Does anyone know what Miami Dolphins Brian Flores is thinking?

Head coach Brian Flores addresses his team at OTAs - Image courtesy of the Miami Dolphins
Head coach Brian Flores addresses his team at OTAs - Image courtesy of the Miami Dolphins

There is so much that is undetermined at this time.  What Brian Flores has implemented is different from what Miami Dolphins fans have seen in the past.

There really isn’t a transparent view into how Brian Flores and his game plans will be executed or what type of philosophy the Miami Dolphins will implement or better yet who will even start.

It’s his team, and everyone has to respect.  Additionally, there is no need to challenge Coach Flo as his team has the same record as everyone else at this time.  When the first pre-season game starts on Thursday night, where the Miami Dolphins take on the Atlanta Falcons, no one on the outside of the organization can tell us what the Dolphins will line up as or better yet even start.

I get it.  Coach Flo comes from New England, where talking to the media is as important as talking to your local garbage man. There is nothing coming out of his press conferences that suggest the fans will get a better understanding of what will unfold on Thursday night.

First, if you review what happened the past few weeks,  Coach Flo fired his newly hired offensive line coach, because he thought there should be change or didn’t like the direction, or better yet didn’t accept the gameplay that was being deployed at practice.   Local media stated that with this firing the Dolphins already suffered their first loss. That doesn’t make any sense. Just look at last year, when every single Miami Dolphin fan knew that Matt Burke should have been fired, but Adam Gase stayed the course. No idea why, when that unit gave up 42, 41 and 34 points in consecutive weeks.  If it is not working in training camp, it’s not going to work when the lights go on. For understanding this deficiency, Coach Flo should get some respect.

Where confusion is set, Coach Flo needs to provide some insight on what is going on with the secondary, specifically Minkah Fitzpatrick.  Reports surfaced last week, that Minkah was delegated to the 2nd team unit. In terms of talent alone, Minkah is the best pure player the Dolphins have.  Delegation to the 2nd team? It makes no sense. Especially when you add in the fact that Reshad Jones has a cast on and isn’t playing with the 1’s. Practice reports stated that TJ. McDonald and Bobby McCain (a newly appointed safety) where the Dolphins safety combination.

Maybe Coach Flo is pulling a Mike Nolan, where he is only showing base vanilla packages not to show anyone what he plans when the game actually matters.  If that is the case, then that’s awesome. But it adds to the fact that when the game starts tonight, we don’t know what the basic formation will be. Will the Dolphins line up as 3-5-5, where TJ, McCain, and Minkah will all start at the same time? Pure speculation, but based on the talent that would be the best formation as your best players are on the field at the same time – which is something Matt Burke never understood.

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On the opposite side of the ball, the confusion lies on the offensive line.  Ironically the same position where the coach was just fired. The left side is pretty much booked, as Larmey Tunsil is the next Richmond Webb. The center is set with Daniel Kilgore coming back from injury, the two guards and the right tackle position – no idea.  The Dolphin’s new front office decided not to spend in free agency first wave or use a top draft pick to address any of those positions. They did sign Jordan Mills to a one year deal, to make up for the loss of Juwan James, but Mills was cut for a reason and his lack of skills are showing as the Oline has made runs to the hill more than any other unit.

Is Coach Flo’s success plan to start two rookies at the guard position? That might be scary, but it will foster the rebuild.  Mike Deiter, the Dolphins 3rd round pick and Shaq Calhoun (undrafted rookie) are currently penciled in as the starter. This type of methodology is the Patriot’s way.  If you look atop of their division, the Pats have shied away from spending large amounts on the Oline (it was until recently that they actually resigned Shaq Mason). Developing and believing in your rookies is a great reward to them, but it could come at a large cost to the team if it doesn’t play out as expected.

Coach Flo is keeping a lot of this inside the walls of the Dolphins facility.  It’s his team and his ownership. He was given the keys to the facilities, now let’s see if has earned them.

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