Blame shot like a machine gun about the failure on offense by the Miami Dolphins in their ugly loss to the Denver Broncos.Everything and anything was fired from the media: Tua was a bust, the coaches sucked, the running game needed real talent, the offensive line was a disaster, and there wasn’t one quality slot receiver on the team. But, after laying such a big steaming turd on offense with so much on the line against ‘lesser opponent’, it’s no wonder. Still, it was just one game… and all that matters now is the upcoming game against the Jets. While Tua is just a rookie and bad games are part of the process, the Phins playoff hopes are riding on him bouncing back this week...
… Well, they were until an injury in practice Wednesday has Tua Doubtful this Sunday. The Phins added Reid Sinnett to the active roster from the Practice Squad, so it looks like Fitzmagic is back!
Alain Poupart of SI reported, “Tagovailoa is dealing with a thumb injury he sustained in practice Wednesday. Tagovailoa was listed as limited in practice all week and Flores said after practice Friday, “We’re going to watch the film and see what it looks like and we’ll make a decision.”
What a wild ride it’s been this season!
The big debate this week was on whether Brian Flores was right to bench Tua for Fitzpatrick. And the other big question was if Tua would turn into a bust? Now, the script is flipped with an injury to Tua’s thumb and Fitzmagic back in the saddle. While Fitzpatrick leading the offense is good news for the Phins playoffs hopes, the rest of the story gives me a headache.
Tua looked bad last week, but the majority of it was mental stuff that can be fixed. Tua is smart and a hard worker, so a good bet with the pay per head services like www.AcePerHead.com is that he’ll keep improving. To what degree though, only time will tell. Going against a cagey and blitz-happy Greg Williams would have been a great test for Tua. But, now the ‘injury bug’ is also on the table of his issues now too! Tua had a sore foot heading into last week’s game and now his thumb likely will have him as a scratch against the Jets.
Here’s a Philm Study of every play with Tua against the Chargers that details his real issues
The picture of what Tua is as an NFL quarterback in 2020 is very cloudy. Tua can work his way into better reads and decisions, but when your hurt there’s nothing you can do.
What a wild ride at quarterback this season
It was a media storm when they benched Fitzpatrick for Tua. Then there was a media storm when they benched Tua for Fitzpatrick. What happens if Fitzpatrick comes back and is aces and then when Tua is ready he continues to struggle?
Thumbs are notoriously difficult to heal and a major hindrance in gripping a football… if it’s on the throwing hand. The report didn’t say if it was on his throwing hand, but it appears that it is.
What if it takes a couple of weeks to heal and Miami is winning with Fitzpatrick? I’d love to see Miami win, but that would be an awkward situation.
Yeash! Talk about sticky.
Well, if you like drama, this Dolphins season is giving all you could want! Go Phins!!!
There is enough film out there on Tua that defenses can scheme a little. They have found his current developmental level. Once he is healthy, he will get better. At this point, I am worried about his injury status. It was his foot and now his hand. What part will hurt next? If Tua was hurt, they should have started Fitzpatrick against the Broncos. The other players on the team share most of the responsibility for the Denver loss. They ran all over our defense. The O-line sucked. Yes , there were injuries there too, I know. They didn’t make holes for our scat back runners and they didn’t protect either quarterback very well. We traded away our true slot guy and we don’t go 2 TE enough. Hell, as bad as the line played, I might have went with 3 tight ends!
Sorry, but I’ve got to take the opposite position on most of your takes, Van.
“There is enough film out there on Tua that defenses can scheme a little.” The plan is easy and works like a charm. This isn’t a knock on him long term… but short term, it is. With the level of ability from this OL and run game, Williams would have killed the kid. He blitzed from every angle on nearly every play. Like Brady, Tua needs to be developed. Took Brady 1 1/2 years on the bench and half a decade as a manager to be who he became. Tua needs this route. He isn’t Luck, Marino, or Burrow out of the box. Heck, even Elway to awhile. Fitz is ultra calm under fire… near elite. And, his exp makes him the right guy if you want to make the playoffs. “The other players on the team share most of the responsibility for the Denver loss. ” If you watched the vid I did it made it plainly obvious this isn’t true. Plenty of meat was left on the table by Tua not seeing. Down Wilkens, the run D didn’t fold till the second half. They kept the game close and put more points on than the offense did. They were run down, under manned, and in the thin air. They set the table for the O with points and two quick stops… they needed help on this one and didn’t get it. This Oline is a complimentary line. They need support by the QB and sceme and play call. This OL got us to 6-3… Tua missed open guys and easy reads that would have backed off the D… They are much better than last year, but still only meh. Most of Tua’s sacks last week were not because of the OL… 2-3 were on Tua and one was on the RB.
I did a THOROUGH break down of last week’s game… film is clear. Check it out if you can and I think you’ll agree. Hope all is well…
There is enough film out there on Tua that defenses can scheme a little. They have found his current developmental level. Once he is healthy, he will get better. At this point, I am worried about his injury status. It was his foot and now his hand. What part will hurt next? If Tua was hurt, they should have started Fitzpatrick against the Broncos.
The other players on the team share most of the responsibility for the Denver loss. They ran all over our defense. The O-line sucked. Yes , there were injuries there too, I know. They didn’t make holes for our scat back runners and they didn’t protect either quarterback very well. We traded away our true slot guy and we don’t go 2 TE enough. Hell, as bad as the line played, I might have went with 3 tight ends!
Maybe we can beat up the tanking Jets!
Sorry, but I’ve got to take the opposite position on most of your takes, Van.
“There is enough film out there on Tua that defenses can scheme a little.”
The plan is easy and works like a charm. This isn’t a knock on him long term… but short term, it is. With the level of ability from this OL and run game, Williams would have killed the kid. He blitzed from every angle on nearly every play. Like Brady, Tua needs to be developed. Took Brady 1 1/2 years on the bench and half a decade as a manager to be who he became. Tua needs this route. He isn’t Luck, Marino, or Burrow out of the box. Heck, even Elway to awhile. Fitz is ultra calm under fire… near elite. And, his exp makes him the right guy if you want to make the playoffs.
“The other players on the team share most of the responsibility for the Denver loss. ”
If you watched the vid I did it made it plainly obvious this isn’t true. Plenty of meat was left on the table by Tua not seeing.
Down Wilkens, the run D didn’t fold till the second half. They kept the game close and put more points on than the offense did. They were run down, under manned, and in the thin air. They set the table for the O with points and two quick stops… they needed help on this one and didn’t get it. This Oline is a complimentary line. They need support by the QB and sceme and play call. This OL got us to 6-3… Tua missed open guys and easy reads that would have backed off the D… They are much better than last year, but still only meh. Most of Tua’s sacks last week were not because of the OL… 2-3 were on Tua and one was on the RB.
I did a THOROUGH break down of last week’s game… film is clear. Check it out if you can and I think you’ll agree. Hope all is well…