There will be lots of decisions that both GM Chris Grier and Head Coach Mike McDaniel have to make to kick off the offseason flurry of moves and machinations. The very first one, and one that will impact all of the others is whether to give current QB Tua Tagovailoa a new contract that would keep him in a Miami Dolphins uniform for the next 6 years or more, or just let him play out the 5th year option we’ve already picked up which would pay Tua $23.17M in 2024. It’s easy to say that if we give him a new contract that it will free up much needed cap room to re-sign players here, and sign other players that are not. On the other hand, this could be a very short sighted move if Tua Tagovailoa cannot bring this team to a championship. I’m a fan of Tua Tagovailoa, he’s as likable as they come. He’s not a “Me” guy, always puts the team first. I want him to succeed, I really do, but my doubts about him really spiked seeing how he struggled against better teams, and I mean every single one of them. It’s not just a slight difference either, it’s Jekyll and Hyde different.
The games I’m referring to are the 2 against the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, then the Eagles, Cowboys and then the Ravens. I’m going to throw in the Titans game as well.
In 10 games against the Chargers, Jets, Patriots, Broncos, Panthers, Raiders, Giants and Redskins, this is what Tua did . . .
324 pass attempts, 233 completions, 3040 yards, 22 TD’s and 8 INT’s / QBR 113.45
Then in 8 games against the Bills, Chiefs, Ravens, Cowboys and Titans, this is what Tua did . . .
275 pass attempts, 175 completions, 1833 yards, 8 TD’s and 7 INT’s / QBR 81.98
Those numbers are disturbing. The Cowboys game at home was the only game against the better teams that Tua finished with a good QBR, and that was 98.1, but again, we needed 5 Jason Sanders field goals to win that win as Tua managed only 1 TD. If you watched all the games, the numbers alone don’t even tell the full story. Our passing game was just shut down, and a bunch of these games are before the injuries occurred. For example, we out rushed the Bills in our first meeting 142 – 104. So it wasn’t a case that Tua had do it all. The same goes for the Chiefs game during the regular season. We out rushed KC 117-93. It’s not a matter of complimentary football, the run game was working, but the QB just didn’t get the job done. We easily out rushed the Titans, 158 – 83. Again, the QB just didn’t get the job done, and this game, the defense as well. My point is, some of you would probably think that our offense as a whole played poorly in these games, but clearly, that was not the case.
One of my favorite players, Christian Wilkins put up a great season in ’22, and we offered him a relatively low contract, and he decided to bet on himself in ’23. Well, if we can use him as an example of playing on the final year of a contract and rising to the occasion, Wilkins did even better in ’23.
2022 17 Games - 98 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 FF’s, 1 FR, 16 TFL, 7 QB HITS
2023 17 Games – 65 tackles, 9.0 sacks, 1FF, 2 FR’s,10 TFL, 23 QB HITS
Is it really so crazy to let Tua play on his current contract? I suppose the Dolphins can offer Tua a low contract around $40M per with less guaranteed money, but would he take that? I would think not. We could only hope that he would embrace his opportunity like Christian Wilkins did, bet on himself, and cash in in 2024. It would be the best possible outcome, rather than relying on confidence that he can finally step up in these big games, or that we can save possibly $10-12M in cap space in 2024 if we give him a big contract. Once again, that’s looking at the end of your nose, not out in front. Unless you have absolute conviction that Tua Tagovailoa can bring this team a championship, without everything being ideal, then in my opinion you just can’t do it. They already made a choice by opting in for his 5th year. I fully understand that he answered the “Can he stay healthy?” question by not only playing 17 games, but also a playoff game. On the other hand, if you watched every game, no question Tua played like he needed to play next week every game. Sliding before securing the first down on numerous occasions, and in general just not playing with abandon, like his Buffalo Bills counterpart Josh Allen, or even Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, and especially the Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, who puts his body in peril almost every play.
