3 Miami Dolphins that need to raise their game in the 2nd half of the season
By Matt Serniak
Jaylen Waddle needs to rise up and do more for the Miami Dolphins offense.
It really pains me to say that Jaylen Waddle needs to raise his game but we all are watching the games and are saying the same thing; "why is Waddle not a bigger part of this offense?"
I will never question the toughness of Jaylen Waddle. That guy is getting the Wes Welker treatment where just about every time the ball comes his way he takes an absolute ass-kicking. It seems like every game there is a moment where Waddle is limping off or holding an injured body part.
On Sunday night, I thought we were not seeing Jaylen Waddle return to the game because he was missing for like two quarters. I actually was fine if he didn't come back since he was dealing with back spasms or something back-related. Then we saw him warming up on the sideline in the middle of the third and I was like wow, Waddle is like Happy Gilmore after getting hit by that car and decided to keep playing. He came back in and made some catches and he's good to go for next week. All good things.
But we still are wondering why Jaylen Waddle isn't being targeted a bit more. We know the offense flows through Tyreek Hill. It's super cool watching the Cheetah do his thing but you're lying to yourself if you love how much usage he is getting.
All the miles he's running every game with all the motion and routes he's running has to eventually take a toll on him and when it does it will probably be later in the season. Like how Adrian told Rocky "You're human aren't you" and Rocky fired back with "I don't know what I am" We know Rock, you're a human like all of us.
Tyreek is one of one of what he is able to do out there and I know he's on his quest for 2,000 yards but the human body has limits and I'd rather not see what happens when Tyreek overdoes it.
And I'm not advocating for Jaylen Waddle to go full wide-receiver diva like we've so many do and I'm sure Tyreek is telling him that his time will come and be patient knowing full well what life would be like if Waddle said anything controversial to the media.
But behind closed doors, I don't think it's wild to want Waddle to be a bit more vocal with Mike McDaniel in wanting to get him the ball just a bit more. I know they're okay with Waddle getting those screens off the line and the deep-in-cut routes that Miami loves. But if Tyreek is doing his thing and garnering so much attention, which he is that Waddle you would think would have opportunities with 1 on 1 coverage a decent amount.
Last year, Jaylen Waddle had 615 yards seven games in. This year he has 359. That's too much of a disparity. It's year two in this offense and everyone should be performing better. Waddle also led the entire league in yards per catch with 18 a reception. This year he is only averaging 12 yards per catch.
The team needs more. It's as simple as that and I realize that for Waddle it's not all on him but I think he would tell you he can get more done.
I would imagine that the offense will be a bit more balanced in terms of targets for Hill and Waddle. I think it has to be. Let's hope everyone in Miami sees that as well.
UPDATE: This was all writen before the news of Tyreek Hill's hip injury kept him out of practice. We have no idea how serious this is regardless of what Tua said. But, I think this was inevitable with Hill. Makes it even more important that Jaylen Waddle finds his grove right now.
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