Tua Tagovailoa left the final game of his rookie season with a bitter taste after the Dolphins were routed by the Bills.

Pressure Point: Dolphins shift focus to vital offseason with No. 3 pick

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The crash-and-burn of the Miami Dolphins’ unexpected playoff run shouldn’t leave a lasting sour taste or taint a truly exceptional season.

Though rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said he and his teammates were left with “a bitter taste in our mouths” in the immediate aftermath of the 56-26 debacle Sunday at Buffalo. “That’s not the way we wanted to go down.”

As unpleasant as it was to watch, the cold dose of reality did provide an honest gauge to take into the offseason.

The Browns, Ravens and Colts did the Dolphins a favor by winning their games to bump Miami out the playoffs. At this point the Dolphins aren’t ready to compete with the teams like the Bills in the postseason.

The objective is to build a team that can.

Coach Brian Flores and GM Chris Grier are working on something that has a chance to be special, and this 10-6 season was a significant step in that direction. The offseason will offer opportunities to add much-needed talent, particularly on offense.

Who will Dolphins pick at No. 3?

The next few months will bring considerable debate about what to do with the third overall pick in the draft, the main spoil of the Laremy Tunsil trade with the Houston Texans.

The Dolphins can thank Ryan Tannehill and the Titans for clinching it for the Dolphins with Sunday’s last-second win over the Texans, 41-38. Tannehill’s 52-yard pass to set up the winning field goal was another Miami Miracle.

The hot topic will be, do they take Oregon tackle Penei Sewell or Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith?

Sewell is regarded as a generational talent, evoking comparisons to Hall of Famer Orlando Pace. Smith would Tagovailoa a familiar target from their time together at Alabama.

Sewell will become an instant force on someone’s offensive line. But the Dolphins have a crying need for receivers — more than one.

That was painfully obvious Sunday with 10 or 11 catchable passes that were not caught. It has been evident all season.

Debatable if is to high for Smith. Maybe the answer is to trade down with a team that covets Sewell in order to draft two premier playmakers.

The Dolphins will also have their own pick at No. 18, as well as No. 36 and No. 50 in the second round, so they have options.

Pick QB or stick with Tua?

There are some voices clamoring for the Dolphins to draft another quarterback, already sour on Tua. Despite a respectable first season with a limited offense — he came into the season finale with 65 percent completions, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

His three interceptions in the second half at Buffalo give them more fodder. The first, a pick-six, happened  because DeVante Parker fell down, the other two were on Tua.

I’m sticking with Tua. Tough to draw a conclusion on whether or not Tua is worthy of the franchise quarterback tag when he’s running the junior varsity offense.

Do Dolphins receivers ever get as wide open as the Bills’ crew was all day? Do Dolphins quarterbacks ever have all day to sit in the pocket like Josh Allen and Matt Barkley did all day Sunday?

And what of the play calling, which offensive coordinator Chan Gailey acknowledged last week has been more conservative for Tua than when Ryan Fitzpatrick is in the game?

Will Chan Gailey return as OC?

Whether Gailey, who turns 69 on Tuesday, is retained or retires is one of the key offseason questions.

Regarding Gailey and the play calling, Tagovailoa said: “I think me and Chan’s relationship is really good, and our partnership with what I kind of want called and the communication between us I think is really good.

“Just today, I don’t think I put us in a really good situation. With the defense giving us a turnover on the first series and not going down and punching it in, there was a lot of miscommunication on that first drive for us. …

“We need to be better in that aspect of opening up games. First drives, we’ve got to go down and give our team some spark.”

Inexplicably, Gailey waited until the Dolphins fell into a huge deficit to take the reins off Tagovailoa with more uptempo and downfield throws. The change brought an impressive 75-yard touchdown drive to open the second half, but the spate of interceptions followed.

It wasn’t just the shortcomings of an offense short on playmakers that led to the drubbing. The Bills torched Miami’s highly regarded defense and special teams too, producing touchdown in all three phases of the game.

Interceptions by Byron Jones and Xavien Howard (his 10th of the season, tying the franchise record) were the lone highlights for Miami.

“We didn’t play well as a team,” said Flores, who avoided criticism of Tagovailoa while distributing blame, but said, “That includes Tua. He’s got to play better as well. But everyone’s a part of that.

“Look, he’s played well over the course of the season. We as a team have played well. We didn’t have it today.”

Flores, Grier face vital offseason decisions

As much as you want to see your team make the playoffs, it was difficult to root for that after the Dolphins turned in their poorest performance of the season.

On the surface the season-ending shellacking goes down as another in a long line of Dolphins dreams that have died at Buffalo. But the circumstance are different this time.

These Dolphins came farther and faster than was reasonable to expect in the second season of a complete roster reconstruction.

Next season expectations will be higher and the offseason will be about putting talent in place to meet them and avoid bitter endings like this one.

My gut feeling is Tagovailoa will be back as the starter and he will have more weapons at his disposal and a different OC calling the plays.

But as Tua said after the game, “I don’t think I have control over any of those things. I think all I can do is to continue to grow, continue to get better.”

Right, Grier and Flores will make those calls. Their jobs depend on it. They can’t afford not to get it right.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

College Football Playoffs relegated bowls to consolation status

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I love bowl season.

I love the matchups and getting to spend a full month watching games I wished I could have in September.

I can’t remember a year in which I hadn’t been to a bowl game since I got into sports media in 2011.

The bowl games used to mean something, but not anymore.

There used to be a handful of bowl games that were a big deal. The Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl represented the sport’s promise land.

Now only two of them at a time get the designation of playoff site and the rest have been practically relegated to consolation status. A clear sign of that is growing trend of college players with pro potential opting out of the bowl games to focus on the NFL Draft.

The North Carolina is playing in the Orange Bowl in Mack Brown’s second season as head coach. The Tar Heels haven’t played in a bowl game of this magnitude since the Peach Bowl in 2001.

Yet two of their running backs and one of their  leaders on defense opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft. It was one thing when Christian McCaffery was skipping the Sun Bowl. To make a New Years Six bowl game and decide it’s not worth playing speaks volumes.

Then again, the Tar Heels were at the site of the Orange Bowl a couple weeks ago and Michael Carter and Javonte Williams both eclipsed the 1000 yard mark after becoming the first combo to each rush for over 200 yards in a game. Carter amassed 308 yards during that game against Miami. Apparently that the two upperclassmen realized that the sequels are never better than the original.

At least there is no hard feelings in the locker room.

“The goal of this game is to play,” UNC receiver Emery Simmons said, “and then if you’re blessed with the opportunity to go and further your career, then take it.”

Quarterback Sam Howell threw for 3,352 yards and 27 touchdowns in his second season as a starter. In short, UNC is where they are largely because of him.

Being a sophomore, Howell is not yet eligible for the NFL Draft so opting out isn’t an option for him but playing in the Orange Bowl still means something to him.

“The Orange Bowl definitely means a lot to me. It’s a game I grew up watching,” Howell said. “It’s a game I always wanted to play in down there in Miami. Obviously it being a New Year’s Six bowl, we know how prestigious the game is.”

2020 has been a weird week for bowl games. Due to the chaos caused by the pandemic, every team is bowl eligible. It’s why four sub .500 SEC teams were slated for bowl games.

The main perk of playing in a bowl is the week leading up to it. It becomes one big team bonding trip. The nice hotels, the fun little events leading up to the big game. The bigger the bowl, the bigger the fun. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has robbed the players of that week.

