The Dolphins are tanking. Again.
And as a fan I have to accept this. Again.
But yet…as much as I want to believe, I just don’t see the plan. Again.
The Dolphins the past few years weren’t necessarily Super Bowl-caliber, but the truth is how can you have a successful season when your quarterback is constantly bit with the injury bug? This is the equivalent of the Houston Rockets being disappointed in missing the postseason despite losing James Harden. How can you plan for the future when you trade your better pieces (even your locker room leader) in an already-lost scenario? The trades of last week sting, but after the infamous Ajayi trade that sunk the Dolphins’ future with Tannehill as well as propel the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship, it’s just become a frustrating pattern of waving the white flag every single season. The problems are obvious, the solutions aren't too far away, but we keep digging a deeper hole.
The QB position, like it or not in this modern-day NFL, is the heart and soul of your team. No matter how strong your defense, or your running game, you need a consistent and competent quarterback to succeed. Ryan Tannehill, whenever he is on the field, is said competent quarterback. Tannehill’s most successful season was in 2016 when he led his Dolphins to an 8-5 record with improving stats on yardage, accuracy, total QBR rating, and touchdown percentage. Peak Tannehill's numbers were actually on par with a Prescott or an Alex Smith, two QBs with success but also the necessary health. It was Tannehill's injury that sidelined him the remainder of the season and playoffs, which forced Miami to rely on Matt Moore to take the Fins as far as they could.
In the 2016 playoffs they ran into the Pittsburgh Steelers, deferred after winning the coin toss (on the road....ugh...), were down 14-0 within minutes, and that’s all she wrote.
But instead of tanking next season as circumstances got sour, Miami relied on a recently-retired Jay Cutler to compete while Tannehill was out for the year…again. We traded Jay Ajayi, one of the few bright spots in an injury-plagued (and disinterested) year, which could have been such a valuable asset when we get our franchise QB back. THIS should have been the season to toss, to build, to see what works, and prepare for the future. Instead, 10 million was given to a retired quarterback to lead a broken team in the same division as Tom Brady and the Patriots. You can’t plug in a piece and expect the same success, and this is something Dolphins’ management should have known by now, and to this day we are suffering the consequences of that infamous 2017 season and that infamous trade---in which we gave up a young Pro Bowl record-setting running back that wound up participating in a championship over Miami’s most hated rival.
It makes sense to move on from Tannehill. He is not a top-tier quarterback, and it’s hard to rely on someone who had been hurt so often (Last four seasons: .385 winning percentage without him). But to completely reset everything, after suffering the consequences of bad decisions, and on top of that trading for a quarterback that you don’t even plan on starting, as well as trade a player that might lead to inner turmoil, just makes this another eye-rolling chapter in the legacy of being a Dolphins fan. We already had enough draft picks for the future, we have a young quarterback that we can work on (Josh Rosen), but here we are trading MORE good pieces and starting Fitzpatrick on Week 1 after a successful preseason---without our better offensive line players.
It is obvious we are tanking, but the methods are questionable, the timing is strange (after a 3-1 preseason…REALLY?!?!), and we haven’t developed a proper blueprint that makes sense to the frustrated and tortured Dolphins fanbase who has seen the previous two playoff appearances be followed up by season-ending injuries to the QBs that led them there (Pennington was the other with season-ending stints in 2009 AND 2010).
We’ve been mediocre, but we’ve also been mighty unlucky and at times a bit stupid. Stop giving up valuable pieces for draft picks, because these picks aren’t guaranteed, and the talent you gave away is already established. Stop signing veteran quarterbacks or trading for quarterbacks that you don’t even see a future with. A good system is required to survive, planting pieces together won’t be the solution especially when Belichick is in the same division as you.
Develop a culture, an identity, a consistency to which to grab pieces to support. The 2008 Dolphins for example were built on the unique and perplexing Wildcat, which was a mistake to not necessarily improve or innovate upon once everyone was in on the secret (God that was such a fun season). Other examples, the Cowboys have relied on a heavy running game since the 1990s, an Andy Reid team is always passing game powerhouse whether its Eagles or Chiefs, Ravens are notorious for heavy defense since Peak Ray Lewis, the Steelers are built on a sweet-and-sour cocktail of offense and drama since Big Ben's rookie year. The Dolphins have no identity, they haven't had a truly consistent culture to build upon or cheer for since Dan Marino's gunslinging days.
Miami Dolphins, we do need to improve, but not like this. Don’t trade the locker room leader, don’t set up young quarterbacks to fail, and don’t hit the reset button without learning lessons of the past. Otherwise, we will just continue chasing the success ghosts of Shula and Marino.