The Current State of Frustration Surrounding the Miami Heat

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Miami has now hit the 20 game mark of a 72 game season, which is when most teams would normally have an idea of what they are. For the Heat, that hasn’t been the case for reasons out of their hands. But things aren’t as simple as merely blaming COVID protocols. Questions and frustrations are starting to add up at a rate that can’t be ignored. And now they find themselves at 7-13 and tied for 11th in the East in this bizarre NBA season.

*record scratch* *freeze frame* Yup, that’s the Miami Heat. You’re probably wondering how they ended up in this situation. For starters, the team has had 14 different starting lineups already, and Jimmy Butler has played only 8 games. They’ve had to play Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Chris Silva more minutes than anyone should feel comfortable with. It’s not even that they’re getting minutes, but that they’ve been relied upon to do more than what they’re capable of in their prolonged stints. That’s been the tip of the iceberg that continues to threaten to sink the Miami Heat season. But the time for excuses has seemingly run its course on the fanbase. No longer does anyone want to hear about “getting everyone back” and seeing what you have. The very same glaring holes the team had coming into the season are still there. The same holes you had even before a game that should never have happened in D.C. started a protocol tailspin into sports hell.

“What you have” is a defense that is still struggling to contain dribble penetration and giving up 3s at an almost historical rate. Not to forget the turnover and rebounding problems that have lingered and stuck around like an unwelcome houseguest. Losing to the Magic and squeaking by teams like the Wizards, Hornets, and Kings on a nightly basis isn’t going to calm anyone’s worries. That very first game of the season against the Orlando Magic was a precursor of things to come. A game where they had everyone on hand yet allowed 113 points and gave away the ball like a Panda Express employee giving free samples at the mall. That game showed the flaws that are still apparent to this day.

While it’s true that the team has been hit hard by COVID protocols, it shouldn’t blind people to the fact that they aren’t good enough as is. They haven’t proven it in their limited time out there. Even going back to last season, the team was at .500 when the calendar flipped to 2020. It was until the team finally answered their questions at the Power Forward position and started a reinvigorated Goran Dragic when they reached its best and most cohesive form. A form that found the perfect balance of defense and offense they wanted all along. That form eludes them now, as both the team and fans clamor to fill those very same gaps that they had filled before. They didn’t answer those questions in the offseason as they struck out on every free agent power forward that would help their current situation. They were hamstrung by wanting to leave space for the 2021 offseason, which was supposed to have some major stars available. But now that all those stars are off the table, it makes it all the more frustrating that you were left with an empty plate. A plate that includes a generous portion of Moe Harkless that hasn’t filled up a starving appetite.

So you can understand the frustration being shared amongst everyone involved as time runs out in a shortened season filled with so many uncertainties. They just saw you go to the Finals and come within 2 wins of another title. Please don’t blame them for having even just an ounce of expectations for you. The organization itself knows competing for a title is first on their mind, especially after their comments that spoke of owing it to Jimmy Butler to win now. So why shouldn’t fans feel the same way? They’ve seen what a championship-contending team looks like — and what they see out there is a team in desperate need of a tune-up.

There’s a certain point where a never-ending avalanche of questions overwhelms you as you continue to struggle for answers. You can’t find yourself staring at a 9-15 record before a 7 game west coast road trip is at your doorstep. And that’s what everyone is afraid will happen unless things change in the immediate future. There is a genuine and terrifying chance that things could get even worse soon. You want to hopefully get the ship somewhat afloat before the sinking can even begin. You can imagine just how frustrated the actual players must be. They want to win as desperately as any Miami Heat team before them. But the answers are more than likely not on the team, which could be tough to swallow for them as they’ve grown so close together. The timelines of some of the player might not line up with where the Heat want to be. It’s why you see so many people clamoring for a trade. The answer could lie in a move similar to the Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala trade of last season. It might have to be even more moves than that, to be honest.