Besides Tua, this team has plenty of other decisions to make. We must shed contracts and open up cap room. We’re nearly $50M over the cap so the roster as it stands can’t remain. I think we’re going to lose some good players, one’s we’d like to keep, like OLB Andrew Van Ginkel. We can’t win a bidding war, and I know fans like to think he wants to stay, and he probably does, but $$$ talks, it always does. Of course we’ll ask the top salary earners for restructures which basically pays them money up front, so no problem there. Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb and probably Jalen Ramsey will be the ones to accommodate here. I do believe we may have seen the last of CB Xavien Howard in a Dolphins uniform. Unfortunately, I feel the same for ILB Jerome Baker. LT Terron Armstead is another huge earner, and there are thoughts he may retire. That would be great for our salary cap, not so great for the team, although his availability is in question every year, and every game to be fair. OLB/DE Emmanuel Ogbah is another player who may have played his last game in Miami. His $17.7M contract is not going to happen, despite our hole at OLB with both Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips injured and questionable to play at the start of the ’24 season, along with the potential departure of OLB Andrew Van Ginkel.
Our draft haul is so important, and although meager in quantity, we absolutely need to hit on our first 2 picks. What I mean is not only do these players have to be good down the line, but we must get quality contributions NOW! We’ve been awful, just dreadful lately. RB De’Von Achane was the only bright spot, but already his durability is in question. CB Cam Smith, our first pick in RD2 couldn’t make any contribution at CB, despite a plethora of injuries at that position. Disheartening in the least! 2022 was no better. LB Channing Tindall RD3, WR Erik Ezukanma RD4, and then LB Cameron Goode and QB Skylar Thompson in RD 7. Zero, zilch, nada! That just has to change this season. We’ve traded to acquire lots of talent, never a prudent formula in the NFL. The best organizations like the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, both perennial playoff teams just don’t do that. Now we’re stuck in a cap forced window where we just have a year or so to succeed. We must hit on picks so that when that window closes, we don’t fall to the basement of the AFC and spend a decade digging ourselves out. Just to reiterate something here, if we give Tua a contract now, it would almost certainly be in the neighborhood of $45-50 per year. If he plays so well this year in 2024, and say takes us to the Super Bowl, maybe he gets $55-60M? Well worth the gamble in my opinion. On the other hand, if he plays worse, the team regresses, or he gets injured, while also unfortunate, we’ll have made the right choice.
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
21. Kingsley Suamataia OT BYU
55. Jackson Powers-Johnson OC Oregon
151. Dallin Holker TE Colorado State
168. Tyrice Knight LB UTEP
182. Fabien Lovett DT Florida State
213. Malik Mustapha S Wake Forest
We have been focusing on other positions, but we only have 1 safety under contract in 2024, Javon Holland.
MUSTAPHA!
He’s projected day 3 but think he has skills to work with. He is physical, a good tackler and a versatile player who played both safety spots as well as nickel.
Page turn mock draft bitches!!!
😂
So juicy!!! I love when people here point out that Tua beat Baltimore (with their entire secondary out!) and Buffalo last year. GREAT!!!! So since then against winning teams, Tua’s record is 1-12, the one victory against the Cowboys, and we needed 5 frigging FG’s to win that one too. Please stop!!!
When ER says he can’t beat winning teams, I’d say he’s much more right than you guys pointing to 2 games he won at the beginning of last season. If you want to “hope” or “hold faith” that this can change, more power to you. The facts are the facts though, and it sucks! Tua does not play well at all against good teams. The nice thing about this season was we had two shitty teams in our division, NE and NYJ. Next season, the Jets may have A-Aron back and the Patriots may be better under Jerrod Mayo
I agree. I have defended Tua, but it is apparent, at this time, he is limited. When the stars align against lesser opponents and he can run the precision timing offense, he is unstoppable. But against a team that can disrupt that he has no answer. He looked scared and he played small. Maybe he overcomes that, but I have doubts. And I damn sure don’t give him a big contract extension until those doubts are answered. And if they do, I’ll have to get on the Rock Slide and call for Grier to go.
Right. There were 36 games in the last two years, and people cherry pick those two games . I believe Baltimores secondary was entirely made up of backups in that game, and Buffalo had a ton of injuries. Additionally, if not for a Josh Allen skip pass to a wide open receiver at the two, we would have lost that game. Not many people here are “jumping ship”, as Tim like to say, we are simply stating the facts and our doubts that Tua is an elite, big game QB. Prove us wrong Tua. As I, and others, have stated ad nauseam, MM is to blame as well.
