It makes sense, doesn't it?
It is the universal perception people outside the Dolphins have of the team. It is the 2008 marching orders everyone assumes Bill Parcells handed down when he took over.
Except that inside the NFL's most hermetically sealed organization, no one is thinking about again vying for the first overall draft pick in 2009. No one is seeing 2008 as a sacrifice that must be paid merely to get better years from now.
''No doubt about it, people misunderstand,'' Jason Ferguson says as he drives home from another full day of offseason work at the team's training facility. ``Tony [Sparano] and Bill are not here to say, `OK, we'll do a little better than we did last year and that's our goal.'
``Our goal is the same as every other team in the league and that's to win a championship. That's our goal.''
Ferguson is Miami's new starting nose tackle. He had a reputation as something of a joker among his former teammates in Dallas and with the Jets. He jokingly self-deprecates and laughs easy and loud.
But on this subject, he's not kidding.
''We're not far away,'' he says seriously. ``I'm not here to say this is a total rebuilding project. We're not here to say, `We're only going to win two or three more games this year and wait to win more next year.'
``I don't have those kind of years left in me. My years are getting short now. I'm pushing for the playoffs this year.''
Ferguson is 33 and about to embark on his 12th NFL season. So he knows something about what good football teams look like and what bad football teams lack.
The Dolphins lacked direction last year. They lacked depth. They lacked a good quarterback. They lacked a consistent run defense.
SOME DIRECTION
Parcells was brought in to provide the direction. The depth has been somewhat addressed, though some holes persist. And Ferguson says he will take care of the run defense.
''[Fans] are going to see the run defense [get better],'' he says. ``I'm here for the run defense. I'm hoping that I stay healthy and then I'll take a lot of pressure off my linebackers playing behind me.''
When asked if he knows the depth of Miami's problem, Ferguson nods. He knows Miami was last against the run in 2007.
''Believe me, I do realize that,'' he says. ``But it won't be last this year, not even close. That's guaranteed.''
The Dolphins added Ferguson this offseason by trading a sixth-round pick in the April draft and a conditional pick next year. The idea was to have a nose tackle who could swallow offensive linemen in the middle of Parcells' 3-4 scheme. Ferguson's assignment is to force two offensive linemen to block him and, over the span of his career, rare is the play that he doesn't carry out that assignment. ''It's going to take at least two guys to get me out of the hole every time,'' Ferguson says proudly. ``I eat up blockers.''
Ferguson could have refused to report to the NFL's worst team when he first heard of the possible trade to Miami. That would have thwarted the deal. But Ferguson didn't squash the talks as if they were an opposing guard. He actually welcomed the trade.
In some respects, that makes Ferguson the antithesis to Jason Taylor. Taylor wants out of Miami because he also is nearing 34 years old, has never won a ring and wants to play for a winner. But Ferguson sees the very thing Taylor is looking for -- a chance to win -- in the Dolphins team that Taylor wants to leave.
NOT JUST THE PLAYERS
''When you're 1-15, it's not just about the players on the team,'' Ferguson says, suggesting the Dolphins' talent is better than people believe. ``There's more to it that led to that. Maybe the coaching wasn't right. I know some players weren't buying in. You have to believe in what you're doing.
``And sometimes when you have a lot of losses, that's when guys start looking forward to vacation instead of trying to make more plays and picking up a couple of more Ws. That won't happen this year. This year it'll be about getting together and making it happen and competing.''
Ferguson seems convinced. And he seals that certainty when you ask how much longer he hopes to play. He talks about playing as long as he can, as long as he enjoys the game, and then he gives the answer that befits his optimism.
''I'll play until I get my ring,'' he says. ``I hope it's like in a year.''
