Step One? Tear It Down: Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins Rebuild

Now that the fanfare and celebration of the Super Bowl has ended, teams have to move on and look towards next season.

As the players hang up their cleats, the front office of every organization picks up their pens and starts their busiest time of the year.

The off-season is a pivotal time for every franchise and if the right moves are made, it will have a tremendous influence on the coming season.

At least that is the hope for many teams that are looking to improve on their team’s success, or lack thereof. The Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons were two of the first teams to jump head first into the off-season overhauls.

A common method of rebuilding a team is to “blow it up” and start over. This method is often used by teams that feel they have too many problems to simply fix or a team that recently became under new management (i.e. The Dolphins). The overhauls can reach any player on the team and it is not uncommon that it reaches the coaching staff either. Both teams have new coaches, Tony Sparano taking over as Miami’s head coach and Mike Smith taking the reigns in Atlanta. Let’s take a look at how Atlanta and Miami have started their rebuilding process.

Atlanta released seven players, including their five-time pro bowl tight-end Alge Crumpler, and recently signed quarterback Byron Leftwich. The other released players were veteran offensive tackle Wayne Gandy, cornerback Lewis Sanders, wide receiver Jamin Elliot, linebacker Marcus Wilkins, and defensive tackle Rod Coleman.

Miami released ten players of its own, including seven-time pro bowler Zach Thomas, quarterback Trent Green, and wide receiver Marty Booker. Among their other cuts were tackle L.J. Shelton and defensive tackle Keith Traylor, both started last year for the Dolphins.

Zach Thomas and Alge Crumpler have already drawn considerable notice from several teams. The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints have reportedly shown interest in Thomas while The Carolina Panthers are looking at Carolina-native Alge Crumpler.

This isn’t necessarily the end of the either team’s roster removals either, seeing as the February 29th opening of the free agent market is drawing near and rebuilding teams would love to have as much cap space as possible to sign any potential players that could act as a cornerstone to build their franchise around. This is especially true this year with a draft that doesn’t appear to be as deep in talent as past year’s drafts.