Results matter….and agree with Mike E. and pp.
MM and Tua have made progress but it’s not enough. It’s the best we’ve seen in a while and maybe that’s why some are giddy…lol.
2 years is not a lot of rope when you started with shit. We have more good players, better coaches, and see.
Next year is a “show me” year.
Tua has improved. No one is denying that. But he HAS to improve in big games and against better teams. If he doesn’t, we will be relegated to being a good team, and not a great team. Christ, we didn’t even win our division when it was right there for us to take! Despite the injuries, we had a real chance to win that game.
Totally fair argument
I have to say MM play calling also. I said during last game that the last couple games it seemed like we only had a couple plays in the play book. Could be that we were down to a hobbled Tyreek. Hard to believe we couldn’t scheme to get others involved. Or could they just not get open. Or was Tua only looking for Tyreek.
This is where Tua needs to get better. His pre snap reads. Only so many times you can get away with throwing it to Tyreek in a crowd of 3-4 defenders. He is very good at the anticipation throw and accuracy but someone else has to be wide open. Also, it’s eventually going to get Tyreek nailed and hurt. Close so many times.
I agree and was thinking much the same thing
So when Tua played the Ravens last year they had a depleted secondary but when Tua played with a depleted team for much of the last month of the season it doesn’t matter. Tua beats Dallas but it doesn’t count because it was 5 fgs. It doesn’t matter they were the no. 5 ranked defense. Nor did his 300 yards passing count I suppose. We can all cherry pick
Hahaha. Maybe if Tua kicked those FG’s it would count. No cherry picking, we’re looking at 15 games in 2 seasons. I don’t care about our depleted defense Ken, I care about hiw Tua performed in those games and I put those stats out for everyone to see.
Last month we had a very depleted offense too with numerous injuries along the OL Hill, Waddle, Mostert and Achane all out during significant games in the last month of the season. Yes they were there in KC but that group missed a fair number of games before that
Another factor is I think Tua may have been fatigued which means he needs to be better conditioned. This is the first time since he was a sophomore in college that he played a full season. 18 games in fact. Lots of times you see rookies hit a wall late in the season. Tua for various reasons never really had a chance to hit that wall yet until this year. I wonder if that was a factor in the drop off in play
That is a good question, Ken. A way to gauge that would be to go back and watch the first couple games vs the last couple games. See how he puts on his throws then vs end of season. The ankle and quad would also affect that.
LeadingNFL
@LeadingNFL
REPORT: The Dolphins are expected to play a home game in Real Madrid’s stadium, Santiago Bernabeu next year, per
@relevo
.
I don’t love this
But shit , I’d love to go
Hmmm….
Hmmm is right!
Fuck I hate those games
If we can play that game in Madrid in December, I guess that would be OK
It’s real nice weather there in Oct and Nov also.
NFL star Brock Purdy made $870,000 this season — 16 college football players made more from NIL
Even more surprising? Purdy’s salary pays him less than what 16 college football players made this season, according to On3’s proprietary NIL algorithm, which is based on NIL-deal data, performance, influence and exposure.
The top five of that list includes the University of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders ($4.7 million), Texas’ Arch Manning ($2.8 million), Colorado’s Travis Hunter ($2.3 million), Texas’ Quinn Ewers ($1.7 million) and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe ($1.5 million).
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nfl-star-brock-purdy-made-870-000-this-season-16-college-football-players-made-more-from-nil/ar-BB1gXBvO?ocid=msedgntp&pc=NMTS&cvid=b4cdc6569ffb4923b6f9e07151201f56&ei=19
He’s due for a huge raise .
You know what else sucks? It’ll be the Bills, Chiefs, or Ravens in the SB. I think I hate all 3 of those teams more than any others right now.
I honestly might be ‘rooting’ for the Bills, because at least I respect Josh Allen. Mahomes is the whiniest b^tch in football and I effing HATE the Ravens.
I’d rather see the Chiefs. I despise the Ravens and the Bills, and the latter fans are insufferable where I live.
