MIAMI GARDENS \u2014 The Dolphins locker room is OK \u2014 for now. I\u2019ve been asked about the attitude in the locker room by several people recently.<\/p>\n
This has been a businesslike locker room at both the facility and postgame on the road. At the facility, there\u2019s no Pop-A-Shot style basketball game, such as in recent years. There\u2019s no ping-pong table and no card table, such as in recent years. It doesn\u2019t have any of those corny\/motivational sayings on the walls. It appears to be a place of accomplishment and achievement rather than an entertainment hub. It\u2019s a noticeable difference.<\/p>\n
From the row of lockers that includes quarterback Malik Willis, linebacker Jordyn Brooks and edge rusher Chop Robinson to the row that includes rookie wide receiver Chris Bell, rookie left guard Kadyn Proctor and rookie tight end Will Kacmarek and everywhere in between, players are enthusiastic despite having an 0-2 record and, by most outside accounts, a bleak future.<\/p>\n
On the road, yes, the Dolphins lost at Las Vegas and San Francisco, but the postgame locker rooms have been professional. Players have been disappointed, but upbeat.<\/p>\n
And no one is sulking ahead of Sunday\u2019s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like we\u2019re optimistic,\u201d left tackle and team captain Patrick Paul said, \u201cbut I mean, no one likes losing. I think that\u2019s the best way to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n By the way, this isn\u2019t a Pollyanna, butt-kissing column. You know I\u2019m averse to those. And you know I\u2019m not a Dolphins fan. I\u2019m one who calls it as I see it from the start, such as picking the 2022 Dolphins to finish 8-9 (they finished 9-8), questioning Mike McDaniel\u2019s coaching chops beginning in December 2022, and asking in October 2023 whether the Dolphins offense was overrated.<\/p>\n This season, the Dolphins\u2019 locker room isn\u2019t a collection of crushed spirits, as many have suspected. Besides, it\u2019s been my experience that teams rarely quit. It happens, definitely. But players usually stay focused on the task ahead regardless of the team\u2019s record, and I think this team will follow that path.<\/p>\n Fans are shocked at how badly the rebuilding Dolphins have looked in their first two games. Players seem to be working their way through the situation. The locker room has been no-nonsense from that standpoint.<\/p>\n Perhaps these Dolphins, who opened the season with an NFL-high 13 rookies on the 53-man roster, are too young to know that they\u2019re off to a discouraging start.<\/p>\n So, no, this Dolphins locker room isn\u2019t anywhere near some of the worst\/most dejected locker rooms I\u2019ve been in, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll approach that level at any point this season.<\/p>\n The worst?<\/p>\n It was February 2008, in the Miami Heat locker room shortly before the All-Star break. Multi-talented All-Star forward Shawn Marion had just been traded from upbeat Phoenix (34-14) to beleaguered Miami (9-37) in a deal for disgruntled center Shaquille O\u2019Neal.<\/p>\n Marion, after being with the team for a few days, surveyed the locker room and asked, \u201cWhy is everybody so down around here?\u201d<\/p>\n I replied, \u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n He did. The Heat finished a miserable 15-67 that season, a year in which hope was sometimes hard to find among veterans.<\/p>\n Dolphins veterans such as defensive tackle Zach Sieler, who is in his 10th season, are keeping a positive attitude.<\/p>\n \u201cThankfully, with football, lose by five, lose by one, lose by whatever, like we did (against San Francisco), it doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just one loss, it doesn\u2019t carry extra weight. So we go out there and take it to them next week and go get this win.\u201d<\/p>\n Sieler knows what he\u2019s talking about.<\/p>\n The Dolphins have bounced back from the doldrums a few times recently.<\/p>\n The 2019 Dolphins started 0-7, including one of the worst three-game starts in NFL history when they were outscored, 133-16, and then won five of the last nine games to finish the season 5-11.<\/p>\n In 2022, the Dolphins were mired in a five-game losing streak late in the season and somehow found a way to scratch out an ugly victory against the New York Jets, 11-6, in the finale to earn a wildcard playoff berth.<\/p>\n On that vibe, I\u2019ll tell you that I\u2019ve never seen a more heartbroken regular-season locker room<\/a> than the Dolphins in 2024 when they lost at Buffalo, 30-27, on that 61-yard field goal by Bills kicker Tyler Bass with five seconds remaining. The loss dropped Miami to 2-6 and 1-6 against the Bills over a three-year stretch. Players were stunned and silent.<\/p>\n