I’m not going to use one game stat to make any points in this article. I feel stats are utterly unnecessary, we all watched and saw how our team just looked like it didn’t belong on the same field as the Kansas City Chiefs. The fact is, this team did belong, they just don’t know how to perform like they do. I can’t lie to you, it absolutely killed me to watch QB C.J. Stroud play a whale of a game against the #1 defense in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns. Of course it matters that Stroud did this at home, and we’re also well aware that our own Miami Dolphins should have been playing at home. This team showed no urgency, no alarm, no significant worry about not maintaining the home field advantage, so much so in fact, I was kind of lulled into thinking they had some crazy game plan prepared to take down the Chiefs. No, that clearly wasn’t the case as we witnessed our offense look more like the NFL’s worst offense the Carolina Panthers instead the #1 offense, The Miami Dolphins, with 401 yards per game and 61 total TD’s, both tops in the NFL.
So who gets the blame here? I think it’s clear that mastermind Mike McDaniel has a whole lot of work to do. The best coaches adjust on the fly, if the gameplan isn’t working, they make incremental changes and figure out a way to exploit what the defense is doing. We saw nothing. I know the Chiefs have a good defense, but they’re not that good. If I didn’t see Chiefs WR Rashee Rice running wild last night, Isiah Pacheco running over, around and through our defenders, I’d think maybe it was just really poor footing, but I’m pretty sure the Chiefs were playing on the same field we were, and they had no issue. Our Head Coach, offensive genius just didn’t look so smart against any of the better NFL teams. This is a huge concern, because I think the problem is twofold. Usually, an offense is going to go as far as your QB, and while QB Tua Tagovailoa had some brilliant games this season, not one of them were against winning teams. As much confidence as HC Mike McDaniel has in Tua, he has not rewarded his coach once by really stepping up in a big game.
As I was attempting to sleep last night, all these thoughts flooded my frustrated and tortured mind. What can we do to make this offense work against better teams? What could we get in the offseason that can improve this offense? Some obvious ones are finding a LT that can stay on the field the whole season. We’re going to need an OC as well. While Liam Eichenberg filled in admirably showing tons of guts playing through his calf injury, he’s not the guy going forward. RG Robert Hunt is a Free Agent, as is OC Connor Williams. LT Terron Armstead has a $24M dead cap hit, so we’re likely going to have to live with him missing loads of playing time. Oh, did I mention we’re $42M OVER THE CAP right now? DID I mention we have a 1st RD pick and 2nd RD pick and then don’t choose again until RD 5?
Hey, by the way, did I mention that on defense, CB Xavien Howard who should be toast next season has a $27M dead cap hit? Oh, and did I mention that neither OLB Jaelan Phillips or OLB Bradley Chubb will likely be ready to play at the start of the season, and Andrew Van Ginkel is a Free Agent? DE/OLB Emmanuel Ogbah has a $17M cap hit, but only a $4M dead cap hit. Seems like an easy decision to let him go except for the fact that we have no OLB’s. Oh, hey, did I tell you that DE Christian Wilkins is a Free Agent? I know we’re going to find a way to sign him, and it’s possible we can somehow re-sign Andrew Van Ginkel as well, but the cap is going to kill us next season, so we’re going to have to be very creative finding ways to help this team
This team desperately needs a well rounded TE. We need a TE that can block, catch the ball, and have the athleticism to provide run after the catch ability. No offense to Durham Smythe, but he’s a #2 TE, he’s not that guy. You look at our receivers, WR’s and TE’s as a group, and we’re small, we’re not physical, and that needs to change. Tyreek Hill is phenomenal, Jaylen Waddle has showed he can do damage when Hill is out, but our Tyreek Centric Offense relies waaaay too much on #10. Our entire RB room is returning next season, I think we’re fine there. I’d love to see them work Chris Brooks into the offense more, but Mostert, Achane, Wilson and Brooks will all be under contract next season. Wr is a different story. We have Hill, Waddle and Wilson, after that, we’re in trouble. Only WR Erik Ezukanma returns and he has been quite a disappointment.
Back to the defense for a moment. LB Jerome Baker is still under contract, a bit of a heavy $14.87M, but our defense was better with him, and I think he’s one of the most underrated and under appreciated players on our defense. David Long was excellent, better than advertised. Duke Riley played so well when he first replaced Baker, but then teams exploited him, and he’s a 2nd string and ST’s guy, so we do need ILB help and of course, help at OLB with our injury situation. We simply cannot rely on CB Xavien Howard. I think Howard has been on the decline physically for a while now, and to add to our misfortune, our 2nd RD pick CB Cam Smith has given us no indication that he could ever be starting player. That’s a HUGE miss right there! In addition, one of my favorite guys, CB Nik Needham is not the same since his injury, and to add salt into the wound, Kader Kohou who showed so much promise last season was not up to the task this season and was exposed and picked on so often this season with great success.
I’m sure Tyreek will cooperate and restructure and get paid up front with signing bonuses to give us some cap relief, and if we do sign Tua, we can structure his 2024 salary friendly to the cap. Then there’s Ogbah and Baker, and we might have to do something for the cap with those guys, either release, or restructure. Regardless of all the cap machinations, we’re not going to be flush with money, and we have a lot of holes to fill, and some huge players that need to be re-signed, none bigger than #94 Christian Wilkins. You can’t let him go, he’s a Dolphins lifer! We drafted him in RD 1 and has been the best 1st RD pick in a long time! He’s been better every single year, and has been All Pro worthy last season and this season.
Back to Tua. It’s crazy to me that the normal thing to do here is to reward him with a $50M per year contract. There are so many signs that tell you not to. He just can’t play up to the level of the competition he faces. It’s not just occasionally, it’s EVERY-SINGLE-GAME! Please don’t throw out the 3rd game of the season in ’22 where we beat the Ravens 42-38. The Ravens had numerous injuries in the secondary and they just couldn’t match up. No, the Ravens just a few short weeks ago showed us the real Ravens defense, and Tua couldn’t compete. We have never seen a big game from him against a good team when we desperately needed one. He just can’t carry the team, and even worse, he can’t even keep us in a game we could win. He lead the NFL in passing, feasting, really feasting on an awful Broncos team early in the season. I’d bet if we played them Week 15, the game would be entirely different. They were a mess, and he had season’s worth of offense in that game.
There are just too many instances of both our QB, and our Head Coach not being able to match up against better teams. Some feel it will happen eventually. Me, I think I consider myself a pretty realistic person. I think some guys are just built to be winners. Probably not his fault, but I think Tua has been conditioned now to make sure to live another day. I think Josh Allen would lose a limb to win. I think Joe Burrow is the same. I think the guy who so many compare to Tua as a better player, (Justin Herbert), is also NOT a winner. He may have the arm of Elway, but he doesn’t have the heart of Elway. Again, I don’t want to blame Tua for not leaving it all on the field, I think his coaches have made him this way, to preserve his health and availability, but that’s also not going to win you a lot of games either. 4th and 1 and you’re scrambling and you can dive head first for the marker and take a hit or slide a yard short, Tua is sliding my friends. Even in a playoff game.
