Dolphins begin long climb back with full-scale rebuild

The Miami Dolphins tore their roster down in hopes of building something great in the long-term. This is the first year of that process.

Best-case scenario

To answer this question you must first think outside the box.  What type of fan are you? Are you a fan that wants a quick turnaround?

As a Dolphin fan, you have been there before. The last 10 years were exactly that. False hope, with different head coaches all stating the same thing. The biggest difference this year is that the Dolphins actually have completed a roster purge.  Not since the Bill Parcells era have the Dolphins seen this much turnover.

Where am I going with this? The best-case scenario is for the Dolphins to lose. It’s painful to say that, but they need to build for the future.  What is another 8-8 season going to prove? The Dolphins needs to be in a position where they can select a marquee player in next year’s NFL draft.

Worst-case scenario

Brian Flores turns this program around in a year.

It would be a shock to all Dolphins fans, a blindside of emotion, and immediate consideration for coach of the year and all that jazz.  However, when you look at the depth chart, you can’t see that happening. The Dolphins O-line, with the exception of Laremy Tunsil, is an unknown facet.

Where will the pass rush come from? Charles Harris, a former first-round pick, has not lived up to expectations and currently has the ‘bust’ labelled assigned to him.  Taking all that into consideration, we haven’t even evaluated the quarterback position, where Ryan Fitzpatrick, a career journeymen backup and a former first-round pick, Josh Rosen, are battling for playing time on a young unproven team.

The crazy thing that any fan of the NFL has learned, is that you have no idea what will happen on any given Sunday, but Flores has his hands full to turn this program around.

Confidence level (Low, medium or high)

High.

The reason is Miami finally has a front office with a plan. With Adam Gase, the idea or concept he was floating around was the Dolphins were one or two players away with a great draft class.  A mix of young and old players that could potentially mesh together. That didn’t work out, as the Dolphins were stuck in mediocrity for the last three years.  Joe Philbin never had a voice, so he lost the locker room on the first day. As a Dolphin fan you want to see something new that the last two coaches never had.

With Flores, he’s bringing a playbook on and off the field. Building through the draft and not using the full cap to sign players that don’t fit the system. Just think of this; the Dolphins lead the league in dead money. What that means is that there is cap space allocated to players that are not even on this team. The fact that the new regimen understands that is trying to clean that up, makes me feel confident they are headed in the right direction.

X-Factor

Minkah Fitzpatrick.

He’s the MVP of the preseason for the Dolphins.  I was skeptical for the Dolphins selecting him with the 11th pick in the 2019 draft. History shows us that selecting a secondary player from Alabama hasn’t really worked out, until now. Fitzpatrick is the definition of a coach’s player. He plays to make others around him better. That is his best characteristic.  He loves the game and it is evident by his dedication off the field, specifically in the classroom.

The key point is where Flores will line him up.  You can place Minkah in the slot, outside boundary or any of the safety positions. He’s flexibility and adaptation to any positions makes him the Dolphins’ x-factor.

Turning point

Their bye week.

The Dolphins first four games are against some serious competition. With that in mind, the roster might get flipped after their bye and more importantly, we might get our first view of Rosen at 0-4.  Additionally, will the front office start thinking about 2020? Who are players that will be allocated to the trade block? What could they bring in return and what other team is looking to make a move? Even if the Dolphins are not in the playoff race, they will be a steady team to monitor all season.

Best moment in team history

You can’t talk about the Dolphins without talking about the NFL’s only modern undefeated season.  It’s a record that hasn’t been matched in a 100 years.