Finsmob Unleashed

This is the story of our Miami Dolphins. They are the the reincarnation of the famous 1970’s cast of Saturday Night Live, the “Not Ready For Prime Time Players”. This of course was just a moniker for that cast, because most of them became stars due to their SNL notoriety, some of them huge stars like Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, and to an extent John Belushi who died way too early. The sad part is, the name fits our team like a glove. They are the complete embodiment of that phrase. They can play with the weaker teams, but put them up against any of the top tier NFL teams and they’re exposed as either too soft, too injured, too cold, too out coached, too many things to list.

Chris Grier assembled this roster knowing very well he was sacrificing the future to win now, while QB Tua Tagovailoa’s monstrous salary doesn’t affect the teams ability to provide talent around him. He said it, maybe not exactly those words, but he inferred this. We have overpaid our WR’s who now in this current state of offense are nearly obsolete. They’re underused for what they’re being paid, they’re not producing nearly enough offense for their salaries and have mostly become overpaid decoys. We have so many 1 year contracts. We have 35 players under contract, but many of those players won’t make the roster next season (or at least shouldn’t!) such as LB Channing Tindall, QB Skylar Thompson, TE Julian Hill, TE Tanner Conner, WR Tahj Washington, and DE Grayson Murphy. That takes it down to 29, and quite a few of those are not starters, like CB’s Cam Smith, Storm Duck, and Ethan Bonner, S Patrick McMorris, RB Jaylen Wright, and T Patrick Paul. TE Durham Smythe, who could easily be included as “shouldn’t be on the roster”, but then we’d have only Jonnu Smith. The point here, is that we need to find an awful lot of starters, and won’t have a lot of salary cap room to do so.

A fair question would be, “Does GM Chris Grier deserve to keep his job after failing miserably to build a contender after being given the reins and all the resources ($$$) to do so?” Has Mike McDaniel done enough to stay the course with him, and if you do axe Grier, is it the right thing to do to saddle a GM with a coach that is thrust upon him as a keeper when he might want to choose elsewhere? Both of these questions are fair. The first huge mistake, crucial mistake, was overestimating QB Tua Tagovailoa’s ability to stay on the field, and not have a competent backup in his stead. My guess is that one is a torpedo hit to HC Mike McDaniel. I’m sure if Mike told Grier he needed a better option at backup QB, he would have one, or at least they would have put forward some effort to find one. I hate to say this, but I think Mike babies Tua, and didn’t want to hurt his fragile psyche by bringing in a legit QB that can play. So we went with Skylar Thompson, who now in his 3rd year in this offense can’t even successfully complete a handoff. We brought in two guys that were discarded or on the PS of other teams and they started over Skylar, before he got injured. That’s just uber embarrassing.

We paid Tua elite QB money, and he can play elite football, as long as the competition isn’t. I understand how the NFL works, you have a QB who is competent, you pay him. Fans here will throw out all kinds of stats that Tua has, some gaudy looking ones, but to me, the stat that matters most is how he plays when the chips are down against better teams. You can take your 37-46 for an 80% completion percentage and 365 yards with 2 TD’s and shove it! It’s the most misleading thing ever. We never threatened the Packers last night, never challenged them. They were in control the entire game. I don’t blame the game on Tua, but he doesn’t help us when we need him most. Misfires, high throws, underthrown balls are what you get when the game is actually in the balance. When the game for all intents and purposes is out of reach, then he starts throwing precision passes. I watched the game, I know!

We still have a meager chance to make the playoffs, but we know what will happen if we manage to sneak in. The same damn thing that happened last night, and just about every other time this team has to go on the road and compete against a better team. They get their ass beat down, make mistakes, and for the most part, look like they don’t belong on the same field as the better team. Special teams has been a thorn in our side for this team for 2 seasons yet ST’s Coach Danny Crossman remains gainfully employed. Chris Grier who is the NFL’s GM version of Imelda Marcos in a shoe store also remains gainfully employed. HC Mike McDaniel, every players bestest friend also remains gainfully employed. I know it can’t/won’t be an easy decision to tear it all down, Ross wants to win now, but if someone with half a brain could explain to him that it ain’t happening with what we got, maybe he would relent. Rebuilds take time, no question. That could be one thing Ross at his advanced age may feel like he doesn’t have.

Our secondary is a mess. We need to shed the salary of one OLB Bradley Chubb. I don’t think any of our OG’s will or should be considered as anything other than backups. The secondary, oh lord! Jalen Ramsey and maybe Kendall Fuller are the the only starters. Chop Robinson, who made such strides against the weaker teams might have been wearing all white last because he must have been camouflaged by the snow, didn’t see him! You just can’t count on Jaelan Phillips. I love the guy, but he is quite unlucky and injury prone. We have no defensive line because if Calais Campbell is smart, he won’t come back to play here next season. Everyone else is a one year contract, so it’s Zach Sieler. Hey, the guy we picked up from Seattle a couple of weeks ago was the leading tackler, if any of these could be called that after last night’s missed tackle jamboree!

That brings me to my next point. Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer said when he played for the Bills, he knew if we they put the pedal down that our team would just give up because we’re soft as fuck. I’m paraphrasing, but the message is there, and unfortunately, he’s 100% accurate to this date. If I’m the GM, that’s the first thing I’d want to change, but how do you give Grier the keys to the car and the money to go shopping? He MADE this team, from the Head Coach he chose and together they assembled this roster. Are you going to allow them to screw it up another year? My feeling is Grier’s tenure needs to come to an end. Once again, if Grier is gone, McDaniel should go too. I don’t think he’s an NFL Head Coach. He’s better suited as an Offensive Coordinator, not a guy to hold his players accountable, because he doesn’t. If they both stay, look forward to another season of SNL, and the cast of the “Not Ready For Prime Time Players”.