In summation here, it’s not a bright outlook. Instead of this team growing and improving, it’s not unrealistic to see us take a step back. We don’t have enough picks, and I don’t even have confidence we hit on the ones we have, because lately, we’ve been downright awful. In 2023, we hit big on RB De’Von Achane, our 2nd of only 4 picks in this draft. The others, 2nd RD pick Cam Smith seems like a miss, and then 6th RD pick WR Elijah Higgins is gone but 7th RD pick OT Ryan Hayes is on our practice squad. In 2022, once again with only 4 picks, none of them have showed starting potential. LB Channing Tindall is a ST’s guy who has played 99% of his snaps on ST’s. That’s a 3rd RD pick! 4th RD WR Erik Ezukanma who I previously brought up has shown zero.Two 7th RD picks LB Cameron Goode who is injured and has been mostly a ST’s guy as well as QB Skylar Thompson, who has been relegated to 3rd string QB. Once again, we go in to the 2024 Draft with 6 picks, but besides our 1st and 2nd RD picks (RD 1 #23), (RD2 #56), we have to wait 100 more picks, all the way to RD 5 #156 for our next pick. Then it’s #185 in RD 6 and again at #201 in RD 6. Our last pick is #240 in RD 7. Very little draft capital thanks to trades and our fucking team owner Stephen Ross who tampered with both Sean Payton and Tom Brady so we lost our 2023 1st RD pick and our 3rd RD pick in the 2024 Draft. Grier has his work cut out for him, as does Head Coach Mike McDaniel to find a way to have this offense humming, even when we play a good team.
Finsmob Unleashed 
First
Dammit MikeE, you’re gonna make me want to repost all that other shit. lol
LOL, sorry bud!
DL is another BIG one we have to address. Only DL under contract for 2024 are Zach Seiler and Ogbah. THAT’S IT.
Fuck a Tua extension. We HAVE to resign Wilkins. Pay the man and push it forward. In his 5 seasons he has 355 tackles, 20.5 sacks (9 this season), 4 FF, 19 PD’s with 1 INT.
There are some good DL out there but many we can’t afford unless we don’t resign Wilkins. If we resign him, I like (for depth), Browns Jordan Elliott and Raiders Adam Butler. Also, maybe Browns Maurice Hurst or Cardinals Leki Fotu.
I think Butler could give us some quality time and really spell Wilkins and Seiler.
Then, we also could resign Davis also.
Damn, hate when I use also twice in one sentence. lol
I have to go to next county to do a bond. I will read when I get back. Quick scan tells me we are thinking about the same thing this morning.
Thanks again!
Well that was a rough end to the season
I don’t know where to start his off-season. I like the way our team was built. I believed in our team.
watching the offense go from unstoppable to lucky to score twice over the last few weeks was tough to stomach. I think that’s the starting point
What did teams do that the dolphins failed to adjust to?
Why didn’t you adjust?
Was it personnel?
Everything else takes a back seat until we figure that out. We need to be the powerful offense that out up 70 points vs the broncos. Nothing really works unless we figure that out. To change that dramatically over the course of the season is unheard of
I don’t think injuries were to blame for that dramatic change
Thanks to Mike E and his wife Dana for hosting last night
Thanks for coming Hulk! Too bad the NE mini-Fest couldn’t bring us a dub!
Keep the faith. It feels dark right now but 4 consecutive winning seasons and 2 consecutive playoff appearances. It’s trending the right way. It doesn’t feel like that right now but it is. Now we just need to get over the playoff hump.
I think that’s true
But the problem is the way the season has been ending, especially the last 2
I think on offense maybe more of a classic drop back, read the defense and fire offense instead of the first read and fire under 2 seconds might help a lot
Watch the tape of Tua in his rookie season – watch the AZ game
I think Tua can be successful in a offense that’s a little more
Traditional
I like the offense mcdaniel designed. I wouldn’t throw it away. But I would probably think of implementing traditional passing concepts instead
If essentially having Tua throw to a spot
Teams took away the middle of the field and we didn’t have an answer for it
We have to expand our route tree which is too heavily dependent upon in cuts. We need a legit receiving TE
I don’t think it’s so much the route tree or the TE position
I think it’s the style of offense designed to be quick strike, one read
I saw a tweet that Kurt Warner posted saying some
Thing like Tua is playing too fast and I can see that
That’s the design of the offense
Our TEs have really helped us on those outside runs
If we had a TE like Gesicki, I think we regress as a running team
Maybe there’s a perfect TE that can do it all but more often than not at the position, it’s pick your poison blocking or receiving.
I think you can find a TE capable of doing both
Finding a TE that does both is easier said than done. If it was easy, we’d have one.
Great article Mike!
You hit the nail on the head. I feel for Grier because I think the trade for Tyreek was necessary. He’s the entire reason our offense hasn’t been outed earlier as smoke and mirrors garbage. If he’s smart, and I think he is since he’s lasted so long, he starts to hoard those draft picks so that we can move on in 2025. Talking about moving on;
I don’t think a more traditional offense helps Tua because I don’t think he can process fast enough to benefit from it. Primarily because he’s scared of getting hit after his previous injuries. McDaniel didn’t stick with a one read speed offense just because he’s not creative, it’s because it’s all Tua can handle. Tua had far less ints but not a lot of TDs or yards with the traditional offense. He equaled his output from his first two years combined this year. He’s just not good enough which is common in such a specialized job. No need for excuses but there is a need for reality. We don’t have the draft capital to benefit this year but Grier needs to be ready by the 2025 draft.
McDaniel is my question mark. Is he any good? Did he really learn from Shanahan or was he just a guy that benefitted? Demeco looks like the best coach from the Shanahan tree and it’s not even close. I’m also tired of the quips and quirky mumbo jumbo talk after seeing the team get shredded so damn often. Reporters and analysts, all year talked about the Miami Mirage and if the talk brought any form of a chip, I didn’t see the results. This team was pretty awful by the time Game 18 finished. Will he learn from it or was this just a cool stop on his journey? Because it’s time for him to step up.
Nice write up Mike E!
Another year down the drain. There’s no hope in me for next year like there was last year. They shit the bed with their “franchise” QB in there til the end. That was the excuse last year. What’s this year’s excuse gonna be?
The team as whole was falling apart down the stretch. Not an excuse, just the reality.
The offense is only thing that fell apart. Or should I say disappeared. It’s soft and that starts at QB. I’m sure they are saying they will get better for next time.
