The 2019 season is coming to an end, there are just two weeks left. Many fans and media members went into this 2019 season expecting the year was about centered around losing for their quarterback of the future, otherwise known as the “Tank for Tua”.
2019 has been about much more than that.
There seem to be three areas of focus for head coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier — they’ve centered around building a sustainable winner instead of retooling or rebuilding every couple of seasons. They are doing that by attacking the following objectives:
- Establishing a culture
- Developing young players
- Evaluating talent
Establishing a Culture
No team can sustain consistent success without having a strong culture in place. It is easy to see that the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots have a consistent standard year in and year out. All three teams have been winners for years and continually have success.
Here in Miami, Brian Flores continues to drive players to buy into his system and the “team first” mentality. His idea to build the “T.N.T” (Takes No Talent) wall has built a sense of accountability from the coaching staff to the players.
Grier’s way of building culture? That was dumping big contracts of players like T.J. McDonald and rewarding young players that have bought in — such as DeVante Parker, Jakeem Grant, Jesse Davis and newcomer Eric Rowe. Grier continues to reward those that buy in by giving them long-term contracts and keeping young players to develop.
Developing Talent
Almost every Miami Dolphin fan can name a player that failed to live up to their potential with the Dolphins, only to turn out to be a playmaker somewhere else. However, Flores is all about developing young talent and pushing them to the next level. A few players come to mind, such as newcomers like cornerback Nik Needham, cornerback Jomal Wiltz and wide receiver Preston Williams.
They are not just focused on developing newly acquired talent but also talent that this coaching staff has inherited. Players like DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki have enjoyed plenty of success this season under offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea.
Developing players is a continuous process for any team that wants to sustain success. Teams like the Patriots even develop players they sign off of the street that other teams gave up on. Flores and his staff have done that with players like Eric Rowe — they’ve found success by changing his position and responsibility. After a shaky start, Rowe has not only found a role at safety but has flourished in that role.
It helps that Flores is familiar with the evaluation process.
Evaluating talent on and off the team
The final focus for the Dolphins and likely the focus that will continue for the foreseeable future? Evaluating talent. Part of the reason that Parker and Gesicki have had success is how the staff has evaluated them and molded their roles on the team. O’Shea has done a fantastic job of developing them, but it all started with him evaluating what they do well and where they need work.
In recent weeks, Miami has suffered injuries at the wide receiver position and every week, someone new seems to step up. Isaiah Ford has bounced on and off the roster and found success against the New York Jets two weeks ago. That shows you how well they continue to evaluate the roster around them.
Defensively, the Dolphins found a gem in linebacker Vince Biegel, who came to Miami via a trade with the Saints for Kiko Alonso. Grier and Flores must have saw something they liked with Biegel, because he found a role immediately on this defense.
The evaluation of the roster continues as the Dolphins rotate the offensive line every week. Guard Evan Boehm was a healthy scratch after starting earlier this season with undrafted rookie guard Shaq Calhoun playing in his place at right guard. The starting left tackle for majority of the season was J’Marcus Webb, until Julien Davenport was cleared from injury. That may not seem like a big deal but the staff knows they brought in Webb as a temporary replacement.
The team brought in Davenport as a part of the Tunsil trade with the Texans and Flores (and his staff) wanted to see what kind of future he may have with the team.
Putting it all together
This staff has been working hard to develop players, while also evaluating the talent on the roster. Every week is like a preseason game for the Dolphins in 2019. Yes, the games count but there is more value for this staff in the evaluation process than there is in wins and losses in 2019.
Over the past two weeks, the staff has made multiple moves to sign players off of practice squads, either to account for injury or in just trying to find that “diamond in the rough”.
Some have blasted the staff for winning three games and hurting their draft position. But remember: they are building a culture with those wins. A lot of the players will not be on the roster next year, but the players that have bought in will be there to transfer that culture and mentality to fight.
For the final two games, fans need to have the perspective that these games are about evaluating what they have on the roster and who has a role on this team in the future. Breathe, everyone. We’ve only got two more weeks!
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