“To be honest with you, I hate it,” Howell said. “I love bowl week. I loved our time in D.C. last year for the Military Bowl. That was one of the funnest weeks I’ve had in my entire life just being there with the team.”

So what’s the solution? It’s okay if the Cheez-it Bowl and Duke’s Mayo Bowl or Tony the Tiger Bowl are looked at as a consolation prize. It’s perfectly fine that Group of Five teams finish their season in Boca Raton or one of Alabama’s three bowl games (why?). But the New Years Six bowls have to still mean something and that’s where expanding the playoff comes in.

If two more teams get in, which this year would include No. 5 Texas A&M, the top two teams could get a bye. Now the playoffs can incorporate two more bowl games prior to the national championship game. If that game also ends up being a bowl, now there’s a pool consisting of the Fiesta, Rose, Orange, Peach and Cotton Bowl representing playoff sites.

“I feel like you’re still going to have the same issues you have now, no matter how many teams you have,” Howell said. “But I’m definitely all for expanding it. I think only good could come out of that.”

The constant argument against having a playoff and expanding it is it would lead to the delegitimization of the bowl games. That turned out to be true but adding 20 more games because ESPN could use more content also played a role in that.

The college football playoff is here to stay so the only way to bring back legitimacy to the bowl games is to expand the playoffs and include those bowls in the mix.

The Miami Hurricanes’ Déjà Vu And Breaking the Cycle

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Let’s start with some multiple choice.

“The numbers are so astonishingly bad as to stress the bounds of reality.”

The following quote can be used to accurately describe which of the following?

  • Miami’s bowl record.
  • The routine, record setting performances of Canes’ opponents.
  • Miami’s preparation to start games.
  • The ability of the Canes’ WRs to catch.
  • Miami’s inability to finish seasons.
  • All of the Above.

If you answered “All of the Above,” you are correct.

The shocking thing about the blowout loss to North Carolina and the subsequent bowl loss to Oklahoma State is that none of it is particularly shocking. We’ve seen this movie before.

This exact movie.

How does this keep happening across multiple coaches?

Agendas over Excellence

Let’s be realistic about human nature. Yes, the ultimate goal of any football program is to win games and championships.

But people are people, and everyone has personal agendas as well. If you work really hard on something at work and the team you’re a part of succeeds, but everyone but you gets promoted, you’re going to be upset even if the team succeeded.

And this is no different. Careerists ultimately are going to protect their careers. And often, that means the safe move, the risk averse move, the prioritization of status quo over substantive change. That’s how you end up in the same place over and over again.

To put things into context, since Dennis Erickson left Miami, every single coach Miami has hired but Al Golden has had previous Miami experience. This is perfectly fine when the program is at the top of the pyramid. And when you think about it, all the hires can make sense in a vacuum:

  • Promoting Larry Coker to replace Butch Davis makes sense. Team was at the top of college football.
  • Promoting Randy Shannon to replace Larry Coker makes sense. He was one of the top Defensive Coordinators in the country and had ties to Miami.
  • Replacing Randy Shannon with Al Golden makes sense. We’ve double-downed on Miami guys and taken a chance on a coach with no head coaching experience, so let’s bring in a coach with head coaching experience and no ties to Miami.
  • Replacing Al Golden with Mark Richt makes sense. He had won everything but the National Championship at Georgia, had Miami ties, and could at least run a professional outfit in contrast to the rank incompetence and inability to manage anything that Al Golden displayed.
  • Replacing Mark Richt with Manny Diaz…okay, this one is pretty indefensible. Temple hired him because that was his logical career progression. He was essentially starting his Al Golden journey. We somehow managed to combine 2 previous failed hires (Defensive Coordinator off previous staff and Head Coach at Temple) into 1. And we did so without even conducting a proper coaching search. With that said, if you want to defend it, you could say that Richt was certainly safe to coach here another year if he chose to do so, and so you are promoting an assistant off of an overall successful staff.

In a vacuum, you can justify any of these hires. But here’s the problem.

At no point with any of the 5 hires I mentioned, with the possible exception of Mark Richt, did Miami actually hire the best person they could for the job. 

And, more importantly, at no point was hiring the overall best coach for the job the primary concern. It was always finding the guy they wanted to hire for political, financial, or stability reasons, and then reverse engineering the logic from there, hoping the football would work out.

When I am managing people, I often urge them to follow an approach of “Think, Plan, Implement”:

  • Think about the problem you’re actually trying to solve.
  • Plan to solve it.
  • Implement the plan.

Spoiler Alert: the plan never works exactly right. But since you went through the process of really thinking about the problem you were trying to solve, you can reinvent and modify the plan as you go to continue to solve the original problem as it evolves over time.

My question to this administration is what problem are you trying to solve minutely, hourly, weekly, monthly, and yearly? They can keep saying they’re “Building Champions” but it lacks any credibility at this point:

The school has not won a conference since the 2003 season. What champions are they building?

It’s not that they don’t want to win. Don’t get me wrong, when Miami goes out there against North Carolina and get embarrassed on national TV, their phones are also blowing up with texts from people they haven’t talked to in 5 years who think it’s hilarious. They want to win.

The problem is they are trying to win against programs whose entire existence is built around winning in the cutthroat world of college football where the margins are basically non-existent while trying to placate agendas that are either counter to or at the very least not supportive of on field winning. 

You can’t win with one hand tied behind your back. Too often, the focus is on “message control” or protecting people, whether it be coaches, staffers, or players. We have, over time, seen the standards erode to the point that last year the team lost to FIU and then followed that up with 2 more losses, and there was never a thought that the head coach was in jeopardy. Whether or not he should have been fired is not the point, the fact is there was no realistic chance of a reaction to those performances because believe it or not, this program does not have championship standards.

We all publicly acknowledge it. We could all see Al Golden was a disaster, yet we needed Clemson to win 58-0 to get him out?

And if you’ve think that’s changed, look at how many of you were rooting for the D to meltdown against Oklahoma State just hoping that this would be enough to convince Manny Diaz to fire Blake Baker. Had we not seen enough? We needed to run it back again to convince him? If we’re at that point where the worst defensive performance in school history after 2 years of defensive ineptitude “needs more evidence” for substantive change, then we’re all acknowledging we are not “Building Champions” but “Placating Mediocrity.”

Is all hope lost? No.

Water Under The Bridge

However we arrived at this moment, we’re here now. The truth is, there is never going to be championship pressure from the administration. If a coach consistently wins between 8-10 games here, everyone will be fine with it in the Athletic Department. They’ve proven it over time, excusing seasons at or near .500 and puffing their chests out when the team moderately ticks up. If you want proof of this attitude, look at this:

Contrast that with the amount of times that publicly the AD has represented that everything is going great and according to plan. At no point in the last SEVENTEEN YEARS has Miami lost less than 3 games. Any program that routinely defends progress to a high-water mark of 3 losses thinks it’s acceptable.

With that said, we have one piece of hope. Our program lies in the hands of Manuel Alberto Diaz II.

Just because his bosses are okay with 8-3 does not mean he has to be. If he really wants to win championships at Miami, he can zig where his predecessors have zagged.

Those are the 3 previous head coaches at Miami. Notice a pattern? They all had uptick seasons very similar to the one Diaz just experienced. It was a good record, a lot of fun, and ultimately misleading. In 2009, 2013, and 2017, you could see the rot. Things went the teams’ way to get to that record, whether it be close wins against bad teams, miraculous plays, luck…they got some bounces. It’s only natural that the ball also bounces the other way down the road if that is what you’re relying on to win.

