Game Thoughts: Week 7, Falcons at Dolphins

The Dolphins blew a late lead to the Falcons today to drop to 1-6.  The defense failed in crunch time yet again, and the Dolphins now head to Buffalo to inevitably drop to 1-7.
 
But I don’t care about today’s loss.  The season was already over.
 
What I do want to say is that the Dolphins no longer have a QB controversy, and anyone who says they do is clueless and clearly has an agenda.  Because today, Tua Tagovailoa made this team his.  Despite an inconsistent effort caused by an absolutely useless offensive line, Tua showed the heart, drive and guts to lead this team.  While constantly running for his life, Tua put the team on his back late in the 4^th quarter and drove the team downfield to threw his 4^th TD of the day and give the Dolphins a lead.  The lame defense choked the game away shortly after, but that doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that Tua has arrived.  I don’t want to hear one word about the sexual predator in Houston – the Dolphins have a QB that is developing into a franchise player.  You saw it in the way Tua gave his body up to run for a first down.  You saw it in the way Tua went through progressions and hit Myles Gaskin for a TD.  You saw it in the gorgeous fake handoff Tua used to throw the go-ahead TD to Mack Hollins.  You saw it in the way Tua just kept scratching and clawing and fighting no matter what happened.
 
So yes, this Dolphins team is an embarrassment and a joke.  But one thing they do have is a QB.  This is Tua’s team, and he is the future.  Tua won’t beat the Bills next week – not with this pathetic coaching staff, defense and OL – but I have seen enough to know that he is THE building block of this franchise moving forward.
 
Hero of the Game: Is there any question?  Tua completed 80% of his passes with 4TDs and 21 second half points.  Those are winning stats (if your defense doesn’t suck.) TUA, TUA, TUA!!!
 
Goat of the Game: The defense FINALLY made some big plays today, with a couple of key turnovers.  But when Tua handed them the lead, they choked like dogs and allowed the Falcons to march downfield with no resistance whatsoever to kick the game-winning FG.  Disgraceful.

This week could be a nightmare. We could possibly trade our best players for picks and then trade 3 years worth of capital for a quitter who could be suspended for a year. How many other teams would be that stupid?

JEGnj wrote:This week could be a nightmare. We could possibly trade our best players for picks and then trade 3 years worth of capital for a quitter who could be suspended for a year. How many other teams would be that stupid?

I don't think we're going to make any big trades.  Howard can't be traded because of his cap hit, and the Texans can't trade Watson because of his legal troubles.

The only thing I really care about now is re-signing Gesicki. Gotta make it happen.  The guy is our biggest weapon and Tua loves throwing to him.

Bill Parcells always said that you don't really know about a QB till you see how he handles adversity.  Well, today we learned what we have in Tua.  After hearing all week (and, really, for months) about how much he sucks and how the Dolphins would dump him and trade for Watson any minute, Tua comes out and overcomes two costly INTs to lead the Dolphins to two 4th quarter scores and hands a lead to the defense.  That is how you respond to adversity - you focus, bear down and kick ass.  That's what we saw today - a man that can overcome adversity and carry the team.  Ultimately, the D shit the bed and lost - but Tua showed exactly what he's made of.

Agree. Tua has shown enough for me to want to see what he can do after 10-15 more starts. I think he's capable of leading a contender. Part of the solution, not part of the problem.

I see that Tua doubled his previous career high for TD passes in a game with 4 I didn't know h had it in him TBH.

But the real pressing burning all-important question I have is...did Iggy play? And if so, how badly did he get torched? Okay I lied, that's two questions. But if the media can lie 24/7 then I should get to do it at least once, right?

What we've found out the last two games is that this team is just good enough to barely lose to the other dregs of the league, and that Tua is not part of the problem. If anything he might actually be the best performing player on the team right now, or at least the offense. I'm not ready to say he's a franchise QB yet but he doesn't suck nearly enough to be traded for You Know Who.

There, I finally admitted it Jmp, does that cheer you up even a little?

