Congratulations if you took the “under” on just about any wager involving how long before The Tua Watch was on in South Florida.
Because, well, it’s on.
Sixty minutes — that’s the extent of the benefit of doubt afforded Ryan Fitzpatrick, even though, at last count, he’s the Dolphins’ reigning MVP.
When Brian Flores talked with the media Monday afternoon, the first question posed was whether he intended to start Fitz against his old team, the Buffalo Bills, this Sunday.
The less-tactful way of phrasing the question: When’s Tua Tagovailoa gonna start?
Flores had to know it was coming on this Monday and probably the next 14 Mondays.
For the record, Fitz will start this weekend.
For the record, Fitz should start this weekend.
Fans eager to get their first look at Tagovailoa, a Hawaii native, throwing a meaningful pass in a Dolphins uniform got the ammo they needed Sunday when Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions while losing to the New England Patriots 21-11 in the opener.
The Dolphins’ offense under old/new coordinator Chan Gailey showed as much pizzazz as the empty stands at Gillette Stadium. Bringing that spark is one of the most important jobs of any quarterback. It doesn’t strain one’s imagination to picture a bright-eyed Tua jogging into the huddle and lifting everyone’s confidence. Isn’t that what he did the moment Nick Saban entrusted him at Alabama?
This line of thinking — we’ve struggled up to this point not to use the dreaded phrase “quarterback controversy” — is overly simplistic on several levels.
Fitzpatrick was charged with three interceptions, tying his career high as a Dolphin, but the first pick probably would not have happened if not for Preston Williams slipping as the ball was released and the third resulted from a combination of desperation mode to produce FitzMagic and tight end Mike Gesicki getting ridden his entire route downfield. We’ve all seen flags tossed for far less contact.
We entered the season with the understanding that Fitz’s beard would not cover more ground than any of Miami’s running backs like it did in 2019. While that’s still likely, it’s likely only by a whisker.
Fitzpatrick and his 37-year-old legs accounted for two of Miami’s most significant runs Sunday: the scramble for the two-point conversion and his 12-yard dive for a first down in the closing minutes. Even he, in the heat of the moment, got up grinning as he dusted himself off.
The Dolphins’ rushing attack was historically bad last season. Despite the heralded additions of running backs Jordan Howard and Matt Breida, the output Sunday was virtually identical to last year’s 72.3 yards per game on the ground. Speedster Breida was MIA (and that’s no abbreviation) and power back Howard, who scored the Dolphins’ lone touchdown, finished with 7 yards on eight carries, an average of 0.9 per.
That’s not a barrage. It’s a Ballage.
Bottom line: Outside of Myles Gaskin, who pitched in an admirable nine carries for 40 yards (a 4.4 average), the running backs did little to support Fitzpatrick.
The wide receivers? That might be a bigger concern.
DeVante Parker left the game after making four catches and aggravating a hamstring. Once that happened, Bill Belichick knew it was Preston Williams or nobody to scare New England. The Patriots clamped down so much on Williams they were flagged twice for pass interference.
In fact, everything you need to know about the receivers’ inability to gain separation is that Parker’s team-high 47 receiving yards matched the yardage Fitzpatrick picked up with three pass interference penalties as he was forced to target players only marginally open.
The Dolphins have to pray that Parker’s hamstrings, which are receiving treatment to start this week, don’t become a chronic problem once again.
Tagovailoa can be remarkably accurate zipping a football into tight spaces, but even he requires receivers to carry their weight.
Flores may have been in the vicinity of 30,000 feet following the loss when Randy Bullock, kicker for the Cincinnati Bengals, did him a favor.
Bullock was wide right on a chip-shot kick from 31 yards out, wasting what had been a textbook two-minute drill by quarterback Joe Burrow against the Los Angeles Chargers. Burrow came within an eyelash of pulling out a last-second win that would have been painted as a miracle for the kid his first time out. On the drive, Burrow showed the poise and savvy of a veteran.
The relevance to Flores, naturally, is that Tagovailoa was chosen with the fifth overall pick to Burrow going first overall. Instead of Burrow losing 16-13, imagine if his touchdown pass with seven seconds left hadn’t been nullified by receiver A.J. Green pushing off.
Can’t you hear the rumbling in the distance: See? If Burrow could do that in his first NFL game, why not Tua?!
That’s the sticky position we’re in. Fitz is trying to stiff-arm the kid 15 more times until, perhaps, riding off into the sunset. He fully admits he’s the “placeholder.” He must know there’s only so much he can control, that it’s also a matter of when Flores deems Tagovailoa ready.
Still, Fitzpatrick needs to be judged reasonably, not by blindly blaming him for three turnovers.
After carrying this team last year, Fitzpatrick deserves that much.
Habib writes for The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
