It's easy to point fingers after watching the Miami Dolphins get dismantled in Week 2 of the still-young NFL season. It was a good, if not spectacular, first half that gave way to a completely different team in the second half.
No one expected the Dolphins to beat them. The 49ers are a well-rounded team. San Francisco is the oldest team in the NFL, which gives them an incredible edge over the Dolphins, who are the youngest team in the NFL.
There are going to be more games like Sundays throughout the season, but there is no reason to get depressed, upset, or break your TV with a knee-jerk reaction. This was expected and will continue to be.
Miami Dolphins are better than the score and stats showed
Knee-jerk reaction number 5: The Dolphins defense sucks
On paper, it didn't look good. On the scoreboard, it looked a lot worse, but when you dive into the statistics, it's not horribly bad. The Dolphins, after getting gutted on the ground in Week 1, tightened things up against the 49ers.
San Francisco ran for a combined 95 yards. Christian McCaffrey was held to 23 yards on 10 carries, and 30 yards came on Brock Purdy scrambles. They just couldn't do anything to stop the pass, even when they bottled up the run game.
There is a lot of work to do in the secondary, but overall, Miami improved against the run.
Knee-jerk reaction number 4: Chris Johnson is a bust
In two weeks, Johnson hasn't given the fanbase anything to hang their hats on. The main return in the Jaylen Waddle trade, Johnson struggled last week and looked more lost against the 49ers. It's not time to start worrying yet. Johnson is being handed too much responsibility, and that's on the coaches. He has been tasked with covering two talented TEs over the last two weeks: Michael Mayer and George Kittle.
Traditionally, cornerbacks adjust to the speed of the NFL quickly; let's hope that's the case for Johnson, but if this continues, they may want to move him back outside to give him a smaller window of failure.
Knee-jerk reaction number 3: Sean Duggan isn't a good DC
It's hard to run a defensive scheme when the two biggest needs of a defense are not strengths. Duggan has one of the worst CB rooms, with even worse depth. Throw in the fact that he doesn't have an edge defender worth his contract, and it's going to be tough sledding.
Defenses rely on putting pressure on opposing QBs. They have not done that over the first two weeks. When pressure isn't applied, the QB can take his time and expose the weak secondary. This has to be a focus next offseason, or nothing will change.
Knee-jerk reaction number 2: The Dolphins are going to go winless
The initial results would point to that outcome, but this team doesn't quit on itself. Through the first two quarters on Sunday, Miami was in position to close the gap. Riley Patterson missed a field goal, Malik Willis took a five-yard loss on second and goal from the 5, and the pre-snap penalties continued.
Making it worse, veterans like Austin Jackson are not pulling their weight. The Dolphins need their veterans to step up and take the team on their shoulders, but they are not doing that. Still, there are a lot of positives that will eventually translate to wins. It's hard to imagine Miami going winless this season, but it could be close.
Knee-jerk reaction number 1: Jeff Hafley is over his head
Hafley, like Duggan, has a bad defensive unit to work with in year one. For all the Michael Taaffe and Jacob Rodriguez highlights, the Chop Robinson and Josh Uche issues are hard to look past. Hafley has the young players playing hungry, but more importantly, the physicality of this team is head and shoulders above what we have seen in the past.
Hafley isn't making coaching mistakes that we would expect from a rookie head coach, but he too is still learning the ropes as he goes. This isn't going to be a banner season for the Dolphins, but it isn't anyone's fault specifically. If we are being honest, this team is still in the Chris Grier recovery phase.
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