) and some good fortune. However, there is some evidence that there is a coterie of solid young players along both fronts on which the team can be built.

Is this emphasis on the frontlines a flawed policy?

Some may think so given the horrific play at WR and DB. But, as bad as this team was – and it was one play away from the most pathetic and dreadful season in NFL history – no one should expect all the problems to be solved in one year. The team could have sought to shore up every position in the draft (DB, WR, OL, DL, LB, etc.). But, what are the odds of hitting on each of those positions with one pick or so in each round? Slim. They essentially sought to increase their odds of solving certain positions by drafting multiple players at similar positions. If they hit on most of those, that only makes the frontlines increasingly strong.

Clearly there are needs for long-term solutions at several positions, most particularly that of QB, WR and DB (even though there may still be weaknesses at LB – there has been a talent infusion there to some degree that may turn around at some point). And, having a great QB will help with a team’s identity. Asking which is a bigger problem at this point – QB or WR – is sort of like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg? Both are dependent upon one another, to some degree. And, both are dependent to some degree on the success of the OL and the running game. A team that cannot sustain drives and get in the end zone is a team that puts great pressure on its defense. At the same time, a defense that gives up multiple big plays early in a football game puts its offense under extra pressure and allows the opposing defense to relax and be overly aggressive. This often creates a snowball effect. Though it is not necessarily the case, if the unit has confidence and keeps it’s faith – as was evident with the Chargers and 49ers this past week – both teams fell behind by large margins but fought back. I don’t believe, however, that the Dolphins presently have the talent on offense to do this in most games. But, clearly, the QB position is the most important on any team.

At this point we have a QB (Henne) who has potential to be a solid player and is waiting in the wings. He’s not going to lead us to the playoffs this year or necessarily be better served by starting. Arguments could be made both ways (about starting a rookie or sitting him). But, I believe this player is best served by watching Pennington work (inspite of his handicaps) and gleaning what he can before he gets into serious game action. That could be 8 games or an entire season. It depends, in part, on what he shows in the occasional reserve role.

Ultimately, to be a SB champion, they will need a QB who can make plays under pressure. They can be a good team without a great QB, but there are very few teams that win championships without a player at that position that can make great plays and maintain poise under pressure. Finding a player who has such poise is, in my view, not something that can be found scientifically or through statistical analysis. No offense to the stat mavens here (I too love statistics and analyzing plays) who break down what a player did against what competition in what parts of games on the college level. But, at the QB position there is something between the ears (not just intelligence) that cannot be evaluated by watching what happens on the field in college football. It’s intangible – which refers to something that cannot be touched. Intangibles cannot be truly evaluated by physical features or even by success on the college level. This is why Tom Brady was passed up by 32 teams at least five times each, several six times, before he was drafted; yet he found unmatched success. Teams could not evaluate the intangible features of poise and ability under pressure. It’s the same reason Rick Mirer, Ryan Leaf and, so it seems, Alex Smith – all high draft picks – fail. It’s the reason many “experts” here loved John Beck and were critical of Trent Edwards. I believe Henne has those intangibles, but it remains to be seen. The Dolphins will need good fortune here (as the Pats have had). Even to a greater degree than with the WR position there is no scientific method that guarantees success in finding a great QB.

With respect to the WR and DB positions, which appear to be the weakest spots on the team (Hey, even Penny was able to get the ball effectively in the hands of Jet receivers last year), I think both will have to be upgraded and both are equally weak, in spite of two 1st round draft choices in each unit. It may take only one truly great player at one position in each unit to make a significant upgrade if the others are able to shore up their game and the coaching staff improves. Quite often one great player can make the others at the same position play much better and play with greater confidence. That is where the FO comes into play. Can they address this in the off-season? If they can, even if they don’t get the problems fully solved, the team can start to show progress. Even a 6-10 or 7-9 record next year, with some competitive losses and occasional good play at the QB, WR, DB positions, will be a positive. At the same time, with the players they have right now, the reality is they are going to be in an evaluation mode (this includes Ted Ginn and Jason Allen). Great players also make great coaches. Just as Marvin Lewis about Ray Lewis!

The core issue, however, comes down to developing an identity as an organization. All great dynasties have possessed this (Steelers; 49ers; Dolphins of the early 70's; Raiders of the 70's; etc.)It’s not just about new talent though that will have to happen. Nor is it purely about finding coaching genius (no one mistakes Tom Coughlin for that). It is also about player and coach confidence – even through down times this season. The Parcells model is to develop the identity through a focus on being a disciplined, physically strong team at the point of attack. They are headed in that direction and would be further along were it not for the injury to Thomas on the OL. Nevertheless, I think that the philosophy is sound. Obtaining and developing some explosive and disciplined players at the speed positions (WR and DB) will be vital over the next two years. There is no certain scientific method that will guarantee the right choices here as history shows (TO wasn’t drafted until the 3rd round of the NFL draft; Brandon Marshall the 4th round – after several teams, including Miami, drafted WR’s ahead of him; of course, with great talent sometimes comes great personal issues).

In my view, the overall key for fans, media and ownership is patience in allowing this present management to work and function over the next three to four years, regardless of feelings toward the FO and in spite of near term failures and flaws. It is unfortunate that years of failure have created a myopic impatience and hypercriticism. The management team is starting from scratch here. Good football minds are present – however controversial. They have a philosophy that in the past has been effective. Whether they will have the fortune to strike gold, remains to be seen. With the right fortune, hard work and time, they will succeed in developing a team identity that provides success at the NFL level. I am hopeful and somewhat confident they will succeed but fortune and time will be critical.