Josh Allen also looks for flags every time a play doesn’t work. He’s kind of a whiny bitch as well.
At least on the other side I can root for the Lions all the way to the end. You guys can probably agree with that, I figure. We’d all like to see Campbell continue to do well.
Yep I hope the Lions win it all.
^
^
This means we’ll only have 7 games at Hard Head Stadium next year. We had 9 this year.
We had 8 we played 1 in Germany
Were we the home team in Germany or was KC?
We had 9 home games. Chiefs were home in Germanyi
Mike Evans has had a ton of balls go through his hands this year. I think he had 3 drops just last game.
Laporta is the man! Here, many weren’t crazy about him in the draft. I was one who said he was good but not be more than Smythe and we needed a play making TE.
I was wrong.
Keep doing those mock drafts BBM, you’ll get it right one day. lol
I still think he’s too much like Gesicki, who wasn’t a fit for OUR Offense. Don’t know how LaPorta has done in the blocking department this season, which was my biggest knock on him.
Laporta is much more versatile than Gesicki.
Just looked it up. Sam LaPorta was the #95 pass-blocking TE out of 100, according to PFF. And ironically, Mike Gesicki was #13 out of 100 in pass-blocking.
In the run-blocking department, LaPorta was the #73 TE.
To be sure, he wasn’t a system fit for Coach McDaniel’s Offense. Good pass.
Tim Knight says:
January 21, 2024 at 3:49 pm
Laporta is much more versatile than Gesicki.
————-
I don’t disagree with that, but LaPorta still can’t block. That was my knock on him as terms of a system fit for US.
He’s a receiver.
Absolutely, as was Gesicki… and that’s why we allowed Gesicki to walk into FA… and why he signed a contract with the Patsies* for something like 1 yr/$2M.
Sorry, it wasn’t quite that bad. I was thinking of his base salary, which was even less than I thought! He got paid more than that…
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/mike-gesicki-25141/
Anybody want to guess as to who was the #1 run-blocking TE in the NFL this season was?
George Kittle… Coach McDaniel’s TE in San Fran.
Oh no… my guy Frank Ragnow is down. 2nd team All-Pro this year.
With a line like Detroits you can afford a more pass catching TE.
I think that’s a very good point, and it acknowledges that our O-Line was so very banged up most of this season.
But even so, Coach McDaniel comes from Offenses that utilize the TE position as a ‘6th O-Lineman’… who can also catch the ball and run.
Agree. Need a TE that doesn’t just fall down on first contact.
If I recall correctly, we had more O-Line combinations than any other team this past season but for one. We were BANGED UP.
I think if we had the same O-Line combination when we played the Broncos, we would have walked easily as AFC East champs, and perhaps even the #1 seed in the AFC. JMO
ElephantRider says:
January 21, 2024 at 4:58 pm
Agree. Need a TE that doesn’t just fall down on first contact.
—————-
+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
I’m not sure why they dicked around on 2nd and 3rd down. They should have just run it on 2nd, lol.
Probably a classic case of trying to outthink the other.
Good game.
WHAT A GAME!!!
Heck yeah. Great finish on a drive to take control of this game.
Picking up that 3rd and 15 after the sack was money
Hsrd not to admire Mayfield
Heck of a drive to keep them alive
A QB with guts.
Beasley wrote that the Dolphins would stay away from a deal the size of Burrow’s five-year, $275 million extension, giving Tagovailoa a smaller but still significant commitment.
“And so a reasonable figure for a long-term deal for Tua (which allows the Dolphins a moderately painful out after 2025) is more like this: Four years, $180 million with $100 million guaranteed,” Beasley wrote. “That would put him in line with the inflation-adjusted contracts of Matthew Stafford ($46.6 million AAV if the salary cap when he signed was the $242.5 million it’s expected to be in 2024) and Daniel Jones ($43.2 million).”
With the exception of Jones, whose contract was a cluster fuck, Burrow took his team to a Super Bowl and Stafford won one
Which is why he will be paid less than Burrow
I ain’t rooting for no fucking bills, man.
^
Ditto!
Good old Baker!
GO COACH CAMPBELL!!!