And as we eulogize the 2020 Canes, certainly those things apply to them as well. The Canes finished the year 1-3 against teams with winning records from major conferences, with the 1-win being NC State where D’Eriq King put up this stat line to lead the Canes to a comeback, 3-point win:

That is what it took to beat a P5 team with a winning record this year. Not to mention the number of bad teams that King single-handedly won the game against. Is this sustainable or repeatable?

Of course not, and pretending the record was representative of onfield play will only lead to a reversion to the mean, as it did with Diaz’ predecessors.

Truth is the Canes could get much better and still lose 3-4 games next year. Records can lie to you, breed complacency, and ultimately lead to failure.

But what if Diaz isn’t complacent? What if he actually takes a “Think, Plan, Implement” approach?

  • Think: How do I win a National Championship here?
  • Plan: What changes do I need to make to point this program in that direction? This includes looking at improving things we already do well, a critical thing we seem to routinely miss.
  • Implement: Execute the plan this offseason, because if it doesn’t go well, his clock that is already ticking will hasten towards inevitably running out.

And this starts with embracing his role as a head coach. As I was moving up in my career, my manager once gave me a sage piece of advice that I would impart on to Manny Diaz. She told me:

You have to be able to let go of your previous role. It’s no longer your job. Hire people you believe can accomplish the goal of that job. They won’t perform the role the way you would, and you’ll have the urge to dive in and “fix” things so they look the way you think is right, but that’s no longer your job. And if you’re doing that job, who is doing your job? Invest in the right person and trust them. 

It’s a tough lesson to learn, but one he needs to learn quickly. Does he want to be Manny Diaz, Defensive Coordinator, or Manny Diaz, Head Coach? If it’s Manny Diaz, Head Coach, then hire the best person he can to run the defense, and focus on running the program, instilling discipline, raising standards, managing games…areas that the team is sorely lacking in at this point.

Being a head coach is really hard. Most of them fail. Which is why it’s farcical to think that a first time head coach can step into a challenging role in a program that has spent 2 decades flailing and also multi-task as a defensive assistant. Autonomous offensive and defensive coaches with Diaz actually running the overall program is the best path forward, regardless of the name in those roles (even if he concludes Blake Baker is the best DC for Miami, then let him run the D autonomously. If he feels the need to coach the defense in any capacity, he is acknowledging he has an inadequate defensive staff).

Back to the history of Canes’ failures past…there was a time where they were not complacent.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at this, but Butch Davis fired his Defensive Coordinator after the 9-3 season in 1998. Why? It wasn’t good enough. Beating UCLA 49-45 was magical, but it wasn’t the road to a championship.

He had to make a move, even after winning the bowl game, if he wanted to actually “Build Champions.” And the team was significantly better in 1999, even if the record didn’t show it, just like the 2021 season could have a better team with a similar or worse record. That 1999 team lost to (at the time) the #1, #2, and #3 teams in the country, including both participants in the National Championship game, ended the year dominating a ranked team in a bowl game, and was clearly better than their record.

Diaz has a similar opportunity. He can strive for perfection to attain excellence, push the boundaries of this program, and try to elevate the standards…or he can be happy with where we’re at, go with a version of “trending up,” and see what staying the course brings him.

There is no guarantee of success or failure, and ultimately, everyone in every walk of life is judged on results.

But Diaz, fresh off a strong record, with a strong recruiting class coming in, is uniquely poised to raise the standards of this program. Opportunities are rare and fleeting.

The question must be asked…is this football program prepared to do the difficult work of competing for championships, including being ruthless, uncompromising, and non-negotiable? Only Manny Diaz can answer, because he alone can elevate this program. No one else in an authority position can be bothered to.

Vishnu Parasuraman is a contributor for @FiveReasonsSports and generally covers the Miami Hurricanes. You can follow him on twitter @vrp2003

Tua Tagovailoa

Fresh Perspective: Patience is mandatory with Tua Tagovailoa

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There’s no denying that the NFL suffers from a severe case of recency bias. Fans and analysts alike always choose to focus on the players putting on the greatest show, regardless of previous performance or reputation. When Jakeem Grant returns a punt for 80 yards and scores a touchdown, everyone loves him. When he drops a key pass, fans call for him to be cut. The same, unfortunately, applies to Tua Tagovailoa.

Thrust into the starting role after the Week 7 bye, Tagovailoa has gone through plenty of ups and downs. His stats don’t inspire awe, nor has he found a way to keep comparisons to Justin Herbert at bay. On top of that, Tagovailoa has now been benched for veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick twice. In Week 11 against the Denver Broncos, Fitzpatrick came in and provided a spark to the offense after Tagovailoa failed to get the team driving. Fitzpatrick got the team within one score, but threw an interception in the endzone which allowed the Broncos to  win.

Then last week against the Las Vegas Raiders, Tagovailoa went 17 of 22 for only 94 yards and a touchdown. The entire game, Tagovailoa was not able to find a way to consistently drive down the field, leading to his benching. Fitzpatrick immediately came in, and the offense started moving the chains and scoring points, almost as if a fire had been lit under them. It’s hard to deny the difference in how the offense looks depending on who is throwing the football. It becomes even harder to ignore when Chargers rookie QB Justin Herbert regularly puts together 300+ passing yard games.

Tua Tagovailoa

As of now, betting odds have Herbert on the fast track to offensive rookie of the year. Tagovailoa, on the other hand, isn’t likely to win that honor. The one thing that sets the two apart in Tagovailoa’s favor, is that Tagovailoa has a 6-2 record as a starter. Herbert, in spite of his huge numbers, is only 5-9. It’s hard to argue with end results, but wins are rarely a relevant tool in evaluating quarterbacks. So what kind of an argument can be made to suggest the Dolphins didn’t make a mistake drafting Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert?

As a matter of fact, it’s fairly simple.

Tagovailoa and Herbert are two completely different quarterbacks.

When you look at Justin Herbert, you see a quarterback who is a gunslinger. He has a cannon for an arm and takes risky shots that result in big rewards if it works out. For Herbert, he’s been lucky so far. He has 28 touchdowns and only ten interceptions on the season. The offense he’s in has been adapted to allow for plenty of opportunity for him to shine. Plus, as a gunslinger, it was always a strong possibility he would find early success. Big plays make or break games, and Herbert’s arm and throwing style make for several opportunities for big plays. He also has several playmakers to get the ball to. Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry, it’s an impressive list.

Tua Tagovailoa, on the other hand, is a completely different quarterback. While Tagovailoa had several big plays of his own while at Alabama, he is not a gunslinger. Tagovailoa is a cerebral quarterback, someone who looks for the open receiver and takes whatever the defense is willing to give. His comparison coming out of college was Drew Brees. Accurate, discerning, able to read defenses quickly. But he does not appreciate throwing into tight windows.

“Sometimes you’ve got to just take the shots.” Tagovailoa said after the Raiders game. “You’ve got to give guys an opportunity and you got to just get the ball down the field because time is running out and we don’t have all day to just think here, think there and try to move the ball that way … I’m going to continue to take what the defense gives me. If I feel like that’s not open, I’m not going to throw it. And so it’s I got to get better at that. That’s it.”

This is where the problem lies. Tagovailoa wants players to be open. He wants them to get separation from the defenders. In Alabama, that happened on a regular basis. Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Jaylen Waddle, they were able to get themselves open and Tagovailoa would find them and get the ball to them. Easily.