Also, I just wanted to say Reid Sinnett being waived the day before the game really burns my boxers for some reason

Tua had a mixed bag today and I think that's expected of a player that's played 13 games. His interception was costly. Touchdowns are good. Yards per pass average. He wasn't the problem today. Coaching and talent are Miami's two biggest problems.

On Reid Sinnet: he had been on the regular roster when Tua and Jacoby were banged up. Both QBs are now healthy so they waived him. He will almost certainly clear waivers and go back to Miami's PS.

You saw it in the way Tua gave his body up to run for a first down. You saw it in the way Tua went through progressions and hit Myles Gaskin for a TD. You saw it in the gorgeous fake handoff Tua used to throw the go-ahead TD to Mack Hollins. You saw it in the way Tua just kept scratching and clawing and fighting no matter what happened.

So yes, this Dolphins team is an embarrassment and a joke. But one thing they do have is a QB. This is Tua’s team, and he is the future.

I couldn't agree more. He ran through a defender and was clearly grimacing on the sideline I'm sure that hurt with his ribs and hopefully they are not any worse this morning.

Watching this defense play is awful. Cannot get off the field on 3rd and long. We were much better against the run yesterday, but we can't rush the passer and we are constantly giving up big plays. The highlight for me was watching Holland - great sack on Matt Ryan and a crushing hit to knock the ball away from Ridley. He's got a bright future here. Which is more than I can say for many of our players.

If I'm Steve Ross? No way to I authorize a trade for Watson. I'd start talking to people and compiling my interview list of GMs. Grier is gone the day after game 17, barring a miracle turnaround which is looking more and more unlikely each week.

Watson is on a bad team now in Houston. The only change with a trade is he will be on a bad team in Miami, and Houston will have a ton of draft capital to rebuild while we have none.

Build around Tua on his rookie deal. Stop with the bargain basement FA signings and get some talented OL in here. Draft wisely. It doesn't take forever to turn a team around, especially with a good QB and it looks very much like we have one. A good GM can get this roster in shape pretty fast.

I don't care about the coach. The GM has to be first and he has to be good.

Great post, white.

The horrific play of this defense is just mind-boggling. I can understand taking a step back after last year's excellent performance, but this HUGE drop-off is absurd. Any team we face has the ability to get downfield almost immediately, and the defense is just helpless to stop them. It all starts with the lack of a pass rush, but that alone doesn't explain the sloppy play and players constantly out of position and missing tackles. I just don't know. What I do know is, I don't see how we stop the Bills from scoring 50 next week.

JMP wrote:On Reid Sinnet: he had been on the regular roster when Tua and Jacoby were banged up. Both QBs are now healthy so they waived him. He will almost certainly clear waivers and go back to Miami's PS.

Except that he didn't and is now a member of the Eagles. Nice one, Grier/Flores!

And Ross is supposed to trust THESE two clowns to make a major move like the Watson trade would be? HA!!!

I would have preferred to keep Sinnett and waive Brissett, honestly.

HalCHorn wrote:I would have preferred to keep Sinnett and waive Brissett, honestly.  

#metoo The only reason I even had a sliver of a shred of a glimmer of an iota of a tiny scrap of hope going forward was Sinnett and seeing what he could do. And now even that's gone

Damn you for dashing my dreams, Grier and Flores!!! (Whispers.) Damn you...

Seriously, this depresses me more than the losses. Losing I'm used to but this?

Sinnett was a nice preseason story, but he's a career clipboard holder. I would have liked to keep him, but it would have been foolish to keep 3 QBs on the roster. Not a big deal in the grand scheme.

Upon further review:

Tua's first INT looked like a bad route by Smythe.  Looking at the play, I am assuming Smythe was supposed to be exactly where the ball was thrown, but he gave up.  If that's Gesicki instead of Smythe, it's a TD.

On the second INT, Tua was forced the step up and hurry because - guess who? - Austin Jackson got completely destroyed on his weak-ass attempted "block".  Tua should have taken the sack - but the play never happens if Jackson does him damn job for once.

All this to say...those INTs maybe weren't as bad as they seemed at first glance.  Not making excuses, but just providing more evidence that Tua is getting fucked by his teammates.

I can't figure out why Jackson is still playing.  He's single-handedly ruining the offense.

