Honestly I will be surprised if the NFL can actually complete the entire season given the potential for more COVID-19 outbreaks.
The Dolphins – Patriots game was played in Foxboro, MA with no fans and fake crowd noise added to the broadcast. I hope the fake crowd noise isn’t an ongoing feature because that was worse than no noise at all.
So the Dolphins… tons of high draft picks and millions spent on free agents has netted them… almost no improvement.
The Dolphins are legitimately bad right now. Last year, they cut anyone who was average or above average so in my opinion there was no bad last year.
There are the standard excuses; limited training camp, no preseason games, players opting out of the season because of COVID-19, etc.
All teams were under those same constraints!
Yet somehow the Patriots came out looking like a well prepared and competent team. The Dolphins on the other hand looked as if it was their first introduction to this game called Football.
The differences in team preparation speak volumes about the management and coaching staffs of each team.
After gracing the viewing audience with 3 interceptions, there will be calls by Dolphins fans to replace quarterback Fitzpatrick with Tua. Here’s the issue with that option; who is Tua going to throw to exactly?
The Dolphins only have two good receivers and one of them is perpetually injured and he didn’t even make it a whole game before being injured again today.
I hope I’m wrong, but all indications point to another top 5 pick in the NFL draft next year. And continuation of deep management issues with this Dolphins organization.
Update: I read an article this morning from the Miami Herald that stated Miami’s offense doesn’t work when this often injured receiver is out.
See management issues above.
Update: Week 2 – The Dolphins tried to win (they led once) but suspect personnel decisions on defense doomed them to lose. 0-2.
Update: Week 4 – They managed to beat a bad Jacksonville team in week 3. In week 4, the Dolphins apparently thought they could simply score field goals against a really good team and win. They didn’t. 1-3. Time to play Tua. If you think he isn’t healthy enough to play, then why did you spend a draft pick on him. The Dolphins aren’t making the playoffs as is. They just aren’t.
Update: Week 9 – Looks like the Dolphins may have found their quarterback finally and I may have been wrong about the complete dysfunction of team management (I’m glad about being wrong). We’ll see if they can keep the success going.
Final Update: The final game of the season looked much like the beginning of the season… horrible, horrendous, simply bad.
For all the hope and optimism after a 10 win season, it all came crashing down and the Dolphins were exposed for what they really are… a bad team with poor personnel and poor management.
Everyone wants to blame the rookie quarterback and seems to think drafting another rookie quarterback in the 2021 draft will solve all the problems. The Dolphins could draft five quarterbacks and it wouldn’t matter, they have the worst or one of the worst receiver groups in the NFL. Period.
Until the receiving group is addressed, no quarterback will be successful.
And for the fans that think a career backup quarterback is suddenly the answer or he could have won the game today, the guy has never been to playoffs or lead any of the other 613 teams he’s played for to the playoffs. If he’s your savior, then the Dolphins are in real trouble… again.
I’d be willing to bet money Tua goes to another team and they make him successful. Miami can’t seem to find coaches who can work with the talent they have instead of trying to force square pegs into round holes. See Ryan Tannehill, Minkah Fitzpatrick and others who have left Miami to succeed with other teams.
Until Miami actually gets more talent on the offensive side of the ball and finds coaches able to build around that talent, well, I guess it’s just business as usual and the wondering through the wilderness continues.
For what it’s worth, I think the Dolphins have a good head coach. They need to find a new Offensive Coordinator and stay the course with building a team around their rookie quarterback or another quarterback if they so choose, but they at least need to make it a fair assessment. Telling your rookie quarterback or any quarterback for that matter to be successful with a bunch of scrubs is asinine.
And for the season, I think the Dolphins exceeded expectations with the mediocre level of talent they have and the Dolphins got exactly what that level of talent will get you; a good season but no where close to championship caliber.