Phins Upset of Eagles Just Part of ‘Process’

M.J.

4 years ago

Even “stripped of talent”, Phins found a way to win

While the Phins upset of the Eagles 37-31 shocked many… really, it’s just a part of the process.

From what I’ve been reading, some are pooh-poohing the term ‘the process’.

I get it. So much that comes out of the mouths of NFL players and coaches is spin and ‘optics talk’. And if you take a superficial view of the term ‘the process’ it sounds exactly like one of the many ‘sports cliches’ such as ‘at the end of the day’, ‘we’ve just got to get back to work‘, and ‘everyone needs to improve‘.

But you can bet with the best pay per head sportsbook sites like www.AcePerHead.com that this is a misconception.

While every ‘Process’ is different, not all are successful

A ‘process’ isn’t some fufu term, it simply means the concrete steps, whether conscious or unconscious, used to complete a task. Whether realized or not everyone from a nuclear physicist to someone making a sandwich to a sportswriter uses a process to achieve their goals. While there is ‘more than one to skin a cat’, only one thing determines the quality of a process: the quality of what it produces.

All football teams have some similarities in the process of team building, but no two regimes build alike. Just consider the stark difference between the last two regimes in South Florida as an example: The Mike Tannenbaum regime believed in pushing huge amounts of money into tomorrow’s salary cap, while Grier has shaved off a $100 million next year.

This is but one of the many differences between each team’s process.

Way back in January, I wrote about the “process” in broad terms as it applied to Chris Grier. Here is the four keys to the process of any head of football operations.

Installing an overall vision
Hiring personnel to help manage and facilitate Front Office duties
Hiring a Head Coach to direct and enhance the vision
Finding talent through while maximizing the purchasing power of draft picks and Cap space

Now we don’t know the exact details of Grier’s vision and it’s too early to rate the Front Office talent evaluators, but so far Grier has dogmatically stuck to the last two on this list. For better or worse, Grier has been invariably consistent… and so has Brian Flores.

Let’s examine the process of team creation that Flores has mentioned along the way.

Keys to the process of Brian Flores spoke:

Limit penalties (Eagles are ranked Top 10 least penalties and the Phins bested them in this Sunday)
Find players who love football and play 60 mins (much has been said of the Phins, but quitting isn’t one of them)
Coach players up and put them in the position to utilize their skills not accentuate their flaws (see below)
Team first mentality (Poster boys: Eric Rowe v.s. Minkah Fitzpatrick)

Now, you might say ‘no-duh’, that’s what every coach strives for. Yes, every coach says they want this type of team, but most are quick to sacrifice these beliefs for talent. Both Grier and Flores have been unified and uncompromising in their process.

So what are the concrete elements of the Grier & Flores process that led to the Eagles upset?

Many say the 2019 Miami Dolphins have no talent. This isn’t true. Yes, the Phins have limited talent, maybe even the least overall talent in the NFL, but they do have some talent. And it was this talent that led the way to the upset.

As Head Coach Brian Flores says every week, “Players win games”, and these players have been developed by this staff.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing with the least amounts of talent in his career but is playing some of his best football
UDFA Nik Needham has played tremendously and has meticulously been groomed for success
DeVante Parker has always had the physical talent, but he’s healthy, consistent, and producing
Heading into the preseason, there were whispers of Mike Gesicki being a bust, but like Parker, he has blossomed under this staff
Turning ‘intern’ UDFA Patrick Laird into a strong contributor
Getting a cast of ‘never-heard-of-them’ at the offensive line to provide stellar protection for three quarters after a disastrous 1st quarter
Putting Raekwon McMillan on position to accentuate his strengths not be exposed by his weaknesses
Getting Charles Harris consistent at all phases of his game
Sam Eguavoen pulled from the Canadian football league was one of the highest rated players from PFF

All of these players played important roles in the upset.

Yes, there is a portion of Flores’ talk about the ‘process’ that is nebulous: character, intelligence, heart, and selflessness. But, what I’m talking about here is very concrete and is observable on the stat sheet: players making plays. There is little doubt that this 2019 Dolphins staff has many players playing better than they have under the previous regime… and that is a sure sign that so far the process has been a good one.

There is a long, long way to go Dolphins fans, but the distance between good signs are coming quicker and quicker. Go Phins!!!

Even “stripped of talent”, Phins found a way to win

While every ‘Process’ is different, not all are successful

Keys to the process of Brian Flores spoke:

So what are the concrete elements of the Grier & Flores process that led to the Eagles upset?

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