The Miami Dolphins lack more than talent: They lack heart
By Brian Miller
There is no fight in the 2016 Miami Dolphins. There are however paychecks and it’s ashamed they can’t be pulled off the table.
Over the course of four weeks one thing stands out more than a lack of talent or a lack of experience. What stands out more is the lack of spirit. Fight. Drive. The lack of heart. Miami has none.
Many believed that the tide may have turned following the victory against the Cleveland Browns. The players were upset. They didn’t want to talk about the game. Judging by the lack of emotion in the locker room you would have thought they had lost.
As the hours ticked by after the win a lot of people saw the Dolphins at a turning point. 10 point favorites who dodged a bullet and realized that their flight or fight drive was getting into gear. And those people were wrong.
To see the lack of heart you need look no further than Byron Maxwell.
Informed earlier in the week that Tony Lippett would start, the extremely overpaid Maxwell should have gotten pissed off. Fired up. Something. At least Jay Ajayi threw a tantrum. Maxwell? Nothing. When asked all he could say was “it doesn’t matter“.
It should matter. It should matter a lot. If it doesn’t then that player needs to go. The Dolphins should seriously look at cutting Maxwell. If he doesn’t have the heart to play he won’t make a difference on the field. He hasn’t thus far. At all.
When you look at the Dolphins of 2016 there are only a handful of players that stand out with the full-go, no-quit Harry Stamper attitude. (Armageddon reference). Jarvis Landry by far is the most energetic no-quit player on the roster. His defensive counterpart is Reshad Jones.
On the line, nothing can be said bad about Ndamukong Suh. He plays 100% every play. While he hasn’t emerged as a playmaker, Kiko Alonso has a non-stop motor that should get better as the season move on.
And then there is…? Cameron Wake? Maybe but Wake is more or less a specialist now. And there is…? That’s pretty much it. There are no leaders on the defensive or offensive line, no one getting in the other players faces trying to get them to play the schemes, which they don’t. No one standing up and making every other player accountable.
It should be the quarterback but Ryan Tannehill is not a leader, and he isn’t much of a game manager either.
If Adam Gase wants to succeed in Miami then he needs to convince Mike Tannenbaum to get players who have a chip on their shoulder. An attitude. A desire to win at all costs. Then this team can start thinking about changing how they play.
When the Dolphins take the field it is as though most could care less that they are on the field. It’s emotionless. Where is the spark and the fight, the fire that many see in high-school football? Where is the pride in themselves?
To stand on a sideline and not care or be on a field and go through the motions or run off script from the schemes only serves to do nothing more than get out of the game and move on with the season.
For these Dolphins there are many more problems ahead for Adam Gase than simply trying to send a message by benching a starter. Especially when the starter really doesn’t care.