Are you willing to wait until the trade deadline to possibly find that answer? You might be too late at that point, which adds even more throbbing to the headache. Make no mistake about it; if the team wins a few more in a row in the current “soft part” of their schedule, many of the same questions will still be there. It will just be a nice bandaid to a hemorrhaging patient. You’ll still need the tourniquet and sever what isn’t working. Most of the time, it feels like people want a trade just for the sake of a transaction, but this team is in genuine need of a change-up. Maybe it’s for the long-desired PJ Tucker along with Victor Oladipo? Or even a guy like Otto Porter Jr or Thaddeus Young, along with a swing at Lonzo Ball, might help. At this point, it’s just about who, not when—someone to spark that same magic and fill those gaps that you got at last year’s deadline.

Hopefully, things will get better soon, but you can’t simply hope. There will need to be some action. Whether that’s improved play on the court or a move that’ll reignite everyone, it needs to come soon. Time is ticking on not only this season but for the clocks of Jimmy Butler’s best years and Goran Dragic’s waning career. The frustration around this year will soon either be put to a stop by the team, or it’ll boil over into a wasted year that no one wants. Hopefully, the team and organization soon figure out how to stop the dam from breaking before the drowning starts.

 

Marco Romo (@Marco_Romo) is a new contributor to Five Reasons Sports Network.

 

Duncan Robinson’s Quiet Defensive Improvement

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The story of the NBA’s prototypical sharpshooter has been as predictable as the plot of a Hallmark Movie. The sniper of 3 point shots takes the league by storm, teams start game planning, and the player eventually gets figured out to a point, thus making them less valuable. The shooter is more than likely a bad defender and leads to the downfall of their minutes and effectiveness. It’s up to Duncan Robinson and the Miami Heat to figure out how to rewrite the script and keep their once-in-a-lifetime shooter on the floor as much as possible. So far this season, they’re off to a promising start.

 

Duncan Robinson is not your ordinary NBA sharpshooter. He might be the best non-Steph Curry shooter lacing them up today. He bends and shifts defenses to his whim, creating chaos in his path. One second the defender will think he’s bottled up, only to be foiled by an improvised dribble handoff with his right-hand man Bam Adebayo. He’s relentless in his pursuit of getting a shot off, and if the defense relaxes, even for a second, it’s already too late. Miami relies so much on this to make its offense the well-oiled machine that it can be at its peak. It’s why improving his defense and keeping him on the court as much as possible is vital for the team to reach another level.

 

Last season Miami found itself choosing between keeping him on the court late in games or bringing in someone else for defensive purposes. Duncan would get hunted by the opposing team, knowing they could take advantage and play him off the court. They wanted to get rid of the headache he was causing on the other end by any means necessary. The aspirin they were looking for turned out to be a constant barrage of pick and rolls Robinson’s way. However, this season there hasn’t been as much noise concerning the sniper’s availability late in games. Duncan seems to be getting the grasp of all the small things on defense, and he’s being rewarded with the trust late in games that alluded him last year. 

 

Watching him on the court and you can see a stark difference in how he’s paying attention to detail and not allowing mistakes to compound themselves. One of his most significant shortcomings last year was how prone he was to fouling so much. Those were the mistakes he kept allowing to build until Coach Spoelstra was forced to show him to the bench. He’s become careful, but not to a point where he’s actively disappearing on defensive possessions. So far this year, he’s averaging 1.8 fouls through the first 15 games, as opposed to last year when he averaged 2.6 per game. That may not seem like much on the surface, but the difference during a game is palpable when you don’t have to sit after picking up two quick fouls. He has made sure to avoid getting his golden arm caught in the cookie jar. He’s not picking up cheap fouls as he was so prone to doing last year. He’s now trusting that his size will be enough to bother the opposing players. Diving deeper into the numbers, Duncan has only had two games of 3 or more fouls.

