The Miami Dolphins sky isn’t falling like fans believe it is, yet
By Brian Miller
Some Miami Dolphins fans are writing off the season after two consecutive losses but the sky isn’t falling quite yet and fans shouldn’t be concerned.
To think that the Miami Dolphins are a bad football team is easy considering the massive blowout they took in week two and how they started against the Raiders on Sunday in Las Vegas but if we really look at the team, they are not that bad. They just are not playing to the level they are capable of.
One of the biggest problems is the dual OC system that doesn’t look like it is working. Miami’s offense is anemic no matter how you look at it. Eric Studesville and George Godsey are not utilizing their players well enough.
Mike Gesicki – an afterthought until late in the game.
Jaylen Waddle – led all receivers in receptions on Sunday but for just over 50 yards a new NFL record, and not a good one.
Speed throttled – Waddle, Fuller, Wilson, Grant, Williams, all have top speed and yet the Dolphins rarely throw the ball deep. Oline is a problem but they should still be able to get a few downfield.
Oline – Is the offensive line so bad that they are creating problems for the offense that the OC duo wish to call? Maybe, maybe not.
So why is the sky not falling?
We need to look at this without the rose colored glasses but also to see what we really have. In week 2 the Dolphins got killed by the Bills but the Bills are looking like the best team in the AFC, not the AFC East, the entire AFC. They are legit Super Bowl contenders and we are heading into week 4.
The Raiders are not a slouch football team and are undefeated through the first month of football. Miami not only traveled across the country to play them, they took them deep into overtime. Miami showed the fight they have under Brian Flores. They don’t quit and despite the poor play for most of the game, they delivered late and took the Raiders to the wire.
Are their problems? Yes. The Wild Cat formation is an abomination and the next time it is used, successfully or not, whoever calls it should be fired. Running a shuttle pass on third and three was not a smart call either and as we mentioned above, the OCs are calling horrible games.
Three weeks in, however, we are starting to see a little bit of life from the offensive line. Austin Jackson is still a liability but Michael Dieter is playing well and Liam Eichenberg is playing better too. Robert Hunt is also playing better. They all need to improve but there are signs in the right direction.
Media and fans alike are turning on Tua Tagovailoa but the Dolphins shouldn’t give up on him just yet. He should play through this year and next and then Miami should make a determination. With two first round picks in 2023, Miami will be in position to draft another QB.
Last year, the Dolphins started the season 1-4. Fans expected more this year but in reality, we can’t look at the last two weeks as a pure negative. They were losses to one good team and one very good team. It’s not the end of the world and their play last year at this time was just as bad and it got better pretty quickly. We will learn soon enough if that will be the case for this year’s team.