Miami Dolphins will make a statement this off-season good or bad

The Miami Dolphins are one of those teams right now that you simply do not know what they will do this off-season but it will make a statement.

Whatever the Miami Dolphins do this off-season you can bet that a statement is going to be made but the question is will that statement be a good one or a bad one? Or will they simply play the middle of the road?

With questions surrounding quarterback and coaching hires and Chris Grier finally being in the position to call all of the shots, Stephen Ross is going to see if he made the right or wrong decision on Grier. It should be pretty easy to see what direction the team is going without any games played.

In most cases teams can not be judged until they get out and play meaningful games in September. As Dolphins fans are well aware of, seasons are not won in the off-season and they are not lost either. Training camps mean little to a team’s success in December so how can we know in the off-season if the Dolphins will be good or bad? We won’t but that is not what we need to look for.

This off-season is about building success but that is building for the future. What we take away from this off-season tells us more about the regime of Chris Grier than the play on the field. Let me explain.

Spending

If the Dolphins hit free agency and rip their roster apart and then spend significantly in free agency then the Dolphins and Grier have learned nothing of the past ten years of more. They are simply trying different people but the problem with spending is that you more often than not overspend on veterans that are at the tail end of their careers or have histories with injury.

If Miami is going to spend in free agency they need to do so diligently. If they are going to open Ross’ checkbook they will need to make sound decision on players that maybe are hitting the market for the first time and have consistency under the belt instead of just experience.

How the Dolphins spend this off-season in free agency will tell us what they have learned. If anything. Grier has to do better than his predecessors who spent on big name players and got little in return. Grier has to be cautious with his spending this year.

Big names

With all the positions that Miami needs to fill the draft will not be the only outlet to fill those spots. They will need to use free agency. Adding players like Le’Veon Bell makes little sense for the Dolphins and doing so will show a commitment to a “win now” mentality and frankly the Dolphins are not a couple of players away from being contenders.

The Dolphins need to be careful adding the big names on the market. Chances are by the time this team begins to look competitive those players will be at the end of any contract they sign now and the Dolphins need to be cautious of getting into salary cap trouble down the road.

Retooling, re-building, tanking

If the Dolphins gut their roster and create a large cap space then this regime is sending the signal that they are rebuilding the team and that might be a good thing. Miami needs to undergo changes and that includes potentially shifting from the 4-3 to the 3-4 on defense. That will mean changes in personnel and ideology.

If the Dolphins simply restructure a few contracts they will send the message that they are re-tooling the roster but are not doing so at the cost of the season. This is a clear sign that they believe Brian Flores and his staff can win now or at least compete now in the division.

If the Dolphins go this route they will likely finish the season in the same 10-15 range in the NFL standings. They will probably stay competitive through most games but come up short a couple of weeks before the season ends.

While this may not be the best route to go, if done right, Miami can still work towards changing the teams make-up but will likely rely far more on the draft for those pieces.

Tanking is a word that many fans have been throwing out there but no NFL teams deliberately tank a season. That does not breed a winning culture and it clearly shows a lack of vision on the part of the executives. If Miami unloads everyone and replaces them with cheap fill in bodies then it is a bit clearer that they do not intend to win many games and that will turn off the fan base.

Chris Grier regime is starting now and he will need to decide what direction he wants the team to go in. Try to win now, try to lose now, try to rebuild while staying competitive? It all goes hand in hand.

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Rebuilding the team is Grier’s best chance to mold the team into what his vision is. That is a clear statement that he is willing to a knock for a year or two in the hopes of allowing his coaches to get better and this team to get better. This should include a rather boring off-season with 2nd and 3rd tier type players that fill in the rosters holes but on short-term deals where eventually drafted players can take over.

If Grier starts to bring in top free agents then we can expect that Miami will try to bypass the rebuild process and try to win while they retool. It is hard to imagine they can do that with a rookie head coach who is hiring both coordinators with no experience in that position as well. It would be a mistake that would likely fill the team with mid-term players.

What happens in September and again in December will have more to do with what Grier does in his first off-season. He should be methodical and there should be a clear plan of direction. He just can’t get caught up in the glitz that some players might bring. Stick to his plan and see it through. That is the best course to take and we will glimpse that when the off-season begins. That is when we know what statement is being made.

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