{"id":38449,"date":"2023-09-16T09:31:23","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T13:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=38449"},"modified":"2023-09-16T09:31:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T13:31:39","slug":"the-two-minute-drill-the-year-of-the-dolphin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2023\/09\/16\/the-two-minute-drill-the-year-of-the-dolphin\/","title":{"rendered":"The Two-Minute Drill: The Year of the Dolphin?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Photo Courtesy of AP Photos\/Ashley Landis)<\/em><\/p>\n

By Brendan Nordstrom<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long seven months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We all tried to fill the void in various ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We started caring about our record-breaking, nearly unstoppable NBA or NHL teams that were \u201cteams of destiny.\u201d But, they ended up being more stoppable than we thought, ending the season without a ring (sorry Boston fans).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The rest of us who are not privileged enough to have quality basketball or hockey in our market <\/span>\u2014 myself a Pistons and Red Wings fan \u2014 stooped so low as to watch spring training games for a team that would be essentially eliminated by June.<\/span><\/p>\n

We even got desperate. Looking for any scrap of football, we watched replays of the Super Bowl or Barry Sanders highlights. We started reading articles on rookie minicamps. We did fantasy football mock drafts in July. We watched a documentary where, somehow, Kirk Cousins was the most interesting character. Maybe we were so desperate, we watched five episodes highlighting the New York Jets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless, after seven long months, we are back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Week one was a treat. It starts with a scrappy Lions team sending a warning shot that the Chiefs Kingdom falls without a stronger receiving core. Meanwhile, Joe Burrow seemed to be enjoying his new, fat contract a little too much, not even reaching triple digits in the air. The Jets lost their star quarterback four plays in, but the Bills Billed in the most Bills way possible. The 49ers are a wagon; Justin Fields did <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> take a step forward; Matthew Stafford looks in prime form; and the Giants may want to call it a season already.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, one team stood out to me the most \u2014 the Miami Dolphins.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dolphins took on the Los Angeles Chargers in what has become a pseudo-rivalry between fans based on each team\u2019s respective quarterback \u2014 Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert \u2014 being selected one pick apart from each other in the 2020 draft. In an early game of the year candidate, the two teams exchanged blows up until the game\u2019s final whistle when Miami left the field winners of a 36-34 barnburner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Chargers are no team to scoff at. Justin Herbert has a rocket arm with pinpoint accuracy. Austin Ekeler has dual-threat capabilities. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are veteran receivers that can help develop rookie Quinten Johnston. Their defense may be middling but it\u2019s highlighted by Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, J.C. Jackson, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, facing a healthy Chargers team, this Miami win was anything but cheap (or an \u201casterisk\u201d as has become a buzzword for some reason).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tua Tagovailoa has been one of the most criticized quarterbacks since entering the league. While criticism was valid, I remained steadfast in my early belief that the southpaw would come through. Tagovailoa looked like he had finally turned a corner last season with development and the acquisition of offensive weapon Tyreek Hill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was an early \u2014 albeit very early \u2014 MVP candidate. He dominated the first two games of the season, including a 469-yard performance with six touchdowns against the Ravens in Week two. He then helped down the powerhouse Bills in a game where he suffered a concussion. Then, the next week he was cleared to play before entering fencing position following a scary hit, giving him another concussion. While he <\/span>considered retirement<\/span><\/a>, Tavovailoa returned a month later, never returning to the quarterback he flashed the potential to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Until now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tagovailoa recorded 466 yards in the air with three touchdowns, utilizing seven receivers for multiple catches against Los Angeles. That\u2019s just a stat sheet, though. Just by watching Tagovailoa, you can see improvement. He trusts his lineman and steps up confidently in the pocket \u2014 something missing post-concussion last season \u2014 and it paid off with zero sacks taken. His accuracy improved and he found the slimmest of windows. His ability to respond is also key. After losing a 50-50 throw and getting intercepted early in the game, Tagovailoa responded accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, having the speedy Tyreek Hill helps. Hill, somehow, also leveled up this offseason recording 11 catches for 215 yards against the Chargers. Hill may very well be the best weapon in the NFL. However, eliminate Hill in the contest and Tagovailoa still outgained Herbert.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is room for improvement. If the Dolphins bleed their hand that they are a pass-heavy offense, secondaries will begin to gameplan easily. Running back Raheem Mostert used his 10 touches for 37 yards, so working him into the offense will be crucial to becoming multi-dimensional. Tagovailoa also fumbled the ball twice, but he was able to recover it one of those times. That lost fumble was within the LA 10-yard line, costing crucial points. With limited turnovers and some semblance of a run game, this Miami offense could be the most dangerous in the league.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Miami defense was touted as a top-10 unit entering the season. The air game kept up their end of the deal, limiting Herbert to 228 yards and a score. Their run defense left much to be desired, however. Austin Ekeler exposed them for 117 yards on just 16 carries, while Joshua Kelley was just nine yards shy of triple digits on the ground. They will figure it out eventually, but it is something to look out for as a weak point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention head coach Mike McDaniel. The goofy analytics nerd who often looks awkward and out of place may be one of the best minds in all of football. With a year under his belt, he has refined his coaching style and solid in-game management. One <\/span>example<\/span><\/a>, pointed out by Ted Nguyen of The Athletic, was McDaniel setting his receivers in a short out motion to break the man coverage. Where the press broke the Dolphins down last year in their meeting with the Chargers, McDaniel remembered and adjusted.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dolphins may not have received the most hype entering the season due to the way they petered out last season. However, they have an explosive offense behind a developed quarterback and dangerous wide receivers all led by a brilliant football coach. There seemed to lack parity in the AFC, but with the Chiefs, Bills and Bengals all starting the season in the loss column, the division is wide open for Miami to swim out in front.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo Courtesy of AP Photos\/Ashley Landis) By Brendan Nordstrom It\u2019s been a long seven months.\u00a0 We all tried to fill the void in various ways.\u00a0 We started caring about our record-breaking, nearly unstoppable NBA or NHL teams that were \u201cteams of destiny.\u201d But, they ended up being more stoppable than we thought, ending the season […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19990,"featured_media":38450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1024,1050,1035,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38449"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19990"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38451,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38449\/revisions\/38451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}