 

Compare that to the six such instances he had through his first 15 games last season. The three penalty mark is where things get sketchy for players, and not only do their minutes get in trouble, but their defense suffers, as well. The player becomes more tentative to be physical, and an edge is lost. Duncan has managed to avoid these pitfalls so far, and Miami has gotten to enjoy his elite offensive presence late in games because of it. While it hasn’t resulted in much success, there’s no denying it won’t hurt once the team is back to somewhat full strength. It’s something that can’t be taken lightly, considering just how much good havoc he creates. That kind of chaos could create a much-needed bucket for the team as the game begins to bog down.

 

Duncan’s continued to grow even as a team defender.  He’s become visibly more vocal, calling out teammates when they’re not where they’re supposed to be. He was essentially a rookie last year, but now he knows he’s a veteran leader on the team. The reluctance he carried has left his shoulder and, in turn, boosted his presence on defense. Learning from mistakes is a growing pain, and now he’s enjoying teaching those same lessons to the younger and new guys. He’s hedging even harder on screen and rolls, avoiding an easy switch that the defense wants to bait the team into eventually. He’s digging on post-ups and recovering to shooters under control. It’s such a vast difference to the wild closeouts last season that he’d resort to as he helped too far off on the dig. 

 

The lineup numbers bear these improvements out as well. Duncan is part of 5 of the top 10 best defensive rating two-man lineups with at least 100 minutes played. What’s most surprising is how the second guy next to Duncan in these duos doesn’t include Bam Adebayo, the team’s defensive anchor. Expanding this even further, he’s also a part of 3 of the top 5 three-man defensive lineups with at least 50 minutes played, including being in the top-ranked one featuring Avery Bradley and Goran Dragic that boasts an 87.2 rating. On/off-wise, the team has its second best defensive rating of 108.8 (among those with at least 200 minutes played) with him out there. And even if single-player defensive stats aren’t your thing, it’s still worth mentioning. And it’s very evident when watching the games as well. I haven’t found myself uttering “ugh Duncan” under my breath so much this year. It’s a good sign that the amount of yelling being directed his way on Twitter has mostly been for wanting him to shoot more. It’s been apparent that the team hasn’t been bleeding points because of him specifically. The mistakes have cleaned up to where it’s nearly negligible.

 

Miami will continue working with Duncan on his defense, and he’ll continue to get better from game to game. He’s always had the work ethic to get better on that end. After all, we’re talking about a kid who made it to the NBA from a D-III college. The effort is half the battle on defense, and with his unquenched thirst for improvement, he’s well on his way.

 

You can tell he wants to be out there late in games with his teammates. He doesn’t want to be just another “shooter” like JJ Redick or Wayne Ellington that gets played off the floor as soon as playoff teams start hunting them out. Those guys didn’t have a near 6’9 foot frame and 7’1 wingspan to help them out. Those are the same qualities that made him such a unique shooter, to begin with. He’ll find a way to incorporate that unwavering motor, footwork, and impeccable balance he has on offense into his defense. Look at Jim Carrey, he was a great comedic actor in his prime, but he didn’t let that stop him from showing off his dramatic chops from time to time. Duncan needs to find his ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ or ‘The Truman Show’ to go along with his ‘Ace Ventura’, aka his 3 point stroke. Sure, we know how legendarily amazing you are at one aspect, but immense acclaim will come your way when you can be versatile. He doesn’t need to be Daniel Day-Lewis or Leonardo DiCaprio, but he needs to make sure he isn’t Rob Schneider, pigeonholed and typecast the rest of his career.

 

I don’t expect Duncan to become Robert Covington or Josh Richardson, and neither should anyone else. He’ll make sure not to be just another sharpshooter but a once-in-a-lifetime offensive weapon with more than capable defense. Duncan will show you he can do ‘Man on the Moon’ but won’t let you forget what got him to where he is. He’s changing the narrative one shot and rotation at a time.

