Dolphins Diary Week 5: Depressing
It is official, the Miami Dolphins are terrible, and the future is a mess. The draft picks that the team had banked in their latest rebuild are all gone, and the team is full of busts. Making matters worse, a team that will be among the five worst traded their pick to the Eagles for Jaylen Waddle, who continues to look like Venus de Milo as he drops passes and has the mobility of a statue. There are no positives from Sunday's game, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won 45-17 in a game that was not even that close.
The disaster starts with the defense. The Dolphins did not get a turnover on Sunday, as their 26-game streak came to an end. The numbers are ugly as Tom Brady, and the Buccaneers moved the ball at will. The Dolphins pass rush was non-existent as Brady had enough time to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody twice in the pocket. Meanwhile, the Dolphins secondary had poor coverage as the Tampa receivers were more open than Waffle House. Tom Brady completed 30 of 41 passes for 411 yards, throwing five touchdown passes. This included a 62-yard reception by Antonio Brown in which the Dolphins defense looked like a Division 2 college. In garbage time, Blane Gabbert was just as effective, completing all four passes for 41 yards. Brady had more yards on the ground than Miami in the first half, as the Dolphins managed just 39 rushing yards as a team during the game.
Jacoby Brissett kept the Dolphins in the game until the fourth quarter, as he played well despite having a tender hamstring. Brissett passed for 276 yards with two touchdowns despite suffering a tweak to his hamstring in the first quarter. However, a fumble at the end of the first half and an interception in the third quarter proved costly. Miami scored on their first two possessions, as they led 10-7 after the first quarter. However, the Buccaneers scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter and led 24-10 at the half. In their first five games, Miami has been outscored 44-3 in the second quarter.
The Dolphins appeared to make some good adjustments at the half, as they stopped Tampa for the only time, forcing a punt. Miami, meanwhile, went down the field and got back into the game with a screen pass to Myles Gaskin. However, with a chance to put heat on the Buccaneers, the Dolphins defense had another letdown as Brady drove Tampa down the field and into the end zone as the fourth quarter began to extend the lead to 31-17. The Dolphins' defense did not have time to rest as Miami went three and out, allowing the Bucs to break the game open as they scored 21 unanswered in the fourth to win the game 45-17.
Sitting 1-4, the Dolphins have another battle of Florida next week as they face the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The Jaguars have lost their last 20 games. The Dolphins hope to have Tua Tagovalioa available to come off IR, but the way the team is playing on the line and defense, it will likely be another loss, as the Jaguars are due for a win. The Dolphins, meanwhile, could go 1-16, repeating Jacksonville's path to 1-15 by losing every game after Week 1. Only the Dolphins don't have their draft pick trading it to trade back up for Jaylen Waddle, who has been awful.
The Dolphins had draft picks; none of them have panned out. Tua is a bust, and trading down to trade back up and giving up a top-five pick for Jaylen Waddle proves that Chris Grier is a terrible General Manager and needs to be fired, and the Dolphins are back to square one. How many years do the Dolphins have to wait for Arch Manning? Can we start building alone for him and get enough picks to ensure you can get him when he is eligible? The Dolphins can also trade for Deshaun Watson, but knowing their luck, he will be suspended or arrested as soon as the deal is complete. No matter how you cut it, the Dolphins need a significant change and need a new GM as they are a total mess once again as another season has gone to hell.