I wanna start this by saying I am a Tua fan and Mike is a coach I am hopeful can learn to be a winning coach. Im not sure if you guys heard his interview with NBC, Simms and Florio, but he said something that I had thought to myself before and as soon as he said it I kinda thought, okay, he's got it.
During the interview Simms asks him about trends in the league and Mike says that this is the first off-season he feels like he can attack the tape because there's enough of it to understand what defenses are really doing to combat the motions and Mike's offense. I had these thoughts during the season when we weren't hitting anything deep.
Mike's year 1 he totally took the league by surprise. Everyone knew he was going to run a form of the Shanahan's offense but to his credit, Mike is pretty innovative. The motions, the screens, how Tua pitches the ball, how Tua opens up to one side of the field and then flips his hips completely, the F motion with the TE's to get them better leverage at the snap, etc. The guy is smart and the offense year 1 was fun to watch but yes, it struggled on the road and against teams with good coaching that had ways of defending it.
We saw the way the Chargers defended it on Sunday Night. The Pats played 3 deep safeties when we played them. Once the defenses were no longer surprised, the competent coaches could construct a good defensive game plan and the tables had turned to the point that Mike was now getting surprised by what defenses were coming up with to stop his offense. We all know its a copy cat league and more offenses really started to implement the same motions and principles that Mike was using in Miami.
Now, to continue the cat and mouse game, defenses across the league have to figure out how to basically stop the Mike McDaniel version of the Shanahan offense every week because of how common it had become. At this point, there are no more surprises. The league knows what Mike and his offense look like and all the things they do. What Mike said in the interview, in a lot of words(as Mike always does), is,"my turn." Mike is going to have the answers again.
There are definitely frustrating things about Mike that need to change and quite honestly should have been changed and improved on already. Getting plays in late, terrible challenge history, questionable clock management, feeling when to go for it on 4th down and not being reckless or completely relying on the analytics...all things that drive me nuts. He also has to get control of his players and have more of a "no bullshit" attitude.
With all of that said, he is pretty damn good X's and O's and I would like to think that with an improved OL, finally incorporating the TE, and hopefully the injection of some power and nastiness in the backfield, we could end up with an exciting year of offense again. With disappointment, usually comes a little more focus and drive. Not to mention, backs are officially against the wall.
As far as Tua goes, the health is what it is and we all know the deal there...no need for me to say anything more about it. I have personally held the opinion that Tua is plenty good enough to win with, and still believe that whole heartedly. Does he have some deficiencies? Of course. Does he piss me off sometimes? Absolutely. But at the same time, I've been a fan for 30 years. I saw Marino and was hooked. Since Dan walked off the field in Jacksonville with the scoreboard showing 62-7, we haven't had much at the QB position that I felt confident or good about.
Feidler was a game manager and as a team had some success so he's alright in my book, if not for any other reason than nostalgia.
Tannehill was the first one I thought maybe we could win with. After watching him enough and figuring out his strengths and weaknesses, I thought the best way to win with Tannehill is to get the hell out of shotgun and Mike Sherman's spread offense, and run the hell out of the ball and hit defenses with playaction all day, every Sunday.
When he went to TEN and was in that exact offense, I was excited to see what he did. First 2 years in TEN(took over midway through his first year) ---- 55 TD's, 13 INT's, 18-8 W/L record, about a 68% completion percentage, and roughly 6,600 yards. Now I know not every team has Derrick Henry and under Vrabel they were solid defensively, but that was exactly how I envisioned Tannehill succeeding.
With Tua, its the same kinda deal. Tua's put up some monster numbers and its been fun to watch, but thats not how you win with him. Mike needs to understand this and Run. The. Football. But back to Tua....for perspective, the dude is turning 27 in like a week. This is year 6 we're going into. Every year there has been growth. Year 1 of MM, he showed that he can absolutely play this game and he wasn't a scrub. The BAL game, week 2, was his coming out party. Year 2 of MM, he showed why he was the 5th pick in the draft by being in the MVP race until late in the season.
Last year, he and rest of the team got humbled. But over the course of those 3 years we saw him be capable, then we saw the deep balls and the 'Bama Tua, and then last year we saw him adapt and mature and start hitting checkdowns after making progressions. For QB's, each step is important to mastering the game from their position.
I was recently watching old Lakers/Blazers and Lakers/Kings series from 2000 when Kobe was young. Kob' at times would try to take over and force things when he didnt like how things were going or thought he needed to get a bucket to stop the bleeding or someone pissed him off or challenged him. He would take on 3 guys and turn the ball over. Many times after a timeout Phil would say, "trust the offense." And we all know how eventually, he became a master of the game. Extremely skilled, but the mental part was where Kobe was unlike anyone else. He understood when to be aggressive and when to be passive. He mastered the chess game. For Tua, who everyone compared to Brees, needs to master the chess game...and each year, he is collecting more and more information.
Again, I think Mike needs to help him out a little and last year was a forced step in that direction, but in order for Tua to end up like Brees, he needs to take his decision making from 85-90% successful to 98% successful. That's how Brees won. That's how Brady won. That's how Peyton won. Those guys didnt need to run for 60 yards and impersonate Vick. They killed teams with their decision making and their mental game.
I remember Bama coaches talking about Tua making pre-snap adjustments in practice that they said he shouldnt even know how to do. I dont know how much of a leash MM gives Tua when it comes to that kinda stuff, but that's the direction we're headed. Happened some 2 years ago when Tua and Tyreek were really on the same page and Tua was signaling off-script stuff and following it up with a touchdown.
What I'm getting at with all this is I know this team has been disappointing and frustrating and most have low expectations for this upcoming season...but if you've been looking at it the way I have and piecing it all together and picking up the breadcrumbs, there is plenty of room for some optimism.
If Mike and Tua have both learned what they should have learned, as long as that OL isnt a detriment to the team, there is just as much of a possibility that they surprise and give us something special as there is they fall apart and are just the latest guys in the long list of post Shula and Marino.
Maybe Im sick in the head, (probably am, like the rest of you that still hold onto hope Miami will someday do something and win us 1 lol) but I can see the pathway to success for these 2. Its a process. I can be patient for the right stuff. This has to be the year it all comes together. I just wanted to provide some optimism because its what I believe CAN happen if I've been reading this thing right. Will it? Who knows..with the Dolphins history in mind, probably not, but that's not gonna stop me from being ready for week 1. And if we get the best versions of Mike McDaniel and the best version of Tua, I think they can go pretty far..and all the steps they've taken the last few years feels like this is the year we really find out. Thanks for listening to my TEDTalk
