Dolphins Truth

Let me say right off the bat that I’m a Tua supporter. I’m not questioning him as our leader whatsoever, and I’ve been with him since day 1. That being said, I criticize when it’s due and when it’s fair. And December has been a disaster for #1. It’s fair to renew the debate again… unfortunate, but fair. Tua has cost us two games in a row. Yes, I know Cris Collinsworth was continually amazed at how great the Chargers’ defense was, but was it that defense who was throwing the ball behind open guys all night long? Nope, that as QB1. Remember the playRead More →

If the Chargers were a better team this year, then there would be more hype surrounding this game with the Tua vs. Herbert angle, as it’s the first time they are meeting. The Dolphins had their pick of either QB. For my money, we made the right choice. We have more weapons and a much better defense (except when we play against unknown rookie QBs) This is a hugely important game for our playoff chances, but it’s also a very accurate way to test if the Dolphins are for real. Did Tua have one bad game? I’d like to think so, but if his troublesRead More →

Well, the best piece of good news is that the Dolphins can play great without Terron Armstead. Except for a few blemishes, the offensive linemen backups played an outstanding game and gave our QBs all day to pass. The other piece of good news is that of the 53 men on the active roster, 51 of them played their hearts out, only to be let down by today’s underachievers, both of our QBs. I’ll start with the short one first, and that is Skylar Thompson not being a good player. Yeah, I know soooo many people were gung-ho for the kid when he played wellRead More →

I kept reading all the “good news” headlines about Armstead’s injury, and I got suckered into thinking that the good news is that he will be ready to play on Sunday vs. the 49ers. But no. The good news is that it’s not a season-ending injury. That’s not good news in the short run. We need him back and healthy. Desperately. We won plenty of games without Austin Jackson, but without Armstead, we looked lost. It was ugly. Can one man make THAT much of a difference? Apparently so. The easy part of our schedule is over. It feels great to win 5 straight, butRead More →

7-3 is a very impressive record going into the bye week, especially considering all the questions we had when the season began. I was concerned about Tyreek Hill fitting in. I was concerned about (yet another) first-time head coach being given the top job. I was concerned about the offensive line holding up. All of those concerns have been alleviated. On Sunday, the Browns did a fantastic job of taking Hill and Waddle away from their deep patterns. Their game plan was to stop the deep threat, and they did so. But Mike McDaniel countered beautifully. He ran the ball often, and didn’t let up.Read More →

Another no-show by our defense was overcome by a good 3 quarters by our offense. Tua looked so good on so many plays, but then he threw 3 bad balls on the 3 most important plays late. On the first 4th-down play, he missed Gesicki cutting left to right. On the second one, he missed a wide open Durham Smythe. Tua later said (as noted by announcer Trent Green) that Smythe looked away for a split second and that threw off the timing. But that just can’t happen. You can’t throw a grounder to a guy 4 yards away. The 3rd bad throw was whenRead More →

I am traveling this week and not able to write too much but lets open this post to discuss the big Chubb trade and any thoughts about on our win in Detroit…Read More →

It’s shocking to see how quick and easy we opened the game, only to be stymied the rest of the way. McDaniel has to get better at counteracting the opponents’ adjustments. I think he will. Sometimes, we all need to take a deep breath and realize he is a man with 7 games under his belt. He’s beaten 4 coaches this year with a combined 900 years’ experience. He will get there. The start is awesome so far. Similarly, we must realize that the offense–the 11 guys out there starting the game–have only played together for 7 games. Only 7 times have they had aRead More →

Personally. I’m starting with Jaylen Waddle, who dropped a pass right in his hands in the second quarter with no one near him, then made it worse by deflecting it to the Vikings for an interception that was not Teddy Bridgewater’s fault. Unfortunately, Waddle wasn’t finished. His dropped fumble killed a promising drive when we were moving in to take the lead. He killed us twice in one game, and the D could not recover. Mike McDaniel continues to be a superb playcaller. Getting guys open for a 2nd or 3rd and 4th string QB isn’t easy to scheme up, but he did it. ButRead More →

Maybe the NFL will place another spy in the stands at our practice today, and if he sees Tua drink some water during a break, he will run to the Players’ Union to declare that “Thirst is a symptom of a concussion. I order Tua to sit for the next month.”Read More →

The deadpan comedy and nerdisms and one-liners at his press conferences were fine at first, but now it’s time for Mike McDaniel to be a true leader. It’s time for him to step up against his greatest opponent: the NFL itself. 28 teams played yesterday, with 53 men on each team. 1,484 players played, and of those, only Teddy Bridgewater was ruled out of the game for the NFL’s ridiculous new concussion protocols. Only a Dolphin. Again. Also yesterday, the NFL literally “invented” a new “rule” that no one had ever heard of before. If you throw the ball in the vicinity of your ownRead More →

In addition to the obvious story lines of wanting to win a division game and go 3-0 in the AFC East, and in addition to the also obvious story line of Teddy Bridgewater replacing Tua, there is a more subtle aspect to this game, and it’s something Dolphin fans are well familiar with. I’m talking about bouncing back after a loss. We have not been good at it. I haven’t looked up the official stats, but there have been plenty of times in the last 10 and even 20 years when the Phins had won 2 or 3 in a row, then we lose. AsRead More →

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 horribleRead More →

The Dolphins lost the game and their starting quarterback, leaving Dolphins Nation with a numb feeling and a lot of doubt. Teddy Bridgewater had some nice moments, but is he a guy who can lead us for while Tua recovers? IF he recovers? That injury looked serious, folks. The hit was borderline dirty too, as the defender totally whipped the much lighter Tua to the ground. Xavien Howard coming out of the game with a sore butt? I don’t get that. Mike Gesicki and Teddy getting crossed up on that final interception…right when we were moving in for the winning TD? That one hurt. StillRead More →

I would like our chances a lot better of we didn’t have a short week with a lot of banged up guys. I might be the exception, but I don’t think the Bengals are your typical AFC Champion juggernaut. I still can’t figure out how they beat the Chiefs in the title game last year. Their Super Bowl performance showed that they are a fine team, but nothing elite. All in all, they are beatable. I hope the Dolphins keep grinding. No one should walk away from this game saying that 3-1 is a nice start. No, not when you have the chance to beRead More →

A few things that come to mind after yet another hard-fought, exciting win. First, we are 3-0. We were 3-0 under Gase and missed the playoffs. We were 3-0 under Philbin and then got gashed on a primetime game to fall to 3-1, and we sort of derailed after that. We did make the playoffs that year, but had to face the Steelers in Pittsburgh, with backup Matt Moore. So 3-0 is much much better than 0-3, but nothing has been accomplished yet. Thursday will be a good test of the Dolphins’ ability to keep the pedal to the floor. Jimmy Johnson used to talkRead More →

I hate to stop talking about the Ravens game, but it’s time to look forward. I think if the Dolphins have a chance to win, it has to be a slugfest just like it was with Baltimore. I know Josh Allen is the talk of the town for all the NFL pundits, but I think Lamar Jackson is much better. We couldn’t stop Lamar, but we did enough to outscore him. That’s all it takes. By the way, I was a Lamar Jackson doubter at first, and I believed all the hype about him not being an NFL QB, all he can do is run,Read More →