Well, I took a break from the boards and glad I did. Needed a bit of a cool down period and reflect objectively on the season.
I read through the threads although I didn’t read every post so now here’s my take on the 2023 Dolphins season.
The Dolphins sprinted out front again to a 9-3 record; last year we were at 8-3. Again, December seems to be the Dolphins Achilles Heel. Be it a lack of fortitude, injuries, schedule, bad luck, bad coaching of a combination of all of the above, once again, the Dolphins failed to get over that hump that would have secured the division and potentially even the number 1 seed. Got to get December figured out.
As for the emotional back and forths over the claim that the Dolphins…that Tua can’t beat a playoff team, let’s be honest here ok? Of course they can and they have. Last season we defeated the Bills in Miami where they whined and cried about how hot it was. Oh boo hoo! At least we didn’t hurl snowballs their players. After being down 21 going into the 4th, the Dolphins came back to defeat the Ravens in Baltimore, something that hasn’t been done in quite some time. So to say we can’t is far from the truth. We can and we have. The real question that should be asked is why couldn’t we THIS season? Did Tua just suck that badly? Did McDaniel call a bad game? Was it injuries? Personally I think we can honestly say it was a combination of all three, especially down the stretch. We haven’t had our STARTING offensive line since the beginning of the season. Other players stepped up into that starting role, but yet again it was a piece mealed unit.
McDaniel abandoned the run WAY too early in the game and thus threw it all on Tua’s shoulders. When you have running backs that are AVERAGING 5, 6, 7 yards a carry, it doesn’t matter if you’re down 2 scores in the 3rd, you keep pounding the ball. One of those runs are going to break for an explosive play or it’s going to soften up the defense for a big pass play. Sure you want you quarterback to be able to put the team on bus back and drive down the field but when you start playing those playoff caliber teams, their defense is no joke. It’s unrealistic to put it all on one man.
Last night the news broke that Fangio is gone. I’m still trying to digest how I feel about this. Apparently there was some animosity between certain players and Fangio. Maybe Fangio really didn’t want to be in Miami and we just seduced him with money. Who knows. Our defense did improve drastically under Fangio but there was definitely some issues as well. Who do we get to replace him? I don’t know but I certainly hope it’s going to be someone who is a pure defensive minded coach who knows how to bring out the best in what we have.
And now the topic everyone seems to be extremely emotional about…Tua. I’m just going to say this for the naysayers; if not Tua, then WHO? Realistically, who? The thing I hate about football fans is their incessant desire to point the their fingers at ONE player and blame him. Ridiculous!! I can go through game day threads and find numerous posts about stupid plays. That’s on Tua? He ran what he was told to. When Tua threads the needle for a huge play, everyone cheers alright Tua but when he tries to thread the needle on the same play he’s done many times before and it’s broken up, he’s a bonehead. Ya’ll need to get a grip. Tua’s a damned fine quarterback that’s shown he can indeed play at elite levels but like any other quarterback, he’s a human being that makes mistakes just like any other quarterback labeled elite.
As I’ve said so many times before, football is the only true team sport. No one player is more important than the other. It’s a symbiotic relationship on the field and with the coaches on the sideline. No one team is perfect. Every team has ups and downs and if you expect perfection with every snap, you’re going to be gravely disappointed. All anyone can hope for is as close to perfect as you can get and when it falters, what could have been done better.
It was a great season. One of the better seasons the Dolphins have seen in some time and the base is definitely in place to only get better.
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Phil Hutchings, Puka-head, Csonka Marino and 2 others like this.
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"if not Tua, then WHO?"
There's no easy answers. There's no franchise QBs in FA. If you don't think Tua is the guy, then why waste another season? You trying to get to the full Tanny 6 seasons? Maybe beat it this time?
Trading Tua for what you can get, which if we base that on some evaluations around here, that should be multiple 1st rounders. IMO realistically, maybe a 2nd or 3rd+. Sign/acquire a solid stopgap (Cousins, Stafford, Jimmy G?, ect...), and draft a QB. Can also make a play at Justin Fields, but I don't particularly believe in his ability to throw but people said the same thing about Lamar Jackson. However, maybe McDaniel prefers to work with a QB with actual tangible tools, and one elite one that fits his scheme.
None of this will happen though because it requires Grier admitting Tua was a bad selection, and Flores was right all along. However, IMO, it's the right decision. KC drafted up to select Patrick Mahomes in 2017 when Alex Smith ended that season with the highest passer rating in football. Now, the age of Smith came into that equation, but I'm sure as hell player evaluation and ceiling did too. -
The bottom line is, we're not going to accomplish anything meaningful with the current front office in place and we're not going to have a competent front office until Ross sells the team.
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That is so not true.What happened to the Pat's when Brady moved on?Jets season is over as soon as Rodgers got hurt.Bengals done when they lost Burrow.How do u think the Chiefs would do without Mahomes?
