Can the Dolphins Beat the Seahawks Without Tua?
It’s been almost a week since the Dolphins were destroyed at home by the Bills, and I still have no words to describe what happened. So, instead of dwelling on the past, I decided to write about the upcoming game.
The Dolphins play the Seahawks this Sunday, and even if this is a team they were supposed to beat, that’s all different now without Tua. As we know, Skylar Thompson will be starting that game, and he didn’t look so good at the end of the Bills game, so we, as fans, are truly worried. But the truth is that it’s going to come down to coaching, and it is a very winnable game. This is an opportunity for Mike McDaniel to regain the confidence of the team and the fans.
McDaniel will have to make the players believe they can win, but that’s the easy part; he needs to call a perfect game. We have seen some very questionable play calling from McDaniel both this season and last season, so this game will be key for him to show that he knows what he is doing.
Of course, with Tua out, everyone’s automatic reaction is to say that the Dolphins should run the ball a lot, and honestly, that is a good point, especially since the Seahawks’ run defense hasn’t been good so far this year. But that doesn’t mean that the Dolphins need to run the ball almost every play. They just need to find the right balance and timing for the runs and not pull away from it if they are trailing.
But as much as they need to run, it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t give Skylar a chance to throw the ball a fair number of times. McDaniel has to find the specific type of pass plays that best fit Skylar’s abilities and mix that up with all the regular run plays. After all, Skylar will have Tyreek and Waddle to throw to, so he might be able to have a decent day. I do feel bad that he has to put his life at risk and stand behind the Dolphins’ offensive line all day, so if he wants to have a good day, he better release the ball quickly and, if necessary, just throw a check-down to Achane and avoid mistakes.
Talking about Achane, he was the Dolphin’s best player against the Bills, and it wasn’t even close. He practically carried the offense on his back. Ans as much as they have to use him in this game also, they can’t be too predictable. Against the Bills, it got to the point that he was touching the ball every play, and it was very predictable; you can’t expect him to do everything. Although, with the current situation at wide receiver, he might as well be WR3.
One more thing about the offense: we always talk about short-yardage situations. Yes, it seemed like the solution to the problem was Alec Ingold, and he might as well be the solution, but you can’t run the same play on every third and short because they will just know to expect it after a couple of times. We saw that against the Bills, it worked the first time, but then they were already expecting it and were able to stop it. So again, the main thing on offense this week is being unpredictable because defenses are starting to figure out McDaniel’s offense.
On the Defensive side, there is not much to say, honestly. The defense has been playing well, even if it didn’t look like it last game. The reason it looked bad against the Bills is that the Dolphins’ offense gave the Bills a really good field position because of turnovers. Therefore, the Bills were almost automatically in field goal range every time. Not only that, but the defense actually didn’t allow any points in the second half in both games this season, which is a sign of good coaching and good adjustments.
The main thing for the defense is to not let DK Metcalf run past you like the Patriots did last week because other than that Touchdown, the Seahawks’ offense hasn’t looked that good so far. With that said, Jalen Ramsey does need to step up his game. He is the highest-paid cornerback for a reason, and he needs to show us why. Against the Bills, he didn’t play up to par.
All in all, it should be an exciting game, and even if it’s low-scoring, I am sure there will be a lot going on. Let’s hope the Dolphins can overcome adversity and win after such a bad loss last week and without Tua.
All 31 Defensive Coordinator’s in this league worth their Paychecks have already figured out how to close down McDaniel’s Offense…and that’s just to take away the middle of the field! If they can run it and go off play action, give Skylar just enough protection to throw it the Dolphins can win! McDaniel just needs to call a flawless game and run it down there throats with as was stated by Jacobo the passes that work best for Thompson.