In Miami, the talent level at the skill positions is vastly different. DeVante Parker’s claim to fame is making difficult, contested catches. Tight end Mike Gesicki is the same way. Jakeem Grant is the fastest receiver on the roster, and not only does he have struggles with drops, he’s now injured. Lynn Bowden has potential, but he’s a rookie. Malcolm Perry is a former Navy QB being converted into an offensive weapon. Preston Williams has not played since Week 9 and is on injured reserve with a foot injury.

What is left for Tagovailoa to reach out to?

To add to the pile of factors working against the former Alabama superstar, offensive coordinator Chan Gailey clearly prefers to call plays for Ryan Fitzpatrick. Their shared history with the New York Jets added to Fitzpatrick’s gunslinger mentality, it’s not an exaggeration to state there are two different playbooks depending on who is at quarterback.

Fair or not, this is what Tua Tagovailoa is dealing with. In essence, his offensive coordinator does not trust him to run the same type of plays that Fitzpatrick does. It’s a mystery as to why Gailey feels that way about the rookie. Tagovailoa’s best performances are when he has an empty backfield and a no-huddle offense. So why is Gailey forcing Tagovailoa to function in a heavy playaction offense with lots of read-option plays?

Gailey insists that it’s about the gameplan, not the players involved in said gameplan.

“You have the game plan set up that you go into it with, and you’re in a different mode when you get to the end there,” Gailey said on Tuesday. “You’re in a totally different mode. It is different because of the situations, not because of the players.”

Yet the evidence seems to suggest otherwise.

With all this in mind, there’s no denying that Tua Tagovailoa is being handicapped somewhat. His lack of reliable weapons along with an offensive coordinator who prefers to call plays for a gunslinger QB gives him few opportunities to prove himself. But there have been opportunities that Tagovailoa simply hasn’t taken advantage of, and it has everything to do with his struggle to make the adjustment to the NFL.

At Alabama, he had wide receivers running open on a regular basis. In the NFL, the windows are much tighter. Fitzpatrick finds success (or failure) because he’s willing to test those windows without hesitation. Tagovailoa isn’t willing to do that yet. It will take some time for him to grow into the role, plus get some weapons he can feel more comfortable throwing to.

It took five years for Drew Brees to become the future Hall of Famer we know today. The San Diego Chargers gave up on him before he became a superstar. Will it take five years for Tua Tagovailoa? Hopefully not. But the fact of the matter is, when a quarterback’s bread and butter is picking apart defenses like a surgeon instead of testing them with a cannon, there’s a learning curve that must be considered during evaluation.

Miami did not make a mistake picking Tua Tagovailoa over Justin Herbert. They simply chose a quarterback with a higher ceiling, and a longer development time. It’s easy to feel frustrated watching Herbert make the highlight reel on a regular basis. However, Tagovailoa will soon reach his stride. He’ll learn to trust his receivers, he’ll get an offensive coordinator who will allow him to spread his wings, and soon enough his numbers will follow. Just have patience.

With a quarterback like Tagovailoa, it’s mandatory.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for seven years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

Ryan Fitzpatrick somehow gets off the pass to set up the winning field goal against the Raiders.

Pressure Point: FitzMagic saves Dolphins, but don’t give up on Tua

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Leave it to Miami Dolphins fans to turn a heart-stopping, season-saving win into a quarterback controversy.

If only in their minds.

Immediately after Ryan Fitzpatrick came off the bench Saturday night to lead an improbable comeback to a 26-25 victory over the Raiders, coach Brian Flores said rookie Tua Tagovailoa will remain the starter when the Dolphins roll the final dice for the playoffs next week at Buffalo.

Much to the consternation of a segment of the fan base that in rapid order went from longing for the Dolphins to draft Tua to already writing him off because:

  • He’s not lighting up the stat sheet like retired legend Dan Marino or fellow rookie Justin Herbert, who the Dolphins could drafted instead.
  • He doesn’t have the mastery of Chan Gailey’s offense like Fitzpatrick, who has run it in the past and has 16 years overall in the league.

Meanwhile, overlooking that the Dolphins are 6-2 in games Tagovailoa has started — though, obviously, Fitzpatrick gets credit for pulling off the Day After Christmas Miracle.

Fitzpatrick serves an instant classic

Fitzpatrick’s heave down the sideline to Mack Hollins while his head was being twisted in the opposite direction by a Raiders defender to set up the winning field goal immediately earned a prominent place in Dolphins lore.

Up there with the Duriel Harris-Tony Nathan hook-and-lateral, the Marino fake-spike “clock” TD toss against  the Jets and the 2018 Miami Miracle win over the Patriots.

“They call him ‘FitzMagic’ for a reason,” observed Tagovailoa, who was reduced to spectator in the fourth quarter as Fitzpatrick led three scoring drives (a touchdown and two field goals).

You’ve gotta love Fitz, for who he is and for what he’s done and meant to the rebuilding Dolphins the past two seasons.

He certainly is a luxury item at this point and a valuable ace in the hole to play in situations like the Dolphins were in needing a spark to keep their playoff chances alive.

Flores: ‘Whatever we need to do to win’

On Sunday, Flores was asked if he is utilizing a two-quarterback situation with Fitzpatrick as a closer.

“I don’t want to put any labels on it. The label is we’re going to do what we’ve got to do to win,” Flores said. “I owe that to Dolphins fans, to players in our locker room, to people in this organization, so that’s what we’re going to always do.

“Whatever we need to do to win, that’s what we’re going to do.”

There are plenty of voices out there shouting that the objective would be better served by starting Fitzpatrick next week at Buffalo. While others will continue grumbling that the Dolphins messed up by drafting Tagovailoa instead of Herbert, who is having a historic rookie season for the non-contending Los Angeles Chargers.

Even though Tagovailoa outplayed Herbert in the Dolphins’ 29-21 win over the Chargers in November.

Rap on Tua

And while overlooking that Tagovailoa’s struggle against the Raiders aren’t indicative of his season overall.

Tua did have a similar subpar performance against the Broncos, also on the road, which prompted another fourth-quarter relief appearance by Fitzpatrick. But he followed that up with back-to-back Rookie of the Week efforts.

“Tua has brought us a spark in a lot of other games. I think people just forget that. We just remember the last thing,” Flores said Sunday. ”I think Tua has played well.  I think he’s made a lot of improvement over the course of the season. I think he is developing.

“Tua has done a lot of good things for this team. He knows that, this team knows that.”

Dolphins fans have been fixated for so long on the quest for a franchise quarterback that some of them are having trouble appreciating one of the most remarkable seasons in franchise history.

A year ago, after tearing down the roster and starting 0-7, they were being called one of the worst teams in NFL history.

Now they are 10-5 and one win away from the playoffs.

NFL teams aren’t built in a single draft. Yet the Dolphins, under Flores and GM Chris Grier, have already constructed a playoff-caliber defense and improved the offensive line. They have four picks in the first two rounds of the next draft and one of them may again be in the top five.

Tua here to stay

The offense will look different next year. There will be more playmakers and Tagovailoa will already have the experience of playing in a playoff race — potentially of playing in the playoffs, depending on how next week goes.

The Should-Have-Drafted-Herbert crowd isn’t going away. Neither is Tua.

He has a lot of improving to do. The same could have been said about plenty of Hall of Famers during their rookie year.

