Analyst’s expectations for 2019 ‘disrespectful’

One ESPN analyst believes the Miami Dolphins will not win a single game during the 2019 season.

Another, from Sports Illustrated, thinks Miami will have a 3-13 record and be in line for the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas also do not foresee the season going well: Miami has the worst preseason odds to win the AFC East (60/1), the AFC championship (250/1) and Super Bowl LIV (500/ 1) this season.

National expectations for the Dolphins’ 2019 season, under new coach Brian Flores with quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen competing for the starting job, are largely bleak.

But Flores and Dolphins players have two messages for the naysayers: They are not tanking, and they certainly don’t appreciate being written off before the season even begins.

“They don’t respect us right now and we don’t care,” safety Bobby McCain said. “We’ll tally it up at the end of the year and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what they are saying. We’re just coming in trying to compete and get better every day. That’s all it’s about.”

When the Dolphins fired former coach Adam Gase and traded away former starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the Tennessee Titans this offseason, they indirectly signaled to fans and the rest of the NFL that a major overhaul was underway in Miami.

Flores and general manager Chris Grier were quick to strike the notion the Dolphins were tanking, or purposely trying to lose in order to gain favorable draft position next year, with eyes on some of the top quarterbacks in 2020 like Alabama’s Tua Tagov- ailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Georgia’s Jake Fromm if those players enter the draft.

“To disrespect the game and use that term, it stirs something up inside of me, to put it nicely,” Flores said earlier this offseason. “I’m going to go into every game trying to win. That’s always going to be my objective. I’m going to go into anything I do trying to win.”

Grier, who spearheaded Miami’s acquisition of Rosen from the Arizona Cardinals and 12 picks in the 2020 draft, echoed the same sentiment as the Dolphins transition under Flores.

“It’s hard when you say you want tough, competitive guys who love ball and you bring them in and say ‘Hey, let’s not do it this year. Let’s just relax and enjoy this year and we’ll come back next year and be tough and competitive,’” Grier said.

Together, the Dolphins tried to rebrand the franchise’s change in direction as a rebuilding effort.

“It’s building a franchise to sustain itself over a period of time,” Dolphins owner Steve Ross said. “That’s what you want.”

Before the Dolphins can look ahead to 2020, they hope to set a foundation under Flores’ tenure.

It begins with identifying if Rosen can develop into the franchise’s quarterback of the future as he competes with Fitzpatrick for playing time.

It also includes installing a multi-look defensive scheme — led by cornerback Xavien Howard, defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick and 2019 first-round defensive tackle Christian Wilkins — to confuse opposing offenses, despite the lack of high-end talent at the defensive end position.

Outside of the acquisitions of Rosen, Ryan Fitzpatrick and the recent draft class, the Dolphins’ offseason haul of freeagent signees were underwhelming considering the names that have departed like longtime defensive end Cameron Wade, starting running back Frank Gore, and leading receiver Danny Amendola among others.

Even if the Dolphins roster is at a disadvantage, the players and coaches still have their pride to defend and spark inspiration.

“The head coach already answered that question and I think all of us feel the same way about it,” Minkah Fitzpatrick said of tanking. “It’s a term that only losers use. It’s not something that I would ever use or ever even think to use. Even if somebody were to decide that we were going to do that, I don’t think anybody in this program would try and buy into it.

“We’re professional athletes. We’re paid to not just play the game but to win games and be the best that we can be, so I think tanking shouldn’t even be in the vocabulary of any professional athlete.”

“Even if somebody were to decide that we were going to (tank), I don’t think anybody in this program would try and buy into it.”

— Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick