Miami bosses: ‘R’ word is retooling or reshuffling

By Greg Melikov  |   Wednesday, April 04, 2007  |  Comments( 12 )

Miami Dolphins
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The Miami brass says the 'R' word for this season is retooling or reshuffling, not rebuilding.

"We don't look at it as rebuilding," owner Wayne Huizenga told The Miami Herald. "Our defense is pretty much intact. We kept the guys we wanted to keep. Now we're got to make some changes on offense. I don't look at that as a rebuilding."

The team is reshuffling the roster as opposed to rebuilding it, general manager Randy Mueller told The Sun-Sentinel.

I went to the dictionary to discern the differences:

Retooling means "to reorganize something in order to make it more efficient or powerful" -- like the Dolphins will have to retool if they are to remain competitive.

Reshuffling means "to arrange or organize anew" -- like Miami must reshuffle the team.

Rebuilding means "to work to restore something that has been weakened, damaged or ruined" -- like the Dolphins will have to rebuild.

To paraphrase Shakespeare: That which we call rebuilding -- by any other word would be the same.

No matter which "R' word you prefer, there's no doubt changes must be made for Miami to reach the AFC playoffs for the first time since losing 20-3 to Baltimore in the 2001 first round.

All-Pro defensive end Jason Taylor thinks the playoffs are within reach: "We can be in the AFC championship game like New Orleans was (last year in the NFC). It can turn around very quickly."

At his recent charity golf tournament, Taylor told The Palm Beach Post, "We are looking for young guys and you have to in this league. There are different levels of rebuilding. Hopefully we're not in a little tear-down part."

Rebuilding? Well, the Dolphins lost a dozen players who started a combined 100-plus games in '06.

Taylor said head coach Cam Cameron addressed his concerns about rebuilding in some ways with the signing of one-time Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter.

Cameron, however, stresses the Dolphins will rely more on the draft than free agency. "We're going to build this team through the draft," he said in a news conference after returning from a family vacation.

Miami has two picks in the top 40, including the ninth. Defensive back Jason Allen, the only potential '07 starter from last year's batch of picks, went 16th last year.

On April 28, the Dolphins have six picks in all, including two in the top 40, with the lowest at 200th in the seventh round. Last year, of the three selections 212th and higher, two are backups.

Taylor said he thinks about retiring each year, but now plans to honor his contract that runs through '09. It appears he really believes the AFC championship game is extremely possible.

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CommentsComments: 12  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Ron Evans		10:01 AM
04/04/2007
Six picks? I don't think so. We have #9, #40, #60-pats., #71, #108, #181, #199-NO's, #219,and #238-pats. Bad reporting, me...
No.2
Rick		10:06 AM
04/04/2007
They can call it whatever they want, just gt better. Mueller indicated that the team plans to draft a QB this year, but did not...
No.3
PHINTIM		12:08 PM
04/04/2007
My biggest question about the past drafts is who did the picking Saban or Mueller? It appears it was Saban as many of the picks...
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