In the universe’s infinite wisdom, it has decided that Skylar Thompson the 25-year-old rookie from Kansas St. is the one who needs to be starting for the Miami Dolphins on Sunday as they host the 4-1 Minnesota Vikings. Yes, that means the universe decided that Teddy Bridgewater, a man who never had a concussion and who appears to be going the slowest through the concussion protocol ever, will be backing up Skylar Thompson.
I actually don’t hate this decision by Mike McDaniel. Not that I think many of you actually really know who I am and remember what I write, but I have been a leading member of the Skylar Thompson fan club since the preseason and have felt for a bit that trading Teddy Bridgewater and elevating Skylar Thompson to the #2 QB on the team was the move I would make as a guy who lives near Scranton PA who has never seen Thompson play. I understand if not many are on board with this but many weren’t on board with a heliocentric view of the solar system in the beginning either.
We saw Skylar Thompson thrust into duty last week against the Jets and the results weren’t stellar but I didn’t think it was dreadful either. The offensive line was disgusting and there were a decent amount of key drops. When you trot out a rookie QB, who didn’t get many first-team reps, everyone else has to pick up their game. Those are the rules.
The same goes for coach Mike McDaniel. I think he would admit he didn’t help his quarterback at all times either. Going away from the running game in the 3rd quarter when it was working was a bit questionable.
But I wouldn’t expect blunders like that to continue. With a full week of first-team reps, my expectation is that Mike McDaniel will craft a solid game plan that highlights Skylar’s skills and the team’s skills with Skylar.
Like Dr. Strange willingly giving the time stone to Thanos and the Ancient One and Hulk not knowing why he had to have done it for a reason. There’s a reason McDaniel was so quick to name Skylar Thompson the starter even though Teddy Bridgewater is probably going to be available. He knows something we don’t
Here’s a list of the things that Mike McDaniel needs to do to put Skylar Thompson in the best position to succeed.
Skylar Thompson possesses the ability to run. Let him run a bit.
Skylar Thompson ran a 4.91 at the NFL Combine. In his early years at Kansas St., Skylar ran more. He didn’t suffer a big injury or anything he just focused more on passing. Makes sense.
But the guy can be mobile. I’m not saying that he’s going to be Josh Allen, Mike Vick, Tyler Thigpen, or anything like that, but he can move around.
Because the running game was better last week, maybe the bootleg passing game is more in play. Mike McDaniel would be wise to see, early in the game, if that’s a doable thing. Getting Skylar out on the edge thus making the throws a bit easier, would be a great thing for McDaniel to do to help put Thompson in a better position to succeed.
Not being afraid of using Skylar’s 6’2 225LB frame to pick up a short-yardage 1st down is also something to be utilized. Teddy will probably be backing up Skylar if he passes all the concussion tests for the concussion he doesn’t have. So, I’m not worried about if Skylar goes down.
I’m not looking for design runs but coach it into Skylar Thompson that if the play breaks down, especially on a bootleg, take off and pick up yards with his feet.
I’d be putting in even more screens than usual for all position groups this week.
Yes, Skylar Thompson sort of messed up a well-developed screen last week and decided to go deep with it and was nearly picked off. That doesn’t mean we need to shelf the screen to the running back, which is lowkey one of my favorite plays in football. To me, it’s just so elegant when it’s blocked properly.
Anyway, keep running those to Mostert, Edmonds if he even gets into the game, or whoever is back there. If you want to finally get a pass off to Alec Ingold, throw a screen to him.
And there’s no reason to stop throwing WR screens to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. It doesn’t matter if it’s a slow, bubble, or rocket screen. Creating easy passes that get the ball into the team’s best player’s hands is always smart.
Last week, before McDaniel opted for the decision to go for the FG which I hated then and still do, they ran the screen to Waddle and he was ever so close to breaking it for a big gain. For guys like him and Hill, all it takes is one missed tackle for it to be a huge play.
Also, those layup-type passes will only get Skylar’s confidence up. Like a basketball player who needs to see the ball simply go through the hoop to let them know that they’re still good. Skylar needs to see the ball get completed to his players. We need the most confident version of Skylar Thompson at all times to pull out this win.
Skylar Thompson can learn a lot from Roy McAvoy’s approach to hitting a golf ball.
Roy McAvoy’s approach to hitting the golf ball is very detailed oriented. Whether it’s bringing the clubhead back not by the hands but by the body or that weight shifts back to the left pulled by the powers inside the Earth, Skylar Thompson can learn a lot from Tin Cup.
Or, Skylar Thompson can embrace the other way, for him to throw a football. Grip it and Rip it!
Against the Jets, Skylar wasn’t afraid to uncork the deep ball. It didn’t land in the hands of any Miami Dolphin receivers but it draw two defensive pass-interference penalties. Those are just as good.
Joe Flacco made a career and won a Super Bowl on running the flag play. It’s the system where you just throw far and let the defender get called for a penalty. It’s a very good system. Not saying that Skylar Thompson is the second coming of the very elite Joe Flacco, but I’m also not not saying it either.
Mike McDaniel can protect Skylar as much as he wants but eventually, he’s going to have to let Skylar do his thing out there. We saw in the preseason when Skylar Thompson is doing his thing that it can look fantastic. It’s where he isn’t thinking and just throwing the ball to a spot or at his target and letting them make a play. I believe Skylar can do that against starters. He just needs that confidence.
Skylar has a big arm, probably the biggest on the team. Let him use it. Let him use it to go deep for Hill and Waddle as they run deep crosses. Let him use it as they run fly routes that have them starting in the slot and taking the route to the numbers. He can hit those passes.
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