McDaniel is to blame too. Just wonder if it’s him working with what he has at QB or he’s too cute and thinks he’s some genius. Well, the better teams don’t have a problem exposing either one.
With our loss and Texans win, our 1st round pick went up to #23. If the Rams beat the Lions today, we will move up to pick #22 and if that happens and Steelers beat the Bills, we will pick at #21.
I believe we could even pick before Tampa and GB. We will have less losses but if they advance farther in the playoffs, it negates that. So, we could pick as high as #19.
Come on underdogs!
Mike E — you just jumped us into the off season at Warp speed. But a lot of focus is on Tua. Even if he slid at the end…. his stats were top-notch this season. All they have to do is line him up behind center on his 5th year option.
“The National Football League is in “advanced talks” with ESPN to gain an equity stake in the cable network, according to media reports. In return, ESPN would control NFL Media, including the NFL Network, RedZone, NFL.com, NFL Films and NFL+” — that would be interesting if they came to a final deal.
Ewww, I hate that actually. Why the fuck would anyone want ESPN controlling the media? They’re awful, I never watch ESPN, ever! I also think ESPN has really fallen off from what it once thought it could be, when Chris Berman and Scott Van Pelt were the shit. Now they’re just shit IMO.
Nice write, Mike. I think we’re all hurting right now, even our most positive board members, at how we ended the season.
Some of my ‘end of season’ thoughts:
We have a lot of questions going into next year, starting with what our team is going to look like since we have so many FAs and cap decisions to make.
I like the direction our defense is going, injuries are a legit excuse for the end of season performance of our D. You can’t lose all your edge rushers and expect to perform at the same level- you are forced to change the entire way you play the game.
We were near the bottom of the league in using the blitz all season because of the strength of our 4 man pass rush. We saw against the Chiefs, we had to blitz all game to create pressure because when we didn’t Mahomes had too much time and picked us apart. Throw in Eli Apple instead of Howard, and I think it’s impressive we held the Chiefs to under 30.
From a defensive standpoint, that game might have played out entirely different if Chubb, Phillips, AVG, and Howard are in there. I think we’re going to be OK on D, regardless of how the offseason plays out.
But in today’s league, unfortunately, the defense is really not remotely as important as the offense when it comes to being a contender. We still have a lot of unanswered questions on offense, starting with our QB and HC.
Personally, I feel we have our answer about Tua. He is in a system built specifically to prop him up, hide his weaknesses, use his strengths, and maximize his abilities…and he came up short in his play again and again against the teams we need to beat.
I think Tua is a solid mid-tier QB, and if everything is perfect- we have a top end D, stay healthy and things play out right, we might be able to make a deep playoff run with him. I think he gives us as good or a better chance than any FA QB we could sign…but I’m not paying him 40+ mil this offseason. If he’ll take in the neighborhood of 30 and a 3 year contract, I’d do that for the cap relief and because of the window we’re in right now. I’m not giving him 5 yrs at 40+ mil.
We find ourselves in a tough position, because our lack of draft picks. Either we take a flyer on a mid to late rd QB to hope can develop, or we use a top draft pick on a QB to sit a year under Tua. I just don’t see us using that top pick on a QB because we have a team built to win now and we need to add some cheaper pieces.
So I think we really have no choice but to roll with Tua again next year either with a smaller extension or on his 5th year (I still think we play him on the 5th year).
McD has some issues too but I feel a lot more confident about him as our HC. We haven’t made the playoffs two years in a row in like 20 years. McD has changed the culture and our expectations. I have questions about the limitations of the offense we’re running right now, but I don’t know how much of that is McD’s offense, and/or how much is the offense being built around Tua (meaning maybe the limitations are based on what is required for the QB).
I have a lot more to say about McD, but this post has already run long, so I’ll leave it with this. I’m not even thinking anywhere remotely about McD only having a year or two to prove himself, or anything of that nature. In my mind, McD is easily the best coach we’ve had since Jimmy, and him not being our HC anytime soon isn’t even on my radar.
That was a great doctoral thesis…. and I agree with pretty much all of it. I really like McDaniels and we’ve made the playoffs two years in a row. Not quite time to break out the lifeboats.
lol
Even with the disappointment of our season’s end and the emotion of all that, I have really enjoyed being relevant again this season.
Teams figures out how to defend us due to the QB not being able to zip it outside the numbers. We saw it so much the last half of the season. Those 15-20 in routes to Tyreek having to squeeze the ball in with 3-4 defenders there. They know Tua can’t zip it outside the numbers and they play softer out there but crowd the middle of the field.
Don’t think it is MM. He knows what his QB can and can’t do.
I feel there’s a lot of truth in that. Still, it’s his job to change it up when the defense is keying on those things. Ken and I were discussing Tua’s arm a lot last night, i think he has an average arm, he thinks Tua’s arm is as good as Burrow’s. Some QB’s throw touch passes well, and some QB’s passes almost all look like touch passes. He definitely doesn’t have the arm talent to throw to the outside with enough pace to avoid a pick six. On the other hand, double moves, like fake to the inside which they will expect, and then go back outside will hurt the defense if they’re sitting on the in routes. The reason almost every pass is a timing route is to make up for Tua’s arm talent. If he’s throwing it to a predetermined spot early, that’s almost like throwing when you see a guy open, which Tua can’t do if the coverage is tight. By the time he sees the guy, he doesn’t have the arm to get the ball there. That’s a problem.
I also think we have to more physical running the ball, it can’t solely be off the edges, we have to run the ball in between the tackles too to keep a defense honest. I think a big part of this was losing Connor Williams who is much more physical run blocking than Eich. I hate being such a finesse team in general. I love utilizing speed, speed kills, but when the defense takes it away, you have to be able to make them pay by running the ball down their throat.
That’s basically what I think too
But there’s gotta be a counter to defenses crowding the middle of the field
I don’t think a TE fixes that. A TE working the middle of the field is just going to allow defenses to crowd the middle more
Damned good drive by GB to start the game.
I didn’t realize Love was top rated QB the last 7 weeks of the season.
I could probably name one of the worst rated QB’s over the last 7 weeks. lol
😂😭
It’s starting to look like Buffalo v Pitt won’t play tomorrow either
The winner is going to have to play on a short week
And here we go …
Winnipeg..
Wind chills: Minus 40 to minus 55.
Time span: Ongoing through Tuesday.
Remarks: An arctic air mass continues to bring dangerously cold temperatures to the region. The extreme cold, combined with winds of 15 to 30 km/h, will result in wind chill values ranging from minus 40 to minus 55 at times over the coming days.