Look at Drew Brees, whose tools are similar to Tua’s. In his first season as starter, Brees threw 17 touchdown passes with 16 interceptions while completing 61 percent of his passes. The next season he had 11 TDs, 15 picks and a 57.6 completion percentage.

It wasn’t until his third season that Brees took off with 27 TDs, seven picks and 65.5 percent completions.

Josh Allen, who in his third season is putting up MVP-type numbers while leading the Bills in quest of the Super Bowl, as a rookie had 10 TDs and 12 interceptions while completing 52.8 percent.

Tagovailoa, coming off a career-threatening injury at Alabama and with no preseason, has completed 65 percent with 10 TDs and two interceptions. Yes, there have been a number of would-be picks dropped, including another Saturday.

His receivers have dropped quite a few on-target throws as well.

There are valid criticisms. Tua tends to hold the ball too long in the pocket and hasn’t had much success hitting longer routes.

Offensive coordinator Gailey’s play-calling often isn’t suited to what Tagovailoa does well — as if he’s keeping the training wheels on him.

Nonetheless, Tagovailoa’s rookie year has shown he can be a winning quarterback. Because, well, they’re winning with him now.

Flores looks at a broader picture than fans and media members, and he gets the last word on the matter:

“Speculation on whatever people want to speculate about as far as what we should or shouldn’t do, based on [Saturday] night, I think I wouldn’t do that and forget the body of work over the course of the season to include however many games Tua has been starting,” Flores said Sunday.

“I think he’s played fairly well. People may disagree, but we’ll just have to just agree to disagree in that instance.”

But if things aren’t going well at Buffalo, don’t be surprised if Flores resorts to another dose of FitzMagic  one more time.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

Tua Tagovailoa celebrates with teammates after scoring one of his two touchdowns in a 22-12 win over the Patriots.

Pressure Point: Dolphins deliver joy to fans, so enjoy it

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Mike Gesicki, DeVante Parker, Jakeem Grant out. Rookie quarterback vs. a Bill Belichick defense with extra time to prepare.

Big problem?

With his receiving corps decimated by injuries, veteran offensive coordinator Chan Gailey had the ideal remedy for a 22-12 victory the Miami Dolphins had to have Sunday to keep playoff hopes alive.

They ran the hell out of the ball.

A mediocre rushing offense averaging 95 yards a game stuck it to the New England Patriots for 250 yards on the ground to eliminate Belichick’s dynasty from the postseason for the first time since 2008.

Some Dolphins fans will lament that Tua Tagovailoa only threw for 145 yards and forced a pass for an interception on perhaps the most ill-advised decision of his rookie season.

Dolphins run wild in second half

Give it a rest. Tagovailoa did what he was asked to do in leading three second-half touchdown drives. The order of the day was to run, and Tua ran for two of those scores, including a nifty scramble for the touchdown that put Miami ahead to stay.

“Today we ran it effectively, so we just kept running it,” coach Brian Flores said.

You want stats? Rookie Salvon Ahmed became the first Dolphins 100-yard rusher in two seasons with 122 yards on 23 carries. Matt Breida wasn’t far behind with 86 yards on 12 carries.

A young offensive line with three rookie starters took control of the game and wore down the Patriots defense. When rookie Solomon Kindley left with an injury, second-year guard Micheal Deiter stepped in and they kept grinding.

But here’s the prime stat: The 9-5 Dolphins have clinched a winning record in Flores’ second season after beginning 0-7 in his first. They are 14-9 since then.

“I think we’ve got a mentally tough, physically tough, resilient group that knows how to deal with adversity, that doesn’t go in the tank, keeps fighting, keeps working,” Flores said. “Whatever the situation is these guys just work.”

Those qualities will be tested the next two weeks as the Dolphins continue to fight for a wild-card spot with remaining games at Las Vegas and Buffalo.

“We battle for each other. We’ll continue to do that,” Flores said. “That’s one thing I know that everyone is going to continue to work hard.”

As they did Sunday in a must-win situation with an injury-riddled offense that had six rookies starting.

One other thing of interest that Flores said after getting his second win against his former boss:

“For Dolphins fans — we’ve got great fans who are lifers and they love this team. So we’re happy to bring some joy to our fans. Because they deserve it.”

Even to those who are hung up on whether they drafted the right quarterback, drooling over the gaudy numbers amassed by Justin Herbert, taken one pick later than Tagovailoa by the Los Angeles Chargers.

So much for rookie QBs vs. Belichick factor

Much was made about of Belichick’s 21-7 record against teams starting a rookie quarterback.

The network analysts were all over it at halftime, with the Dolphins tailing 6-0 and Tagovailoa’s interception in the end zone standing out as the pivotal play of the half. Boomer Esiason talked about how Belichick’s scheme was making the rookie uncomfortable and received a knowing nod from Bill Cowher.

Safe to say that any quarterback will feel uncomfortable with all of his best receivers sidelined with injuries.

Funny how that storyline faded in the second half as the Dolphins ran the Patriots into oblivion while the defense performed as it has for the most of the season in limiting New England to four field goals.

Tagovailoa, for his part, executed the short-passing game, completing 20 of 26.

He also showed better wisdom when he scrambled out of pressure to score rather than forcing a pass as he had in the first half.

Tua exhibited his athleticism to get out of trouble and into the end zone with a juke on the last defender, prompting a question about whether he has been working on his moves.

“I tried to do everything I could to get in the end zone. I’ve just got to work a little bit more on some other dance moves I’ve got going,” he said with a laugh.

Dolphins winning with Tua

For those fixated on passing totals, Tua’s numbers will improve after the Dolphins add talent to the receiving corps through the draft and free agency.

For now, the vital number on Tua is the Dolphins are 5-2 with him as starter.

While Herbert has 27 touchdown passes, his Chargers are 5-9 and got crushed 45-0 by these Patriots a few weeks back.

Indications are both of these rookies are headed for stardom. The Dolphins are already winning with Tua, which is the objective.

As a rebuilding team, they have come farther, faster than was reasonable to expect. Flores has already built a quality defense that Dan Marino never had behind him as he tried in vain for a second shot at a Super Bowl.

The defense gave the coup de grace to New England’s playoff hopes with an exclamation point sack of Cam Newton by Emmanuel Ogbah.

With a developing offensive line, a running game like Miami put together Sunday would further serve its young quarterback. Look what having Derrick Henry has done for Ryan Tannehill with the Titans.

It figured to take at least two drafts for the Dolphins to address all the needs. So Flores and his team have brought some joy a year sooner than expected, especially considering those sorry first seven defeats of 2019.

However this season plays out, just enjoy it, Dolfans. Enjoy the joy.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

Dolphins Chargers Win

Houtz Special: Five Things to dish about before Sunday’s matchup vs New England

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I don’t know what to call this article.

After all, it is Saturday and I’m chasing two Rugrats around the house–a day after sucking up more snow than former offensive line coach Chris Foerester– after Mother Nature dropped a bunch of powder in central PA.

Yes, I live in PA.

(Note: And yes, I am thankful for what Ethan and the Miami Dolphins have allowed me to do in 2020. After all, I’ve been able to cover this team in a way I never could imagine. Most importantly, I’m thankful for all of you. Thank you, and Happy Holidays!)

