Tua-Time Will Be Here Sooner Rather than Later

No Dolphins fan should overreact just one game into the season and I for one am not.  I thought there were a lot of positives to take away from the week one loss to the Patriots and I am not hitting the panic button. With that said you can read the tea leaves and see one thing is very obvious, and that is TUA-TIME will be here sooner rather than later.

I know….I know….you’re now talking (or yelling) to your smartphone/computer/tablet reading this article saying things like…

It’s just one game

Tua isn’t ready yet

Tua isn’t healthy enough (whatever that means your either healthy or your not)

Miami isn’t a playoff team so why play Tua at all this year and risk anything

I get it, and those are all valid points. And hear me out, I AM NOT SAYING MIAMI SHOULD PLAY TUA THIS WEEK, NEXT WEEK, OR IN SEPTEMBER AT ALL.

But guess what, come October, at some point, it will most likely be Tua-Time in Miami and we all need to come to grips with that.

I don’t need to have a crystal ball, watch endless hours of game tape, or be a legendary NFL Hall of Fame Coach to figure out that this Dolphins offense will struggle in 2020 due to a young offensive line, little depth at wide receiver, and a running back by committee approach.  I’m not saying the offense is bad, I’m just saying it will have growing pains for most of this year and especially early on this season.

Now, for those who are pounding the table to see Tua take over right now, sit down, listen, and learn. Seriously, this is not the time to get Tua on the football field.

For one, Miami’s best weapon in the passing game (Devante Parker) is injured and will probably miss a game, or two, or more.

Second, it is only Week 2 and we have to give Fitzpatrick time this year with this new supporting cast to rebound and see if we get more of the Fitzpatrick of 2019 which was successful at times, and less of the Fitzpatrick from Week 1 of this past Sunday. Ryan has earned that and should get that opportunity.

Third, you can’t start Tua Week 3 at Jacksonville as that is a short week, and throwing a rookie quarterback into the starting role on a short week, on the road is setting him up to fail.

After that game though. After the Jacksonville game….ALL BETS ARE OFF!

Then it could become Tua-Time at any time!

The keyword there is “could” as a lot of factors are in play here. Like, do the Dolphins have a win yet in the season after week 3? How is the offense performing through 3 games? Is Fitzpatrick throwing more interceptions than touchdowns in the first 3 games?

Of course, if the Dolphins start winning games and maybe the win the next two weeks vs Buffalo and Jacksonville and go into that Seattle game at 2-1, everything I am typing here you can print out and use to line your bird cages.

But, if these first 3 to 4 games of the season don’t go well and the offense is struggling like it did this past Sunday in New England, then all bets are off folks, you seriously have to consider getting Tua on the field and I don’t care who the opponent is.

Yes, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, LA Rams, LA Chargers is no easy stretch beginning in week 4, in fact, they all have good defenses. But the Dolphins cannot punt this season like they punted last season. The goals are different this year for this Dolphins team. Winning matters this year and if Fitzpatrick is struggling, or looking like a 37-year-old quarterback, or well just being your typical Ryan Fitzpatrick which is a so-so/nothing special quarterback, then it’s time to pull the trigger and make it TUA-TIME!

Of course, we all want to make sure we don’t screw up Tua and get him on the field too early or in a bad situation. But he is healthy, that’s right he is healthy, and he is a professional NFL player so you can’t treat him like a china doll and worry about playing him. He is also the 5th pick of the draft and guys you select that high on the draft board, you need them on the field sooner rather than later.

If Miami is that worried about this kid being hit and getting injured, then they drafted the wrong guy and this just won’t work out long-term anyway. Treat him like you would treat any other healthy rookie quarterback.

If Fitzpatrick doesn’t perform in these first 3 or 4 games and if he regresses at all from what he played like in 2019, then there does come a point of questioning what are you actually doing as an organization. And the powers that be have to make the call looking towards the future and not think about there here and now. You can only learn so much by sitting and watching and if the season gets off to a slow start…a bad start, then get the kid out there and let him learn on the job. Nothing beats hands-on experience in any walk of life.

So in closing, let me be perfectly clear…

It isn’t Tua-Time right now.

Tua-Time isn’t coming this week.

Tua-Time isn’t coming next week.

But, Tua-Time will be here sooner rather than later, and you can bet your bottom dollar you will see Tua on the football field starting at quarterback for the Miami Dolphins before you know it.

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