NFL Notebook, Week 2: Dolphins tear it down, quarterback injuries, awards and more

The Art of Rebuilding

This year, the Miami Dolphins have allowed 102 points in their first two games. Last year, the Dolphins surrendered that amount in their first five games.

I could keep piling on Miami with stats demonstrating their awfulness, but I only have so much space to write. (Okay, one last one: The Giants and Redskins have allowed the second-most points this season with 63.) You don’t need to be a math genius to calculate Miami’s astounding futility.

Instead, I want to tell you why the Dolphins are tearing it down to rebuild (and quite possibly outright tanking) the right way. Basically, the Miami front office realizes that they’ll be terrible for another two years. They also realize that it would be pointless to keep their top talent around for that long because, in two years, those guys will either be not as good of players or will no longer be inexpensive.

By shipping off Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick now, both young stars with elite potential, the Dolphins are receiving value back that they believe matches the potential of those players. Yeah, it might be tough to part with a promising young player, but long-term, it might pay off. Also, if a player clearly does not want to be in Miami, why wouldn’t the Dolphins try and recoup some value for them?

These next two seasons will be beyond tough for Dolphins’ fans, but there is hope for a greater future. With 14 projected picks in this year’s draft (it’s so hard to keep count now), including three first-round picks, this team has a fat ball of clay to mold into whatever they see fit.

If that weird analogy wasn’t enough, Miami has the cash and draft capital to completely rebuild the franchise. Of course, we won’t know whether these moves pay off or not until much later.