The Franchise

Now back to the point. There’s a lot going on right now and instead of trying to pick and choose what to talk about, I’m just going to throw together a bunch of mirepoix, protein, herbs, spices, a little duck fat, a strand of saffron, and a drizzle of truffle oil and throw it all in a crockpot. Or, for those of you that aren’t classically trained chefs, I’m going to throw together a bunch of crap CHOPPED style, and somehow, someway, hope it turns out tres bien!

So without further ado: 5 Things I really want to talk about heading in to Sunday’s matchup vs New England.

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Justin Herbert vs Tua Tagovailoa

I will never understand why this has to be one or the other. Truth is, I liked both quarterbacks very much. But I will never, EVER, say I wanted Herbert more–because that simply is not true. Furthermore, what I don’t understand is why after six games of watching Tua winning games in Miami and Herbert lighting the world on fire in Los Angeles (with some, admittedly, coming in garbage time) we are ready to call this contest?

I know that’s not how this industry works. Hell, Colin Cowherd changes his takes about as much as he changes his under pantalones.

And let’s not pretend this was ever like comparing apples to oranges.

Herbert was always the guy that compared nicely to Josh Allen and that was BEFORE Allen turned juggernaut. Tagovailoa has always been compared to Drew Brees. A guy who despite his lack of a rocket arm (Jakeem Grant still should’ve caught that 55-yard dot.) makes up for it with his football IQ, ability to work the pocket, picture-perfect mechanics, and lettuce not forget, that gd accuracy. He’s also pretty mobile too.

Herbert is playing out of his mind, no one can argue that. But I’m not ready to call this thing, not even close. Tua continues to get better and I think we will have a much better idea of what these two teams are next season. But again, it’s never going to change for me.

The Dolphins have a very good rookie quarterback who has the potential to be a superstar.

Start Lynn Bowden in Fantasy Football this weekend?

I’ll give a shoutout to my dude David Friedman (@TacoBoutSports), because he did call his shot on Lynn Bowden last week on the Business YouTube Page (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE HERE). But truth is Bowden is a versatile player that most Dolphins fans probably already had stashed on their Dynasty and Devy rosters, or were keeping close tabs on in re-draft. He was also a hell of a play in FanDuel and Draft Kings. (Yes, I paired him with Tua in FanDuel and won some cash money) Nevertheless, he’s made an impact in the passing game and as you saw vs the Kansas City Chiefs, the Dolphins reminded the entire world that Lynn Bowden once played QB.

Bowden was targeted 13 times over the last two weeks, catching 11 targets for 123 yards. He’s also starting to earn trust in fellow rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa when others on the roster may not. I think he continues to prove he belongs over the next three weeks. But it’s not exactly a straight-forward decision.

I mean, obviously, if you’re playing in the fantasy playoffs, you may have better options. But I think as we saw over the last two weeks, he’s going to need to be a factor if the Dolphins want to knock the New England Patriots out of contention and continue on their improbable run.

Fire up Lynn Bowden this weekend, especially in DFS and full-point PPR leagues (FLEX).

Tua Tagovailoa named NFL Rookie of the Week

For the second consecutive week, Miami Dolphins’ fans did the lord’s work and voted quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as the Pepsi Zero Sugar Rookie of the Week –after his career day vs the Kansas City Chiefs. Tua set career bests in completions, (28) attempts, (48) yards, (316) and total touchdowns.(3).

Congrats, Tua Tagovailoa.

Want to see every dropback from Tua vs Kansas City? 

Dolphins vs New England Patriots

There’s a lot riding on this game. In fact, the Dolphins can eliminate New England from playoff contention with a win this week. And how awesome would that be after the twenty years of pure hell that franchise has put us through. Nevertheless, this is a big-time game and as we’ve seen before, there’s no one more capable of attacking rookie QBs than Brian Flores…well, maybe Bill Belichick 🙂

And according to a bunch of really smart people, Belichick hasn’t lost to a rookie quarterback in his last 9 tries.

So, last week we got to see Patrick Mahomes vs Tua Tagovailoa and now this week Bill Belichick vs Tua Tagovailoa. Let’s not forget Tagovailoa said before he was named starter he would watch film every week with Flores to get an understanding of NFL defenses from his point of view. We will see how well these film sessions pay off, as he faces arguably the greatest coach in NFL history. (It will always be Shula for me)

The Miami Dolphins currently hold the series lead with a 56-54 record.

Who: Miami Dolphins (8-5) vs New England Patriots (6-7)

What: BIG AFC EAST GAME!!!

Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida. TV broadcast: CBS

When: December 19, 2020

Why: Football is good

Prediction: Dolphins 27 Patriots 10

I think the Dolphins stop the run much better than they did in week 1 with Zach Sieler and Raekwon Davis playing a larger role. I also think this team realizes that the Patriots are one-dimensional. And if you can stop the run and force Newton to beat you with his arm, that’s the recipe for success.

Nothing will come easy and we know Belichick takes great pride in his ability to confuse rookie QBs. But as we saw from Tua throughout his first six games, some of his best football comes when the defense is applying pressure. Sunday, Flores and the Dolphins have a chance to put the dagger in New England’s 2020 season. And in doing so, remind the Patriots that the next 10-15 years in the AFC East will be much different than the last.

What they said:

Brian Flores on his time in New England:

“I learned so much. I started in personnel. Scott Pioli hired me there as a scouting assistant. Those four years in personnel were very valuable. There are a lot of guys in that department who have gone on and done well for themselves – Jon Robinson, Thomas Dimitroff, Matt Russell, Marvin Allen was on the staff there when I was there. Lionel Vital. So I learned a lot from that group. Then going into coaching, working on special teams with Brad Seely who just recently retired and Scott O’Brien who retired a few years ago as well in the kicking game. Going over to offense, working with Bill O’Brien. When I went over to defense, obviously working with Bill (Belichick), Matt Patricia, obviously Josh Boyer, Pat Graham. A lot of really good coaches on both sides of the ball. I would say one of the guys who I learned as much about coaching as anyone is Dante Scarnecchia. I know he’s the o-line coach over there, but just the relationships he built with players and how demanding he was. I think I’ve tried to take a lot of what he did because he had a lot of success. Then just team building and being around a lot of very good players, very good coaches. I had some great experiences there.”

Dolphins team captain Kyle Van Noy on the differences between the two teams since Week 1:

“I think it’s better communication. Just playing better. I think we are comfortable with where we’re at and we’ve got to make strides to get better each time we take the field. I think as an older guy, just playing better and having everybody play better helps as well. I think it’s a lot of different things and I hope we do our best to slow it down. They are really, really good. I think they are third in rushing in the league. Their o-line is amazing. (Offensive Line Coach) Cole Popovich does a really good job getting those guys ready to go. That rookie (Michael Onwenu) is playing really well and (Jermaine) Eluemunor is playing well. The backs – Damien Harris is playing really well. Sony (Michel)’s still got juice, obviously James White is just all-around amazing. Then you’ve got Cam Newton who still runs the ball really well. He’s doing a lot of things well. They do a good job. You can splash in the receivers too. They all run the ball pretty well too when they get the ball on sweeps and different things like that. (Head Coach) Bill (Belichick) has them playing hard and he’s a really good coach and they are doing a really good job running the ball.”

Matt Breida on Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores:

“He treats every player the same, no matter how good you are or if you’re on the practice squad. He expects great things out of you. He’s a great coach. He’s going to be coaching for a very long time in this league. It’s rare that you’re around coaches like him who are fairly young, understand what it takes to win and just what goes into this game. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen nothing but great things about him and I love that he’s my head coach. I think all the guys on the team feel the same way. We all want to play for him and go out there and players lay it on the line for him, and he does the same for us. He’s just a great head coach.”

