This season is less about wins and more about growth…so let’s see some improvement
Let’s get this out of the way first: if the Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, it would qualify as one hell of an upset. Miami enters its home opener 0-2 after losses of 27-13 and 35-13, while Kansas City is 2-0. The betting line with the best pay per head has moved around the 10½-to-11½-point range, which tells you exactly how this matchup is viewed from the outside.
But for this Dolphins team, Sunday doesn’t have to be about pulling off a miracle.
It needs to be about showing growth.
Fans need something to rally around more than just a top draft pick. We need to see some improvement. And in truth there has been, just not enough. Win or lose, if the Dolphins can show fight and some growth, we can hold our head up high.
Defense has been Terrible
Start with the defense. Miami has yet to record a sack through two games. That’s almost impossible to survive against any NFL quarterback, much less Kansas City. The good news is Chop Robinson has cleared concussion protocol and is set to return after practicing fully throughout the week. His return is enormous for a defense desperately searching for someone capable of consistently affecting the quarterback. Kansas City Chiefs
For Robinson personally, it matters just as much. This is Year 3 for the former first-round pick, and Miami will have a fifth-year option decision coming after the season. It’s time for those flashes of athletic ability to become production.
But pressure won’t matter if Miami continues beating itself.
Penalties, missed assignments and coverage breakdowns have repeatedly turned manageable situations into disasters. Against San Francisco, those mistakes were joined by special-teams errors and another nonexistent pass rush. Against Kansas City, Miami simply can’t survive that kind of football.
The special teams so far have been anything but special…except special bad aside from Wright’s big run. We are currently THE worst starting position in the league.
Ouch!
Offense Showed a Little Last Week
Offensively, let’s lower the bar to something painfully simple:
Can the Dolphins consistently finish drives with touchdowns?
They’ve scored just 13 points in each of their first two games. Now they’ll attempt to change that without Caleb Douglas, their leading receiver through two weeks with seven catches for 113 yards. Douglas has officially been ruled out with an ankle injury.
That puts even more pressure on Bobby Slowik.
Slowik was better in Week 2. Miami actually committed more heavily to De’Von Achane, who carried 20 times for 74 yards after getting only 11 carries in the opener. The Dolphins finished with 102 rushing yards after managing 74 in Week 1.
Now comes the next step.
Can Slowik find the concepts that work and stay with them? Can this offensive line finally establish some physicality consistently for four quarters? Can Miami get Achane moving early enough that the offense isn’t eventually forced into obvious passing situations?
And then there’s Malik Willis.
Two games aren’t enough to answer whether Willis is Miami’s long-term quarterback. Sunday doesn’t have to answer it either.
But give us something to point toward.
Make the right decisions. Create something when protection breaks down. Finish a red-zone drive. Make a throw in a critical situation that makes you think, Okay, maybe there’s something here.
That’s really what Sunday is about.
Bottom Line: Hold onto Your Hats and Hope for Growth
A win over Kansas City would be spectacular.
But Miami’s season isn’t going to be defined by whether a double-digit underdog knocks off the Chiefs in September. It’s going to be defined by whether this young team gets better.
Fewer penalties. Fewer blown assignments. Generate a pass rush. Get physical up front. Get Achane going. Call a smarter offensive game. And let Willis show whether there’s something worth building around.
Don’t worry about the miracle yet.
First, show us progress.
Go Phins!!!