MIAMI (AP) — oup visiting Kenya recently were pleased to encounter a young boy who emerged from a mud hut wearing a Miami Dolphins shirt Chandler Cox Miami Dolphins Jerseys , the only NFL apparel evident in his village.Alas, while the Dolphins might rank No. 1 in at least one part of Africa, they’re bringing up the rear in preseason prognostications stateside.One TV network places them 32nd and last. Another web site ranks their Super Bowl chances ahead of only the New York Jets. Oddsmakers put the over-under for victories at 6.5, which would be a slight improvement on last year’s 6-10 record.“We’re not being talked about,” running back Kenyan Drake said. “If you look at our home schedule this year, we have all 1 o’clock games. That shows that the league doesn’t see us as a prime-time matchup for anybody.”Low expectations are nothing new for a franchise that has played one postseason game since 2008.Here are things to know about the once-again under-the-radar Dolphins:THE QB: Ryan Tannehill returns after missing the past 20 games because of left knee issues, and keeping him healthy will be the No. 1 priority.He’s fine with the notion the season hinges on him.“I love feeling that responsibility, because I know that I can handle it,” Tannehill said. “We can do something special. Being able to captain that ship, so to speak, is a lot of fun.”The offensive line could be the best Tannehill has played behind, which improves the chances the Dolphins can keep him in the lineup.THE COACH: Adam Gase was considered a keeper after he led Miami’s overachieving 2016 team to 10 wins and the playoffs as a rookie NFL coach. The luster faded last year, when the Dolphins were inconsistent and undisciplined and lost eight of their final 10 games.Gase remains supremely confident in his ability to lead the Dolphins to their first postseason win since 2000 — and more.“It’s a new start,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this league. You never know what personality a team’s going to take on, what their characteristics are going to be, how they are going to handle adversity. You have those teams where nobody thinks they were going to do anything, and all of a sudden you’re talking about them in January.”SHAKING IT UP: Under Gase Miami Dolphins Jerseys Stitched , the Dolphins have committed more penalties than any other team in the past two seasons.There were disciplinary issues off the field as well last year, which is partly why Miami bid adieu to three players with Pro Bowl resumes: defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, receiver Jarvis Landry and center Mike Pouncey.Gase brought in running back Frank Gore and receiver Danny Amendola, both veterans with reputations as leaders. The season will determine whether an improved culture can compensate for the loss of talent.SHAKING IT UP II: Middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will assume significant roles despite having no NFL experience. McMillan, Miami’s most promising rookie a year ago, is back after a knee injury in the first exhibition game ended his 2017 season.Fitzpatrick is expected to make an immediate impact after being taken with the 11th overall pick in April.Two other rookies, tight end Mike Gesicki and outside linebacker Jerome Baker, also made strong bids for starting jobs in training camp. Altogether the Dolphins could have 10 new starters.STOPPING THE RUN: A winning season is unlikely unless Miami significantly improves a run defense that was awful the second half of last season, and early indications for 2018 are worrisome. In the second exhibition game, the Dolphins allowed 226 yards rushing to Carolina, including 71 on one play.It was so bad Suh poked fun at his former team on Instagram.“Lol,” he wrote.The Dolphins will formulate their response beginning Sept. 9 against Tennessee. With the playoffs now out of reach, Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase says injuries sabotaged the season, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill never had a chance to be fairly evaluated.And does the head coach deserve to return in 2019?"I don't need to lobby for my job," Gase said Monday. "I'm not worried about that."Gase said he hasn't had any discussions regarding his future with team owner Stephen Ross, who faces decisions regarding possible offseason organizational changes in the wake of the Dolphins' elimination from playoff contention. A dismal 17-7 loss at home Sunday to lowly Jacksonville ensured the team will again sit out the postseason.Ross has declined to say Gase will be back for a fourth season. Gase is 23-25 at Miami, including 7-8 this year after a 3-0 start.His biggest regret about 2018?"I wish everybody hadn't gotten hurt Chandler Cox Jersey nfl draft ," Gase said. "That would have been nice."The Dolphins lost 12 key players to season-ending injuries, including two top offensive linemen, their best run stopper and dynamic receivers Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant."We lost good players," Gase said. "There's a reason we started 3-0 鈥?because all those guys were there."Tannehill missed five games with an injury to his throwing shoulder. And when he played, the offense was wildly inconsistent, fueling speculation Sunday's season finale at Buffalo will be his last game with the Dolphins.Tannehill has never taken a snap in the postseason, but Gase continues to argue the seven-year veteran can be an elite quarterback with a better supporting cast."Everybody is always going to blame the quarterback," Gase said. "We just need everybody doing their job, and then you can really evaluate the quarterback. We haven't had the consistency we need on offense to look at what Ryan is, really. Nobody helps him, and then he starts to try to do more than he should, and then that hurts him."Such was the case Sunday, when Tannehill's ill-advised pass under pressure in the fourth quarter was intercepted and returned for a touchdown that sealed the defeat.Tannehill said every position has contributed to the offensive inconsistencies."Start with me and just go right down the line," Tannehill said. "When you have that, it all stacks up and you're not moving the ball. We have to be cleaner, every position, starting with me."Tannehill and the other starters will assume their usual roles at Buffalo Super Bowl Chandler Cox Jersey , Gase said. That's a change from last year, when the coach gave younger, inexperienced players tryouts in the meaningless finale."I'm never going to do that again," Gase said. "I'd rather go 8-8. We're going to try to win the game."Even with a victory, the Dolphins are assured of sitting out the playoffs for the 15th time in the past 17 seasons. They'll finish at .500 or worse for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons.Statistics say that by winning seven games, the Dolphins have actually overachieved. They're on the verge of several franchise records, none good.They've been outgained by 1,463 yards. The team record is 1,321 in 1967.They're allowing 392 yards per game. The team record is 383 two years ago.They've allowed 3,717 net yards passing. The team record is 4,000 in 2015.On offense, total yardage will likely be the Dolphins' lowest total since 2007. Net yards passing could be the lowest since 2003.The Dolphins rank 30th in the 32-team NFL on both offense and defense. They've never finished worse than 30th on offense or 29th on defense.But they're 7-1 in one-score games. They're 0-7 in games decided by 10 points or more, and have been outscored in those games 228-104.Those are the statistics of January spectators."We share failures, we share successes," veteran defensive end Cameron Wake said. "It's on everybody."