Just Got Back from Miami and I Tried along with Tua to Win this Game, I even Wore my Chambers Jersey for only the Second Time and it was only one in the Crowd. Speaking of the Crowd they Pretty Loud in trying to Help the Defense But even they couldn’t Help. JMP You are so Right and OJ Mcduffie agree with that Tua isn’t even close to being the Problem. Blames the Lack of a Deep Passing Game on the OC and says when the Two Safety’s spend the Whole Game inside of 15 Yards because they know Don’t have to cover deep. You can Learn things listening to Local Radio like Grier won’t watch the game with the Owner , He sits in a Room next to the Radio Peeps with TV’s to Watch other games and All front Office people are in hiding scared of losing their Jobs. Even Thou they Lost I Love the New Stadium and Will Return when they Get Better Hopefully soon. Also Jose Rose Who is on the Radio Broadcast and has his own Show in the Morning was Relentless in His Criticism of the Front Office Today, Especially the Fact That Long and Noah are always inactive.

Great post, Kev. This team is just so dysfunctional right now. The good news is, I think a lot of people are finally starting to realize that Tua isn't the problem. He's just surrounded by garbage on the field and on the sideline.

I can't figure out why Jackson is still playing.  He's single-handedly ruining the offense.

We can only hope that Kindley does something in practice *anything* to prove to the coaches he deserves a start and he takes Jackson's job.  BTW, I also saw a horrible pull attempt on Sunday I think it was a running play, of course Jackson missed the block on that play. 

You can Learn things listening to Local Radio like Grier won’t watch the game with the Owner , He sits in a Room next to the Radio Peeps with TV’s to Watch other games and All front Office people are in hiding scared of losing their Jobs. 

Disturbing.  As the General Manager and number one report accountable to the Owner, isn't part of the job description maintaining a strong relationship with your boss?  

Grier: "Oh hi Steve, I'll be over here watching the other games. You know, I have to scout for talent because the roster I put together is so weak.  Well, enjoy the blowout see you tomorrow!"

I don't know.... seems like a blend of Parcells / Belichek arrogance and disregard for non-football people, but blended with the drawback of total incompetence which makes it very tough to pull off.  

As for front office people scared of losing their jobs? Yeah, they all should be.  With very few exceptions our draft pick "war chest" netted little of any consequence on the field.  In fact, on EVERY PICK, you can point to someone better that was taken later in the draft (maybe with the exception of Jackson, I don't know what tackles were taken later). 

That's not how to rebuild a roster and it points directly to poor scouting and poor talent evaluation.  Either that or a severe disconnect with the coaching staff on what they are looking for in a player.  In any case, a total failure to stock the roster with enough talent to succeed.

no excuse for it after 2 years of exceptional draft capital. This 2021 team is likely headed for 5-12 after a 1-7 start (gotta remember the Texans, Jets twice, Giants, Panthers and Pats at home remain on the schedule). In other words, *exactly* where we were at in 2019! With the exception of having the QB question solved if we can keep Tua from getting killed.

Some crazy-good Tua stats from Sunday:

Chris Kouffman
@ckparrot
·
22h
On review, I thought Tua’s performance last week was low key his best outing in a Dolphins uniform.

But he destroyed that outing this week against the Falcons.

Out of 40 throws, 38 hit the receiver’s hands. The other 2 were picked because the receivers hung him out to dry.

This is confirmed by:

George Forder
@GeorgeForder3
·
1h
I know some people don't believe in PFF's data. Well, per @SportsInfo_SIS
Tua was on target for 97.5% of his passes against Atlanta.

That was best in the NFL for week 7 and 9.3% better than the next closest QB.

I can't wait to see Tua playing a real offense...hopefully we'll get that chance next season.

Couple these last two games with last year against both ARZ and KC - how can you say he hasn't shown anything, time to move on? 

Grier and Flores need to ride this out.  Don't mortgage the future for the dumb Watson trade.  Makes no sense.

Another nugget:

Chris Kouffman
@ckparrot
·
4h
Among QBs with at least 90 pass attempts between 1994 and 2021, Tua Tagovailoa currently has the highest 4th quarter passer rating.

Ever.