Here’s the latest installment of our Miami Dolphins Q&A, where South Florida Sun Sentinel writers David Furones and Chris Perkins answer questions from readers.
Q: Perk, I heard you ask Tua yesterday if he’s going to change his play style to protect himself. I heard his answer, but what do you think he needs to change? — Sam on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
I think Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa needs to change his competitive nature. That’s who got him injured against Buffalo a few weeks ago when he ran head-first into Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
He also needs to continue keep the back of his head from hitting the ground, which isn’t easy because it happens to football players frequently. It happened to Tagovailoa in his two previous diagnosed concussions in 2022, a head trauma incident against Buffalo in 2022, and this recent concussion against Buffalo (re-watch the video).
It’ll be interesting to see if Tagovailoa can harness his competitive nature. I think it’ll be fairly easy against Arizona on Sunday. It’s the first game back and such wise decisions will be forefront in his mind.
But as the schedule turns to December and you really need those yards and that victory, I’m not sure Tagovailoa will play on the conservative side.
I hope he does. But it’s very hard to get such a competitive nature under control in game-time situations.
Q: Tua is back, our schedule is weak. — Dana Buice on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
Yes, Tagovailoa is scheduled to practice Wednesday and play Sunday against Arizona after missing the past four games with a concussion, a stretch that saw the Dolphins go 1-3.
According to my esteemed and trusted colleague, David Furones, the Dolphins’ 11 remaining opponents have a combined record of 31-45 (.408).
The Dolphins have gone 2-4 against their previous opponents, who have a combined record of 17-26 (.395).
The difference is negligible.
I don’t like to speak in absolutes. So I’ll soften this by saying that the Dolphins “possibly” have three certain losses on the schedule — at Buffalo (Nov. 3), at Green Bay (Nov. 28) and at Houston (Dec. 15). Those are quality opponents and road games. That’s been a bad combination for the Dolphins in the coach Mike McDaniel era.
If you do the math you realize if the Dolphins go 8-3 the rest of the way, they finish 10-7 and they almost certainly make the playoffs, and possibly get a home playoff game.
If the Dolphins go 7-4 the rest of the way they finish 9-8 and possibly make the playoffs.
If you assume the three losses to Buffalo, Green Bay and Houston, then the Dolphins’ toughest remaining games would be at the Los Angeles Rams (Nov. 11, Monday night), against San Francisco (Dec. 22), at Cleveland (Dec. 29) and at the New York Jets (Jan. 5).
That’s a road game (Rams), a quality home opponent (49ers), and two potential cold-weather road games (Browns and Jets).
You can only lose one of those four games and still make the playoffs.
Q: Dolphins are the weak part of everyone’s schedule. — Billy Batson on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
This is an interesting contrast to the above statement.
But certainly that’s the way the Dolphins’ opponents are viewing things.
The Dolphins are last in scoring offense (11.7 points per game) and 22nd in total offense (308.2 yards per game).
They also lead the league in penalties per game (8.2).
And consider this …
The Dolphins are 3-5 in Tagovailoa’s past eight starts. He has eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, and the Dolphins average 18.4 ppg.
In the bigger picture, the Dolphins are 8-9 in their past 17 games (including playoffs), 3-7 in their past 10 games (including playoffs), and 1-4 in their past five games.
McDaniel, including playoffs, has a 22-20 (.524) career record with the Dolphins.
No one fears the Dolphins at the moment.
Q: Any GM that gets a QB off the Jets roster should be fired just for that. — I GOTGAME “AJ” NJ on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
That’s an obvious shot at Dolphins general manager Chris Grier for signing quarterback Tim Boyle. This might be a bad time to remind you that Mike White, last year’s backup quarterback, previously played for the New York Jets.
I don’t think they should have released White. But I digress …
This is all the result of a bad backup quarterback plan.
The Dolphins should have kept White.
This is an extremely difficult offense for quarterbacks. You can’t just insert someone in this system after a couple of weeks. They need months. Tagovailoa has basically said that, and Boyle basically said that.
The Dolphins blew it, but McDaniel shares responsibility with Grier.
Q: The Dolphins can’t beat good teams. Nothing has changed until they (including Tua) prove they can do it. — Matt Newton on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
You’re exactly right about that.
They got smoked by Buffalo (31-10).
The Dolphins were 1-6 against playoff teams last season and they only averaged 16 ppg.
Their opponents averaged 32 ppg.
None of that is good.
Q: McDaniel and Tua are gonna hear it if we don’t win this Sunday. They both tied to the hip. — CAP 4 LIFE on Dolphins Deep Dive w/Perk
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
A loss on Sunday at home almost eliminates the Dolphins from the playoffs.
A loss on Sunday would drop the Dolphins to 2-5, meaning they’d have to go at least 7-2 the rest of the season to have a realistic shot at the playoffs.
And, yeah, whether fair or not, McDaniel and Tagovailoa would probably get the vast majority of the blame.