 

Marco Romo (@Marco_Romo) is a new regular contributor to Five Reasons Sports Network and the Five Reasons Sports YouTube Channel.

The Curious Case of KZ Okpala

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KZ Okpala’s major motion picture with the Miami Heat is just about to go into year 2, but it feels like we’re still waiting for the opening credits. The fans feel like they want to see a closer look and better understand the case at hand. When will they get to see the story truly unfold? Answers seem to get hazier as the fog of a weird season continues to make this harder to see.

Taken with the 32nd pick in the 2nd round of the 2019 NBA Draft after a solid sophomore showing with Stanford, Okpala was seen as a reach by many experts. But the Miami Heat were in love with him and traded multiple future second-round picks to select the versatile Forward. Reports would later come out that they had him right after Tyler Herro in their overall draft board. The team was seemingly in love with the young and raw talent. His athleticism and length seemed to have caught the eyes of the scouting team. They saw so much potential that could eventually be unearthed by the famous Miami Heat developmental staff. We’re now into KZ’s second year as a pro athlete, and he has yet to etch a role out for the team that took a chance on him. While that’s understandable for a player taken in the 32nd slot, something still seems to not sit right with Heat fans. It’s hard to imagine why Okpala hasn’t been given much of an opportunity in a year where you need youth and seem to be down at least four players every other night.

Maybe it’s just the usual impatience from fans? They want to see the shiny new toy that Erik Spoelstra can unleash on the unsuspecting basketball universe. And you know just the type of magic the Coach can make happen out of seemingly nothing at his dispersal. Yet, the “shiny new toy” remains kept in the sealed package despite what seems to have been a more than willing taker. It could always be a case that has to do with more of what we’re not seeing. After all, Coach Spoelstra and the organization have always been big on showing in practices just how bad you want that playing time. Even with all that, there are still minutes there up for grabs because the choices aren’t very plentiful at the moment. You can’t blame the fanbase for wanting to see what the team saw when they took somewhat of a gamble when they selected him. The team kept lauding him as a first-round pick that they stole right from under the league’s noses. Especially after the same fans just finished watching Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn start almost all of last season despite them being an undrafted second-year player and a rookie.

Granted, those guys are a lot older, but NBA experience isn’t easy, no matter the age. But Tyler Herro and Precious Achiuwa seem to have had quite an easy time when getting at least constant bench minutes as rookies. To go even further back at examples like Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, who both found roles so early in their careers despite one of them spending so much time in the D-League (now G-League). KZ himself spent all of last year in the G-League developing his game almost the same way Richardson did. So shouldn’t a player who was touted as being almost equal to Herro prospect-wise be getting a much longer leash? Or it could be that Okpala was just hurt the most by not having a Summer League or regular Training Camp to work out even more of the rawness he still has. There are so many factors that fans keep going through in their heads that’ll eventually have them spinning out of control.

So far, it’s been an endless cycle of getting a taste of what Okpala could be, followed by a quick DNP the next day. And those tastes have left the fanbase craving more. Like an excellent teaser trailer of a crowdfunded movie, you want to see the full version of what so many people invested in. It’s always been on the players to force the coaching staff’s hands by showing them what they can do when they get opportunities. It’s hard to argue he hasn’t done as such. He’s shown you glimpses at that player you know he can become. He’s improved his shot, expanded his dribbling ability, and gotten so much stronger. The defensive skills have been the most promising, and that’s something “Heat Culture” has always preached. Okpala has made his mistakes here and there, but every player needs to have their growing pains sooner or later. Especially someone you’ve indicated will be a part of your future.

There is the argument that the team needs win-now players to see the floor to counterbalance the amount of youth getting such critical roles. Hence why you’ve seen players like Andre Iguodala and Moe Harkless continue getting those minutes instead. Even with that, I still think it wouldn’t hurt to showcase a guy like KZ in a year where it’s almost like a preseason half of the time. The worst case is that you’re taking minutes away from guys who will become more critical for possible trade bait or future playoff minutes. It’s a sort of fork in the road that Miami finds themselves in where they’re looking at both the win-now and future. There’s also the argument that the staff is trying to protect him from any deal he could be attached to in the future. While I can see where that’s coming from to an extent, I don’t think the Heat staff operates in that sort of manner.