The Qb postion is the most important postion on the field that is why are they paid as such.dolphin25, Rick 1966 and StaleTacos like this. -
The thing is, we're stuck. There's no one available right now and we have crap for draft picks. Barring an unforeseen circumstance, Tua is all we have probably for the next two years. It's a shame but this entire offense is going to implode and we're going to wind up rebuilding. Again. -
To me this was the most disappointing season of all them.I was convinced by week 10 this was finally a different dolphins team with the Bills and Chiefs floundering.We had a 2.5 game lead over the Bills and blew it!
It never occurred to me we would once again not win a playoff game.I was thinking minimum Afc championship game.The Coach and Qb let us all down and now we are in salary cap hell while missing possibly 3 edge rushers,starting cb,possibly Dt,and I assume Baker will be gone also.We no money to improve this team and no 2nd and 3rd rd pick not that the Gm can pick his *** anyway.
Early prediction 6-11 and everyone is fired including Grier.hitman8, resnor, Rick 1966 and 1 other person like this. -
Naw, that's too optimistic. What'll happen is that we'll go 9-8 and just miss the playoffs after losing some of our best defensive players and our DC. Ross will use that as an excuse to keep McDaniel around and sign Tua to a long-term deal. Then, the NEXT season, Tua will miss most of the year with an injury, we'll go 6-11 and everyone will be fired. Except we won't be able to get rid of Tua because we're on the hook for his salary and we'll pass on a very good QB in the draft because of that.StaleTacos and resnor like this. -
A lot of people on this board can't accept or be happy with incremental improvements. I'm happy with the results the past two seasons even when both were short circuited. There are definite questions about what is going to happen next year with the OL and pass rushers but they have a draft and free agency to figure that out. Hopefully Grier finds his nuts in bothMonstBlitz likes this.
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This x1000
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I would be too, if we wouldn’t have gone „all in“ and if we would’ve ended last season like the one before. I think we have way to many holes and questions to be considered a contender next season. Time will tell, but I think a rebuild is getting more and more likely…dolphin25 likes this.
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This is a very astute point. In this day and age of instant gratification, there are a lot of folks who aren’t happy with demonstrates improvement.
In the 2 seasons McDaniel has been the head coach, the Dolphins have not only shown measurable improvement in the offensive production, but also posted a 9-8 and 11-6 record respectively. While some would say “so what?” I would ask those folks to look at the records of the first 2 seasons of then first time head coaches…
Chuck Noll
Tom Landry
Bill Walsh
Jimmy Johnson
These legendary head coaches first 2 years as a head coach were abysmal to say the least and yet no one would doubt their greatness nor the teams they assembled.
For the Dolphins, we’ve had 4 consecutive winning seasons, 2 under Flores and 2 under McDaniel. Next year is going to be the sink or swim year for McDaniel and the Dolphins. Typically a successful first time head coach’s greatest season is his 3rd year. If he achieves it, you have a dominating team for years to come. But there in lies the potential trap as well. If he falters and he can’t adjust, then the team tends to spiral downward to the eventual rebuild.
So while there are those who can’t or refuse to see the measurable improvement under McDaniel, next season will be the season you’ll either eat crow or have the potential bragging rights for your clairvoyance. -
I don’t see it that way. The ONE area offensively that we are weak in…and have been for 2 decades has been the offensive line. They had games where they played well but year after year it’s always the same story…injuries and poor individual performance.
On the defensive side of the ball, I couldn’t take enough viagra to match the football erection that unit displayed. I know we’re going to have some cap issues that need to be addressed and am confident they will be.
Maybe I’m getting old and senile, but I can’t see how the team is doomed for a rebuild after a head coach’s first 2 season have resulted in a 20-14 regular season record with 2 consecutive playoff appearances. -
We will see, a lot will depend on how they handle the cap situation, who they’re a able to bring back, how fast our injured players come back and who will be the DC.
I don’t have much hope, cause McDaniel has problems to assemble a staff (running on his 3rd DC and holding on to Crossman), Grier had all the goodies and not really something to show for and for me Tua has more questions after last season then just injury.
Let‘s see what happens and maybe we‘ll rock, let’s see if Grier is able to infuse some hope during the offseason, but I doubt I‘ll go into next season with the confidence I had last season. -
Laying blame on McDaniel for our DC situation is a bit disingenuous if you ask me.
When McDaniel was hired, he maintained Boyer as DC. The 2021 Dolphins defense was a rock star, so why change what isn’t broken? Well, we quickly learned that the Dolphin’s defensive rock star status was attributed to Flores and not Boyer. Our defense under him folded like a cheap suit. Boyer HAD to go!!
So we needed a new DC. Who do we want? Oh heck yea, get Fangio. Well we all remember how long there was an announcement. Lots of hemming and hawing because Fangio was still under “contract” with the Eagles as a consultant. Looking back, that just didn’t pass the smell test.
So we finally prevail and get Fangio…and our defense regained its rock star status. Fangio had carte blanc to do whatever he wanted and was paid even more than McDaniel. There’s a lot of speculation as to why Fangio left and if any of the stories are true, it sounds to me he really didn’t want to be in Miami. He wanted the DC job in Philadelphia…and now it looks like he’s primed to get it.
