On Sunday barring an unexpected ruling from a medical doctor, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to return to the lineup. I will say as a fan that I’m happy that he is returning because he is the leader of this offense. He should provide a spark to the offense.
However, he’s not going to save the season.
Any fan who thinks the Dolphins’ season will turn around because Tagovailoa is back hasn’t been watching this team. The Dolphins got off to a slow start on offense even before Tagovailoa got hurt. Teams are defending the Dolphins’ offense differently and aren’t adjusting.
He will provide a spark and lead this offense, but the Dolphins have other issues.
This team can’t get out of its own way with reoccurring penalties week in and week out. Turnovers like the two in the second half of last week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts cost the Dolphins the game in which they were the better team. This theme has been going on for the first six games of the season, and it has shown no signs of getting better.
The Dolphins had that issue against the Buffalo Bills in week 2 with Tagovailoa, where he had three interceptions in the first half. The game was over before halftime. Tagovailoa will have to play the Bills again in two weeks, and he doesn’t play well against them for whatever reason, and I don’t see that changing.
The Dolphins also still have to play the Houston Texans, Green Packers, San Fransico 49ers, and the Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets. I know the Jets and 49ers aren’t lighting the world on fire, but I think those teams can turn their season around more than the Dolphins.
Plus, what if Tua goes down again? The Dolphins don’t have a quarterback on this roster who can run Mike McDaniel’s offense, and that’s a problem. The front office and head coach turned a blind eye to it when it was obvious in the summer that if Tua went down, the offense would suffer, and the team learned the hard way the last few weeks.
The defense has played well, but let’s be real. They haven’t played very good offenses in the last four games, and they have issues as well. They give up yards rushing. The Colts had well over 100 yards last week, even without their star running back, Jonathon Taylor.
The Dolphins have no pass rush to get to the opposing quarterback. Chop Robinson is a rookie and is still learning, so hopefully, he will get better as the season progresses. The defense will get exposed more as the season progresses, especially against better running teams, because general manager Chris Grier didn’t add better talent to replace Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis. He just signed a bunch of scraps at cheap salaries.
In the four games Tagovailoa was out, McDaniel didn’t find better ways to get star wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle the ball. I don’t take it if a backup quarterback doesn’t know the offense. Find a way to get your players the ball. He also needs to stick to the hot hand when running the ball. Last Sunday, rookie Jaylen Wright was running the ball well, and then he gave it to the fullback Alec Ingold on a 1st and 10 in the red zone, and he fumbled.
Why?
I don’t know, but it’s McDaniel’s pattern since he’s been the head coach and is calling the plays. He either gets away from the run when it’s working or doesn’t keep giving the guy with the hot hand the ball. Last Sunday was a perfect example of that. The Dolphins should have won the game, but they gave it away instead.
I could be wrong, and I hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t see how the Dolphins will turn things around with Tua coming back. I believe he will lead the offense and make it functional, but he can only mask the team’s deficiencies until he doesn’t play well against good teams or goes down with another injury.
As a fan, I want to be wrong about this, but it is foolish to believe the season will turn around just because Tua is back. If I’m wrong, I will be glad to admit it.
