Dolphins’ seemingly stable quarterback picture comes with uncertainty, uneasiness
The picture the Miami Dolphins paint of their quarterback situation is one of stability. And so Brian Flores seemed genuinely surprised when someone who doesn’t know the guarded coach’s feelings and intentions had the audacity to ask who starts at quarterback when Tua Tagovailoa gets healthy.
“Yeah, yeah, if he’s healthy, he’s the guy,” Flores said after the Dolphins 20-3 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.
“I don’t know how many ways we have to continue to say that. But you keep asking, I’ll keep answering the same way.”
And that should be that.
Full stop.
The Miami Dolphins are Tua Tagovailoa’s team.
Except it’s never quite so certain as that. There isn’t ever a full stop. The question actually came a week after Flores benched Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter of a game and minutes after another game Tagovailoa missed because of a hand injury.
Plus there are considerations and decisions and discussions coming up and so maybe Tagovailoa is the starter next week.
But, dang it, maybe not.
“But, again, he’s dealing with something with the hand,” Flores added. “We’ll take it day to day. He’s a tough kid, he wants to be out there. And thankfully we have other guys who stepped up. We can talk about Tua but we had 52 other guys who played their butts off today in all three phases and we were able to get a division win on the road.
“We’re excited to win. We’ll turn the page and move on to our next opponent, the Bengals.”
Was that Flores annoyed at having to talk about his first-round draft pick?
Look, the Miami Dolphins beat the pants off the Jets again this weekend. For the season, the Jets scored all of three points on Miami and will soon be looking for a new head coach, in part because of the thorough manner the Dolphins beat their division rivals.
So, great news for the Dolphins!
But amid that welcome news, the successful road trip and sweet plane ride home, there’s this ... this .... uneasiness and uncertainty about the Dolphins’ quarterback situation.
The stability of having an up-and-coming rookie and a highly proficient and smart veteran that offers so many benefits feels curiously, well, unstable.
Why is that?
It starts with the fact the rookie who came to the team with an injury history in college has already missed his first game after only four NFL starts because of an injury. And his status for the next start is uncertain -- because of that injury.
“We’ll see how he does in practice over the course of the week,” Flores said of the practice week ahead. “But he’s a tough kid. It was very close for him being able to go [Sunday] but we’ve got to make good decisions for him as well.
“Yeah, we’ll see how he does over the course of this week in practice.”
The Dolphins limited Tagovailoa in practice all last week. Tagovailoa and Fitzpatrick apparently shared first-team repetitions because no one within the organization was fully convinced Tagovailoa was ready to perform as well as possible against the Jets.
And because no one wants to show exactly how limited Tagovailoa is or isn’t, the youngster threw in the tunnel at MetLife Stadium before Sunday’s game to stay out of sight of pesky reporters.
So the Dolphins are being cautious and guarded with Tagovailoa.
And why?
Of course, because of his injury history which the team is keenly aware exists. Because the offensive line was not at full strength Sunday, with Jesse Davis moving from right tackle to right guard to replace injured Solomon Kindley, as rookie Robert Hunt played right tackle -- the spot that would be Tagovailoa’s blind side.
And because the team is really, really, really, comfortable with Fitzpatrick as the replacement starter.
Maybe too comfortable.
“He’s a very experienced player,” Flores said of his veteran. “He’s seen pretty much every coverage, every disguise, every defensive structure, every front. I think he could see the matchups that he likes based on the coverage that they are giving us.
“When you can see all those things, it gives you the opportunity to make the right decisions. I thought he made some good ones today. We needed it.”
Am I the only one who hears this and thinks Flores is telling us Fitzpatrick is a lot of things Tagovailoa isn’t yet?
Fitzpatrick had a solid game. No denying that. He completed 24 of 39 passes for 257 yards with 2 touchdowns. He avoided any major mistakes, so no interceptions or fumbles lost.
But let’s be real: Two touchdowns isn’t going to generally win a lot of big games against functional teams not named the Jets. It’s not likely to get the Dolphins into the playoffs.
And it definitely isn’t going to win championships.
That’s why it’s so important for the Dolphins to fully and unquestionably commit to Tagovailoa. Because he may just be the guy who delivers the great performances needed in those big moments someday in the future.
And if Tagovailoa’s not that guy, it would be good to figure that out sooner rather than later.
But despite that, Flores continues to display a soft spot for Fitzpatrick. The coach has moments where you see how sold he is on the 38-year-old.
“It’s good to have Fitz. He’s obviously a leader on this team,” Flores said Sunday. “He’s been that throughout. He’ll continue to be that on this team.“
So now Dolphins players are reading this and thinking what?
DeVante Parker caught eight passes for 119 yards from Fitzpatrick this game -- more than he caught in the four games Tagovailoa started. Tight end Mike Gesicki caught his first-ever touchdown in his home state of New Jersey from Fitzpatrick on Sunday.
How do they feel about Tagovailoa after that game and hearing from the head coach that Fitz is their leader?
The concern is that human nature could eventually take over and the shadow Fitzpatrick casts becomes too long over the offense when Tagovailoa is trying to shine.
And now let me take you back to the messaging because it’s sometimes mixed when it comes to the Dolphins quarterback situation. The team is walking the line of pushing toward a playoff berth but also nurturing a young, talented rookie quarterback during his early starts.
So which is most important? I believe Tagovailoa’s mindset and confidence are most important.
And how is Flores going to manage that situation? Well, by repeating, as he said he would, that it’s all about Tagovailoa, ride or die, right?
Tua is our guy, right?
This is how Flores answered:
“We’re going to take this one day at time, try to improve and get better on a daily basis, from meetings to walk-through to practice,” Flores said. “We’re just going to try to prepare and get better.
“And honestly, I’m actually saying that very sincerely. It’s about as authentic and genuine as I can be. So to get into playoff this or that, I’m not really into all that. I’m into let’s get better tomorrow. Let’s make the corrections from the game today and let’s prepare for the next opponent.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 6:49 PM.
