As always (and I mean ALWAYS), when the Dolphins need a little help from our fellow AFC teams, they choke badly. The blow big leads when we need them most.
The Ravens led the Bills by a comfortable 17 points before choking. Getting shut out out in the 2nd half, at home, to a team filled with substitutes? The Ravens blew that giant lead thanks to some really stupid plays, horrible officiating, and John Harbaugh’s incorrect decisions. They blew a 21-point lead vs the Dolphins two weeks ago. Maybe this team simply isn’t as good anymore. Luckily for them, the Ravens play in a horrible division so they are somehow still in first place.
Then there’s the Steelers, who had a comfortable 10-point lead over our AFC Rival Jets. But genius Mike Tomlin, decided to tamper with success. He put in a rookie QB, mid-game when he didn’t need to experiment. Two interceptions. Two NY Jets LATE touchdowns. Game over.
Thanks for the help. The Steelers and Ravens combined to blow 27 points leads into losses, hurting the Dolphins in the AFC East race.
Now onto Tua and Teddy. Let’s ignore the hype of the last Bills game and let’s trust the doctors and coaches. Tua hurt his back last Sunday. He got a concussion on Thursday. He was out of the hospital and with the team 2 hours later. This is NOT a catastrophic development, folks. Let’s not fear fear itself. Armchair doctors who are thousands of miles away making armchair diagnoses are laughable. Yes, Tua got a concussion. He’ll miss some time. But one day, hopefully soon, he will pass concussion protocol and be out there.
Despite the media outcry, the Dolphins must defend Tua’s ability to play and his right to play. When he passes the tests and is cleared to play, the media will rage a storm against Miami, saying we are rushing him back, etc. Even if 99 million doctors in the world clear Tua to play, some tool on Twitter will say that he’s a doctor and he would not have cleared Tua to play. Can’t worry about that.
Also, selfishly and sadly, I don’t worry about Tua’s health 65 years from now. Maybe he has migraines when he’s 90 years old because he took a few hits back when he was 24. Then again, maybe he has a normal, healthy adulthood like 99% of other retired NFL players.
Don’t skip the protocol. Don’t cheat. Submit to every required test, and when he passes them, put him back in. But don’t let him pass the test and then be too scared of the media to play him.
All that being said, it’s time to support Teddy Bridgewater. We have some true lightweight teams coming up, and if the defense can find its identity and Teddy can get some things going, we’ll be fine.
The Bengals got a TD early after we stuffed their RB but then their whole line pushed him forward. They got another when X Howard got a rare burn that will not likely happen again. They got a third TD late when the game was all but over. Not exactly a juggernaut. We hung in there.
On offense, we had a dropped TD pass, a missed FG, and some other drives that came up just short. Despite all of that, we were in a position to win it late, but Teddy B made a mistake and floated a ball. Yes, it was a game-changing error, but that happens. This was not a blowout. It was a close game in which the inferior opponent caught every single break. We’re gonna be fine.
Always cant wait for you to post. Such a pleasure reading your website. I’m more worried about the jets this year without tuathan last year. Hope teddy is good enough to beat them
Honestly, I think we’re OK with Teddy. He had a shaky start both times we saw him the last two games, but the circumstances were not ideal. I know it’s a cliché with backup quarterbacks when people say they need a full week of practice, but I think it’s really true in this case. Also, from what I have seen, Teddy evades the pass rush and knows how to prolong a play better than Tua. We saw some evidence of this in the second half at Cincinnati. He knows it’s his team now, for a little while anyway, and I think he’ll be fine. It helps that we have some not-so-great teams coming up too.
And now their patriots are on their third string quarterback, some unknown named Zappy. That makes me feel better about Teddy
As I alluded to above, I am a bit worried about how the Dolphins will handle Tua once he is cleared and ready. I guarantee that someone in the organization will say, “Yes, I know he passed all the protocols, but we better not let him play anyway. Because of all the media scrutiny. We have to be careful so that the media doesn’t chastise us.”
“The NFL and union agreed that a player who show gross motor instability will not be permitted to return to a game.” I understand the intent of this new rule, but it’s going to be a disaster.
Like what if a RB gets a stinger and hobbles off the field. That’s instability, so he’s out for the game. A big fat lineman twists an ankle and needs a couple of teammates to help walk him off the field? Out for the game. The concept of how to define “motor instability” will be more confusing than “What is a catch.”
“He’s in the building. He’s had a couple good days,” McDaniel said. Good news on the Tua front.
I’m not sold in Bridgewater. And I hope I’m wrong but to me he’s worse than Brisket. Just my $0.02. 🐬⬆️
I thought the same thing after two relief appearances, but now that he has a week of practicing, let’s see. I like how Mike McDaniel noted that he and Teddy go over what plays Teddy likes, and cater toward those preferences. This is not a dictator coach like Adam Gase, who tells you what will work. Mike McD consults with the players to go over these things. When avoiding pressure, Teddy’s first step is a bit quicker than Tua’s, and he buys himself extra time. That’s one slight advantage he has over Tua. He detects the rush a little quicker and avoids it. Tannehill was horrible at that. Tua is in between them.
All solid points. Plus a side of me wants Skylar Thompson in instead of Teddy.