Time to Clear Up Whose Team This Is
This is Tua's team.
No, it should be Fitz's team.
Can we just stop with this?
This isn't so much a personal request as a call for all Dolphins fans and observers to acknowledge what should be obvious: The team's fate for the remainder of the 2020 season won't change greatly based on who is starting at quarterback.
Head coach Brian Flores said after the 20-3 victory against the New York Jets on Sunday that Tua Tagovailoa is the team's starting quarterback when healthy and that's perfectly fine, even though the stats suggest the offense performs better when Ryan Fitzpatrick is behind center.
The bottom line is simple: The Dolphins are not 4-3 in Fitzpatrick's seven starts primarily because of Fitz, just like they're not 3-1 in Tua's four starts primarily because of Tua.
It's also entirely possible that the Dolphins still would be 7-4 had Fitzpatrick started every game this season, just like they easily still could be 7-4 with Tua at quarterback the whole way.
Simply put, the quarterback position is not the engine driving this team.
This is not the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, the Packers with Aaron Rodgers or the Seahawks with Russell Wilson.
The Dolphins are winning games primarily because of their defense and special teams, and it says here that's the formula that's going to carry them to the playoffs if they get that far.
Let's put it this way: Does anybody expect the Dolphins to have a shot at defeating the Kansas City Chiefs if the defense can't slow down Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce and the 27 other playmakers on that offense?
The Dolphins have recorded at least one takeaway in every game this season and now own the league's current streak at 17 games dating back to 2020.
Just look at every one of their wins so far this season and you'll see the fingerprints of the defense and/or special teams.
-- Jacksonville: Four sacks, one interception, fumble recovery at the Jacksonville 5-yard that set up a touchdown.
-- San Francisco: Five sacks, two interceptions, fumble recovery.
-- First Jets game: Shutout, three sacks, one interception.
-- L.A. Rams: Defensive touchdown, special teams touchdown, fumble return to the 1-yard line to set up a touchdown, two sacks, two interceptions.
-- Arizona: Defensive touchdown, one sack, fourth-down stop.
-- L.A. Chargers: Punt block recovered at 1-yard line to set up a touchdown, two sacks, one interception, fourth-down stop.
-- Second Jets game: Three sacks, two inteceptions, fourth-down stop.
Who have been the Dolphins' top three players in 2020?
Here's one list: Xavien Howard, Emmanuel Ogbah, Jason Sanders.
What do they have in common? Defense and special teams.
So we can keep having the debate of whether the Dolphins are better off with Tua or Fitz at quarterback, but ultimately Miami will go as far as its defense will take it.
Because, like it or not, this isn't Tua's team and it's not Fitz's team.
If anything, it's the defense's team.