GO LIONS!!!
Pretty wild Campbell has the most playoff wins for the Lions in the modern era, lol.
It’s great that they can show clips of both of these teams fucking us up twice each.
Ken – we can discuss this until the cows come home, whenever the heck that is. He just hasn’t earned it. To a casual fan who sees Tua put up great stats, sure, but to people who have watched him struggle against the better NFL teams over the last 2 seasons, they know true
The casual fans are not the ones opting to pay him
Diggs whining for a flag, that was a perfect hit
KC should have challenged
Yeah, my natural inclination is to root against the Bills.
Going into the game, I wasn’t sure how I was going to root…but instincts and stuff
^
Same here
Congrats Lions! Jeff Goff and Dan Campbell reaping the rewards off the work they put in. 🙂
Who is Jeff, man? LOL
I think ya meant Jared. 😉
Yes Mrs Church lady. 😂
Fuck the Bills! 🤣
I want the Bills to lose up until every time the cameras show Mahomes mug on the sideline.
Or until they pan to Taylor Swift
Both the Chefs* and Bills disgust me. Can’t root for either team this evening.
Why were Travis Kelce and Josh Allen marching into the same locker room???
Same tunnel not same locker rooms
I’m going to be disgusted no matter which team wins this game but not as much as I am with the Dolphins for not being in it. 🫤
Like, OMG! Did everybody, like totally see that awesome play by Taylor Swift?!! She’s totally taking over this game!!!
😡
That is Buffalo ball 😡
wow
I don’t even know if I’m happy about how that call went. I literally want them both to lose equally.
I don’t like both these teams but I can’t stand the Bills more
It’s the battle of the 2 CRYBABIES, Mahomes and Allen.
As my Bro Mohammed pronounces it, “Kry-bapies”. 😀
Both teams stopped running it
I can already hear all my KC friends. “You couldn’t beat them, so we did it for you.” MFers.
But, if the jills win I may need to ritualistically scourge myself for taking some small pleasure in it.
W O W
One 1st down wins this game
Wide right
WOW…
I actually am going to enjoy the Bills heartbreak. They came out of the two minute warning looking to win the game and laid a giant egg
😃
Game over
Ha ha Wide Right
That was a pretty great game
KC WINS!!!
🤣🤣
Wide right. Hell, now that is kinda poetic.
***
Oh well, I can just ignore my KC friends. The jills losing just feels better.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Laces out, Dan
As bad as we might feel Buffalo has had some bad things happen against KC to close out their season, then last years thrashing by Bengals, all while being arguably the best team in the NFL
Got too much shit to move, not quite heading to Florida yet, hope we figure out what to do with anything, that doesn’t fit tomorrow
Still may leave at some point tomorrow
Just found out a few minutes ago the bills lost, what a wonderful day
Patrick Mahomes was interviewed after the game, and talks about how competitive Josh Allen is, and then goes on to talk about the great competitors at QB like Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson. Nope, didn’t mention Tua, who he just played against last week. You know as Dolphins fans he’s not that guy, you know it in your heart. He’s not the guy that will now put his body and health on the line to win, but the other guys do it all the time. He’s been advised not to do it, and he listens well.
I think you stretching a little too far to serve a narrative
He didn’t even play against Burrow this year. Played Tua twice tho.
YAY! I can finally go back to my favorite Mexican restaurant! The bar tender is a Bills fan. Being swept again by them this year was miserable.
I haven’t watched any football since the Dolphins were eliminated. It’s actually been nice. I’m going to skip the rest of the year too.
C’mon Rock. You can do it. I’m a Lions fan for the duration. I’ve not wanted to say that because any team I’m rooting for seems to lose. I’ll admit after our game I really couldn’t watch much. Still feeling disgusted with how our season turned out. But, moving on. I’m used to it at this point.
Yeah, I “could do it” I just think I will enjoy myself more not doing it. I don’t give a damn about any of the teams left. Season is over for me. I haven’t watched the Superbowl in years so I won’t change that this year either.
I have to laugh at myself sometimes. I am sad this morning because I just discovered that David Eddings died 15 years ago. I hadn’t heard. This morning I was like I wonder when he is going to release another series? Maybe he has and I just haven’t seen it. So googled it… Yeah, not writing anymore. LOL
Sigh, I still don’t have a book to read.
