Miami Dolphins awarded (another) offseason championship. Must we really do this again?
The Miami Dolphins won the offseason.
That’s not me saying that, but rather the respected and venerable Gil Brandt, who ranks the Dolphins No. 1 in the NFL for the offseason they just authored under coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier.
Brandt, a longtime front office man with the Dallas Cowboys and longer time NFL legend for his work on radio and NFL.com, says in matter-of-fact fashion the Miami rebuild that began in 2019 “couldn’t be going more smoothly.”
He adds the Dolphins added “difference-makers” in free agency this offseason, “most notably cornerback Byron Jones, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, defensive end Shaq Lawson and guard Ereck Flowers.”
And then legendary Brandt cites another legend to put a cap on his summary of Miami’s offseason success. He says even though it might take a little while, “the Dolphins are once more on the type of solid footing that would have made the late, legendary Don Shula proud.”
And if you are a Miami Dolphins fan, which I assume you are because you ain’t reading this space to admire my use of strong verbs, then you must be pleased to read this good news.
Being the offseason champion probably beats being the offseason’s biggest loser. So there’s that, right?
I know you’re expecting me to rain on this good news because I am your morning thunder cloud. But I’m not going to drown out the facts of the point Brandt is making.
I have, in fact, agreed with Brandt’s assessment of this Dolphins offseason for the most part.
On the first day of free agency, I provided this hard-nosed view of what the Dolphins were doing: All good.
I told you in my mock draft the Dolphins must and would address the offensive line in the draft. And they did.
And after the draft I made the point that the Dolphins are an object in the rearview mirror of all the other AFC East teams and they are fast approaching and threatening to pass their rivals.
But despite this good news and solid work by the Dolphins, I simply don’t love the idea of crowning them. I know that before sports coronations, we typically witness sports competitions. And I haven’t seen this team compete in even one practice.
I haven’t seen this unproven draft class break an actual huddle even once.
I haven’t seen this generally new coaching staff that has a new offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator and new position coaches with no NFL experience develop anyone on this team.
So I’m not ranking the Dolphins No. 1 this offseason for anything other than factual stuff like most money spent in free agency.
There’s one thing I would ask you to consider as you read elsewhere how awesome the 2020 Dolphins have been this offseason: You’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Trust uncle Mando on this, even if I’m not slipping $20 in your hands when nobody’s looking.
Uncle Mando has seen the Dolphins win offseason championships before.
I witnessed 1995 when the Dolphins added a bunch of veterans in the offseason and began boasting 19 first-round draft picks on their roster. That extraordinary collection of talent was supposed to win it all. It didn’t.
I was around in 2006 when the Dolphins traded for Daunte Culpepper and Sports Illustrated at once created hype and bought into it, selecting the Dolphins to go to the Super Bowl. They didn’t go.
I was around in 2013 when the Dolphins had a bunch of high draft picks, including the No. 3 overall selection, and signed a bunch of promising free agents. That offseason was supposed to change everything. It didn’t.
I was around in 2015 when the Dolphins paid Ndamukong Suh the biggest contract of any NFL non-quarterback and that was supposed to get the Dolphins over the hump. And instead the Dolphins landed in a ditch.
I have seen the offseason championship movie before.
And I suggest we don’t do any more sequels.
I’m telling you this because you’re family. As part of the media, it benefits me if you get all wired and expectant of a great season just ahead. That stuff gets a lot of attention, which puts a lot of eyeballs on this space.
And, yes, I love eyeballs on this space.
But I believe when you come here you expect perspective and temperance and credibility more than false hope. So I’m not going to feed you the blaring headlines promising a filet and delivering gristle.
I’m not going to tell you quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is awesome and the next stop is a Super Bowl dynasty because, well, that simply isn’t true in May of 2020. I’m not going to tell you offensive lineman Austin Jackson is going to start Day 1 and resemble Jonathan Ogden. I’m not going to tell you cornerback Byron Jones is going to lead the league in interceptions even though he has collected zero interceptions the past two seasons.
Look, folks, the Dolphins have had what seems to be a good offseason. Let’s see what happens next without getting drunk on Kool-Aid first.
Can we do that this time around?
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
