The Jaguars and Dolphins are the youngest teams in the NFL. But Miami is supposed to be farther along in the rebuilding process.
Miami is a field-goal underdog on Thursday night in Jacksonville, but that’s because it’s hard to win on the road with a short week of preparation. Miami has more talent.
“There’s a great sense of urgency in this building,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said this week. “Guys want to be good, they want to win.”
Of course, the Dolphins haven’t won yet this season. And as much as Flores has stressed the positives to his players following losses to New England and Buffalo, everyone involved understands what an 0-3 start would mean.
“We just need to get a W,” Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker said. “That’s it. That’s the biggest thing – get our first win of the season.”
Teams that start a season 0-3 historically make the playoffs about once every six or seven years. So the conversation would soon shift towards “So, when does Tua play?” if Miami were to fall to the Jaguars.
“We’re on the right path,” Miami tackle Jesse Davis said. “It’s encouraging to see us out here competing, compared to last year. It’s night and day difference. That said, we need to put up a win. We have to put up a bunch of wins here.”
A year ago, the Dolphins were outscored 102-10 in the first two games of the season. They had moved on from top players like Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills and were about to move on from Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The organization was “Tanking for Tua” — though, as everyone recalls, they eventually out-performed expectations. Conversely, the NFL-wide belief is that the Jacksonville franchise is “Tanking for Trevor” as in Lawrence, the Clemson quarterback.
Yes, the Jaguars have dumped Yannick Ngakoue, Leonard Fournette and Ronnie Harrison, among a slew of potential starters. But they upset the Colts and were competitive in a loss to the Titans.
“I think that they trust each other,” Jags coach Doug Marrone said of his players. “They trust that everyone’s going to continue to fight, everyone’s going to continue to play.”
This sounds something very much like what Flores would say last season, when his depleted roster, with undrafted free agents logging key minutes, battled, but was usually overwhelmed by opponent talent.
Since then, the Dolphins have signed players like Byron Jones, Kyle Van Noy, Shaq Lawson, Elandon Roberts, Ereck Flowers and Ted Karras. And they’ve drafted players like Austin Jackson, Noah Igbinoghene, Raekwon Davis, Brandon Jones and Solomon Kindley. (And yes, Tua.)
Perhaps Miami would be a bit more advanced if there had been spring practice or preseason games. Perhaps that’s why Flores has really seemed to go out of his way to maintain a positive approach with his players and in the media.
Flores could be seen last Sunday encouraging his players on the field. He could also be heard after the loss speaking about the competitiveness of the game.
There are many new players, so many of them young. There are many new coaches. It’s going take a little bit of time to gel. But Miami needs to be better than Jacksonville on Sunday, regardless of who’s favored by how much and why.
Flores wants to be clear that despite his positivity, he has high expectations.
“I don’t want to misconstrue positive encouragement with a lack of sense of urgency,” Flores said. “I don’t think anyone really feels that here. Players, they work extremely hard and they want it. I understand that it’s not all positive. I try to be demanding.”
To that end, Flores is pushing his coaching staff to come up with ways to create more pressure on Jacksonville quarterback Gardner Minshew and be more stout against the run and a bit more creative in packages implemented.
One problem, of course, is that with only five days between games, Miami is hard-pressed to install too many wrinkles that aren’t minor strays from existing formations and plays.
“Both teams are going to be tired,” Miami running back Matt Breida said. “We just played a game. Whoever is prepared more mentally is going to win the game.”
Miami has dropped four consecutive Thursday night road games by a combined score of 140-37. Only once in the last nine Thursday night contests has the road team won.
“We’re not about to freak out,” Dolphins cornerback Nik Needham said, noting the early stage of the season.
Unless Miami falls to 0-3. Then freaking out can commence.