🤣🤣
Have you tried Peter V. Brett’s “the Demon Cycle” series?
Mike
Imagine if he didn’t mention Lamar Jackson and then had to play them next week.
I don’t really think that’s an exhaustive list of the QBs he takes seriously
Burrow is the only guy who beat him so it kind of makes sense to mention him too
I wouldn’t read too much into what he said by leaving guys off
He didn’t mention Cj Stroud, Trevor Lawrence, Aaron Rogers, Justin Herbert or DeShaun Watson either
There’s a good chance he faces many of those guys in the next few years in the playoffs
I don’t think Mahomes sees the only capable QBs as Allen, Jackson or Burrow
Pretty good reason never to mention names though
It can be bulletin board material
Also
Here’s reality about the state of QBs in the nfl
There is Patrick Mahomes and then there is everyone else
He’s the best QB of this era and he is standing there alone
This isn’t a Manning/Brady era of football
Mahomes is head and shoulders above the rest
Agree
Josh Allen’s passing numbers vs the chiefs were surprising similar to Tua’s numbers last week
The big difference was the running game
The QB running game.
Yeah – he was their leading rusher
I don’t love that model to be honest
pheloniusphish says:
January 22, 2024 at 12:07 pm
Have you tried Peter V. Brett’s “the Demon Cycle” series?
Reply
No, but I am googling it now.
I just ordered “The Warded Man” we’ll see how I like it!
Thanks Phelon!
I love the misery of my enemies!
Bucky Brooks latest mock has us taking center Jackson Powers-Johnson at #21 with CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, Edge Chop Robinson and CB Cooper DeJean still on the board.
Has Pats taking QB Jayden Daniels at #3. That would suck.
Jets taking LT Joe Alt
Bills taking CB Cooper DeJean
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0WnZT3KnjcKLJd7cTYqKyvKWx7yUrG3YJirDTvBcgkE9dM4VCy8SVCiviQnHMDyjul&id=100064377831362&mibextid=WC7FNe
facebook doesn’t play well with others
If Terrion Arnold is there at #21 it would be hard not to pull the trigger on him over an OL prospect. Dude can play anywhere in the defensive backfield. He does get handsy but doesn’t go overboard to get called for it.
Go Tua! If he’s our QB next year, I hope he balls out. But, I’d really prefer if MM would stick with a running game. 2 years in a row now we’ve heard that’s gonna happen.
to be fair to MM he did run substantially more this season. Here are the play #’s the last two seasons.
’22 – 584 PA – 390 RA
’23 – 566 PA – 456 RA
they ran it almost 16% more this season than last season.
in ’22 they passed it 194 more times than they ran it.
in ’23 they passed it 110 more times than they ran it.
YES I wanted even more runs this season. Hopefully the trend continues.
It’s not necessarily more running but more diversification in the run plays. We can just run a wide pitch out all the time. We need some inside power running. The outside runs can produce some home runs but they can also produce a lot of negative plays
We can pick up 3.8 million in cap space by jettisoning Jason Sanders this offseason. DO IT!
Rock,
Thanks for the info. We were middle of the pack in attempts. It’s more about how we use our running game. It’s the best way to control a game. It did seem like we ran more this season. There were just multiple times this year when I thought we could’ve used the running game. Our running game was actually pretty effective this season. I don’t get not using it.
It seemed like when it got shut down once or twice he would shy away from it. Also a lot of the runs were outside runs like the guys pointed out above, I think they were using scheme to cover the weakness of the line.
Ken,
When you want to attack the middle of the field with your passing game, it helps to run outside zone too. It also brings WRs into the blocking scheme. I thought we did better this year running inside too. It’s still a work in progress, but even with backups we seemed to show improvement. We need more, no doubt.
Randy, we definitely ran more this year and rushed for over 2,000 yards for the first time since 2009. I think sometimes the play calling is based on what MM is feeling in the game. I think he wants to run more but maybe it’s still not where he wants it to be.
