The Miami Dolphins haven't made sensational copy.
While the rest of the AFC East has generated tantalizing storylines throughout the summer, the Dolphins have been comparatively humdrum.
No zing. No flash. No scandal. No major injuries. No Joey Porter proclamations.
The Buffalo Bills have Terrell Owens and recently took a machete to their offense. The New York Jets traded up to draft a glamour quarterback. Their head coach talks smack. The New England Patriots are making headlines with major transactions.
What has been the Dolphins' sexiest story? The vagueness over what's wrong with outside linebacker Matt Roth? Not exactly prime material for a "Dateline" episode.
"I think boring is good," Miami coach Tony Sparano said early in training camp.
Sparano, football operations boss Bill Parcells and general manager Jeff Ireland used to work amid the drama that swirls around the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones was their boss.
In South Florida, the Dolphins' leadership triumvirate has replicated another Big D: Dullsville.
"Where you may call it dull, we just call it business as usual," Ireland said by phone Tuesday afternoon. "It is by design."
The Dolphins have been masterful at avoiding turmoil. New owner Stephen Ross is infatuated with selling off pieces of his team to celebrities, but the football department has been pleased to maintain a low-wattage profile.
"We're not trying to make a splash," Ireland said. "We're just doing what we do, and trying to get better from a day-to-day basis and flip over rocks. If it makes a splash, it makes a splash, but we couldn't care less if it does or not."
