DAVIE, Fla. — Miami’s loss of players such as defensive end Olivier Vernon, cornerback Brent Grimes and running back Lamar Miller overshadows the additions of players such as defensive end Mario Williams, linebacker Kiko Alonso and cornerback Byron Maxwell.
And the Dolphins still have major holes to fill at cornerback (starter and nickel) and running back.
The reviews of Miami’s offseason moves so far have been mixed.
Regardless, owner Steve Ross seems pleased with the offseason so far and said, no, his team, which finished 6-10 last season, is not rebuilding.
“What we’re trying to do is get better,” Ross said. “We’re trying to win. I think we have a lot of great players. When you have a fifth-year quarterback, you shouldn’t be rebuilding.”
Head coach Adam Gase said he likes what he has seen from his offense.
“I feel really good about it, at least what I’ve seen on tape,” he said. “It’s just going to be about putting all the pieces together and, ‘How are we going to use these guys?’ Making sure we use them to their strengths. The thing that we’re going to have to do a great job with is we don’t want to try to force guys to do things they’re not good at.”
Gase said it will require a feeling-out process.
“We’ll be a little bit in the experimental phase as far as the offensive side,” he said. “We got a ways to go on that side of the ball. I feel like defense, those guys have a good feel for what we have on the roster and where we need to go from there.”
Miami has lost a load of talent among Vernon (New York Giants/free agency), Miller (Houston/free agency), Grimes (salary release), cornerback Brice McCain (salary release), defensive end Derrick Shelby (Atlanta/free agency), and wide receiver Rishard Matthews (Tennessee/free agency).
The Dolphins have acquired a respectable amount of talent. Williams (Buffalo/free agency), Alonso (Philadelphia/trade), Maxwell (Philadelphia/trade), defensive end Andre Branch (Jacksonville/free agency), guard/tackle Jermon Bushrod (Chicago/free agency), safety Isa Abdul-Quddus (Detroit/free agency) are decent.
But right now, overall they don’t seem suitable replacements for the talent Miami lost.
Of course, the talent Miami lost never got the Dolphins to the playoffs, so why not make changes?
Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum seems pleased with the trade with the Eagles that delivered them Alonso and Maxwell, even with the Dolphins swapping first-round picks and giving Philadelphia its No. 8 selection in exchange for the No. 13 pick.
“It’s reasonable to think we’ll get a starter at 13 if we stay there,” he said. “To get three starters in one trade we just all felt like, ‘Hey, we’re not one player away.’ This is an efficient use of cap resources, and just felt like it was in our best interest.”
And Gase seems pleased with the acquisitions made so far.
“I like the athleticism at linebacker, certainly safety, the size at corner,” he said. “Those are a couple of areas that come to mind. There’s still more work to be done.
“And the other thing, too, that is always a factor is we have young players – every team does – that are going to have to play more, that are going to ascend, have more responsibilities. Guys like (wide receiver) Kenny Stills and (running back) Jay Ajayi, (tight end) Dion Sims. They’ll have a lot more opportunities this year and it’ll be up to them to embrace it. Improvement from within is always an underrated aspect of when you’re trying your team year over year from the previous year.”
Curiously, improvement from within remains a major problem with the Dolphins even during this offseason.
They have allowed homegrown talent such as Vernon, Miller, and Matthews to depart, and many of their recent high draft picks — defensive end Dion Jordan (first round/2013), cornerback Jamar Taylor (second round/2013), cornerback Will Davis (third round/2013), guard Dallas Thomas (third round/2013) — have failed to develop.
Still, Ross remains convinced he is on his way to the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2008.
“I’ve talked to people … we have the ingredients that make great organizations and it’s really having your coach, general manager and head of football operations all on the same page working closely together,” Ross said.
“I know you guys have been around and you’ve heard how the attitude in our offices and how everybody is really very optimistic, upbeat, like it hasn’t been the entire time that I’ve been there, so that gives me a lot of optimism for the future because that’s how you make long-term winning franchises.”