It could very well be a case that he isn’t ready. And that may be the hardest pill to swallow for fans and even the staff itself. He may still be too raw and immature (basketball-wise) to have out there. It’s a difficult thing to let sink in because of how much you’ve been hearing about him. The fans have been fed this idea that he’s such an invaluable commodity of the future. Like a folk story, everything they’ve heard seems to look better in their heads than the actual reality. And fans don’t want their reality to crumble before them. But if he continues to play well in the minutes he gets, they’ll be right to keep asking questions.

For Okpala, one thing is for sure in that he’s going to keep trying every single time he’s given a chance. Miami always drafts guys who are willing to become the best versions of themselves. If the minutes continue to be uneven and uncertain, he’ll be there waiting to seize the opportunities, as slim as they may be. Even if his current role is slightly murky, he’ll make sure his future is bright in some capacity. He’s in the right environment and with the right people to do so. Soon he won’t be a mystery, but a thriller that you’ll need to see the endgame of. Hopefully, the ending doesn’t disappoint because you have all the right cast and crew on hand.

 

Marco Romo (@Marco_Romo) is a new contributor to Five Reasons Sports Network.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the opening night event for Super Bowl 54. (Craig Davis for Five Reasons Sports Network)

Veterans vs. Newbies: The NFL Playoff Story

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The playoffs in the 2020-2021 NFL season holds a special matchup. While the NFC has 3 starting QB’s over the age of 36, the AFC has 4 starting QB’s under the age of 26, and the youngest QB in the NFC is older than the oldest QB in the AFC.

After Wild Card Weekend, the Bills, Ravens, Chiefs, and Browns are left in the AFC, while the Buccaneers, Packers, Saints, and Rams are left in the NFC.  Here’s how I view the battle of the Veterans vs. the Newbies.

The NFC has over 200,000 total passing yards and 1600 total passing touchdowns between the 4 QB’s competing for the divisional title.

Between the 4 teams in the NFC, there is a lot of talent but the division title will only go to one of them.

Here is where I rank each of them throughout the playoffs:

4. Rams: I think that the Rams will lose their game to the packers next weekend. The Rams showed promise against the Seahawks, and beat that very talented team, but I can’t see the Rams stopping Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

3. Buccaneers: The Buccaneers probably have the best offense in the NFC. Between the GOAT, Tom Brady, and his explosive receiving core, that offense is amazing. Unfortunately for Brady and the Bucs, it seems like the Saints have been their kryptonite. I think that the Buccaneers will lose to the Saints next weekend to be the 3rd best team in the NFC.

2. Packers: This is a risky placement for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams have been unstoppable, and while they should definitely make the divisional game, I think that the Saints(or Buccaneers) will be able to take down the Packers to grab the divisional title.

1. Saints: I really believe in Drew Brees to make it to the Super Bowl. He has an amazing defense, and an unstoppable offense on his side, along with an extra desire to get in, due to his past 3 years in the playoffs, as he got knocked out by the Vikings twice, and the Rams once, stopping him from making the Super Bowl. I think Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, and the Saints defense can bring a divisional title to New Orleans.

 

The AFC is a fully different story. Every quarterback is age 25 or under. Between the four QB’s, they have less than 45,000 passing yards and under 300 total passing TD’s.

These young quarterbacks are easily some of the best in the game already. While Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson have won an MVP, Josh Allen was a top 3 contender this year for sure, and Baker Mayfield is starting to play much better.

Out of the 4 AFC teams, here are my bets for the playoff standings:

 

4. Browns: The Browns portrayed a shocking performance against Steelers. While the defense played amazing, and Baker mayfield carried the offense to a 48 point showing, I can’t see them holding the Chiefs offense enough to win.

