Biggest news about the Dolphins quarterback competition is what we haven’t seen
After three days of padded practices, Miami Dolphins players got a day off Thursday, and that allows for some reflection about the team’s most discussed position competition: Long snapper.
Kidding.
It’s quarterbacks, folks. Always quarterbacks.
And the picture veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, third-year veteran Josh Rosen and rookie Tua Tagovailoa have so far painted is not quite what anyone wants.
This is what everyone wants: The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa in the first round of the April draft, and he’s the future. He’s eventually supposed to be great. He doesn’t have to be amazing right now, but his talent should be so obvious even a sportswriter could see he tilts the field for his team.
But that has not been the case. That has not been the story.
The story has been what we haven’t seen from Tagovailoa or any of Miami’s quarterbacks so far this training camp: A big difference from a year ago.
Remember this year Fitzpatrick, intimate with offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense, is supposed to be slicing and dicing the defense as if with a Ginsu knife because he knows the system forward and backward.
Nope.
Tagovailoa, accurate beyond reproach, is supposed to make sound decisions, show good velocity on his passes, show glimpses why he’s a star in the making.
Not yet.
Rosen, with something to prove after two unspectacular seasons to begin his NFL career, should be showing command of the huddle and the offense, and suggesting he’s better than he was in the past.
Nope.
The Dolphins’ quarterback competition has so far been a study in anti-climax: Three guys looking, well, adequate.
The guy who was the incumbent starter when training camp began has not been moved off his spot that anyone has noticed. This despite the fact he is by his own admission a “placeholder” for the position.
The guy the Dolphins need to be a prodigy, like Dan Marino was early in his career, has mostly completed passes to reserve running back Patrick Laird and had to work extra on taking center snaps so as to prevent more fumbled exchanges.
Rosen? He didn’t beat out Fitzpatrick last year despite being a former first-round pick and Fitzpatrick being a journeyman. He’s still chasing Fitzpatrick.
It’s like the Dolphins addressed their quarterback room but so far, nothing’s changed.
This is where you say, ‘Hold on there, buddy, the Dolphins have a very fine quarterback room because it’s set up for the present as well as the future.”
That still might be true. But none of it will make a difference in the regular-season opener at New England on Sept. 13. Because what the first few days of padded practices have shown — and what the acclimation period and OTA sessions before that showed — is the Dolphins still don’t have a quarterback playing at an elite level to start the 2020 season.
Fitzpatrick is fine. He’s actually very good on his best day. But what we have seen early this training camp is what we have seen before — some productive quarterback play, followed by a punt-looking pass deep down the middle of the field into double coverage.
A pass that has as much chance of being part of a six-interception day as a six-touchdown day — and Fitzpatrick has done both.
Rosen has had a couple of impressive deep throws. And Tagovailoa has shown some good accuracy. But It has not been remarkable. It hasn’t been breathtaking or eye-opening in any capacity.
And don’t take my word for it.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores, for example, sized up Tagovailoa’s work so far as “some good, some bad. Lots to improve upon. Some good throws, some good decisions, some throws that aren’t so good, some not-so-good decisions.”
You should understand Flores doesn’t throw players under the proverbial news conference bus. He lights them up in practice, or meetings, or in private, but not to reporters.
The coach also doesn’t muster fake love. He cannot bring himself to tell you it’s great when he knows it isn’t. And he knows Miami’s quarterback play so far isn’t great.
“Tua, like all of the quarterbacks — you could probably say the same thing for all of them — obviously we’re evaluating all of the quarterbacks and all of the players on the roster, a lot of improvement needs to be made,” Flores said.
About that quarterback evaluation: The Dolphins insist it is ongoing.
“As coach Flores says all the time, every position, we’re out there competing, so every position is being competed for,” offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said Thursday. “And I think every one of them know that.”
But it’s also true the Dolphins don’t have the luxury of extending their quarterback competition for long or even very much longer. Because eventually preparation for the season-opener will become the priority over deciding which quarterback will play the game.
And with Fitzpatrick continuing to hold his advantage as the incumbent starter while neither Tagovailoa nor Rosen sparkles enough to overtake him, the choice remains with Fitzpatrick to start the opener.
That choice, by the way, goes beyond what the three quarterbacks have been doing on the field. It also has to do with what those three guys know.
Rosen, for example, is trying to learn his third offensive system in three NFL seasons. Tagovailoa had three different offensive coordinators at the University of Alabama and is now learning another new system as a rookie.
So if these guys are going to be consistently good, it might not happen soon.
Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, is more reacquainting himself with Gailey’s offense, having played under Gailey for years in Buffalo and with the New York Jets. That’s a huge advantage that I asked Gailey if Rosen or Tagovailoa can overcome.
“He does have more knowledge,” Gailey agreed. “And it does help him. Can it be overcome? Hey, anything can happen in our game. And you know it, you’ve seen it happen. Anything can happen any year. You never say never in the NFL.”
That’s just it. No one said “any year” or “this year.” This is about three weeks from now.
And it will take Tagovailoa or Rosen making some practice magic they have so far been unable to weave to beat out Fitzpatrick.
