Davis: Should Dolphins QB job be open competition or just play Rosen?

DAVIE – The more you see of the Dolphins in May the less you can be sure of where this quarterback situation will be in September.

Sure, journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick merits the tag of de facto starter if they were lining up to play today. You watch the OTA workouts and Josh Rosen is dutifully following along in the veteran’s shadow from drill to drill.

Coach Brian Flores keeps preaching the mantra of competition. It’s clearly designed to bring out the best, not only in the quarterbacks but an entire roster of upstarts and wannabes.

But here’s what will be interesting to observe later this summer through training camp and exhibitions to the onset of games that count: Will the let-the-most-deserving-play dictum really take precedent over the need to settle the most important issue for the future?

That is, will Rosen get the starting job even if he is outplayed by Fitzpatrick in the preseason?

It’s certainly easy to make a case for that. After investing second- and fifth-round draft picks in Rosen, does it make any sense to not start him from Day 1 and see what they’ve got?

The answer will determine whether drafting another quarterback remains the top priority next year or they can move on to another vital area of need.

In my view, the semblance of a competitive situation, whether a ruse or for real, makes sense. Rosen needs to earn the trust of his new teammates. He’s still finding his way in the league after a less than stellar rookie season.

Is QB competition real or a ruse?

The situation will sort itself out. Unless Rosen performs terribly, he will get the opportunity to play.

How that is determined and when it occurs will be the first revealing look into the Flores regime. It may also reflect the Steve Ross X factor – the owner may not want to wait for return on his investment in Rosen.

The one thing we know, the future isn’t with Fitzgerald.

For now, Flores can tout his fundamental belief that competition is like the tide, it raises all ships in the fleet collectively.

Flores, on Wednesday, portrayed both quarterbacks as motivated by past failings.

“I think they both have chips [on their shoulders],” he said.

Four weeks of spring football, which concludes next week with the mandatory minicamp, isn’t about drawing big-picture conclusions.

Nobody is in pads or getting hit for real. The distinctions are more mental than physical. Watch the quarterbacks and you notice, presumed third-stringer Jake Rudock throws a nice spiral too.

Offense demanding for QBs

What is going on is a lot of mental grinding inside those helmets. With a new coaching staff and many players still getting acquainted, there’s a massive amount of learning being done and still ahead.

On offense, the task is to try to grasp the intricate system offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea brought from New England that the Patriots built a dynasty around.

Considering it is a quarterback-centric system, it is ideal for ultimately determining whether the Dolphins have found what they are looking for in Rosen.

“I think any quarterback in this system, it takes a lot [to master],” Fitzpatrick said. “This system puts a lot on us. We’re all in there working as hard as we can to get it down and figure things out. It’s an offense that as a quarterback you love to be in because there’s a lot on your plate.”

Rosen said it’s not totally foreign to him because there were elements of the system with the Arizona Cardinals where he played under Mike McCoy, who coach with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels when both were in Denver.

“They put a lot on the quarterback operationally,” Rosen said. “You see Tom Brady at the line of scrimmage and he’s orchestrating traffic, he’s doing everything super fluidly because he’s been in the offense for so many years. So you can only hope to get somewhere close to that fluidity in it.

“This offense puts a lot on the quarterback and it’s a challenge that I enjoy. … But the thing is, you’ve got to get it down and I’m in that process. Still a steep learning curve but maybe a little bit softer than if I came in kind of cold feet from college.”

Steep learning curve ahead

As for how that process is progressing, here’s Flores’ perspective on Rosen:

“It’s under three weeks, but he’s smart, he’s got a big arm. He’s talented. He’s got some leadership ability. But he’s got a lot to learn. There’s no doubt about that.

“This offense is not an easy one to learn. There’s something new every day. But he’s getting better every day. I like that. I think that’s the case with a lot of the guys we have on this team.”

This year is unconventional, given the circumstance the Dolphins have created for themselves. It’s not about winning now, it’s a laboratory to assemble pieces that, hopefully, can enable them to win soon.

There is the added intrigue of a coach and some assistants trying to transfer success they experienced in New England to a franchise that hasn’t had any in a long time.

It is difficult to reasonably foresee many winning Sundays in 2019, yet it could be one of the most interesting Dolphins seasons to watch in years.

As for what May tells us, here is what Flores has learned about this group:

“They are tough, they give great effort. It’s a smart group. This is a mentally tough group. We’ll see once the pads come on how physically tough we are. But I imagine we will be that too.

“And I think they don’t back down from challenges. I try to challenge this group on a daily basis, and they respond. It’s not perfect every day. It’s an imperfect game, but they work hard, that’s for sure.”

Good thing, because there is so much work to be done.

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

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