3 Things That Need to Be In Place Before Tua Starts

News Flash: The Dolphins lost week one and while playoff expectations took a hit after dropping a game against Cam Newton’s New England Patriots, another set of expectations took a meteoric rise after the Dolphins seemingly pedestrian offensive showing in week one. The chants to start Rookie Tua Tagovailoa are becoming much louder.  Dolphins fans are looking forward to the day head coach Brian Flores says they are making a change at the QB position and will looking toward the 2020 5th overall selection like Princess Leah said “save us, you’re our only hope.” Today I’m reigning the “Start Tua” bandwagon in until we see a few things first.

 

The Offensive Line needs to continue to show progress and stability

After week one, the offense was atrocious, and while Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 3 interceptions certainly didn’t help the offense as a whole looked lethargic and outdated. However one of the bright spots of a bad performance was the offensive line. They played well enough and will be tested in the weeks to come against teams like Buffalo and San Francisco. The biggest issue in playing Tua is protecting a young quarterback that has had an injury history and giving him time to process the action in front of him. It’s a no-brainer but I think we are closer to checking this box than we originally thought.

 

The Running Game has to be stabilized

The Dolphins running game continued to perplex the sports world by the use of four running backs. While I hope that it was just week one, with no preseason games and the first real game scenario that the NFL has faced in 7 months. The running game for most teams faltered. This issue however predates the pandemic and I would have liked for Howard and Breida to maintain some semblance of an attack. Before Tagovailoa gets in, we would like there to at least be a threat of a running game so that he’s not forced to throw 30 plus times early on in his rookie season. Let the backs do work and be a source of strength he can rely on.

 

The playbook has to be opened up

When I say that I mean this.  We know that the offense would be a quick pitch concept that relies on timing and separation. On Sunday we didn’t get that. The question is why. I can point to the first game install being limited on offense. I think we have the players that can get the job done. I want to see what this offense looks like with Jakeem Grant and Lynn Bowden lined up alongside Preston Williams and a (hopefully) healthy Devante Parker. I want to see the deep ball threats on the field so that the bigger bodies that can get the separation on the quick pitches to have more of an opportunity, like Williams, Parker, and Tight End Mike Gesicki. That will come with time, and with the right personnel getting on the field.

 

I am as excited as anyone to see number 1 under center getting live-action. However, there needs to be the allowance of time for the offense as a whole to get better without adding the chaos of a rookie quarterback. He wouldn’t have made the week one loss any less bitter pill than it was, and until some of those other issues get shored up first, I’m not counting on him to perform the miracle of taking us to the playoffs. From what we’ve seen from week one, that’s just too much to put on his shoulders.

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