I won’t be surprised if we add a young physical RB to rotate with Achane and company. Not sure how much longer Mostert will be around or hold up, and I think we could upgrade over Wilson. He’s a solid back but we can do better. Not sure how the coaches view Chris Brooks moving forward.
We could/would never run up the middle or push the pile..that’s a real weakness, imo.
The injuries we had on the interior OL was part of the problem. We struggled to keep that unit intact. I don’t think we have to target the top OL but we need to add more competition.
Agreed…a weakness….we could not exploit/count on going between the tackles
Losing Wynn and Williams really hurt us. Then Hunt went down for a bit.
Needs on offense:
OL competition
WR physical presence
TE upgrade receiving threat
RB young physical back
Needs on defense:
DL interior depth
Edge we need one, we’re in a bad spot with Phillips and Chubb injuries
LB physical upgrades
CB depth
We have 0 worthy investments in OL except for Jackson, I think…lol
I think a physical receiving TE fills 2 positions TK.
I guess in your view ..3
3 in mine
Don’t we have a young physical RB?
Brooks?
Maybe Brooks
We may need to replace X…
Does EZE come back healthy and better in the offense with a year in it? Do the TE’s that they were bringing along continue to develop?
We need an upgrade at TE. Our TEs are primarily blockers. We don’t really have one that is a good receiver
Kelsey is not a speed deamon Neither was Zonk. Either is Kittle. Mayhaps our young blocking TE’s can be coached up to run routes better?
Gronk
Gronk was very fast for a TE. Ran a 4.6
Randy:
We definitely need to run the outside pitch because of the speed we have but we need to be able grind out some short yardage inside yards as well and we have been reluctant to try and not particularly good at it when we have tried
old man didn’t play him but how do WE know that Cam Smith will be a bust…
Other than Grief picked him?
Piggy – It wasn’t a matter of how many QB’s he named, it was more the context of the interview. He named players he played against in the playoffs and players he will be playing again in the playoffs. He just played Tua, but no mention. That’s not a big deal really, but the fact that he left Tua off that list of competitive QB’s rings true to me. everyone else can interpret it as they like, as with anything that is said. I just listened and expected to hear Tua since they just played last week, but no . . .
LOL I was watching Big Bang Theory and Penny ruins Raiders of the Lost Arc by pointing out that Indy’s involvement in the story was unnecessary and if you took him out the outcome would be exactly the same. Ergo Indy is not a hero. I never thought of it but it’s true.
No it wasn’t Penny it was one played by Blossom
Mike E. says:
January 22, 2024 at 7:49 am
Patrick Mahomes was interviewed after the game, and talks about how competitive Josh Allen is, and then goes on to talk about the great competitors at QB like Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson. Nope, didn’t mention Tua, who he just played against last week. You know as Dolphins fans he’s not that guy, you know it in your heart. He’s not the guy that will now put his body and health on the line to win, but the other guys do it all the time. He’s been advised not to do it, and he listens well.
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Mike E,
To be honest, Tua is now 0-1 for his career in the playoffs… and that loss came to the defending Super Bowl champion KC Chefs*, who have a great chance to return to the Super Bowl if their Defense knocks off Lamar this weekend.
Josh Allen has had several years to build a playoff resume, Tua has had but one… and still, Allen can’t win his way to the Super Bowl.
Also keep in mind as it pertains to Tua, KC was the #2 NFL Defense this season.
It’s also not always about the QB. Really good teams make plays in all phases. We didn’t have much of that down the stretch. We were missing a lot of key players and many of those who did play were banged up. It was one of those years.
EXACTLY! I don’t understand how it’s all Tua’s fault. See my post below, Bro…
MORE context as to just how banged up our team was this season…
I don’t see anyone saying it’s all Tua’s fault…but he does have issues he needs to work on, imo…
He’s getting most of the criticism as usual.
M – the offense goes as the QB goes. We all know this. In all those games against better teams, it wasn’t the running backs that failed, it wasn’t the WR’s, it’s the guy throwing to them. I can’t blame the defense because of all the injuries. It’s not that we lost, it’s that we’re not even competitive. Josh Allen wasn’t perfect, but damn that guy leaves it all out there on the field. Our QB disappears in games like these and I see that as a huge problem. It’s not 1 or 2 or 3, it’s 15. Non competitive, giving our team no chance. It’s not like we were losing 31-28, we don’t score, don’t compete. If you think that it’s going to change, I’d like to hear how and why.
