The three areas on the Miami Dolphins keeping them from being great
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins have a good football team this year but they could be better. They need to be better and there are three areas of concern.
How the Dolphins finish the 2022 season will be dependent on how well the team’s weakest areas develop. Miami has to realize that there are problems with their team and they need to figure it out before it becomes a bigger problem.
For now, Miami is keeping the status quo and that is fine but if performance issues don’t change, something might have to change internally. If these three areas change, the Dolphins’ offense just might be unstoppable.
Tight ends
Durham Smythe is playing well but Mike Gesicki in week one was not a big part of the offense. Game plan and scheme for week one may have had a lot to do with it but keeping Gesicki out of the offense isn’t smart. He has great hands and while he may not block as well, he is still a weapon.
Gesicki may start getting more involved depending on how Miami game plans for an opponent. In week one, none of the tight-ends were truly featured and Miami may want to change that. The problem is Mike McDaniel uses them differently than they were used last year.
It’s not just Gesicki though, Hunter Long also wasn’t a big part of the offense either.
The chance for improvement should be pretty good depending on how they game plan.
Offensive line
There is no question that McDaniel’s offense is suffering from average at best line play.
Austin Jackson struggled a bit at right tackle and when he went down it didn’t get much better. Greg Little was hardly in long enough to get a rhythm going and Robert Jones didn’t play that well.
Robert Hunt can’t hold it all himself and there is often confusion with Jackson but that should iron out as well. Jackson is still progressing and he too has said he expects himself to be better this year.
Liam Eichenberg did not have a bad game on Sunday but the lack of a running game is on both the right and left side of the offensive line and they all need to do a lot better.
To be fair, the Patriots’ game plan was to continue pressure throughout the game and that takes away some of the run options.
Against the Ravens, Miami needs to make the establishment of a running game a priority. Until that happens, the Dolphins’ offense will remain a one-trick pony and you can’t win without balance.
Tua Tagovailoa needs to take control of the Miami Dolphins offense.
I hate to beat a dead dog but Tua has to do better. His stats were very good and there should be no complaining but Tua has to be more decisive and more deliberate in his reads and his reactions. There is no reason three years into his career that he is still coming close to losing the football before being sacked or trying to get rid of the ball going to the ground. He has to have a better vision of the field.
Tua does seem comfortable in this system which is a good thing but he needs a level of urgency that he doesn’t have. He plays like he is on “Island Time”. Whenever the Dolphins can’t continue a drive into a scoring position, he should be mad. With this roster, there is no reason to not move the ball.
Tua is growing as well and it will take some time to completely get control over it. This isn’t a knock on Tua in any way and shouldn’t be taken that way. It’s a clear observation that there is room for him to do better. Once Tua masters this offense, it could propel him into a top quarterback.