Das Team » The Splash Zone 8/3/18: Notes From Miami Dolphins Tra

ining Camp #7 Xavien Howard took over practice yesterday as the third year cornerback was picking on Ryan Tannehill. Howard intercepted Tannehill not once Nat Moore Jersey , not twice, but three times. Yes, it’s just training camp and not a live game but it’s great to see Howard emerging into a potential star at cornerback. The Dolphins secondary is loaded with talent this season and will be a huge strength for the team.You can check out that story here, and the rest of the day’s round-up below.Miami Dolphins’ Xavien Howard emerging as dominant CB forceXavien Howard intercepted Ryan Tannehill three times in Thursday’s Miami Dolphins training cam...Dolphins Offensive LineMiami Dolphins left guard Josh Sitton on verge of losing beard, hairNew Dolphins left guard Josh Sitton is the easiest player to find on the practice field.Dolphins DefenseMiami Dolphins training camp: Updates on the defense from Matt BurkeThe early part of Miami Dolphins training camp has clearly favored their defense, which should...Dolphins Special TeamsMiami Dolphins patient with rookie kickers Greg Joseph, Jason SandersIt’s rare to have two rookies battling for the kicker spot in training camp, and there will be...Dolphins Training CampAC In The AM: 2016 Draft Could Prove To Be SpecialThey were the Dolphins’ first three selections in the 2016 draft and now, in many ways, they are still bound together, the prospects for this team so heavily relying on their ability to reach another level in their promising careers.Phinsider News You May Have MissedThe Splash Zone 8/2/18: Notes From Miami Dolphins Training Camp #6 - The PhinsiderWelcome to the Splash Zone, the quickest way to get your day started off right. We bring you a rundown of Miami Dolphins news from the last 24 hours.How to watch the Hall of Fame Game 2018: Bears vs. Ravens - The PhinsiderThe NFL preseason is here!2018 Miami Dolphins training camp live updates and chat: Day 4 - The PhinsiderThe seventh practice of the Miami Dolphins’ 2018 training camp is here. The team is getting closer and closer to their scrimmage - which comes up on Saturday - as well as their first preseason game...Miami Dolphins Training Camp 2018: What Makes This Camp Different From The Others? - The PhinsiderIn addition to Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, we brought our buddy Antwan Staley from USA Today’s Dolphins Wire on Phinsider Radio. I asked him to cut through the BS for us.Miami Dolphins 2018 training camp: How will Kenyan Drake, Frank Gore, and Kalen Ballage split the running back carries? - The PhinsiderThe Dolphins have one of the best three-headed monsters in football, but how will Adam Gase split the workload?Why Isn’t Zach Thomas In The Hall Of Fame? - The PhinsiderAs the Miami Dolphins embark on a new era at the linebacker position Mark Duper Jersey , perhaps it’s time we took a look back at one of the most dominant middle linebackers ever to strap on a helmet: one Zachary... There are so many articles and conversations out there right now indicating the Miami Dolphins are planning to “tank” their 2019 season in an effort to position themselves for a top draft pick in 2020. They are going to “tank” the short term in an effort to win in the long term. They are “tanking” for the future.And every time the word “tank” comes up, the masses descend. They argue that Miami should “tank.” They argue that the Dolphins will not “tank.” They say a new head coach would never agree to “tank.” They say free agents would stay away from a team for years if they see them as willing to “tank.” They say that the development of the latest #LoseFor... or #TankFor... or #SuckFor... hashtags are genius. Or they are dumb.Whatever they are - the word “tank” is nothing more than clickbait in order to get those arguments coming again.The Dolphins are not going to “tank” the 2019 season. They will not.They are not “tanking” anything.The Miami Dolphins are rebuilding. Period. That is it.The Dolphins do not have a lot of salary cap space - they can create more, but they will still lag far behind the rest of the league when all of the salary cap cuts are completed - so they will not be big spenders in free agency. Rebuilds do not target free agency, they target the draft.That is not “tanking,” that is rebuilding.Teams with a new head coach typically take three years to (a) change players to fit the new system, (b) learn the new system, and (c) master the new system. That is exactly what the Miami Dolphins will be doing as they enter year one of a new head coach’s regime. Brian Flores did not come to Miami to “tank.” He came to Miami to rebuild the team in his image and to fit his system.That is not “tanking,” that is rebuilding.The dictionary says to tank is “fail completely, especially at great financial cost” and, in sports, it is “deliberately lose or fail to finish (a game).” The Dolphins are not failing completely at great financial cost, and they are not deliberately losing or failing to finish a game. They are fixing years of quick fixes that have been at great financial cost and, just because the team is looking to get younger and build through the draft does not mean they are trying to “deliberately lose.”And they are not going to “fail to finish a game.”That is not “tanking,” that is rebuilding.The Dolphins want to get younger. They want to get healthier. They want to fix the issues - like the offensive line and the run defense - that have plagued the club for years. They do not want to tank - they want to fix.Getting younger. Getting healthier. Getting better.That is not “tanking,” that is rebuilding.“Tanking” is a sexy word because it makes people talk. It makes people argue. And, it makes people click. The Miami Dolphins are not tanking. They are not holding out better players and calling plays that will fail in order to purposely lose a game. They are getting younger. They are fixing their faults. And they are doing it the way great teams have been built.They are rebuilding.You will continue to hear how the Miami Dolphins are “tanking” the 2019 season. You will hear out they will fail to find a quarterback in order to make sure they will lose. You will hear how everything is designed for 2020. You will hear how the Dolphins love this 2020 quarterback prospect and that is their target. You will hear how the Dolphins actually love this other quarterback prospect Mark Clayton Jersey , and he is their real target. You will hear how they are all in on getting a specific player.You will hear how they have to tank this year to get there next year.You will even hear how “sources” have said the Dolphins, behind closed doors, are even using the word “tank” for the 2019 season to focus on 2020.You go ahead and tell Kenyan Drake, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Xavien Howard, Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, and Reshad Jones that they need to sacrifice one year of their career, their bodies, so the team can lose. Tell them to lose on purpose. Tell them to “tank.”You try to re-sign players like Cameron Wake, Ja’Wuan James, Frank Gore, John Denney, or any of the other soon-to-be free agents with the promise that they are going to lose as many games as possible.Last year, all we heard pre-draft was how the Dolphins loved all the different quarterbacks. How did that work out? Somehow - without a head coach and coaching staff in place - the Dolphins now know their exact draft plans two drafts ahead of time?Every year we see players rise and fall dramatically during the college football season, the draft prep Adam Joseph Duhe Jersey , Pro Days, the Scouting Combine, and in team meetings. A player who today looks like a lock as the first overall pick could end up falling out of the first day by this time next year. Plus, how many other teams will be looking for a quarterback in 2020 - and could be worse than Miami, or have the ammunition to trade in front of Miami? Yet, already, Miami is locked onto a player, a system, a plan that involves intentionally failing and “knowing” they will get the guy.I have always thought the 2020 Draft is the time to get your next quarterback. And, maybe having a higher draft pick is the right way to do it in the long run. None of that means a team has to “tank” in order to be there.Rebuild yes. Find the younger players who can grow with the head coach and the rest of the team, starting this year. Let presumed-to-be head coach Brian Flores find the players who fit his system and let general manager Chris Grier acquire those players. Let the team grow.A young team, growing, is not a team tanking. It is a team growing. Rebuilding.Maybe the Dolphins are going into this season not caring if they challenge for the AFC East and are looking to build through the draft. Maybe they will lose a lot of games. Maybe they will look to 2020 to select a quarterback.Maybe that is all just called rebuilding.