Van Noy: Team can achieve lofty goal

Ryan Fitzpatrick could not contain his smile.

Sure, the start of every NFL season brings its own set of excitement and expectations for every team.

Fitzpatrick is now 16 years in as a quarterback. He knows the deal all too well.

But for his second season with the Miami Dolphins, the Week 1 vibe is certainly different than it was a season ago when the Dolphins endured a 59-10 blowout loss at home to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, just days after trading away franchise left tackle Laremy Tunsil and needing to sign players off the street to play valuable snaps.

“There’s definitely a different feeling right now than there was last year at this exact time,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Dolphins are not major sellers this year, heading into the 2020 season opener on the road against the New England Patriots on Sunday. NFL pundits are not accusing Dolphins coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier of tanking the season to land a high draft pick this time around.

Their high draft pick, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, is now in tow after being drafted fifth overall following five wins by the Dolphins last year. The Dolphins also brought 10 other rookies and 11 valuable contributors elsewhere during their careers to Miami, hoping to take the next step in the franchise’s rebuild.

A revamped team calls for new expectations, and newcomers like outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy have a distinct aspiration he hopes to achieve during his time with the Dolphins.

“I hope we can be successful for this city. This city hasn’t won a playoff game in 20 years, and that’s one of our goals,” Van Noy said, citing Miami’s last playoff win coming in 2000.

“We’re reaching pretty high, and we hope we can obtain it and bring this city some good football.”

The Dolphins have reached the playoffs just twice since their last playoff win. They have won just four AFC East titles since 1990 and haven’t played in a Super Bowl since the 1984 season. Miami has not won a Super bowl since going winning back-to-back titles in 1972 and 1973.

This new team formed by Flores and Grier is certainly not near breaking any of the franchise’s playoff woes — just yet.

But the new additions have inspired some new energy within the Dolphins’ Davie facility.

“I think right now there’s a great vibe in the building,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think in terms of the personalities and the guys that have been on this team, with the guys that were added to this team, everybody is pulling in the same direction right now. That’s easy to do when there’s no adversity and

you haven’t played any games. We’ll figure out real quick what kind of team that we have.”

Fitzpatrick, Flores and the Dolphins will have that opportunity when they face Bill Belichick and the new-look Patriots team with new quarterback Cam Newton and a defense that will have at least six new starters after major departures in the offseason.

Fitzpatrick will be the Dolphins’ starting quarterback again this season as Tagovailoa waits his turn and continues to grow more comfortable as a NFL rookie, while his surgically repaired hip also gets more time to adjust to the rigors of everyday practice

and eventual game play.

Fitzpatrick offers the Dolphins some sort of stability and a calming presence for a team with so many new faces, heading into a season with so much uncertainty after no preseason and a shortened training camp due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dolphins hope Van Noy, cornerback Byron Jones, defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah, running backs Jordan Howard and Matt Breida, and offensive linemen Ted Karras and Ereck Flowers can bring some playmaking and stability to a young team.

While Tagovailoa will be QB2, rookie draft picks like offensive linemen Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley, cornerback Noah Igbinoghene and defensive tackle

Raekwon Davis could see extensive playing time in their first career NFL games.

“Just looking at what they’ve done in terms of roster building, it’s pretty clear that Brian has a plan,” Belichick said of Flores, his former defensive play-caller. “He knows where he’s going. And he’s taking steps to get there. That’s pretty obvious.”

Despite the influx of talent, expectations remain somewhat low for the Dolphins in 2020.

They’re favored to win six games, against a schedule that features games against the Seahawks, 49ers, Broncos, Rams, Chargers, Chiefs and the Raiders. Miami is tied with the Jets with 10⁄1 odds to win the AFC East behind the Bills (4⁄5) and Patriots

(9⁄5). The Dolphins also have the

fourth-worst odds to win the AFC championship (50⁄1) and the Super Bowl (100⁄1).

Still, the Dolphins’ outlook is less bleak heading into this season than it was a season ago.

“Raised expectations is relative since the expectations last year were probably zero, right?” Fitzpatrick said with a laugh. “It’s all relative. I know that we’re excited to see what happens this year. I think there’s so much uncertainty around the league. I think I know what we have here.

“I think we’ve put in a lot of work and we’re gelling right now but until you get out there and do it on the field, you’ve really got no clue,” he added. “Every year there’s uncertainty and this year there’s probably more than there has ever been.”