Heck of a play by Love
Piggy, you can have a TE that can stay near the LOS and block, and then go out into the flat and help the QB. Smythe does that, but he doesn’t really have the run after catch ability that I’d like for us. He gets caught easily and will get taken down by a defensive back. I see TE’s all around the NFL making short catches and then knocking guys down and getting yardage. We really need a physical receiver, we don’t have one on the roster. Reek and Waddle are too small for that. They’re both elusive, but not like a Deebo Samuel. I think we can find a TE easier than a Deebo Samuel, but we’ll see.
I can’t believe they called that holding on 74 against Parsons. They should have called it sexual assault.
I think MM is a better coach than the last mad genius we had , Gase, but they both seem to have their I will run this play until we are successful or fall on my sword when it doesn’t play.. Gase was sweeps , especially on 3-1,3-2 usually for a loss.. MM seems to like the behind LOS we screen .. this play seems more likley to be jumped for a pick 6 or ruled a lateral for a fumble return TD than a successful play.. Both coaches bail on the Running game on a regular basis..
I really hope MM can learn and grow from this years short comings, unfortunately we won’t in until next year season starts 🤷♂️🤔
Kong,
Great novella and I agree with you but wish Part 2 had been included. Driving up anticipation I see.
I’m not nearly as high on McD because I don’t know how much of this O was tailored for Tua specifically, and how much was what he wants to run. Obviously, a lot of it was for Tua but how would he gameplan with another QB? No one knows and so I can’t be as high without that knowledge. Sure, his stats look great but when you dissect them, winning coaches beat us most of the time. Moreso this year after our offense was figured out. I didn’t see any real adjustments. Did you? Maybe I just missed them. I don’t know but this offense was the second-best unit and he’s the guy running it. I will say that almost beating Buffalo last year with Skylar running the show is a huge positive for him as was beating 4 teams with a winning record last year. But that almost makes it look like we regressed this year.
Piggy , yes .. I saw yesterday Smythe caught a ball was a yard short of first down and was tackled without much of an effort to get away from tackler .. at the time I thought it was a pretty weak attempt on his behalf
Oops sorry , MIKE E .. your new avatar confuses me
I’m confused as well. lol
It’s SAD Dolphin time though. 😦
Mike, I don’t have the energy to read the article because we’re all bummed out and I don’t want relive it right now. But I’m sure it’s marvelous. 🙂
We’ll all get over it and start focusing on the offseason. I’m not exactly sure what we’re going to do because I thought we had a good roster before all the injuries. So no matter what we do in the offseason if a lot of good players go down it will be the same situation.
That said, I do expect quite a bit of turnover for lots of reasons; contracts we can move on from, players getting up there in age and we need upgrades at some positions.
Just read it! Don’t be a puss puss! lol
😂
I think MM was trying to counter the crowding of the middle of the field with the screens and outside pitch plays but that didn’t work.
Agreed, KC has a really good defense.
It wasn’t working in most of the games over the last few weeks
Because we lost our potent running game. Most of the OL we were rolling with were not 100% and some are not starting caliber. Our passing game is not built to carry the offense. It lives off the run game. That’s why our offense was so much better than last year.
GB fired up.
Aaron Rodgers is sitting at home on his couch wearing his Jets jersey watching GB in the playoffs and having a karma moment.
😂
This game looks like Dolphins vs Ravens so far.
Ouch
Tim, yes this turnover will be interesting.
On offense we need some upgrades on the OL and at TE. On defense our Edge position is in a bind with injuries, but the talent is there. We do need better LBs and depth in the secondary. I expect us to re-sign Wilkins.
Wow
GB making our win over Dallas look not so great.
Well I work with a Dallas fan , so a Green Bay beat down of Dallas will make MY day a little easier, until the Ravens fan driver shows up …
Excuses. Every year that’s all we are left with
Well so are 31 other teams 🤷♂️, doesn’t make it any easier ..
New Age,
LOL @ ‘Driving up anticipation I see’.
There are a few reasons I’m very high on McD. First, let me say, I agree about what appears to be lack of adjustments this season. You can look at our big games this year, and in most cases, we were worse offensively in the 2nd half, including a couple of 2nd half shutouts. I don’t recall if we had the same issues last year (if memory serves, I believe we actually talked about our 2nd half adjustments last year as being a strength), but I do think our QB is the real reason behind those issues this year.
I think McD has done a great job working with what he has. I saw dramatic improvement in a couple of areas we were flat out bad at last year- specifically clock management and the play calling process which cost us the game last year in Buffalo.
We’ve also built an offense that was able to overcome the loss and continual reshuffling of our offensive line. We lost our starting C, starting LG, our RG for half the season, our LT in and out all the time, we had like 16 different starting oline combinations and we just kept plugging along. I wonder how good this run game could have been if we’d started the same 5 olinemen all year like the Bills did. Again, for me this goes back to McD working with what he has.
But, the real reason McD is my coach for the foreseeable future is because from the very start he has lifted this organization out of the dregs of the league for the first time in more than a decade. For me, it’s an easy decision to give him 5 years to see what he can continue to build.
A perennially good team has to have a good organization in place, and needs stability, and we’ve had a series of clown shows in place for too long. Even with all the on field issues we’ve talked about, we did put up a top seasonal offense, a top seasonal defense, in the offseason he got the defensive coordinator he went after instead of being embarrassed like has happened to this org a few times (thinking of things liek Harbaugh and Fisher).
We’ve been kind of a joke org in recent memory, but I feel in two years McD has put a quality organization in place, built a culture of winning and we’re a destination players and coaches will consider and not just use us to get paid by the team they really want to go to.
He’s still young, he still has a lot to learn, we still need to improve in a lot of areas. But I feel pretty good about some of the things I saw him improve on going into this season. I’m excited to see how he improves going into next season. I wouldn’t be surprised if we take a step back next year with a tougher schedule, but I still anticipate being a playoff team.
All JMO of course. Cheers, Bro!
Nice!! Well said!!
🍻
And how about this GB/ Dallas game? Love has been fantastic and Dak is exactly who he’s always been- the new Tony Romo.
Cav , good points for the most part..
Clock management yesterday was not good though .. we were commenting in game that down by that much , snapping the ball with 3 secs left on play clock or less when clock running consistently was silliness
Yeah, I’m talking overall this season. Last season, I commented on it all year, how we were wasting time outs because the clock would run down, and we seemed to have issues getting the play call in. It ended up costing us in the Buffalo playoff game. It hasn’t been an issue this year. Yesterday, for some reason we didn’t go into hurry up until it was under two minutes- it pissed me off too. I don’t know wtf that was about, but it wasn’t procedural inability because we’ve shown no problems with that all year.
Kong – you’re so right about McDaniel. I know lots of fans who say they wish they had McDaniel. Can’t say I know any that say they wish they had Tua though. Just speaking true, not getting on Tua
Yep, like I mentioned earlier, letting McD go isn’t even remotely in my thinking, and won’t be for a few years at the very least.
