As soon as Dolphins coach Tony Sparano walked up to the podium for his daily news conference Monday, a reporter joked about it being a quiet day for the team.

``Business as usual,'' Sparano said.

If that's the case, somebody better order extra Advil for a busy day. Before the morning had ended, Miami sent eight players packing, including the termination of wide receiver Ernest Wilford's contract and a trade that sent two offensive linemen to the Chiefs.

By doing so, the Dolphins continued to follow one of their most cherished philosophies: There is no reason to delay the inevitable -- especially when other young players need as many repetitions during practices and exhibition games as they can get.

So although the league doesn't mandate teams to be down to 75 players until Sept. 1, the Dolphins already are down to 70 with a week to spare. How's that for expeditious?

``You know, you might as well move on if you've already made that decision and try to get the guys work that need work,'' Sparano said.

That wasn't the case in the decision to trade guards Ikechuku Ndukwe and Andy Alleman to the Chiefs for an undisclosed 2010 draft choice, which Sparano instead summed up as a situation that ``was good for both parties.''

It might or might not have been the case for wide receiver Chris Williams, who will get an injury settlement after breaking his right hand during a punt return early in Saturday's game. Williams already was fighting for a job before the broken hand.

But it was the case for the others: running back Anthony Kimble, linebacker Orion Martin, linebacker Tearrius George, nose tackle Joe Cohen and, most notably, Wilford.

The decision to cut Wilford suggests the last-chance effort to turn him into a tight end wasn't progressing enough, even though the team now must take a hefty salary-cap hit of $4.5 million as a result of his release. (Because there is no scheduled salary cap in 2010, an NFL rules change causes the entire amount of Wilford's prorated guaranteed money to become due immediately.)

``I think Ernest is a tremendous professional, I really do,'' Sparano said. ``He came in here with an open mind to make a positional change, and it just didn't work. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.''

The Wilford acquisition is one of only very few missteps made by the organization since the Bill Parcells era began in Miami. Guaranteed $6 million upon his signing last offseason, Wilford caught only three passes in a Dolphins uniform.

However, it is difficult to fault the team for refusing to compound the problem by continuing to play Wilford despite his ineffectiveness. His failed tenure instead will serve as little more than a considerably expensive one-year mistake.

The departures of Ndukwe and Alleman might have more of an impact than the absence of Wilford. Both linemen played key roles last season in the wake of injuries. Ndukwe started 15 games after Donald Thomas went down in Week 1 with a foot injury, and Alleman started four games while Justin Smiley sat with a broken leg.

``Once I went down, [Ndukwe] filled in my spot,'' Thomas said. ``It was tough to see him go. It was a blow for us. But at the same time, we've got to pick it up. . . . We know we lost two [on Monday], and we've got to step up. We've got to fill those gaps.''

The coaches must believe Thomas is ready. And with Shawn Murphy showing progress at the guard spot, as well as Joe Berger looking like a worthy backup center, Ndukwe and Alleman became expendable.

``You aren't trading away guys without feeling comfortable with some of the pieces you have here,'' Sparano said. ``Now, there are still things that have to unfold over the next 10 days in that group. But I am starting to feel a little more comfortable with what I think the final vision might be.''