Oh, boy: ‘Culture’ club must perform

It’s time for Dolphins to prove offseason talk was more than blather

The word “culture” got worn out this Dolphins offseason. You remember the song. The old culture failed. The new culture was defined.

Star players were released in the name of culture. Others were signed to develop culture.

Culture. Culture. Culture.

“We have some alpha dogs who are not going to accept a lot of the s--- that has gone on,’’ coach Adam Gase said in March.

That’s how it went all offseason, if you remember.

So now we start to see what it all means. In the past two Sundays, the Dolphins were smacked around on the road. They didn’t compete in New England. The day in Cincinnati was lost by the offense in general and the quarterback, specifically.

Does the offseason come into play now? Does this conversational idea of culture above talent, like nurture over nature, show itself on game day?

Through the years, you can point to specific, game-day moments that defined a team’s culture. Linebacker Bryan Cox ran into Buffalo’s stadium with middle fingers extended in a way that offended puritan America but galvanized his team for the most part. That’s defining a culture.

Linebacker Junior Seau shat-

tered his finger in the cold of a New England December in 2004. His nerve stuck out. Players nearly threw up on the sideline. Seau had his finger taped up and returned to the game. Missed two plays. That’s defining a culture.

Dan Marino played with two of the best and most emotional receivers around in Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. Each demanded the ball. Each wanted the game bent their way. But Marino’s personality, as much as his game, kept them together without changing their fiery ways. That’s defining a culture, too.

Of course, the coach sets the big-picture culture. Don Shula’s unmatched discipline. Jimmy Johnson’s creative focus. Nick Saban’s unbending standards. Or the other way: Joe Philbin turning “queasy” over his quarterback in a way that resonated with players. Their ways always do.

“No one respects you,’’ defensive end Joey Porter said to coach Cam Cameron in a team meeting near the end of that 1-15 season in 2007.

The next season, coach Tony Sparano told new

quarterback Chad Pennington in their first meeting of the nuts-and-bolts culture he wanted. “I need you to help us establish it,” Sparano said. That year in Sparano’s new culture, Porter had 17 ½ sacks.

Are the two related? Or was it just Pennington playing so well he finished second in league Most Valuable Player voting?

Any idea of beating the Patriots starts with establishing a culture equal to theirs. Managing talent is part of that. Developing a mindset is another part. Gase seemed on his way in his first season. They were

10-6.

But midway through year two he blasted players’ habits after a 40-0 loss to Baltimore. That resulted in the previous year’s Most Valuable Player, running back Jay Ajayi, being traded. Then came a 24-16 loss in Buffalo. Players quit on him, Gase thought.

“That’s why we felt we needed to change some things around,’’ he said in June.

Out went Jarvis Landry, Mike Pouncey and Ndamukong Suh, though their contracts were the larger explanation than culture. In came

30-something veterans Josh Sitton, Daniel Kilgore,

Frank Gore and Danny Amendola.

From the start, Sitton, Gore and Amendola didn’t practice daily, which seemed an odd way to set a culture. Sitton and Kilgore already are hurt and gone for the season. Players get hurt in this game. Thirtysomething players just get hurt more.

The real story of this new “culture” may prove to be the young players. Defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick signed his contract this summer before working out late into the night. Linebacker Raekwon McMillan got in the face of a teammate complaining about work this offseason.

Still, there’s no evidence on the field of change. They fell behind in New England and didn’t challenge. Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was cut afterward. They then had a turnover against Cincinnati and fell apart. And, if you use penalties as a measure of discipline, the past few weeks they’ve regressed to the mean of being the secondmost-penalized team in Gase’s two years.

Does culture matter? Did this offseason improve it any?

Sunday might be a time to measure such immeasurable ideas.