Brandon Aubrey was amazing this year, helped me win my FF title. Just missed an extra point, although it was a 43 yard extra point. 😆
Twice in this game a Dallas pass rusher took one step, after the pass was thrown, then pushed Love to the ground and no roughing the passer was called
Exact same thing Wilkins called called for
Do home teams get the calls in the playoffs or what
To all of y’all and Coach McDaniel (I hope he’s watched this),
Kurt Warner has some really good points in the video below. He’s breaking down some of our Offensive woes from last evening what with play-design and route-trees.
I consider this to be a free education, truly… and I think most of y’all will be able to understand the hiccups with our passing game.
Just keep this in mind: our Offense is designed to get the ball out QUICKLY (I personally believe it’s to mask our O-Line deficiencies, not Tua’s deficiencies)…
I’m still disgusted.
I like McDaniel but…I think maybe his demeanor with the players might need to change a bit. It’s like he’s their buddy. Yes, they love him. But sometimes I think a coach needs to get after them if they aren’t doing what they need to be, Tua included. Maybe he does? It’s not what the story line has been though.
This is equally as good, from Kurt Warner…
A lot of play calls were do to us not being able to block the Chiefs front 7.
You know what that means, right? We’ve got to address the O-Line again this Draft. I don’t have a problem with that at all, as I think it’s very evident. That, and T-Stead isn’t going to last much longer.
Exactly! We had a good group to start the season and it lasted less than half a season.
I fucking hate losing.
Ok, my post wasn’t posted. Can we not curse anymore? 🤬
Post it again! I want to hear what you have to say
I took care of it. I don’t think we have any kind of setting to prevent that. But WordPress has been crazy this year with changes so who knows?
I have cursed a bunch this past week, so yes. Sometimes my posts don’t post either.
MikeE,
I’m still in my 24 hour after game period when I’m allowed to act like a 13 year old! Lol
Oh, you have mote than 24 hours. You have the entire off-season. 😆
Tim Knight says:
January 14, 2024 at 7:55 pm
Exactly! We had a good group to start the season and it lasted less than half a season.
————-
I think you and I are on the EXACT same wavelength, Bro.
I think the OL did an amazing job despite all the injuries. Our offense didn’t sputter because of poor OL play- it did so because of poor play calling and poor overall play by the offense. It
Herd,
I know nothing about WordPress other than I have to click on a “W” to post something. Thanks. I’d hate to have that pearl go unread! Lol
No problem. I fully agree with it. 🤣
Yes, but sometimes that “w” doesn’t come up, so you’re unable to post. I usually close out the tab a few times and give it a bit and then it works.
Ya know, for all the changes the OL went through, I thought they actually played okay this year. I’m not saying there weren’t issues because there definitely were, but I saw plenty of games where the OL was getting their job done. I saw MM stop running way too often. I saw Tua moving around in the pocket like a slug.
***
We hear a litany of excuses for the skill players every year, but the OL still taking a swift kick in the ass! Nothing ever changes.
I don’t blame the O-line for this loss at all
Excuses.
Are we gonna sit around and wait for something to magically happen just like we did with RT17?
Brian in NY says:
January 14, 2024 at 8:25 pm
I think the OL did an amazing job despite all the injuries. Our offense didn’t sputter because of poor OL play- it did so because of poor play calling and poor overall play by the offense.
————–
I agree with this in general. However, we must remember that Tua had the quickest release time of all QBs this past season: that masked a lot of O-Line trouble.
Who was it who famously stated that he only needed “speed bumps” (O-Line) out there for his QB… who then had the NFL’s quickest release time? Bill Belicheat*
Then when shit got REAL (see the G-Men beating the Patsies* twice in the Super Bowl), his O-Line wasn’t really shit.
We ran into a top-3 NFL Defense last night and our O-Line got EXPOSED.
Only reason Tua wasn’t sacked more often last night? He had to go with his first read almost all night. That Chefs* DF7 is SAVAGE.
I think we still need some better structure and maybe playing lots of combinations of OL leads to structure issues. We had 11 drives and 13 first downs. We actually had more drives than KC did. That’s terrible. Especially in the first half when the game was still close, we seemed to have a drive killing penalty every drive.
And we don’t seem good enough to get past those penalties. Shula prided himself on not beating himself. This team beat itself every game it lost, and no one stepped up to stop the bleeding. That’s probably my biggest indictment of Tua. He’s just not a leader. Tyreek said they needed to carry this loss all offseason because losing isn’t fun. Tua just said they needed better communication.
MikeE,
I was just representing for the fatties up front! ( . )
🤣
M13,
It’s also possible that MM designed an offense around quick throws to the middle of the field because that all our QB can do.
***
Every time Tua throws a pass over 10-15 yards to the sideline, I have time to go get a drink, come back and sit down and watch the ball sail out of bounds.
Lollipop thows
That’s the only weakness I can detect in Tua’s game… he hasn’t a laser arm. Yet, he was top-5 in every relevant QB stat this past season.
And he played both of last season’s Super Bowl teams (Eaglets and Chefs*), the Bills twice (who knows… maybe they make it to the Super Bowl this season), one of the hottest NFL teams in the Cowboys this season, and of course… perhaps the now Super Bowl favorites… the Ravens.
He led the NFL in passing yards this season. That isn’t a fluke, even though he’s a Dolphin.
^ That was a joke, see. Double-meaning. Get it? Fluke? Dolphin? 😉
Too bad DJ Fluker didn’t work out for us, myeah! 😉
M13,
Patrick Mahomesmelly was the passing yards leader in 2022, and he was the first ever to go on to win a SB.
Is that right? Interesting. Didn’t realize that. Still can’t stand Mahomesmelly either!
He’s the biggest CRYBABY since Tom Brady, seriously.
As our O-Line got decimated by injury, so did our running game… which we really needed last evening.
That’s exactly what killed our offense. This team is not done being built. So we’re only a top 14 team. It’s better than not being in the playoffs. 🙂
^^^
https://brobible.com/sports/article/willie-snead-tua-soft/
They know.
You know what though, Willie Snead can go scratch his ass. Sounds like he’s jelly to me. Snead sucks!!
Lol, he does but he’s not wrong.
Gotta run. I think ALL of y’all bring up very good points as to what happened with our season collapse. It was collective, not individual, IMO. Yes, plenty of blame to go around and nobody is 100% without blame… from the coaching, to the gameplan, to the players, to the execution.
All I see are solutions, not problems. We’re not going away in 2024!!!
GO PHINS!!!
HELL YEAH!!!
Not everything can be perfect. QB needs to be able to improvise, create, and have toughness. Make a play when you need it most. I just don’t see it.
That’s the biggest knock from me on Tua
He can’t take urins and beat hisins
Nice write up Mike, it was a tough loss for me. I thought we’d me more competitive. The weather was a factor but I don’t think it effected the results.