That can’t be attributed to McDaniel. Fangio had everything a DC could possibly want.dolphin25 likes this. -
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Bingo. Because fans can only seem to judge individual seasons in a vacuum and poor judges over multiple seasons. It's also very difficult for fans to get over the emotional sting of failure and think objectively about where the team is at and do proper math on chances of success with current coaches & players versus their replacement options.Finatik likes this.
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Objectively, they haven't won a playoff game in 23 years. There's no judging individual seasons in a vacuum here. Incremental improvements are IMO a low bar for fan happiness especially considering what it took to get to this point. If you are happy with those results then more power to you. Some people are happy eating round steak, and some desire for ribeye. Some people are happy with things others wouldn't be. I don't judge either.JJ_79 likes this.
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Sorry, but that's a whole, stinking crock. The ones not judging multiple seasons are the Pollyannas who want to judge this season simply as a comparison to last season. And even then, they cherry-pick the parts that seem better without every addressing all the myriad parts that have gotten worse. Tua had his best season and it still wasn't good enough. HE'S not good enough. He's had plenty of time to show what he can do and he folds under pressure. Honestly, Herbert's the same way. Both are physically tough but neither is mentally tough. Neither can handle the pressure of having the team on their shoulders with the game on the line. McDaniel may or may not be the coach who can take us to the next level, but he's going to have to do a lot of maturing very fast because I don't think he has more than two years left before he gets fired if he doesn't win a playoff game.JJ_79 and StaleTacos like this. -
You have to understand, I lump myself with all the critiques I made as I am also a fan of the Miami Dolphins and struggle to look at things objectively. To your point - those of us fans who are older (I think you're an older fan like me, but I could be wrong) will sometimes go to the opposite extreme and judge the whole previous 2 plus decades and lump this season is as more of the same mediocrity we've been dealing with.
Here's where I personally am, trying to be as objective as I can but also being tainted by fandom from being truly objective:
I think it's easy to view this season as just another year of mediocrity and a failure given no playoff wins after such a promising start. But these things give me reason to maintain some optimism about the current regime (coach, players, GM):
Miami has had 2 trips to the playoffs in 2 consecutive years. That hasn't happened since early 2000s I believe? 2000 and 2001 maybe?
They won 9 games last year and 11 this year. McDaniel improved in his second year. There was still a December dive, but it wasn't as bad as last years! It will get harder in year 3, especially with cap issues but can he make it 3 in a row?
Tua also has improved every year. Sure, valid arguments can be made that he's still not playing at a high enough level down the stretch to get the team over the playoff drought hump, but we can't ignore the improvement from year to year. Can he also continue to trend upwards?
I'm as upset as anyone about how the season ended. But I saw enough this year to buy into this entire regime for next season and see how things improve or decline before I dust off the pitchfork.Springveldt, danmarino, Rick 1966 and 2 others like this. -
I agree they get next year and if we blow or Tua and the team crumbles in the end again, then Grier should be the first to go. I like McDaniel and I think he can be good to great. My fear is, that we might have picked him up to early in his career.
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Yes, I am an older fan. That's helped me to accept the reality that what I think about the team, the QBs and the coaches means f***-all. The owner's going to do what the owner's going to do despite my opinion, so my pitchfork is about as important as spitting in the wind. I just have faith in this front office's ability to make the wrong decision. Coaches come and go but we haven't had a good GM in decades.MonstBlitz and JJ_79 like this. -
They also had a complete team. Sure, you can easily say Bradshaw or Aikmen or Staubach or Montana but…
You could easily say Harris or Smith or Dorsett or Tyler…
You could easily say Greene or Jones or Lott…
Point being, they built complete teams and progressively improved each and every year.
This is here 2 under McDaniel. We won more game this season than last season and there are those advocating blowing it up?
With that mindset, Dan Campbell would have been fired last season and the Lions wouldn’t have been that close to their first Super Bowldanmarino likes this. -
I didn't see anyone advocating firing McDaniel this offseason. Lots of people are saying we need a new GM and possibly a new QB.JJ_79 likes this. -
You're not kidding! And as fans, it's so easy for us to start thinking - this team is cursed. Things will never change. I certainly think that way a lot. When I see teams like the Lions and Browns, also former perennial losers starting to have success - I realize Miami's time has to come eventually. I just hope I'm alive to see it! The real question for us fans now is: "Is McDaniel the coach to get us there?" I hope and think he is. Not so sure about Tua as that QB.
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I know you guys are talking specifically about Super Bowls but a coach currently heading to the Super Bowl (Reid) is a coach I think of as being a QB whisperer. His systems make almost anyone he lines up behind center look like a HoF QB.
Springveldt, dolphin25 and JJ_79 like this. -
Joe Gibbs and the Washington redskins won the Super Bowl with 3 different quarterbacks in a 4 year period; Joe Thiesman, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien…none of which would ever be considered in the elite topic of conversation.
If you have a complete team, which provides options, you can pretty much have any quarterback at the helm who is competent.
Today’s league has completely abandoned the complete team concept for the superstar quarterback team savior.Phil Hutchings, dolphin25, danmarino and 1 other person like this.
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