3. Ravens: Lamar Jackson is terrifying to play against. His arm, along with his speed and agility, make the perfect dual threat QB. I think they will be close but, I think the Bills will come out on top in this game.

2. Bills: Josh Allen just played the best year of his life and has been leading his dominant team. Stefon diggs led receivers in yards in the regular season, and has also been playing amazing, earning them the number 2 spot in the AFC

1. Chiefs: I’m sorry, but I don’t see a world where anyone beats the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce are unstoppable in the passing game. The Chiefs offense along with a pretty skilled defense shouldn’t lose to anybody in these playoffs.

Overall, I think the young group of the AFC will beat out the veterans of the NFC, and the Chiefs will beat the Packers in the Super Bowl.

Can experience win, or will the new guys be able to take the ring.

Why UFC on ABC is Monumental for MMA

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For the first time in history, the UFC will have an event on the most publicly accessible channel in the United States, ABC. After coming off of a year where the UFC was the first sport to return after the hiatus, Mixed Martial Arts was for the first time in the main spotlight of all of sports. And the UFC absolutely delivered. They continued on this path delivering massive event after massive event. Their deal with ESPN has been a lucrative one for both ends, even without fans in the arena. And with the UFC on the biggest stage of ABC looming, there is yet another opportunity for the sport to become that much bigger. But why is this so big for the UFC and the sport of MMA? 

 

In 1996, the Late John McCain wrote a letter to all 50 governors requesting them to not hold UFC events in their state calling the sport no more than “human cockfighting”. With this, the UFC had a hard time getting shows done and even getting on TV. But due to this, they were able to create sanctioned rules and thus allowing the UFC to have more longevity. Without the criticism of the early UFC events, the sport wouldn’t have developed the legitimacy and the set of unified rules that they have today.

 

The UFC’s problems did not end there. In the early 2000s, the UFC was losing money and not making a profit. The only thing that saved the UFC and maybe the future of MMA was the deal with SpikeTV. The reality show The Ultimate Fighter brought more eyes to the sport and created a new influx of fans. The show’s epic finale allowed for the relationship with SpikeTV to continue and allowed for the UFC to survive when they were on the path to bankruptcy. 

 

With the UFC set to have their debut show on ABC, it’s good to remember how far the sport has come and how far they have still to go. Going from a sport that was nearly outlawed to now being on public TV, MMA has become bigger than it ever has been breaking through multiple barriers. Dana White has clearly stated that he wants the UFC to become one of the biggest sports globally and with the diversity of fighters signed to the promotion and the platform that it’s on, it’s well on its way to doing that. The UFC on ABC is coming at a perfect time for the sport, now that it’s bigger than ever. With more and more superstars coming out of the sport, the UFC is more recognizable than ever. Having ABC’s platform on Saturday, look for the UFC and the sport of MMA to become one of the mainstays of global sports. 

 

You can follow Johnathan on Twitter @ThreePieceCombo

This Dave Hyde Article About Tua Tagovailoa Sucks

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Dave Hyde is a sportswriter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. And this Dave Hyde article sucks. We’re not saying that he’s incompetent and should lose his livelihood (he’s won major awards!). What we are saying is that, like his colleagues in the South Florida sports coverage community, he tends to fall back on lazy hot takes and cliches and Tweets. Well, no more. This aggression will not stand, man. Because that’s enough with that shit, already. He and his buddies should do better. And until they do, we’ll be here to call them on it.

LET’S GET DAVE’S ASS and his Sunday Dolphins article.

A bad Dolphins day, an ugly finish — and now an offseason riddle about Tua’s future at QB (published on Sunday, January 3, 2021)

If I’m Miami Dolphins owner, Steve Ross…

We’re simpatico like that. I call him Steve. Sometimes I call him Stevesy. Sometimes he calls me Davey Bean Dad.