This article was written by world-renowned Miami Dolphins’ beet writer Josh Houtz. Follow him on Twitter @houtz

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Dolphins tigh tend Mike Gesicki scored two touchdowns before suffering an injury.

Pressure Point: Dolphins show resilience in loss, but injuries hurt

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The Dolphins can walk away from Sunday’s 33-27 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs with only one major lament.

That would be the injuries to key players on an offense that was already hamstrung by health issues.

In particular, the loss of tight end Mike Gesicki, who left with a potential serious injury to a shoulder or collarbone on the possession after his second touchdown of the day which came on a spectacular catch under tight coverage.

Otherwise, there was a lot to like about the resilience shown by the Dolphins in a 17-point fourth quarter rally.

Certainly no complaints about the defense, which had four takeaways including three interceptions of Patrick Mahomes, tying a career high for the former MVP.

The toll on an already limited offense doesn’t bode well for the 8-5 Dolphins’ playoff hopes with the gauntlet of Patriots, Raiders and Bills still to come.

Coach Brian Flores didn’t offer any information about Gesicki’s condition. But quarterback Tua Tagovailoa implied that his favorite receiver may be out for awhile.

“I told him my thoughts and prayers are with him,” Tagovailoa said. “The rest of the team is praying for him. … You just hate to see that for someone like him.”

Receiver corps decimated

Wide receivers DeVante Parker and Jakeem Grant went out with injuries in the first half. The offense came into the game missing the top three running backs on the depth chart and the starting left guard.

Nonetheless, Tagovailoa led the comeback with two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter on the way to his first 300-yard passing day in the NFL. Notably, he did some of his best work with what amounted to the junior varsity following Gesicki’s exit and kept it interesting until a last-ditch onside kick failed in the final seconds.

“We’ve got a resilient team. They don’t quit,” coach Brian Flores said.

Injuries aside, the day confirmed what was already apparent: The rebuilding Dolphins need quite a few more skilled pieces on offense to be able to match up against the top teams in the league.

With four picks in the first two rounds of the 2021 draft, they will have an opportunity to upgrade the receiving corps and give Tua an array of playmakers like he had at Alabama.

They won’t need to address the quarterback position, even though Tua has emerged as a polarizing figure in some outposts of the fan base for whatever reason.

Tagovailoa shows ‘good stuff’

Tagovailoa is 4-2 as a starter with nine touchdowns, one interception, 62 percent on completions and a 95.2 passer rating.

Oh, and Tua is now ninth in the AFC in passer rating, just ahead of fellow rookie Justin Herbert.

His first career interception came Sunday after avoiding the rush and tossing a deep ball to Grant that was slightly underthrown and hung up long enough for Chiefs cornerback Rashad Fenton to deflect it to Tyrann Mathieu.

A better receiver than Grant might have caught that ball. But go ahead, put that pick on Tua.

There have been plenty of drops of balls that Tua has put in catchable spots, including a touchdown Parker let slip through his hands in the back of the end zone in the second quarter.

Tony Romo, former quarterback turned network analyst, noted some instances when Tagovailoa held the ball too long. Romo also pointed to a problem of receivers not getting open.

He highlighted a third-and-8 play with three receivers stacked on the left and none of them get gained any separation from defenders. Tagovailoa had to scramble short of the first down.

But where some fans see cause to quibble about Tua, Romo said near the end of the broadcast, “Lots of good stuff I saw out of Tua today.”

Tagovailoa was critical of his own play, particularly in the third quarter when three possessions ended in punts and another in a safety on a sack.

“Not taking what the defense is giving me is pretty much plain rookie mistakes,” he said. “You can’t do that against a Super Bowl-caliber team like the Chiefs.”

Dolphins defense shines with big plays

Meanwhile, there was plenty of good stuff from the Dolphins’ defense, despite Mahomes’ 393 yards passing and the Chiefs’ run of 30 unanswered points in the middle two quarters.

Not all of that was on the defense. Ultimately, a 67-yard punt return and the safety loomed large in the outcome.

Cornerback Xavien Howard continued his remarkable season with his ninth interception on a one-handed grab and started the Dolphins’ fourth-quarter rally.

Linebacker Jerome Baker had 2.5 sacks, including chasing Mahomes into a 30-yard loss.

Nobody has found a way to stop this Chiefs offense cold all day. The hope on defense is to make enough plays to give your offense an opportunity to put up more points.

It’s a tall order, but the Miami defense did that Sunday.

The offense doesn’t yet have a complement of playmakers that scare an opponent like Mahomes and his compadres.

Tua needs more polish and a better hand of cards to play.

But as Romo’s trained eye attests, the rookie has shown enough good stuff that Dolfans should chillax and feel encouraged about the future.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

Tua vs Mahomes could be the beginning of something special

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For the first time since 2003, the Miami Dolphins are 8-4 and currently hold the No.6  seed in the AFC.

Which is crazy, isn’t it? I mean, when you think about how far this team has come in such a short amount of time, it should give fans everywhere a reason to be excited.

After all, it seems like only yesterday when ESPN’s Mike Greenberg begged the league to punish the Dolphins for deliberately tanking. (OH THE IRONY!) But then things started to come together. And Brian Flores and his team were playing pretty damn good football towards the end of last season. This had many wondering whether or not the Dolphins had won too many games to get a franchise-altering quarterback.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

The Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa with the 5th-overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. And while some fans and experts are debating whether Tua will be a superior QB to Justin Herbert or Joe Burrow, there’s a much bigger question at play.

Can Tagovailoa become a generational quarterback capable of going toe to toe with the NFL’s elite?

We’re about to find out.

The Franchise

Tua Tagovailoa vs. Patrick Mahomes

First, let me start by saying that I know quarterbacks don’t directly faceoff against one another. This isn’t an opening tip-off in basketball. Or a penalty shot in hockey. Football is a team game. We all know this. And yet somehow, we sit here and view Sunday’s matchup between arguably the greatest QB to ever play the game and Patrick Mahomes… I’m kidding. But you get the point. Tua is not going up against Mahomes; he instead has to execute vs. Kansas City’s defense.

But all we continue to see is Mahomes vs. Tagovailoa.

And that’s not uncommon.

“He’s probably a left-handed Patrick Mahomes,” said one scout. “He does the same things Mahomes does. He gets out of the pocket. He doesn’t need to set his feet. He can throw the ball the length of the field,” the NFL scout said, via The Athletic. “Take a look at the LSU game. He had never been in that situation before in his life and he brought them back. … He does have inconsistent mechanics. He needs to square up and set his feet more. But left-handers do things differently.” 

Now, I’m not going to sit here and compare anyone to Patrick Mahomes. Well, maybe Dan Marino. But I’m not ready to compare Tagovailoa to Mahomes, and that’s okay. Nevertheless, Sunday’s matchup would be a huge step in the right direction. Moreover, it’s something that this fanbase, this football team, and this city deserve.

Listen to what Mahomes had to say about Miami’s young signal-caller

Now some might take what Mahomes said and dissect it, only to find out he was being sincere. I don’t think he meant anything bad by the “game-manager” comments. Because Tua himself would tell you this defense has played a huge part in the team’s success. And he hasn’t been asked to go out there and make the same plays as a Patrick Mahomes–not yet anyway. That will all change on Sunday, and Tua and Miami’s offense will be ready.