Why do you think we lose to better teams? Coaching, players? I know it’s the combination of both. I personally think coaching is the bigger problem. I like MM, but I feel like we’re getting out-coached.
Look at that hit late on Stafford and we get 2 wimpy roughing calls
Fuck you nfl
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nfl-wild-card-takeaways-mike-mccarthy-probably-done-jordan-love-just-getting-started/ar-AA1mY4pE?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=487b5b9463cf47c7b7d37d1cfcf53ee8&ei=13
Decent article about the weekend. Another person that thinks Tua is holding us back because he’s a low tier NFL starter with no ability to elevate an offense when needed. Our Alex Smith, Garrapolo, or even Ryan Tannehill 2.
I think Alex Smith is a perfect comparison, not necessarily their respective games, but what they are and where they slot into the QB hierarchy.
What’s the Barry Jackson stat?
71 possessions in 7 games against playoff teams
12 TD
10 turnovers
Thats pretty pathetic.
Congrats Coach Campbell!!
Good game!
Congrats to Detroit. Those fans deserve some success.
Fins now hold longest playoff win drought. We’ll deserved! Lol
This year we were undefeated in our throwbacks. I think the answer to all our problems is pretty obvious and staring us right in the face…
I didn’t watch any football yesterday. I knew the context around playing in KC (and even more defensive injuries) and didn’t think we had much of a chance … but once the game starts, all the Hope returns …
… just to feel that massive drop again.
Since it is time for season postmortems:
1. Most important storyline – every team has injuries, but no other playoff team had the level of injuries Miami did … losing Phillips was a tough loss, but, one could argue, that is on par with what many playoff teams lose along the way. But then also Chubb, AVG, Baker, X, Holland, and Waddle/Mostert (with division title on the line). Our LB core was obliterated. Playoff football has more often than not been about Def and Running, probably BECAUSE of the cold weather.
2. O-line got healthier, but Conor Williams was our only legit C on the roster. Eich was being “that guy” who will do whatever the team needs, but he’s not a center. This is still a position that needs to be addressed, even if from a depth perspective.
3. Tua: 2 seasons ago, he was “reckless” and missed the end of the season. Off season he “learned how to protect himself” … and as many here have said, the aggressiveness could have been helpful. Will he find the balance, based on situation (game 4 of reg season vs last play of the season).
4. Road playoff games? We had a chance to host as much as two home playoff games. Tenn game did come back to haunt us… when we still had many of the defensive guys that we lost over the next 3 games. Other than the win at home vs Cowboys, we had another miserable Dec/Jan 2-4 last 6 games.
Solutions:
1. how do we stay healthy. Our ‘healthy’ front 7 is an outstanding unit.
2. It might be time to ‘sell high’ on X. Even healthy, he looks older than 30.
3. OL still needs a “next level up” … we got a couple guys starting who are high level backup/rotational guys. OL DID play better, but, like the team as a whole, those great games weren’t against top defenses.
4. Tua – no matter what we the fans say, he won’t be going anywhere. A statistically top 3 QB overall during regular season … that doesn’t fall off the back of a truck. With our “all in” payroll, it is too risky to switch from a 4,600 yard QB. They will continue to build the offense around Tua’s game.
5. Get home field playoff game!! Especially since the other top AFC teams are all cold weather teams who play outside.
Spent a little time looking at cap situation … and the only way out of this cap hell is to get some restructures and some ‘home team’ discounts.
Arguments can be made for most position rooms, but DL and IOL are far and away the two priorities. We have a ton of $ in skill positions …
#1 priority: Wilkins, hands down.
#2 priority: IOL gotta keep Williams or Hunt, maybe both. But one for sure. If I had to choose just one, I’d say Williams because he is comparatively better at C than Hunt is at G, in terms of difficulty to replace.
AVG has shown his value … I hope he’d give Fins a home team discount.
I agree with all above.
I know, this is strange, but I’m going to defend Tua here from the guy in New Age’s article. Tua wasn’t a mid to bottom tier QB this season, he was a Top 5 QB. Also, insinuating that he’s only playing well with top talent and a system designed for him is trash. Tua was 6-3 in 2020 with 11 TD’s 5 INT’s completing 64% of his passes to a hobbled DeVante Parker, Jakeem Grant, Lynn Bowden Jr., Isaiah Ford and Preston Williams, in a system designed for Ryan Fitzmagic, and a HC that hated him! Where are all these guys today? Suck it douchebag!!!
That is a fair argument. He still can’t throw outside the lines without it being an anticipation throw and can’t make plays with his legs. Watching these other games this weekend after watching our game and these other QB’s throwing lasers outside the numbers really stood out to me.
^
With the GB win we moved up to #22 in the 1st round. If Steelers and Bucs win today we move up to #20.
That’s just it. Watch the playoff games and look at their QBs. You don’t see a difference?
I still like TE Jaheim Bell from FSU (South Carolina before). He has been used in many ways at TE, HB, FB and RB. He’s 6’3 240 and projected to run a 4.54. He is athletic with the ball in his hands. His last year at SC he 73 rushing attempts with 3 TD’s. He didn’t have a big average as he was used like a big, short yardage RB with the exception of a few end arounds. FSU didn’t use him in that way though. Used as a blocker in the run game at FSU.
I hate we don’t have our 3rd round pick because I think he would be available there.
South Carolina
FSU
Plenty of irony in the air.
Dan Campbell, the coach we let go, won to end Detroit’s longest play-off drought whilst simultaneously passing the baton to the fins.
Laremy Tunsil, the subject of the trade which sent at least double figures of pro-bowlers to Miami according to some convoluted internet reports, won a play-off game before any of the players we received.
Karma is indeed a bitch
Where has all the time gone? That was like less than a year after I got back from the first gulf war. Doesn’t seem like it was almost exactly 33 years ago.
Apparently Armstead is contemplating retirement which leaves us with a hole at LT but also might save us a lot of cap room
That would be fantastic for us
That thought has been in the back of my mind almost 2 months now. I was thinking if we won it all (big LOL) that he would probably retire. Must be frustrating for him to know you can play at such a high level but your body won’t let you anymore.
Rhino, I would rather resign Hunt over Connor Williams. Williams is the top UFA center available but there are some others who are good and played really good this last season. Projections are from PFF, so…
Connor Williams, Dolphins – Contract Projection: One year, $6 million, $3 million total guaranteed (I think it will be more).
Andre James, Raiders – Probably resign with Raiders if they hire Pierce as HC. Contract Projection: Three years, $24 million ($8 million per year), $13.33 million total guaranteed
LLoyd Cushenberry III, Broncos – struggled first couple years but last 2 years he has proved to be one of the better pass pro centers in the league. Because of his ability in pass pro, he could end up being the highest paid UFA center.
