Even the S Fla sporswriters know better

[Jetfan13]

Smart enough to know how good they aren't

Ethan J. Skolnick | Sports columnist

Running wild(cat) over the arrogant Patriots?

Can't recall.

Humbling Brett Favre's Jets in the Meadowlands?

Must have missed it.

Taking the AFC East title?

Nope, not ringing a bell.

That's the sort of selective amnesia that will serve Dolphins management well this weekend. The Dolphins don't have fools in their front office anymore, so they won't be fooled by 2008's glory. If you've listened closely this offseason to the Dolphins' decision-makers, you've gotten the sense that they get it: They recognize that the division title, while not a complete fluke, was the product of many unforeseen and fortuitous occurrences.

The 2008 Dolphins built their record on squeakers against bad, displaced, beat-up and jet-lagged teams. Bill Parcells has acknowledged that "we're going to have to have a better team on the field to do what we did last year." Not that 2009 is the endgame; the objective is to construct a team that can consistently contend for championships in 2010 and beyond. That means resisting an artificial acceleration of the long-term plan.

"We're still in the rebuilding process," General Manager Jeff Ireland said in March. "But I think what Tony was able to do this last year in rebuilding the culture and the attitude and the accountability in the locker room is close to being championship caliber."

So if you're wondering how Parcells and Ireland will conduct business this weekend, you just got your clue. Expect more trading down than trading up. Expect more moves for depth than reaches for blue-chippers. Expect more acquisitions than forfeitures of future picks.

That's because the Dolphins know what they are and, thus, where they are in the process. They are just entering the second of three stages.

The first stage?

That's when, as former NFL executive Charley Casserly put it, it's easier because "you need everything." So you can keep going for the best player available. That's where the Dolphins were last April, coming off a 1-15 season.

"If you are a team that doesn't have that depth and quality, you want to get as many bodies as you can," said former NFL coach Brian Billick, now an NFL Network analyst. "The percentages are on your side."

Remember what Jimmy Johnson did when he was rebuilding the Dolphins in 1996 and 1997? He traded down five times during those two drafts, drafting 25 players, 18 of whom made the team as rookies. Parcells and Ireland played it more down the middle in their first Dolphins draft, trading a veteran for a pick, trading a pick for two veterans, trading up once and down once. But that came after they took the quantity approach to free agency.

The third stage?

That's where the mature organizations are. The consistent winners. They are in position to isolate needs and target final puzzle pieces.

"If you are a veteran team that is very good, the last thing you want to do is spend a resource in your draft pick, to bring into your organization [someone] that you know you're going to cut, particularly on the second day," Billick said. "If you are that kind of team, why not roll some of those into moving yourself up to where you get a higher level of player than you might otherwise get?"

And that's what many do. That's what Johnson should have done in 1998 and 1999. He had built his base. He was in position to pivot, to aim for quality over quantity. But other than trading a future first-rounder to snatch cornerback Patrick Surtain in the 1998 second round, he stuck to the old numbers strategy. He traded down six times. He missed a chance to take Randy Moss, among others. Neither draft was impactful. The Dolphins peaked and crashed. Johnson retired.

Next April, after another strong draft, the Dolphins may be back where Johnson was in 1998, with a chance to remedy his error. Not yet, though. They are in what Casserly calls "the middle of the road." Improved but imperfect. He also calls it "the toughest spot," since it is tempting to "force a player into a need where he is ahead of his value in the round."

Here are the only things the Dolphins truly need this weekend:

Patience.

Amnesia.

[PFSIKH]

Good article.

[gangreenman]

Great article. I think Woody and Tanny need to take a look at this article as well and realize that Rome isn't built in a day, and that quick, band-aid, fixes aren't the answer.