Miami Dolphins 2022 is more on Mike McDaniel than Tua
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins will find a rough road in 2022 but when it comes to placing blame, two names and only two names stick out right now.
By season’s end, Miami Dolphins fans could be blaming a bad season on Josh Boyer and his ability, or lack thereof, in running the defense. Or, the offense could struggle in Mike McDaniel’s first year and that will be the reason Miami fails.
Of course, they very well could steamroll the entire league and make the playoffs as well.
One thing is very certain, if the Dolphins don’t make the postseason in 2022, someone will be to blame and the fans will be divided. It doesn’t take a lot of math knowledge to know that Mike McDaniel and Tua Tagovailoa are the division that lies ahead.
If Miami struggles on offense this year, half the fans will blame Tua. The media, who already blame Tua for just about everything, will also blame Tua. Then there are the Tua fans, or TuaStans as they like to call themselves and they will blame a lack of success on a rookie head coach.
All of it will lead to an inevitable off-season of contempt and more talk of Tom Brady and Sean Payton.
While this really comes off as doom-and-gloom, the reality is that, unlike previous coaches, Mike McDaniel is walking into a good situation. Consider that Joe Philbin, Adam Gase, Brian Flores, and even Tony Sparano all came to Miami with rosters that were in need of huge upgrades.
McDaniel comes to Miami with an established defense. An offense that needed to be overhauled and they accomplished that immediately. There are questions about the offensive line and of course, Tua Tagovailoa but even Tua haters should be able to see he is far from a liability.
Everything will come down to how well McDaniel coaches and how well he can call plays and implement his system on offense. If he succeeds, the Dolphins should compete given their talent. If the fails, well, we can worry about that in 2023.
It has been 20 years since the Dolphins won a playoff game and this may or may not be the year they end that drought. If they do, the roses will bloom throughout the 2023 off-season and if they don’t, all anyone will feel is the thorns.
Will it be Tua or McDaniel if the Dolphins fail? Chances are, it will be a combination of a lot of things but if there is one thing we should realize is that if McDaniel’s offensive system is executed, Tua will have no problems being the quarterback in Miami.