What is behind the collapse of the Miami Dolphins this season?

Although most NFL fans will be enjoying the new season now that it is underway, Miami Dolphins followers may not be so much! The team has had a pretty poor start to the new campaign, which has left many wondering just what is going on in Florida. The 59-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens was bad enough, but a 43-0 defeat to the New England Patriots really got people worried. If you were betting on NFL playoffs onlineright now, it would be hard to put any money on the side from Miami. 

The natural question that all fans of the team are asking now is exactly what has gone wrong? The total collapse of this side and their abject performances have really taken all football fans aback. Here, we take a look at a few things that might explain it.

Degrading of the roster over the summer 

Perhaps thebiggest reason behind the tanking of the side this campaign is the way that they blew up their roster in the offseason. If you look at the players who left, it is plain to see. From Laremy Tunsil to Minkah Fitzpatrick and quite a few more, the Dolphins lost too many of their best starting players. This has left them with a weak starting line-up and a weak squad overall who can’t compete at the highest level of the game. The bad news for Dolphins fans is that this is unlikely to change until next year now when better players can come in en masse!

No confidence in coaching staff or game plan

Football is a team game, and this includes not just the players but also the coaching staff. Everyone must be on the same page when it comes to tactics and believe in what they are trying to do. According to reports coming from inside the Dolphins camp, this is not the case at present. 

There seems to be a real disconnect between the players and coaching team in terms of what the plan is for games. This is a major issue as if players do not believe in what they are being asked to do or do not respect the coaching staff, they will not play to their maximum potential. The humiliating loss against the Ravens is a good example of this in action. Apparently, many players could see that the defensive game plan was all wrong from early on and were frustrated that the coaching team did not change it.

Unrest in the locker room

One sign of a team in trouble is always an unhappy locker room. This certainly seems true in the case of the Dolphins! Recent reports have surfaced that suggest that players are now starting to contact their agents to ask for moves away from the club. This not only shows just how little confidence there is for the team to do well from the players themselves but also how unhappy the environment must be. If players are desperate to leave rather than stay and fight to improve, then something is definitely not right. Any team in the NFL must have committed players and a good team spirit to compete – sadly, there is little evidence of this in Miami currently. 

Lack of effort 

Put simply, Miami look like a group of players who just don’t care about results this time around. This lack of effort and desire is a big reason behind their disastrous start to the NFL season. It doesn’t matter how talented you are – if you do not put the hard yards in and bleed for the team, you will get nowhere. Sadly, this commitment has not been in place at all for most players and is something that has really dragged them down to date. The most annoying thing for fans is that this is the simplest thing to fix! It really should not take much for the coaching staff or players to look inside themselves and begin to show that they care about what is happening.

Can the Dolphins improve?

Although things look bad now and it is hard to see where things can improve, the fact is that we are only two games into the new season. This means there is a lot of football left to play and lots of chances for the side to get back on track. If the staff and players can come together to formulate better plays and a more effective game plan, then things could begin to look up soon for Dolphins supporters. Of course, if they do not, then it could see head coach Brian Flores heading out the door!