Aaron Brewer, Titans – quick and athletic for a zone run scheme. Has to get better in pass pro but might be good in our offense getting rid of the ball quickly. Contract Projection: Three years, $20 million ($6.67 million per year), $12 million total guaranteed
Tyler Biadasz, Cowboys – hasn’t lived up to his draft hype but still good. Not sure how good he really though playing on that stud Dallas OL. Contract Projection: Three years, $21 million ($7 million per year), $11 million total guaranteed
There are actually a bunch of UFA centers to look at.
I like the idea of Andre James or Aaron Brewer.
In addition to the list of UFA centers, there are 3 good ones in the draft who could possibly come in and start as rookies.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon – 6’3 320, he seems to have taken over the OC1 spot on most draft boards. Dude is a stud and a bull. Very versatile. Played RG before moving to OC. Also, as a freshman, due to injuries and being short handed, he played 31 snaps starting as a DT in the 2021 Alamo Bowl.
Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia – 6’4 310, First Team All-American by ESPN and Sports Illustrated, recipient of SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, Coaches All-SEC First Team selection.
Zach Frazier, West Virginia – 6’3 310, started in 34 of his 35 games including the last 25 games at OC. In 2023 as a senior Frazier saw action in 12 games and played a total of 806 snaps for the Mountaineers. He allowed 4 QB hurries, 3 QB hits, and no sacks while playing at center.
IMO, the top 2 will be gone by the end of second round. If they go quickly so will Frazier.
An honorable mention with potential to start as a rookie is Beaux Limmer, Arkansas 6’5 302.
I keep hearing some hype about the Michigan center but he just seems really smal for the NFL. Drake Nugent, Michigan, 6’2 300
With the availability of centers via F/A and draft, I don’t see Williams as a priority. Coming off injury though we could get another 1 year prove it deal on the cheaper side. Maybe that is why PFF projected him at 1 year 6 mil.
bailbondmike says:
January 15, 2024 at 10:49 am
With the GB win we moved up to #22 in the 1st round. If Steelers and Bucs win today we move up to #20.
——————
Can’t stress enough how great it would be to select @ #20 in this Draft.
bailbondmike says:
January 15, 2024 at 1:23 pm
In addition to the list of UFA centers, there are 3 good ones in the draft who could possibly come in and start as rookies.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon – 6’3 320, he seems to have taken over the OC1 spot on most draft boards. Dude is a stud and a bull. Very versatile. Played RG before moving to OC. Also, as a freshman, due to injuries and being short handed, he played 31 snaps starting as a DT in the 2021 Alamo Bowl…
————-
Just did a PFF mock draft on Sunday and JPJ was there for us in the 2nd round. He has never given up a sack in his college career… and that includes playing significant time at RG in his sophomore season.
If we don’t re-sign Connor Williams or move Eich to Center full-time, JPJ would be an incredible draft pick for us. Don’t know if a Center is worthy of our 1st round pick, but I’d take him all day in the 2nd round.
I totally agree
I’m just happy to have a 1st RD pick again!
It would be a very ‘un-sexy’ Draft, but best Tackle in R1 and JPJ in R2.
As I stated yesterday, T-Stead isn’t going to last much longer (get his understudy or replacement in R1 this Draft).
I really like Georgia’s Amarius Mims, but get this… he’s a RT(!) and we need a LT.
I like Mims also but like you said he’s a RT and I believe the rest of the 1st round graded OT’s who will be available in the bottom 1/3 of the 1st are RT’s.
One LT interests me who might turn out to be worth the 1st is the dude from Arizona. I will look but think his name is Morgan.
Morgan and JPJ would be nice! Though Morgan would be a little reach as I think he has a mid to high 2nd round grade.
You know I like LT Graham Barton from Duke but some are projecting him to LG or even OC due to his arm length.
Same: I like Graham Barton as well.
Jordan Morgan, 6’5 325, with a solid projection as a top-50 pick, is a standout in the 2024 OT class, viable for late Round 1 or Day 2. At 6’5″, 325 pounds, his blend of size, athleticism, and skill, especially after bouncing back from an ACL injury, positions him well for the pro game.
Morgan’s potential as an outstanding pass protector is evident, showcasing balance, strength, and superior leveraging abilities.
—————-
He does need to improve a little in run blocking.
Not 1st round worthy at LT next would be Patrick Paul, Houston and swing LT/RT Kingsley Suamataia.
Kingsley has only given up 2 sacks in his college career. He was a RT in ’22 and a LT in ’23.
Don’t like the level of competition he played against at BYU, but he’s certainly someone I’ve been looking at.
Lastly and will possibly go 1st round is LT Troy Fautanu from Washington. He gave up a lot of pressures though.
And Troy is probably the one I’ve considered most of all this early in the Draft process. Yup, I noticed the enormous amount of pressures he yielded and that turns me off.
If we can get to R1P20, our options are much greater. Go Stealers* and Bucs!!!
It’s a good class for OT with still decent selections available late 1st. It’s pretty evenly split with talent at LT and RT.
BBL, got to get my big pineapple plants in the garage before the big freeze tonight.
I’ve gotta move to Florida. Pineapples rock!
TTL, Brother.
We didn’t lose because of Tua. That narrative is getting really fucking old. Colin Cowherd please STFU!!!! You bug eyed doofus! 🤣
https://x.com/ckparrot/status/1747014036183474298?s=46
CK is doing overtime defending Tua from ravenous fans
I think he makes some good points here
My preference is that we don’t extend Tua this offseason and draft a QB
That may mean we send sign Tua in the 2025 offseason to a big contract
But I think taking that risk is worth it
Drafting a QB would be a huge mistake and waste of draft resources. We would be the laughing stock of the league when we have a 25 year old QB who led the league in passing and we draft another one. If we did that it will destroy the team.
In any event it is not going to happen
And to Hulkster’s point, we’ve done that essentially over the last quarter of a century since Marino retired.
Tua ain’t the problem.
I doubt we would be the laughing stock of the league
You guys have to stop being defensive about Tua. It’s not a question of replacing him in 2024. It’s whether we have to in 2025 that matters
It’s a good thing we went with our QB gurus on this board and didn’t try to draft that no touch QB out of Wyoming!
Makes you wonder about the rest of the QB evaluations on here????????
LOL, yet I was VERY high on Josh Allen like you.
As was I
I don’t remember anyone bashing Josh Allen before he was a Bill
QB eval is a very difficult matter, truth be told. Not too many GMs or armchair GMs can nail starters outside of the 1st round.
Well… 😉
And truth be told, half of 1st round QBs flame out fast or never panned out.
And here is possibly the most important matter: is the QB you drafted a fit for your system?
