The lockers have been emptied out, and the hallways at the training facility, are now quiet and dark. They stand as silent witnesses to the busy activity of just days before. The dreams, the hopes and the cravings of an entire community and fan base, for a season that spelled both uncertainty and guarded optimism, came to a close with an unexpected loss last Sunday at Sun Life Stadium. The aspirations of young athletes and of the veterans, on the downside of their prime, had already ended one week before, as the team saw their last playoff scenario hope vanish. The Miami Dolphins will once again, have to wait until next season to further their quest for greatness, one more year to dream, one more year of uncertainty, again, still one more year. Looking back at the 2014 season it is easy to be critical of the head coach, players and quarterback, and that is why a perspective look at the state and shape of this team before the first practice was held is more important than the actual game time decisions that were made during the course of the football year.
Going into the second half of the off season, just weeks before the NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins were nothing more than a shell of a team. The general manager and offensive coordinator gone. An offensive line with a center and and not much else around him. A quarterback who had been sacked a record number of times, amid claims he lacked pocket awareness and the ability to make decisions in passing situations. Unsigned costless agents, and scandal during the season, served as a backdrop, against the actions of GM candidate after GM candidate, turning down the team's invitation to join them. There was nothing positive to boost ticket sales or generate support for the team from the eroding fan base. One day, now even closer to the draft, Miami signed Dennis Hickey as their new general manager. The Eagles quarterback coach, Bill Lazor soon followed into the Dolphin ranks, and what ensued, was the opposite of what had been ailing the team... Priorities became priorities once again.
The long neglected offensive line acquired several new members through costless agency and the draft. Other units also gained some much needed help, but still there were questions. Could this newly formed offensive line gel in time for the season? Would new help added to the secondary, be enough to cover the targets of the Bradys and Mannings? Too many questions still remained. Could it really in fact be accomplished? A skeleton of a football team, and new players needing to be added in a few short weeks, it was unthinkable that they could actually compete at the highest level and not just compete, but actually win. The Dolphins signed, as the first order of priority, their pro bowl corner Brent Grimes. The team also signed several costless agents, Branden Albert, a desperately needed addition to the offensive line was a top priority, additional players were also put under contract by Miami. A boost to the running game came soon after with the acquisition of running back Knowshon Moreno and by the time the NFL draft took place there was already a feeling of confidence in the air, when the Dolphins selected, as their first draft choice, still more help for the OL in Ja'Wuan James.
Day one of the regular season came and to the delight of the remaining fan base, the Miami Dolphins beat their nemesis and projected division winner, the New England Patriots, behind the running of Moreno. Guarded optimism gave way to excitement and premature talk of winning the division. Disappointment soon came to the starving fan base and hopeful team. Injuries ravaged the team as the elite players signed during the off season went down, one by one, to season ending injuries. Meanwhile, the first pick of a season ago, remained sidelined after being suspended by the NFL. Showing incredible team resiliency, other players stepped up, among them returning starting RB Lamar Miller, who would go on to run for over 1,000 yards for the season and gave the Dolphins, as their offensive line struggled once again, another dimension which allowed the team to stay competitive until the latter weeks of the season.
Now the facility is quiet, a somber monument, witness to all the blood, sweat and tears not long ago spilled there. Soon there will be activity in its hallways once again, and preparation for all the homework, analysis and research that scouts and managers will be deeply involved in begins to take place, as the new class of college players exits into the professional ranks. Looking back, for as much criticism one can level at the coaching staff and management, putting the post-season that almost was, and the preseason that preceded it, in perspective, should offer necessary material for the student of the game and fan of the sport, to project the team into the future. The Miami Dolphins will be back next season along with 31 other teams, and one can not help but imagine, what this management can accomplish moving forward, given the time they were not give last year, and how they brilliantly almost by defying the odds, managed to almost propel the Miami Dolphins into the post season.