Miami Gardens, Florida- After an extremely embarrassing loss 31-12 on Monday night to the Tennessee Titans, the Miami Dolphins find themselves 1-3 and one of the worst teams in the NFL.
Miami had not scored a touchdown in their last 10 quarters on offense before a garbage time rushing touchdown by Tyler “Snoop” Huntley and have not held a single lead in any game this year. A team that had high hopes before the season now looks like they can be in the running for a top 10 pick.
You can point to multiple factors this season for the poor play on the field, but one reoccurring issue is poor business decisions by the General Manager. The roster is in the current state it’s in because of poor money management, questionable personnel decisions, and some shaky draft picks.
Chris Grier is now in his ninth season as General Manager of the Miami Dolphins. On his resume, he has a 68-67 record, three playoff appearances, and zero playoff wins. Now, the Dolphins find themselves with a long list of injuries and a messy backup QB situation that could’ve been avoided if Grier acted before the season. To make matters worse, several of the players who departed in the offseason are thriving with their new teams.
Instead of paying important pieces like Robert Hunt and Christian Wilkins in the offseason, Grier decided to up the pay of Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey. The interior offensive line has had trouble run blocking in recent weeks and Hunt has looked like a beast this season. The defense has also had trouble stopping the run, something that Wilkins is a specialist in. Another notable contract extended this offseason was Isaiah Wynn who has not played a single snap and remains on the PUP list. Wide Receiver depth outside of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle remains a huge question mark as well. Miami signed Odell Beckham Jr. in the offseason to add depth but he has also not come off the PUP list as of yet. Many of the starters on the roster have injury history and not adding enough depth was a huge mistake.
While Grier has hit on some draft picks like Jaylen Waddle, Tua Tagovailoa, Christian Wilkins, Javon Holland, etc., he has had trouble retaining some of them. Most recently Andrew Van Ginkle, Hunt and Wilkins who I mentioned earlier. Owner Stephen Ross also did not help matters when he was disciplined for tampering with Tom Brady and cost his team a first-round pick.
As I stated earlier, management is not the only culprit. Mike McDaniel has taken some heat this year for some questionable play calling and the poor play on third down, more specifically on third and short. Costly turnovers and a concerning amount of penalties also continue to be a constant theme throughout McDaniel’s coaching tenure and have only grown worse this year.
Losing Monday night in that fashion was the cherry on top of a disastrous start. This roster and coaching staff will have a mountain to climb to get back in contention. With reports that Tua is aimed for a week 7-8 return, change is imperative on offense. Games against the Bills, Packers, 49ers, Texans, and Jets loom on their schedule in the second half.
This week the Dolphins will travel to New England to play the Patriots, who open the week as 1-point favorites. Despite the Fins winning six out of the last seven meetings against their division foe, I don’t see how anyone can be optimistic about the quarterback situation once again.