Oh, sorry; I just finished Stranger Things.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins\u2019 2025 season?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s just say I\u2019m not nearly as sad to say goodbye to that.<\/p>\n
Miami played with an eye toward the future<\/p>\n
Regardless of how bleak<\/a> that might be.<\/p>\n They followed my advice (I know because of both their loyal readership and their unreturned fan mail) and didn\u2019t play De\u2019Von Achane or Jaylen Waddle. Austin Jackson, Darren Waller, Chop Robinson, and Minkah Fitzpatrick also didn\u2019t participate, due to various reasons, leaving most of the reps to depth guys.<\/p>\n That\u2019s genuinely swell.<\/p>\n It avoids any ridiculous at-the-finish-line injuries that could affect otherwise successful careers (for Achane and Waddle, specifically) and allows younger players to get meaningful time in an otherwise meaningless game.<\/p>\n Jaylen Wright was the lead running back (though he averaged 1.8 YPC, so we\u2019ll just choose to ignore how positively this will or will not affect his confidence going forward), while the leading pass catchers were fellow children Theo Wease, Greg Dulcich, and Tahj Washington.<\/p>\n Youth is going to be key for a team with cap challenges and a fair chunk of holes in the roster. And, lucky for all of us, the Dolphins have both.<\/p>\n Obviously, speaking of youth:<\/p>\n Quinn Ewers could lead this type of offense<\/p>\n In his third start as a professional American football quarterback, Quinn Ewers finished 16\/23 (70%) for 137 yds, 1 TD, and 1 INT.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a rookie in his first game outside the confines of his home stadium. This means he\u2019s going to make mistakes, such as throwing an interception in the end zone and taking a few questionable sacks. He\u2019s also going to grow as he gets more opportunities (we hope).<\/p>\n No; he\u2019s not a dual threat Superman-style<\/a> player. He\u2019s a guy who can succeed when the team plays balanced, mistake free, smart football. There\u2019s a big distinction between that and \u2018everything needs to be perfect to work\u2019.<\/p>\n A successful offense with Ewers in charge necessitates some help from some non-Ewers pieces:<\/p>\n Playcalling that values the run game, mixes up short and deep passing, and responds to what the opposing defense shows.A defense that actually stops someone every so often.Eventually, the ability to adjust plays at the line based on pre-snap evaluation.<\/p>\n Can the Fins\u2019 staff set up the playbook to allow for #1? Can they collect enough talent to allow for #2? Can Ewers evolve enough to ever approach #3?<\/p>\n My lifetime of fandom tells me no. No to all three. But if I gave into the shrieking voices calling from the void of eternal disappointment, I couldn\u2019t call myself a fan in the first place.<\/p>\n Winning culture and winning teams can be built on a similar foundation. With those elements in place, it\u2019s not a requirement to have the threat of a 70 yard QB scramble. It\u2019s certainly a nice to have and makes things easier, but there are countless examples of quarterbacks who had success without that capability.<\/p>\n Ewers just might be the next.<\/p>\n Mike McDaniel might just hang on<\/p>\n I (sort of) support giving MM one year to show what he can do as a head coach, without the same front office and quarterback that have been tied to him for his whole career so far.<\/p>\n Yes; I know he calls really stupid plays sometimes. Sometimes a lot. I know he must give halftime speeches as if he\u2019s allergic to charisma<\/a>. I know he handles timeouts with all of the care of an atom bomb in a china shop.<\/p>\n I also know he\u2019s only built an offense tailored to his team\u2019s best attributes which, for his whole tenure, have been Tua\u2019s timing and accuracy along with Tyreek Hill\u2019s unmatched speed and squirreliness.<\/p>\n At its apex (read: 2023) it worked wonders. As soon as it deviated even a tiny bit whatsoever from perfect, it fell apart (read: all other times). Heading into 2026, Tyreek is almost certainly gone and Tua feels very likely just behind him (or on the bench with a degraded hip that has clearly relieved him of his former elite attributes). Former GM Chris Grier was let go during the season, leaving MM all alone as the remaining holdover.<\/p>\n I\u2019m usually a big advocate of cleaning house meaning to clean house entirely. In this instance, I can squint and see an exception.<\/p>\n Assuming Hill and Tua go, MM will be left with Ewers as his likeliest QB1, barring a draft pick from a class that doesn\u2019t look enticing on paper. While some may see that as a built-in excuse, I view it as MM\u2019s last chance to prove he can construct an offense that actually works all the time, rather than one that\u2019s hamstrung by a design with an extremely narrow set of requirements.<\/p>\n All that said, if the new GM grabs a free agent QB (like Malik Willis or Ryan Tannehill), drafts some magic sleeper, and\/or wants to bring in a totally new coaching staff to take over: I ain\u2019t shook.<\/p>\n The only way I am, in fact, shook is if the team goes through any amount of changes, yet still trots out the same tired play and subpar results we\u2019ve all sadly grown accustomed to.<\/p>\n For a fine example of subpar results, let\u2019s actually examine this week\u2019s game for a second.<\/p>\n Three plays in and the game felt over<\/p>\n The *Patriots opened with three running plays, which was all they needed to go the whole way down the field and score a full on touchdown.<\/p>\n Sure, this game was worthless from the Dolphins\u2019 POV, but it\u2019d still be nice to see the team show up a little bit.<\/p>\n There were positive elements: some efficient passing, one smooth touchdown drive, a 4th down stop, a blocked field goal, etc. There were also, in traditional Dolphins fashion, a larger amount of negative elements: no run stopping whatsoever, silly penalties, a lost fumble, pathetic defense at the end of the 1st half, etc.<\/p>\n There were sooooo many missed tackles.<\/p>\n