NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
If the Miami Dolphins are waiting for their season to be saved by the return of Tua Tagovailoa, they’ve got some high hopes. Since Tua has been out the Dolphins have looked like their heart is gone and maybe it is. Nothing about their offense resembles the team that was the number one passing offense in the NFL last season. Now they’re hoping Tua’s potential return in week 8 will somehow be the spark.
Yes, the Miami offense looks absolutely terrible without Tua under center. You can even claim that their offense hasn’t been at full strength without key playmakers such as Odell Beckham Jr, Terron Armstead, and Raheem Mostert. Still, there’s a bigger problem in Miami and it starts with coaching. When the Dolphins are winning, head coach Mike McDaniel is all fun and games, he’s joking with reporters, he’s got a swagger about him, and he’s the leader this team needs.
Flip the coin over and it’s a different story. What we haven’t seen out of McDaniel is how he rallies when the team is mentally out of a game. The one game that stands out against that concern was in 2022 against the Baltimore Ravens but since then we’ve rarely been treated to that kind of determination. In a game against the Tennessee Titans, the Dolphins couldn’t get anything going and everyone saw it on not only his face but the faces of the players. It’s obvious this team needs their leaders to lead in times of adversity, not just when they’re winning games.
But let’s go back to the offense for a second. Tua went out with a concussion against the Buffalo Bills midway through the game and even still there was no time in that game or the previous one that the Dolphins held a lead. They still haven’t. Again people will point out no Mostert and OBJ, but what about the guys Miami does have?
Why is it that Julian Hill and Durham Smythe are being used more than TE Jonnu Smith who was supposed to be the big playmaking tight end the Dolphins acquired in the offseason? Why does De’Von Achane only average 3.1 ypc when at the height of his success last year he was 12ypc and finished with 7+ ypc?
Something is broken with the Miami Dolphins offense and we can’t just lay it all at the feet of Tua Tagovailoa’s success. Yes, his return should spark the offense and rally the troops, but what happens late in the season when injuries start happening again? We saw it at the end of last season as it got closer to the playoffs. Injuries happen, especially with the turn of the weather.
If GM Chris Grier is naive enough to think this roster will survive them late in the season based on what we’ve saw so far, then Stephen Ross needs to consider his position with the team. If your backups aren’t getting it done early in the season, they won’t come the playoffs should the team make it. Sitting on your hands, hoping it will get better when your QB1 is back is a recipe for disaster.
