Despite a surprisingly good 2020 Season, the Miami Dolphins ended the year on a low note. They were outplayed and outclassed by a better Bills team and missed out on the playoffs. While they could have made the postseason even with a loss, the Colts, Browns, and Ravens all took care of their business… as we should have. The reality is Miami would probably have been blown out in the first round anyway. So, this hard dose of reality may be for the best in the long run because no one in the organization will sit on their laurels in the offseason. Still, given the growth of the Phins from 2019 to 2020, fans should be excited about the 2021 Season.
The Phins future is bright
Even just vying for the playoffs in Week 17 was a huge step in the right direction for the Dolphins franchise. The fact that they controlled their own destiny up to the last game of the season is a big achievement. Remember the pay per head bookie services had the Phins only getting five and a half wins.
Coach Brian Flores has taken this franchise this far because this group of young men fully buy into his program and culture. For that to continue, next season is all about Miami reaching the next level. The Dolphins won 10 games this season, but the main problem was they couldn’t beat the good teams. Phins must change this if we want to make the playoffs.
The good news is the Phins are once again stacked with draft picks from the huge return on investment from the Tunsil trade. General Manager Chris Grier has all the ammo he needs with the 3rd Overall pick from the Texans, along with the 18th, 36th, and 50th selections. Considering that the 36th pick is almost like another first-round pick, Miami is one of the biggest players on Draft Day. Only Jacksonville has a better position and the Jets are comparable.
Backing Tua with some good players might bring magic
The big question is will the Dolphins decide to use one of these Top 50 picks to draft another QB?
While there are quite a few talented QB prospects available in this upcoming draft, I don’t think they will. Grier and Flores did say Tua is the starting QB in 2021 even if he didn’t light the league on fire–although he did flash ability. Since Fitzpatrick played the first part of the season, Tua didn’t even play a full season, so I don’t think we need to throw in the towel right away on Tua. But, he needs to show some big improvements next season… if he truly is the Phins QB of the future.
This is a HUGE reason why they must put some good offensive pieces around Tua. By the end of next season, they need to know if Tua is their guy or not.
Obviously, Tua didn’t have a great game and there was no Fitz magic to bail him out late. But, Tua also didn’t get a lot of help from his wide receivers, who dropped a lot of passes. If this organization does believe in Tua, then clearly they need to give him weapons this offseason and better protection. Luckily they have plenty of cap space available and blue-chip draft assets to build around him.
With that being said it still might not be a bad idea for Miami to draft another QB this year… just not in the first round. We don’t know if Fitzpatrick will even return. If he doesn’t, we’ll need a backup QB. So why not take a shot on a young, talented QB prospect and give Tua competition, which was something we never did with Tannehill.
Either way, we have plenty of resources to add more talent to this roster over the offseason. As long as Tua takes a step forward, there’s no reason why we can’t be a double-digit win team next year and make the playoffs.
What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans’ thoughts about the direction of this team going forward?
We will never know if Tua is our guy until the offense is fully fixed and Tua has a the weapons. We need a strong running game, better O-Line, and at least a pair of stud receivers. Parker & Williams are excellent tandem when healthy, but they are both hurt often. Parker will continue to have nagging injuries like hamstrings, groin, hang-nails, etc. Williams has now had 2 season ending injuries back to back. They both can not be trusted to play consistently. Tua will be just fine I believe once he gets the weapons, along with an OC that won’t baby him like Gailey did. Gailey resigned before Flores could fire him. Flores wanted more aggressive play calling vs. the conservative short underneath passes, and predictable run game! Need a good OC along with the weapons.