I agree with Ken and don’t be surprised if Tua gets his new contract this offseason. I won’t be. 😉
If Tua gets a new contract this offseason, it has the potential to bring major cap relief for our already beleaguered cap situation.
I agree with the Hulkster and Tim.
We’re going to free up a lot of cap this offseason. I see a pretty significant turnover in some areas of the team.
I think McDaniel and Fangio realize we need to get more physical to win our division and in the league overall.
Veterans who make a lot of money and are showing signs of durability issues are gone.
I won’t be surprised
I don’t favor it. There’s a difference
Again – I’m gonna be blunt about this
You guys are way too defensive when it comes to Tua. If the Dolphins aren’t looking at everything to get to the next level, they aren’t serious about being a contender
And you can’t logically say the QB play couldn’t have been better
He’s not the problem. We were not playing with our team we built down the stretch. How do you not see that?
It’s not about being defensive. It is just realism. Like Tua or dislike him we don’t have the draft position and the draft capital to draft a QB. We also have gaping needs at OL that need to be addressed. The odds of drafting a QB are approaching zero and that has nothing to do about being defensive about Tua
Needs at OL and Edge rusher
We FINALLY have a top-5 QB and some are trying to replace him already? That doesn’t make sense to me. JMO
No one is trying to replace him
Again that’s a defensive response
Yessir, I am defending Tua.
You don’t have to defend Tua
Not for, me
I like Tua. I want him to be our QB
I do not view drafting a QB as a death sentence of his future with the dolphins
Saturday’s game was Tua’s FIRST NFL postseason game… and the windchill was -30. Nice…
Kinda hard to judge a guy with that kind of situation.
I wouldn’t look at 1 game if I were judging him
I look at all 4 years
He’s been the best QB we’ve had in a long time
But we need to get over a hump and we might be able to get better at the most important position
M – We ALL watch the games. He’s shown zero ability to show up in a big game. Like Ken says, it might happen, but there’s no legitimate reason to expect it to happen. He hasn’t even shown a sign. Every good team we played he disappeared. There will come a point that we will want to do better, if he doesn’t take that next step. You’re not a casual fan and you don’t have to fall in line with “record setting season, blah blah blah”. We have evidence that he plays poorly in every big game, it’s there on film just like the record breaking season against the weaker teams is. They both exist. It would have been nice if I could point to one game that was a big one and he stepped up, but this year, it doesn’t exist.
I have serious faith in Tua, my man. Every year, he’s taken another HUGE step. I think ’24 he takes another HUGE step.
He’s proven that he can throw it deep, he’s proven he can stay healthy, and now (’24) he is going to prove that he can handle big-game sits. JMO
Of course it’s about being defensive Ken
Look at the responses
This is what happens when it comes to QB
You can’t look at the position and say “we can be better”
The goal of the season is to be the best
If we aren’t the best, we need to look at the entire roster and say how can we be better
My analysis has nothing to do with being defensive. We are not drafting a QB given the production Tua gives us. The draft position we have. The lack of draft capital and the significant needs we have at OL and edge
^ Truth
I think you are being very defensive
For starters you don’t know how the draft unfolds and you have already dismissed the possibility based on draft position
I think you guys don’t understand me
1 – you are not trading up. You aren’t desperate for a QB. You have one
2 – the draft has to fall the way you need it to to take that QB
3 – you are not committing to a drafted QB. You are committing starting Tua in 2024
4 – you can trade the guy you draft after the 2024 season if pu want to commit to Tua
It really just means you don’t sign Tua now and you you risk having to go through what Baltimore went through with Lamar Jackson
There’s little risk with the exception of draft capital. But committing to Tua now is a much bigger risk.
I don’t want to argue about how good Tua is. Bc I think he’s very good.
But what I want is for the dolphins to looks at everything fro the ground up to get to the next level
Nothing is sacred in that scenario
IMO, it’s absolutely implausible to even think about moving on from Tua right now. That’s all.
Unless we can trade him for two first-round draft picks and some change right now, it’s a fool’s errand trying to replace him this coming season.
In essence you are all in on Bo Nix who is the only QB that would be available when we pick. I just can’t see instead of OL and edge. It won’t make our team better. It will send a message to the rest of the team that Tua is not the guy and will cause division in the locker room.
I’m not all in on anyone
But the last thing I would do is mortgage the future of the team bc I’m afraid of the message it will send
Piggy:
It is just realism to see how the draft is going to unfold at least as to QBs. There are 3 really good prospects. Williams, Maye and Daniels. They will all be gone in the top 10 and most likely top 5. Next man up is Bo Nix who is not rated as highly as the first 3. I just don’t see it happening
It’s not realistic at all to predict what will happen in the April draft in January.
It a single mock draft you can read right now will be even close to the way it unfolds
it’s very early
It’s early but those top 3 QBs are pretty much set in stone
Top 3 is not the only time a QB will go
We might have 5 first round QBs this year
It’s also not exactly set in stone bc of the bears but I suspect even if it’s not the bears taking a qb some one will
But given the next 2 are Nix and Pennix I don’t see us neglecting our other needs for those 2 guys who are not rated nowhere near as high as the first 3 guys
We’re not drafting a QB in the 1st or 2nd round. I feel like I’m in the bizzaro world. 😂
AGREED!!!
I’m not talking about drafting a QB in any specific round, but I’m also not running to give him a 6 year $50M per contract either. Why should we? Let’s see what he does next season.
The big reason to do it is to restructure to create cap space but it is a different argument than drafting a QB
I CONTINUE to see (on Twitter/X) many pundits/experts/gurus say that our Miami Dolphins never had a chance due to our plethora of injuries to starters.
Y’all, it’s NOT an excuse… it’s REALITY.
‘Next man up’ is codeword for starting somebody who couldn’t beat out the starter. And when our 2nd-stringers go down due to injury, ‘next man up’ is codeword for either a bench warmer or a guy who just got off the couch.
INJURIES derailed our ’23 season… not any individual.
‘Yeah, everybody suffers through injuries… then ya have the Miami Dolphins’.
Piggy, I’m surprised you’re putting so much on Tua.
I’m not putting anything on Tua
I keep saying stop defending Tua bc I’m not Blaming him
But you cannot tell me in good faith that the QB play could not be better
I am not disagreeing with you. Tua needed to play better especially in the last 3 games. Be that as it may we are not drafting a QB for all the reasons I stated above
I know I’m weird… but I LOVE the voice of Tracey Wolfson! Very sexy!
One score game in Buffalo!!!
What am I missing? Why do yiu guys keep saying we need a pass rusher
OL I get
But pass rusher?
If we resign Van Ginkle than we have a solid top 3. I don’t know what the recovery time is for Chubb or Phillips but they should be ready pretty early next season, right?
Both Chubb and Phillips are not likely ready at the start of the season. Chubb may not even play next season