Sorry for the delayed response… I was getting my political fix in, LOL 🙂
I feel that Tua is getting a bum rap. The injuries incurred severely limited possibilities for our Offense… not to mention our Defense.
It’s difficult to maintain any kind of consistency when…
1) Our O-Line had more combinations this season than Muhammad Ali
2) Waddle got injured in week 2 and was battling through it all season
3) Rookie phenom Achane got injured and missed half the season
4) ‘Reek Da’ Cheetah’s ankle got injured, and it affected him over the last month+ of the season
5) Mostert got injured down the stretch and it hurt our running game
6) We don’t have a stud pass-catching TE
7) Coach McDaniel wasn’t changing the game plan when the Offense wasn’t working well
8) When our Defense has given up so many points (due to their plethora of injuries) that we have to pass to win with the plethora of injuries to the Offense
9) As somebody here mentioned the other day, perhaps Tua’s endurance isn’t up to snuff being he hasn’t played 17 games in a LONG time
10) Tua has improved EVERY YEAR… no reason to think he can’t improve even more in ’24
I’m trying to bring ya back to the LIGHT SIDE of the FORCE, my friend! 🙂
Tyreek was on pace for 2000 receiving yards and Mosteert had over 1000 yards and 20 TD’s. We were scoring over 31 PPG unless we played a good team. You can’t have everything perfect. At the end of the season it was too much to overcome on the defensive side, but they put up a better fight than the offense which was mostly intact. You want to blame MM some go ahead, but our offense was not competitive against these good teams the entire season, not just at the end of the season. We have a problem until Tua can step up and be a consistent performer against ALL teams, not just the bad ones
I don’t think I’m on the dark side M, I think I actually see the light. Tua’s a likeable kid, I just don’t think he’s got the mettle to accomplish what we want
One issue that many seem to ignore is that we had that pass catching TE in Gesicki and we never used him at all. This year Smythe was the top TE with 366 yards. It just doesn’t seem like McDaniel likes to use TEs which seems like an issue moving forward but maybe he thinks the RBs do well enough without. Do we even use a 2 TE set now?
Coach McDaniel comes from an Offense that really likes to utilize a pass-catching TE… so long as he can block. If the TE can’t block? Move on… just as we did with Gesicki.
And I’m not sure Sam LaPorta was even on our board due to the fact he can’t block.
MM emphasized a blocking TE especially for the outside runs he likes to use. Gisecki just couldn’t do the job in that regard. In SF MM had Kittle who is not only a great receiver but an equally excellent blocker. He maybe the best all around TE in football
And George Kittle was PFF’s #1 overall TE this season. He was also the #1 run-blocking TE.
Head-to-head, Tua has beaten these notable QBs…
Jared Goff x2
Kyler Murray
Justin Herbert x2
Cam Newton x2
Joe Flacco
Lamar Jackson
Josh Allen
Justin Fields
Jacoby Brissett
Russell Wilson
Daniel Jones
Dak Prescott
And when I hear the so-called ‘excuses’ of INJURIES as to why we beat the Ravens and Bills last year, I *yawn*…
WTF do you guys think we dealt with the entire ’23 season! 🙂
Mike E,
I’m sorry, my man… I think Tua’s being sold short. JMO, as always.
Reposting, for those who didn’t click on Travis Wingfield’s tweet above…
Travis Wingfield
@WingfieldNFL
The Dolphins offense had just 2 players exceed 90% of the snaps – Tua Tagovailoa (95%) and Austin Jackson (90%).
The 3rd and 4th highest snap-takers: Liam Eichenberg (74%) and Durham Smythe (71%).
Tyreek Hill was 5th at 63%, then another big drop off to the 6th-highest snap-taker — Lester Cotton at 56%.
Miami only had 9 players exceed 50% of the offensive workload, only 6 of which were opening day starters.
And it wasn’t even the most-injured side of the ball lol.