Jonah Signed! No Excuses! It’s Do or Die in 25′!
Here’s the Top 5 evaluations that will be made clear with Jonah Savaiinaea Signed!
Miami Dolphins 2nd Round pick, Jonah Savaiinaea, is signed, and he received a fully guaranteed deal for nearly $12 million closing the story on ‘when’ and opening the many stories of ‘will’. This is the guy and team Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel wanted. Let’s see what they and this 2025 Dolphins team are made of.
No hiccups with a holdout.
Now no excuses are available.
Jonah is ready to go with minimal missed time, so we Phins fans can settle in and evaluate many key areas of this regime without ‘well if this didn’t happen, maybe they would have‘. This great news! Its Year 4 of the Grier and McDaniel regime, time to put up or shut up! By the seasons end, we fans should be unified on which direction we should take, and if the Dolphins flop, their media spin machine won’t be able to spin failure into ‘one more year.
So, here a list of my 5 Top evaluations that the signing of Jonah has put on track to be made clear to all heading into the next offseason.
Jonah signing makes this team complete and ready to roll
Top 5 evaluations that should end the excuses and detractors
- Can Chris Grier build a quality offensive line through the draft?
Grier has blown picks on Kindley, Dieter, Eichenberg, and in my opinion Jackson. He nailed Hunt but let him walk. He missed an easy layup on Zach Tom, who is the 3rd rated right tackle, among many others. He did great with Connor Williams, and mostly good on Terron Armstead. Overall, Grier’s commitment and ability to build and O-line has been atrocious for nearly a decade. Jonah, Paul, and Jackson are his guys. If they perform well, then he’ll have turned the corner on his worst aspect. It will offer hope that Grier has finally learned his lesson. If not, then it’s clear he’ll never get the O-line right. That alone is grounds for termination.
2. Will the Dolphins be able to run the football?
An offense that is one dimensional, isn’t a good offense, especially if you play in the AFC East and can’t run the ball. Bills, Jets, Pats all have high potential for bad weather, and you can’t pass your way to wins with real consistency in mess conditions. If the Dolphins find a rushing attack, they be able to compete in on the road against their AFCE rivals and the many good teams in the AFC conference that present bad weather.
Also, the NFL is moving fast back to physical, rushing offenses to handle the small pass defenses are sold out on stopping the pass. This is why the Dolphins fun and gun offense with no inside run game has struggled despite all the talent. If we add a run game, then we’ll be on the right track. If not, then we need to find the leaders who can bring a physical offense.
3. We traded up BIG for Jonah. Is he worth it?
I have very few questions about Jonah because he can pass block, move, is big, tough, and has great character. Now that he’s signed with enough time to settle into a new side and to prepare to face NFL talent, can he be more than a pass blocker?
Jonah must be complete to be worth it and help the Dolphins get on the physical track. His only real knock was his ability to handle power. Moving from tackle he’ll see bigger and more powerful opponents than he’s ever faced. He aces this and he’s well worth the price. If not, he’s a good find, but he won’t help the Dolphins in their most critical areas: the inside run game. I think he’ll be very good on outside zone, on the move. But his ability or inability to dig guys out of the trenches will the key.
Now, we should have some patience here as well, he’s a rookie and only 21 years old, but you can bet with the best pay per heads that we’ll know enough, even if we need to wait a little for him to hit his prime.
4. Can Mike McDaniel be the guy will boil down to can he get his offense to run the football?
McDaniel is in Year 4 and was a run game coordinator. Paul, Jonah, Brewer, Daniels, and Jackson is enough to create a balance offense. It’s not optimal in my opinion, but it’s enough–although the depth is terrible. McDaniel has a ton of prime-time games and a whole season to show if he can finally get a disciplined team and a physical one. If he can do this, we’ll see a team that outperforms expectations and come through in the clutch. His biggest hinderance, beyond not calling the runs, is the team’s piss-poor ability to pass block and control the inside A and B Gaps. Either way, if he can’t do it or if he does and still can’t win, it’s time to move on.
5. Tua has struggled with poor O-lines and one-dimensional offense… and health.
Clearly, health will be the primary factor above all else. But even if he can remain healthy and still struggles with a balanced offense, then he’s not the guy either. I’m neither a Tua lover nor a hater. But it’s damn clear to me that throwing the football historically fast, with the least blitzing in the league, poor pass protection, inability to dominate in the run game, tons of extra blockers and screens to protect inept blocking by linemen and tight ends, and defenses playing Cover 2 and high leverage by the linebackers isn’t a winning formula for a QB.
Marino faced some of these issues and he struggled to win big. How can Tua, who is a lesser QB, with more issues be expected to win? If Jonah and this line does their jobs and creates even a little balance, then there will be no excuses.
For better or worse, as a fanbase we should be in agreement
All three of the Phins top keys in the Dolphins food chain will get huge evaluations by season’s end. The only caveat is if this O-line flops, then both Tua and McDaniel won’t have been given a fair shake but likely will be replaced. We can only hope that Grier will finally get his due if this does happen. Sadly, that’s not a lock.
But, if we see a tough team, able to win some big games against good teams in bad weather, then you know what, they’ve earned another look next year and another draft to see if they can take it a notch higher. I’m not hoping for any result other than we finally get the right leaders and right team to head in the right direction because over two decades of failure is too damn long! Go Phins!!!
