Network analysts blast Flores’ Tua decision. And coaches dish on emerging young players
Dolphins coach Brian Flores has drawn universal praise from analysts for expediting a rebuild and having his team in playoff contention.
That ended this week.
Several network analysts blasted Flores for replacing Tua Tagovailoa with Ryan Fitzpatrick late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to Denver, with the Dolphins down by 10. Miami lost 20-13, and Flores said afterward that the decision was performance based and that Tagovailoa would remain Miami’s starter.
“I hated it,” ESPN analyst and former NFL backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. “He wasn’t playing that poorly. I don’t think there’s any chance [the Bengals or Chargers] bench Joe Burrow or Justin Herbert” in that situation. Burrow is now out for the year with a knee injury.
ESPN analyst and former Pro Bowl safety Ryan Clark said that Flores removing Tagovailoa “sends the wrong message. They’re lucky they lost.”
NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah also ripped the move: “If anybody listening to this [podcast] has taught their kid how to ride a bike, let me tell you what you do not do when you’re teaching your kid how to ride a bike. You start them on the training wheels and then you take the training wheels off. After the first time he falls over on the grass, you don’t say, ‘Hold on. Let me put these training wheels back on because you’ve had a little adversity. I don’t want you to try to work through that so let me put these training wheels back on.’
“That does you no good. It does you no good for your child, it does you no good for the team. That makes absolutely no sense. He had a little adversity. Let him work through it. I’m thinking of seasons, years, careers. I don’t think this decision lines up with what’s best for the rest of this season.
“Spoiler alert: We know what Ryan Fitzpatrick is. If you want to go down that road, I know what that looks like. I want to do what’s best for the rest of this season. Is pulling him out, letting him not work through something like this good for the rest of the season? I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s good for the season or the career. For a quarter?! And they didn’t even win the game.
“It’s not Drew Bledsoe. Let’s not confuse Ryan Fitzpatrick with Drew Bledsoe. If we are going to go down this road of making a couple mistakes gets you benched, you better activate a lot more offensive linemen based off what I saw last week because a lot of those guys need to get taken out as well. If Herbert doesn’t play well in the first quarter, should we put in Tyrod Taylor because that’s what you do to try to win the game? Is that what we’re doing?!”
Pro Football Focus’ Mike Renner said: “I don’t get the thought process in benching Tua whatsoever. It was never a short-term move. Why not give him the experience trying to dig himself out of a hole on the road?”
Matt Bowen of ESPN’s NFL Matchup show said Tagovailoa “played too fast” and did not allow “routes to develop. Ball location was inconsistent on vertical throws.”
YOUNG PLAYER FEEDBACK
Even in the aftermath of a disappointing Dolphins performance in Denver, there was at least one defensive development to make a coach smile on Tuesday.
For a second consecutive game, defensive tackle Raekwon Davis flashed the skills that left Flores visibly excited about his draft selection last April.
Pro Football Focus graded Davis as Miami’s best player on defense for a second consecutive game.
“We’ve been really pleased with him,” defensive line coach Marion Hobby said. “He’s been conscientious, working his tail off. The more he plays, the more confidence he builds. Very happy what he’s done for us.
“If you’re not good inside, it’s hard to be good outside. Having him in there, making them double and tie up two blockers and when he’s one-on-one him being able to win those matchups is a big-time advantage in the center of the field.”
As far as long-term potential, does Davis have Pro Bowl talent? “The sky is the limit for him,” Hobby said.
More feedback on some young players from Dolphins’ defensive coaches’ twice-monthly Zoom sessions with reporters on Tuesday:
▪ Defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander said rookie safety Brandon Jones is playing more mostly because he’s fast and productive.
“For Brandon, you see him play with an incredible amount of speed,” Alexander said. “He does a good job when he diagnoses the play and is able to be disruptive in the backfield. That’s one aspect we love about his game which is [why] he has gotten an increased amount of reps. You can see there’s a significant difference in speed when he tackles and goes.
“In underneath zone defense, he has a very quick trigger. He’s a guy that really cares.”
Alexander also praised his level of preparation and character.
▪ Outside linebackers coach Austin Clark admitted that Andrew Van Ginkel — whom he once recruited for Southern California when Van Ginkel was playing at a junior college — has “definitely exceeded all expectations. Tough, smart, physical guy. Team first. He’s becoming a technician on the field. He’s seeing the fruits of his labor and I think he will only continue to get better.”
Pro Football Focus rates Van Ginkel 15th among 100 NFL edge players, making him the highest-ranked of any Miami front-seven defender this season.
“From the minute I met him, he said, ‘I want to become more physical,’” Clark said. “That’s what he’s done through his unique journey through different colleges. Obviously he was great at Wisconsin. That’s exactly what you’re seeing. He’s doing a hell of a job. I love the guy.”
▪ Alexander likes what he has seen from slot cornerback Nik Needham.
“He has developed at the nickel position over the course of the season; he’s starting to get a feel more for how to fit in the run game, how to utilize his leverage which is a lot different from being a perimeter corner,” Alexander said. “You start to see some production and improvement and you will need more improvement this week against a division opponent” in the Jets.
LINEBACKER NEWS
One of the mysteries in recent weeks: Jerome Baker’s diminished playing time.
Baker has gone from playing most snaps to just 20 of Miami’s 65 defensive snaps against Denver. Why is that happening?
“Every game, sometimes those things change and you try to adjust personnel,” linebackers coach Anthony Campanile said. “He has done a tremendous job the whole year. He has played a ton of snaps this year. The snaps he played the other day I thought he played really really well.”
▪ Two defensive coaches disputed the notion — voiced by another reporter — that Kyle Van Noy doesn’t look as effective as previous years and was victimized against the run against Denver. Van Noy has been nursing a hip injury.
“He really did a lot of good things,” Campanile said. “I’ve got to do a better job coaching in the game.”
▪ Besides releasing cornerback Tae Hayes, Miami also released former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Donald Payne from its practice squad. The Dolphins have one unfilled spot on their practice squad.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 11:37 AM.
