The Phins handled equal or lesser opponents
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?