Can The Miami Dolphins Change The Controversial Narrative In Week Two?
The Miami Dolphins Face Off Against A Familiar Foe, But They Haven’t Won In Baltimore Since 1997. Can They Change That With A Week Two Victory?
If the Miami Dolphins win this weekend, it will be their first victory ever at MT&T Stadium, which was built in 1998. If they do win this Sunday, it will bring the all-time series to an even split, eight games apiece. The best thing that happens if the Fins come out victorious is it begins to change the narrative for the team.
Most Dolphin fans expected them to beat the Patriots in Week One purely based on roster versus roster on paper. And the Dolphins’ defense dominated most of the day, but the offense left some things out there that have left fans still pondering, “Is Tua the quarterback of the future for the Miami Dolphins?” In my biased opinion, yes, he is. For Tua, this is the beginning of changing the narrative around himself as the QB1 in South Beach.
It’s games against opponents such as the Ravens that will dictate how the rest of the season can go. The Dolphins face a tough stretch of opponents the next three weeks with the Bills at home, and then on the road to Cincinnati.
If the Fins lose this week, it would be hard to imagine them not ending up 1-3, depending on how the Bengals bounce back after last week’s rough performance against the Steelers. I still believe the Miami Dolphins match up better against the Buffalo Bills than they have in years past, but they’ll need to beat the Ravens this week before we get to put that theory to the test.
Will It Actually Change The Narrative, Or Does The Media Just Hate The Miami Dolphins?
It’s tough to argue that Tua Tagovailoa couldn’t have played better on Sunday. He definitely missed opportunities, but he acknowledges that and is still a young quarterback playing at the highest level. I think that sounds like an excuse, but Tua gets a lot of shade thrown his way even when the Dolphins win. He played well enough to have the fifth-highest QBR in the entire NFL for week one. Yet you’ll hear the pundits talking about he lacks arm strength and doesn’t have any special qualities that separate him from other NFL QBs, oh and Teddy Bridgewater will take over the starting job before the season is over.
Sean Payton predicts Teddy Bridgewater will play at some point this season for Dolphins https://t.co/pnUjZ8EPBX — Joe Schad (@schadjoe) September 14, 2022
Sean Payton Thinks The Miami Dolphins Have A QB Controversy
I think Sean Payton is a tiny bit disgruntled that his 100-million-dollar deal fell through. Tua Tagovailoa played well Sunday. Not great, but he’ll get there and that can only happen one game at a time. Baltimore is just the first step to getting there. Some Miami Dolphin fans, and sports media personnel will probably always be antagonistic when it comes to the team. Everyone is the best GM from the lazy boy.
If you read my article before last week’s season opener, my hot take is that Mike McDaniel would make the Dolphins more fun to watch this year, they were definitely more fun to watch on offense. The Miami Dolphins obviously got the better deal with McDaniel than if we would have ended up with Sean Payton.
How Can The Miami Dolphins Set The Stage For A Narrative Shift
Going into a place you haven’t won is certainly a start. Road games are always tough but when you’re playing a team with a former MVP in Lamar Jackson, it becomes even more of a task. I don’t think Lamar and Ravens Head coach Jim Harbaugh will look like sitting ducks against the Dolphins cover zero defense this year.
And if Josh Boyer is as good as I think he is, I think he’ll mix it up a lot as he did in week one against the Patriots. Before the snap, the Dolphins would have seven or eight guys on the line of scrimmage and look like they were in man-to-man but would drop into zone coverage and only allow underneath routes.
If they can do this and bring pressure at the right times, as they did against Mac Jones and the Patriots, I think they should keep Lamar contained. Strong Safety Brandon Jones and Free Safety Jevon Holland will need to be disciplined this week as Lamar Jackson has the arm to throw it deep in an instant which could be a vulnerability if our pass rush isn’t getting there fast enough.
The best way to change the narrative is to beat good teams, and over the next three weeks, the Miami Dolphins will have the opportunity to do that. Now we wait to see if Mike McDaniel and Josh Boyer can scheme up enough magic to stop three of the league’s best quarterbacks, starting with Lamar Jackson this Sunday.
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