“I think we’re going to need to execute every time we go out there offensively. I don’t think we need to do anything new. We’ve just got to go out there and have all 11 guys playing together and being on the same page, really. We’ve just got to be able to go out there and execute, do that and in the red area, I know (Offensive Coordinator) Chan (Gailey) has something really good for us. But we’ve got to execute offensively. I believe we have the plays, just not executed the way we had done it in practice. It’s all about execution and you can only take it a play at a time and just don’t worry about anything else.”

Tua went on to praise Patrick Mahomes for the type of generational talent he is.

 

But please, temper expectations!

We’re going to have to continue to remind ourselves on Sunday that this is only year two of Brian Flores’ rebuild. And let’s face it, Andy Reid is one of the top coaches in all of football. Everything he touches turns to gold, and paired alongside Mahomes; it’s going to be a tough task. But Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo could ultimately be the deciding factor. Not only is he one of the top defensive minds in all of football, but he knows how to get after the QB. It will be up to Chan Gailey and Miami’s young offensive line to not only get the team in the best position to succeed but to keep their franchise signal-caller upright.

Because let’s face it, if the Dolphins want to have any chance on Sunday, they’re going to have to get a superstar performance from Tua Tagovailoa.

You can still vote for Tua Tagovailoa for Rookie of the Week!

Final Yard

 

I don’t know that we will ever see another quarterback as talented as Patrick Mahomes. I think he’s that damn good. But football is a team sport. And with an elite defense by his side and all the tools to go toe to toe with the NFL’s elite, why can’t Tagovailoa outshine Mahomes in Miami? Why can’t Brian Flores do to the Chiefs defense–exactly what he did to them back in the AFC Championship game in 2019? Quite frankly, why not Miami?

If the Dolphins and Tua Tagovailoa hope to play meaningful football games well into January (any time soon), they’re going to have to get through Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs consistently.

Sunday’s matchup is just the first of what could become the next great QB duel. And I, for one, am here for it. Now, all Chan Gailey and the Dolphins offense has to do is #LetTuaCook.

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Miami Dolphins need to improve in these five areas

Pressure Point: Final 4 weeks true test for feisty Miami Dolphins

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As the NFL playoff race approaches critical mass, there’s not much to be learned by combing through the debris of the Miami Dolphins’ ugly win against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It was a game that featured two dustups, including a bench-clearing shove fest, five ejections, 14 penalties totaling 116 yards and multiple injuries for each team.

A thoroughly ugly and interminable affair of football. The outcome was significant for the Dolphins, 19-7, which boosted them to 8-4 for the first time since 2003 and kept them in the thick of the AFC race.

Not to make too much of defeating a downtrodden opponent that hasn’t won on the road since 2018. The Dolphins played down to the Bengals’ level for a half, then put the hammer down in the third quarter.

They did what they needed to position themselves for a meaningful December, which has been a rarity for Miami the past two decades.

The next four weeks will give a truer read on where this Dolphins rebuilding project stands than anything that has transpired so far.

Tough stretch to the playoffs

The gauntlet to the playoffs begins next Sunday at home against the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. That is followed by a visit from the New England Patriots, who have reawakened from the seeming ashes of their dynasty by winning four of their past five, including a 45-0 thrashing Sunday of the Chargers and that rookie quarterback some Dolfans inexplicably think the Dolphins should have drafted.

The season concludes with visits to Las Vegas against the playoff-contending Raiders and Buffalo for a potential showdown for the AFC East title.

Are these Dolphins, currently holding the sixth of seven playoff spots, ready for the rigors of a genuine playoff race?

Steve Kornacki, MSNBC’s superstar election numbers cruncher, brought his big board to Sunday Night Football for a breakdown of the NFL playoff picture. Kornacki put the Dolphins’ chances of making the playoffs at 51 percent.

But they must navigate a minefield to get there, through those final four games and with several challengers on their tail: 8-4 Colts (currently holding the final playoff spot), 7-5 Raiders, 6-5 Ravens and 6-6 Patriots.

Notably, Kornacki gave the Ravens, now ninth in the race, a 47 percent chance of making the playoffs, virtually the same as Miami’s.

“Baltimore has the easiest stretch run schedule in the league,” Kornacki said. “Miami, meanwhile, they’re playing Kansas City next week, so they’ve got a much tougher schedule.”

Will 10 wins be enough?

Figure the Dolphins can afford to do no less than split the final four games, but even 10 wins is no guarantee of emerging from this crowded field. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, this is the first time since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger that one conference has had as many teams with a winning percentage of .667 or better through Week 13.

If defense is the foundation of championship runs, the Dolphins can point to their No. 2 ranking in average points allowed of 17.7, just behind Pittsburgh’s 17.1.

Except for one stumble on a two-yard out that turned into a 72-yard touchdown, the Dolphins could claim another immaculate day of defense Sunday. They held the Bengals to 30 total yards in the second half, finished with six sacks and two interceptions.

But the premise that defense wins has been knocked off-kilter in this age of highfalutin offense. Putting the kibosh on recent practice-squad graduate QB Brandon Allen didn’t prepare the Dolphins for dealing with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who will be aiming to reprise their recent success at Hard Rock Stadium earlier this year in Super Bowl 54.

For any chance against Kansas City, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense must reprise the effort they mustered at Arizona in winning a shootout against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.

It’s a tall order against the Chiefs, who by the way are allowing only 21.2 points a game.

Tua quiets critics

But that’s why it was incumbent on offensive coordinator Chan Gailey to loosen the reins on Tagovailoa in the second half. Also why the rumblings about benching Tua at halftime were ludicrous, especially those expressed by network analysts who should have a much better grip on the big picture of where these Dolphins are and what they are trying to become.

Can that nonsense be put to rest now that Tua is 4-1 as a starter and has thrown for seven touchdowns with zero interceptions?

As Matt Infante of ThePhinsider.com noted on Twitter, only three rookie quarterbacks in NFL history have won at least four of their first five starts while posting a passer rating of at least 95: Dan Marino, Ben Roethlisberger, Dak Prescott and Tagovailoa.

Yes, Tua was off the mark and out of sync during the first half. But he finished with 296 yards and would have easily recorded his first 300-yard game if Jakeem Grant hadn’t dropped a deep ball delivered in stride.

Tagovailoa is far from a finished product. He is also leading an offense short on playmakers, which will be addressed in the next draft.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins have given themselves a legitimate chance at the playoffs this season even while a work in progress.

These next four weeks will reveal just how much work is still to be done.

But one thing for certain is these Dolphins won’t be a pushover at crunch time as so many of their predecessors have been.

Flores: ‘These are my kids’

That was evident Sunday when coach Brian Flores led the charge at the Bengals’ bench after Grant got flattened for the second time while waiting to field a punt.

“Look, I’m going to stick up for my players,” Flores said. “I’m just going to be honest, these are like my kids.”

Flores lamented that his emotional reaction was receiving more attention than his team’s dominant performance in the second half. But the impact of the coach standing up for his players will serve the team far longer than thumping an inferior opponent.

“It just means a lot. He’s not just a coach out there. If his guy gets hurt, he’s not going to let it go. He stands up for us as a team,” Tagovailoa said. “You got to see, not just him, but other guys going in there trying to defend Jakeem [Grant] and whatnot. But I think it’s a testament — although it happened the way it did, it’s also a testament to how close we are as a team.”

These next four weeks will tell how close these Dolphins are to being the team they aspire to become.

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns