Omar Kelly: Can we stop pretending Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa has been set up to succeed?
Tua Tagovailoa was bad in Miami’s 34-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans, who won the AFC South with the victory on Sunday.
With a postseason berth on the line, when the stakes couldn’t have been any higher, the Dolphins’ starting quarterback face-planted.
He fumbled the ball three times during a cold and rainy game. He threw one interception and was fortunate to have two more possible picks dropped.
Tagovailoa was off by plenty on a handful of throws that could have extended drives and produced more than three points for the game.
Bottom line is undeniable: Miami’s second-year quarterback failed the Dolphins when this team needed him the most.
But what’s also undeniable is that this team, this franchise, these coaches have failed Tagovailoa all season, in every aspect and area you would think a young quarterback needs support.
If there’s anything I’m taking away from this 2021 season — which will conclude with a meaningless home game against the playoff-bound New England Patriots (10-6) — it is that the Dolphins (8-8) and their fan base have one foot in and one foot out on Tagovailoa.
If I were him, I’d be debating whether I want to be here in 2022 and long-term.
Just think about all that’s happened this season, which has seemed like a seasonlong unintentional attempt to sabotage the former Alabama standout.
I’m not even talking the Deshaun Watson courtship.
I’m talking football stuff.
This co-coordinator approach has been a major flop, considering how much this offense regressed in the season after Chan Gailey quit or got fired, depending on who you talk to. Miami ranks 25th in yards per game (307.6) and averages 19.3 points per game (ranked 24th). By comparison, last season the Dolphins ranked 22nd in yards per game (339) and averaged 25.3 points per game (ranked 15th).
The Dolphins offense ranks below league average in every category except interceptions, third-down and fourth-down conversions and red-zone success. And they can thank Tagovailoa for being above board there.
If you’re Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo or Watson, the four upper-echelon quarterbacks who will likely be shopped by their teams this offseason, you have to be looking at the Dolphins with a stink face because of what they have around the quarterback.
The offensive line is terrible, arguably the worst in the NFL despite three seasons of trying to build it. Tagovailoa’s pocket presence has helped them resemble something respectable, but there’s still a handful of plays each game that will ruin a series or game.
And it’s been this way for three straight seasons under coach Brian Flores, who is on his fourth offensive line coach in three years. He’ll likely add a fifth to that list this offseason, because it’s pretty clear Lemuel Jeanpierre, who is in his first season of leading an NFL offensive line as a position coach, is in over his head.
Other than right guard Robert Hunt, every player on that unit has struggled and doesn’t pass the sniff test as an NFL starter.
Their struggles are part of the reason Miami’s running game has been a joke all season, averaging 85.5 rushing yards per game (ranked 31st) and 3.4 yards per carry. This is also a third straight season of struggles in that area.
General manager Chris Grier should be embarrassed that two tailbacks added off the waiver wire around midseason — Duke Johnson and Phillip Lindsay — are clearly the unit’s top two talents. Grier has treated tailbacks like an afterthought despite the run game’s significant role as the catalyst for a Run-Pass-Option offense like the Dolphins use.
Jaylen Waddle has been this team’s only reliable and consistent receiver. The 2021 first-round pick is three receptions shy of setting the NFL’s rookie receptions record and 12 yards away from becoming the 11th 1,000-yard receiver for the Dolphins in franchise history.
But every other receiver in this injury-decimated unit has been a disappointment, which has forced tight end Mike Gesicki to play a receiver role most of the season.
Although a healthy DeVante Parker has the potential to be a playmaker, healthy and Parker aren’t two words that often get paired. And this was his third-worst NFL season.
As for the rest of the unit, we need to put Will Fuller, Albert Wilson and Preston Williams on the back of a milk carton. Their disappearance has forced Tagovailoa to lean heavily on Isaiah Ford, a journeyman, and Mack Hollins, a special teams contributor, for much of this season.
That means the Dolphins clearly fell short of this past offseason’s goal, which was to add more playmakers for Tagovailoa.
So, to summarize Miami’s offense, Tagovailoa is working with one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL, balanced out by one of the worst running games in the league, with has one of the weakest receiving corps in the NFL.
Yet, people want me to believe Tagovailoa is the one holding back this franchise?
I’m not buying it and won’t until this team puts better talent around him, and he shows it’s him and not the coaching, talent or decision-making that is holding this offense back.