I give general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores a few days to decompress…

THE SUMMER OF FLORES.

… before sitting them in a room…

I’d sit Chris Grier and Brian Flores in a room. Like an Escape Room where they have to solve their own murders!

…and asking: Do they still trust their careers with Tua Tagovailoa’s future?

I’d sit them in a room and ask them questions like: Do you still trust your careers with Tua Tagovaiola’s future? Have you ever seen your father naked? Do you own a My Pillow? Have you ever ordered a cheeseburger at a Wendy’s drive-thru and then immediately driven to a McDonald’s drive-thru to order fries? Have you ever walked in on cats doing it and then just let them finish? Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party? How much money would it take for you to spend the night in a cemetery? Why do old people like to grasp your arm with a grip-of-death when they talk to you? What’s the deal with that Megan Thee Stallion? Have you ever visited the Chinatown section in a major city? Isn’t it sad that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of wild dogs? What the fuck IS a Bean Dad?

Yes or no.

Black or white.

In or out.

Day or night.

No hemming, no hawing…

No shenanigans! No tomfoolery! No ballyhoo!

No talking of dropped passes or assertions about needing better players around him.

No talking about the actual real problems this team has! Fuck that.

Shove your excuses and assertions about Tua having no weapons up into your asshole, Dolphins! Even though Dave Bean Dad Hyde made this exact argument for Ryan Tannehill back in 2018 when he had better weapons than Tua. He quoted Bill Walsh and everything!:

“[Tannehill’s] good enough, in other words, if the team around him is good enough. “Organizations make quarterbacks,’’ the great Bill Walsh said, and he should know, as Joe Montana and Steve Young had a great system with Hall of Fame talent around him in San Francisco. Update that to the last Super Bowl, when Philadelphia’s Nick Foles moved in for injured Carson Wentz and won. That’s why of all the odd moves the Dolphins made this offseason –– ridding themselves of talent, signing four free agents over the age of 32 by the first kickoff — hoping on Tannehill should be the most logical one.”

I can write inconsistent shit like this because I have no accountability. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO SUN SENTINEL ONLY NINETY NINE CENTS FOR FOUR WEEKS.

Is Tua still The Guy or not?

Tua was forced to throw the ball to a guy not good enough to make the Patriots this year and two running backs you literally never heard of until last month who were statistically the worst at breaking tackles BUT IS TUA STILL THE GUY OR NOT COME ON ANSWER THE QUESTION.

And, beyond that, after Tua’s unimpressive rookie year…

An unimpressive 64.1 percent pass completion, and a passer rating of 87.1 — which are better numbers than what Josh Allen put up his first two seasons.

Moreover, according to non-Dolphins beat writer and overall cool dude, @BaseyCrock, Miami’s receivers had the third most drops and were 27th in yards after the catch while, as mentioned above, their running backs were dead last in yards after contact — and third lowest yards per carry. But I remain UNIMPRESSED WITH THIS PISSANT HAWAIIAN BOY.

…Ross should ask why the Dolphins (10-6) wouldn’t be in the market for another top quarterback with their third-overall 2021 NFL draft pick.

No, he shouldn’t ask that. Because this is real life and not fantasy football where Dave Hyde’s Pussyhammers finished first in his 12 team redraft Yahoo! Fantasy League this year after taking Aaron Rodgers with his fourth round pick. A draft day steal! DAVE HYDE’S PUSSYHAMMERS WILL FUCK YOUR SHIT UP!

The fact last January’s question remains this January’s question says the Dolphins drafted the wrong quarterback last spring.

This sentence makes no goddamn sense. Please consider subscribing to the Sun-Sentinel for more sentences like this one.

If there was a re-draft today, the quarterback the Dolphins passed on, Justin Herbert, would be taken over Tua. It’d be a slam-dunk, too.