Our injuries at WR ARE concerning. Williams and Parker are highly talented but unreliable. Parker, at least it’s just nagging ones and they can be dealt with, Williams has season enders. Have two of your biggest play WRs like this is a disaster. Then add in Grant who is also unreliable. As for Tua and Gailey, as I said I’m wrapping up the vid.., it’s my longest and most in-depth. Clearly, Tua couldn’t be aggressive by the film. His arm is weak right now and because he is slow to read he has no room for error. He is slow to read as well, but that’s expected. Problem is we don’t know how much he’ll improve his strength. Right now though he has Chad Pennigton’s arm when he was with us and little ability to win with his smarts. He is also slow at running and is zero threat on the ground. This kills RPOs. This really put Gailey and Tua in impossible situations with near-zero options. If Tua heals up and improves this velocity and footspeed by a good margin, things will go well. But, then there is the weird lack of accuracy and location he has. It was BAD against the Bills… again, I’ll let the video show it rather than me say it. But, after watching the game 10 times or so, and seeing ALL the things that need fixing, I am concerned… very concerned. Again, if he heals up and gets stronger, many of the issues will resolve themselves and the Tua we expected and saw in college will be a lot closer. He does have other things though that need a good deal of help after that. I tried as I went through the film to be a non Phin fan, and see an unlikable guy named Larry and not Tua the All-World good kid. Again, you’ll see. I’m sure many will be angry, but the film is very clear: He has a long/ long way to go. Hope I’m wrong and I’m seeing the film wrong, Stephen… and of course more weapons would certainly help… But, he will never have the talent around him like in Alabama… he has to make good with what he has. Yes, Fitz is a 16 year vet, but he elevated the team with more than experience. If Tua doesn’t improve dramatically next year, Flores will begin to lose the team. You could see it on the face of the players as the Bills game wore on.
We will never know if Tua is our guy until the offense is fully fixed and Tua has a the weapons. We need a strong running game, better O-Line, and at least a pair of stud receivers. Parker & Williams are excellent tandem when healthy, but they are both hurt often. Parker will continue to have nagging injuries like hamstrings, groin, hang-nails, etc. Williams has now had 2 season ending injuries back to back. They both can not be trusted to play consistently. Tua will be just fine I believe once he gets the weapons, along with an OC that won’t baby him like Gailey did. Gailey resigned before Flores could fire him. Flores wanted more aggressive play calling vs. the conservative short underneath passes, and predictable run game! Need a good OC along with the weapons.
Our injuries at WR ARE concerning. Williams and Parker are highly talented but unreliable. Parker, at least it’s just nagging ones and they can be dealt with, Williams has season enders. Have two of your biggest play WRs like this is a disaster. Then add in Grant who is also unreliable. As for Tua and Gailey, as I said I’m wrapping up the vid.., it’s my longest and most in-depth. Clearly, Tua couldn’t be aggressive by the film. His arm is weak right now and because he is slow to read he has no room for error. He is slow to read as well, but that’s expected. Problem is we don’t know how much he’ll improve his strength. Right now though he has Chad Pennigton’s arm when he was with us and little ability to win with his smarts. He is also slow at running and is zero threat on the ground. This kills RPOs. This really put Gailey and Tua in impossible situations with near-zero options. If Tua heals up and improves this velocity and footspeed by a good margin, things will go well. But, then there is the weird lack of accuracy and location he has. It was BAD against the Bills… again, I’ll let the video show it rather than me say it. But, after watching the game 10 times or so, and seeing ALL the things that need fixing, I am concerned… very concerned. Again, if he heals up and gets stronger, many of the issues will resolve themselves and the Tua we expected and saw in college will be a lot closer. He does have other things though that need a good deal of help after that. I tried as I went through the film to be a non Phin fan, and see an unlikable guy named Larry and not Tua the All-World good kid. Again, you’ll see. I’m sure many will be angry, but the film is very clear: He has a long/ long way to go. Hope I’m wrong and I’m seeing the film wrong, Stephen… and of course more weapons would certainly help… But, he will never have the talent around him like in Alabama… he has to make good with what he has. Yes, Fitz is a 16 year vet, but he elevated the team with more than experience. If Tua doesn’t improve dramatically next year, Flores will begin to lose the team. You could see it on the face of the players as the Bills game wore on.