Last year the Miami Dolphins flew under the radar. With a new head coach in Mike McDaniel and questions surrounding quarterback Tua Tagovailoa if he could play and become the quarterback moving forward. The Dolphins exceeded expectations and made the playoffs at 9-8. Yes, the Dolphins were 8-3 and lost 5 in a row down the stretch, but they managed to win the season finale to get in as a wild card and were one play away from beating the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo.
However, the expectations have been raised higher after making the playoffs and becoming one of the most explosive offenses in the game a year ago; on top of that, the Dolphins went out and brought in star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to tandem with Xavien Howard. The Dolphins also got the best defensive coordinator on the market in Vic Fangio, to come up with the schemes to tap into the potential this defense has. The offense returns one of the best wide receiver tandems in the league with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, who made explosive plays week in and week out. They also return Tagovailoa, who took major steps and silenced a lot of critics with his lack of arm strength and made big passing plays down the field. The Dolphins’ offense returns most of their players, and with another year in McDaniel’s system, one would think this offense would get better. Most experts feel the Dolphins have one of the best rosters put together, and they may be right.
The problem is the last two times the Dolphins made the playoffs, in 2008 and 2016, the Dolphins went downhill fast and couldn’t live up to their expectations. The biggest issue will be injuries, of course. The Dolphins were decimated by injuries in the secondary, offensive line, and at quarterback with Tagovailoa. One area Tagovaila hasn’t silenced is his durability concerns, but when he was on the field last year, he played like one of the top quarterbacks in the league and was an MVP candidate. Our best offensive lineman Terron Armstead came to the Dolphins with durability concerns, and last year, he played the whole year hurt and missed some games. The offensive line was different without him. Then there is Howard, who was clearly not 100% last year, and it’s also possible maybe he lost a step in his game. There is also a possibility that Fangio’s defense will help him out by playing more zone coverage and won’t put as much pressure on his legs playing press man-to-man all day. Time will tell on these issues.
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Another concern is whether Coach McDaniel will learn from his rookie coach’s mistakes in calling the offensive plays. The issues he had last year were not committing to the running game and getting the play calls in time to stop the offense from wasting time outs or taking a delay of game penalties, as those came back to bite him in the playoff game and probably cost them. To McDaniel’s credit, he has openly and honestly been discussing these things that he has to get better at, so it’s good he recognizes those issues, but now he has to show it when the games start. The Dolphins have decent running backs, and Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson will be good for a couple of big runs a game, but they didn’t commit to it enough, especially in short yardage or when the team needed to take time off the clock late in games. The Dolphins passing game is its strength, and yes, the NFL is a passing league, but you have to be able to run the ball in situations and show you can do it consistently. I realize running backs are devalued nowadays but are still important to any offense. There are going to be games where Tagovailoa is off, but the San Francisco 49ers game or the Los Angeles Chargers game and a running game could have helped him and the offense out.
I also wonder how the players on defense will fit into Fangio’s system. Fangio is a great defensive mind and has always had good to great defenses, but it’s his first year, and some players might not fit into this zone defensive scheme he likes. The Dolphins needed to make a change as defensive coordinator. Josh Boyer’s defense was good against bad to average offenses but not good against elite offenses led by elite quarterbacks, and the AFC is loaded with elite quarterbacks, who the Dolphins will play this year in Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert to name a few. Fangio’s scheme will be refreshing, and it also could take some time to see the results on the field; with it being a new scheme, mistakes will be made.
Then I worry about guys regressing or teams adjusting, especially on offense. Can Hill and Waddle be as good as a year ago? During the five-game-losing streak, teams seemed to figure out the Dolphins’ offense, taking away the middle of the field and limiting the big plays. The Dolphins didn’t adjust well to that. Will Tagovailoa play at the level he was at last year before his last concussion? The other thing is, will Howard and Ramsey work out well together, or will they both be on the downside of their career, and signs will show that? I don’t believe that will happen.
The Dolphins are going to start out with 3 out of their first four on the road, and they have to be ready to play to show they are one of the top rosters in the league. A team that is ready to challenge for a championship and win a playoff game for the first time in two decades. Wow, that seems like yesterday, but yesterday was a long time ago. The division has gotten tougher, with the New York Jets adding Rodgers and the Bills winning the division the last three years. It’s put up or shut up time for the Dolphins. The question is will they be able to play the way everyone believes?