DeVante Parker and Isaiah Ford would be dropping passes left and right with even more GUSTO with Justin Herbert in there. Slam dunk and other obscure 1970s sports idioms slap me some skin oh yeaaa!

For that matter, if we’re doing hypothetical replays, the quarterback the Dolphins passed on a few years back, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, would be drafted before anyone except Patrick Mahomes.

Once again, Tua had a better rookie season than Josh Allen’s first two seasons in the league. Google is a thing you can use for your own edification.

In fact, Allen’s number one receiver, Stefon Diggs, finished this season as the best receiver in the NFL across the board in all major stats (look it up). Entering his third season as a pro this year, Josh Allen was dismissed as an “athletic QB with accuracy issues.” Then Diggs, a Pro Bowl wide receiver with great hands and wheels, arrived from Minnesota via a trade. And now Allen is in the MVP conversation and being mentioned with the likes of Patrick Mahomes. Weapons fucking matter. But who are we to question the wisdom of Dave Hyde, virtual GM of Dave Hyde’s Pussyhammers?

Allen, a certified star….

Josh Allen, A CERTIFIED STAR, has Stephon Diggs, the NFL’s number one receiver according to Pro Football Reference. Tua, a rookie who has played in a total of nine pro football games in his life, has DeVante Parker, the 48th ranked receiver according to Pro Football Reference.

Do you see a pattern with quarterbacks here?

YES! One quarterback has Stefon Diggs, a man with bear paws for hands, and the other has DeVante Parker, a man with shoe horns for hands.

Haven’t you seen it for 20 years?

Six of those years we’ve seen you defend Ryan Tannehill for the same exact stuff you’re now spraying your Dave Hyde shit all over Tua about.

It’s why for this latest rebuild to be a success, the quarterback has to be a success. Until then, all conclusions are on hold.

ALL CONCLUSIONS ARE ON HOLD. EXCEPT FOR MY CONCLUSIONS WHICH IS THE DOLPHINS SHOULD THROW AWAY THE NUMBER 3 PICK ON ANOTHER QUARTERBACK BASED ON… checks notes…. NINE GAMES.

This looks to be a quarterback-rich draft again. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is the seeming sure thing at No. 1. Brigham Young’s Zach Wilson is the rising commodity, and Ohio State’s Justin Fields just dissected Clemson in the college playoffs.

Tua was a better draft prospect than Justin Fields and Zach Wilson BUT GO ON.

It wouldn’t look good to take Tagovailoa with the No. 5 pick one year and his potential successor with the No. 3 pick the next draft.

You JUST literally wrote this sentence!: “Ross should ask why the Dolphins wouldn’t be in the market for another top quarterback with their third-overall 2021 NFL draft pick.” GAHHHHH.

Perhaps the only one to do it was former Dolphins general manager Joe Thomas.

Ah the Joe Thomas era where you can draft a quarterback who wore spectacles and threw the ball seven times a game because you had MANTANKS for running backs.

He took Rick Norton with the top pick in 1966. When that didn’t work out, he took Bob Griese with the fourth pick in 1967.

Bob Griese, the Trent Dilfer of the 1970s!

The moral: Keep drafting a quarterback until you have one.

Ok, yea, sure. But the crux of this entire article has been about how the Dolphins should tell Tua to fuck off after nine games of throwing to Isiah Fucking Ford and that they should have drafted Justin Herbert instead so he could throw passes to Isiah Fucking Ford rather than, say, I dunno, perennial Pro Bowler Keenan Allen.

Do the Dolphins have one now? That’s the question of the offseason.

But the bigger question of the offseason is who will Dave Hyde’s Pussyhammers take with their first pick in 2021? Derrick Henry? Dalvin Cook? Christian McCaffrey? STAY TUNED. SLAM DUNK.

 

Chris Joseph (@ByChrisJoseph) is a host of the Five Reasons comedy podcast, Ballscast. He’s written about sports and movies for Deadspin, Miami New Times, CBS Sports, and several other outlets.

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