The 2022 season was, by all accounts, a rollercoaster. Imagine you are on the Hulk ride at Universal Studios, and you are going up the rail on the rollercoaster. That is how the Dolphins’ season started winning the first three games against the Patriots, Ravens, and Bills.
Then as you reach the top of the rollercoaster, you drop down full of speed. Similar to the next three games for the Dolphins, losing to the Bengals, Jets, and Vikings.
From there, we continued to enjoy the ride, winning the next five games and then losing the next 5.
However, what was most concerning during this ride was the two-game stretch against the 49ers and the Chargers. In those games, all of the important pieces on offense played, and the offense scored a total of 34 points. Now you can say this is pretty good, except that it came in 2 losses, and the offense was averaging 25.6 points per game up until the 49ers game. What does not get talked about much is why the offense struggled.
One can argue that the 49ers’ defense was fantastic last year, and that is a true statement. That would explain one game but what about the Chargers game?
I focused on those two games because Tua was healthy, and Terron Armstead played. I returned to watch the All 22, and some things stood out. Things that I believe are fixable going into the 2023 season.
First, the wide receivers could not create consistent separation. Sometimes, I thought the Chargers knew what plays we were running because they were stuck to the routes. When Waddle or Hill started to break, the defensive back started to break. Have to give them credit, but I also think our playcalling led to some of that. If you look at both games, some routes led to receivers being in the same area, making it tough for Tua to throw the ball.
Sometimes, I thought I was watching a game of Madden in real time.
Another issue was Tua reading the field. Some of that was because the offensive lineman got beat, and some of that was on Tua. There were plays when Tua had time but failed to make the right read.
The final issue was execution. There was one play in particular where Hill was making his break into an open part of the field. I mean, it would have been a touchdown because there was no one there who could have caught him. Tua made the right read, but the pass was incomplete. I could not tell if the throw was too high or Hill could not see it, but that was a miss. Fortunately, I think with another year in this offense, those issues can be fixed, and we can enjoy the highs of the rollercoaster a little longer.
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