Dolphins must turn to rebuilding foundation

There isn’t one aspect of this Miami Dolphins team that has played well and performed up to expectations all season. The roster has gaping holes, and there’s little cap space to work with without purging a few key players this offseason. That’s on management.

The play-calling on offense and defense lacks creativity, and the Dolphins are one of the NFL’s most penalized teams. That’s on coaching.

And the execution has been inconsistent on both offense and defense, which each rank 30th in the NFL in points scored and allowed. That’s on the players.

So what’s left to accomplish this season outside of getting ready for 2018?

“It is not always going to go as smooth as you want it. You have to be ready to adjust and need your players to stay on board and keep focused and not worry about the end result,” head coach Adam Gase said earlier this week. “You’ve got to focus on the process.”

Gase needs to follow his own advice and shift his focus to the process of rebuilding the faulty foundation of this franchise.

I’m not referring to a tank job. That would be the quickest way for Gase to lose the locker room.

This is more of an exploration project, or better yet, a diagnostic check.

After all, can we stop pretending the check engine light didn’t come on earlier this season and we just ignored it

and kept cruising along?

At this point — riding a five-game losing streak, which by the way never happened during Joe Philbin’s three-plus seasons as head coach — there’s a cloud of smoke coming from the engine, and it’s blocking Gase’s view.

Dolphins coaches and management must figure out how to make the final five games beneficial for this franchise’s future, ensuring the foundation of what vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, general manager Chris Grier and Gase are building can lead to sustainable success.

Clearly that’s not happening now, therefore an overhaul is needed.

Gase needs to install the exact offense he plans to use moving forward to see if it works with this personal. Miami’s coaches must figure out who can pick it up, who can go uptempo like Gase has been trying to do for two years, and who can’t.

Identifying the core playmakers is critical to Miami’s offensive success in the future.

Miami traded Jay Ajayi to Philadelphia for a fourth-round pick because they weren’t sold on him being part of the franchise’s future. That better mean Kenyan Drake can fill his shoes, and the truth is we don’t know if he can based on the little we’ve seen from Drake this past month.

What we have seen from Drake, who averages 4.8 yards per carry on his 42 attempts, is a few plays that have indicated that here’s upside. But we’ve also endured some of his growing pains (two fumbles).

But for Drake to have success that means Miami’s injury-depleted offensive line must deliver, and that’s an unrealistic expectation at this point.

Dolphins management put few resources into fortifying that unit and have paid the price for it. Hopefully that’s a lesson learned, and a mistake that won’t be repeated going forward.

At this point the Dolphins need to find out if anyone playing — or not — on the offensive line is salvageable.

The Dolphins need to take a similar approach with a defense that has been watered down by injuries and fatigue.

The problem is the reinforcements — the next wave of youngsters — don’t appear ready.

Xavien Howard and Cordrea Tankersley are both talented cornerbacks, but it hasn’t shown on the field considering opposing quarterbacks have a 105.7 cumulative passer rating. Only the Oakland Raiders have allowed a worse passer rating (110.0).

The Dolphins have also produced the third fewest sacks (18) this season, and that’s despite possessing a star-studded defensive line that accounts for $41.9 million in annual salary, or roughly 25 percent of the team’s salary cap.

First-round pick Charles Harris has had a quiet season, but the Dolphins need to continue investing playing time into the rookie hoping that he’ll eventually turn the corner and show the promise that made him an early selection in the draft.

At this point in this lost season the Dolphins need to use the final five games to turn promise into production or else they could be facing similar struggles in 2018.

Dolphins defensive end William Hayes, perhaps best known for his outlandish theories such as mermaids might exist and man never landed on the moon, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a hamstring injury, ending the season for perhaps the team’s best run-stopping defensive end.

Hayes, acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in a trade during the offseason, ends his year with 19 tackles, one sack and three tackles for losses.