Words Coming Back to Haunt Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are not a good football team.

This is not us saying it, even though it would be difficult to argue after what we saw at Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday during their 24-3 loss against the Seahawks.

No, those are the words of defensive lineman Calais Campbell from last week, when he said, "Good teams don't lose two in a row."

This is just one example of a comment from somebody in the organization that is really sticking out right now in the aftermath of the ugly performance against the Seahawks.

And those comments aren't sticking out in a good way.

THE DOLPHINS ARE NOT A GOOD TEAM

The Dolphins have now lost two in a row, and it's actually hard to argue with Campbell's comment when looking at the Dolphins — unlike, say, when looking at the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs, who did lose two in a row at one point on their way to their second consecutive Super Bowl title.

Good teams don't lose two in a row.
Miami Dolphins DT Calais Campbell

Now at 1-2, this is the first time the Dolphins have been under .500 with Mike McDaniel as head coach. The losses against the Buffalo Bills and Seattle also marked the first time the Dolphins lost by 20 points or more in back-to-back games since the first four games of the 2019 season when the team was in full rebuilding (or tanking) mode.

The Dolphins are dead last in the NFL in scoring 11 points per game, having been second only to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023.

Lastly, the Dolphins are one of only two teams with two losses this season by 20 points or more; the other is the Carolina Panthers.

GRIER AND THE OFFENSIVE LINE

It's now a famous clip, one that has been replayed time and time again or cited in the past couple of weeks: GM Chris Grier telling the media after the 2023 NFL draft that they were a lot more worried about the offensive line than the organization was.

Grier doubled down on that comment after the roster cuts to 53 with this: "I know you guys made a joke about me saying you guys are more worried about it than we are, but internally that's how we feel about our group here as a team."

We have now reached the point where the organization absolutely should be worried about the state of the offensive line.

Skylar Thompson really struggled against the Seahawks, but he also didn't get great help from his offensive line. Thompson and Tim Boyle were sacked a combined six times in the game. The running game averaged 3.6 yards per attempt, and the Dolphins were only 1-for-3, converting third-and-1 situations with running plays.

To make matters worse, left tackle Terron Armstead can't stave off injuries, and now he's in the concussion protocol after having to leave a second consecutive game early.

TUA'S PROPHETIC COMMENT

This brings us to Tua Tagovailoa's headline-making comment, this one from early in the season, "Well, brutha, I get the ball out fast, so I'm confident with anybody we got up there, I'll tell you that. I'm confident with anybody we get out there."

The problem is that Tagovailoa isn't in the lineup right now, and Thompson most definitely needs to get the ball out faster. Few quarterbacks have done this as well as Tagovailoa, and that ability has helped mask (to a degree) the pass protection deficiencies up front.

But with Tagovailoa out of the lineup, it's now up to Mike McDaniel to devise a scheme that is less reliant on the quick passing game. His quarterbacks must improve their processing speed in the pocket, and the offensive line must provide better pass protection.

None of that was on display in Seattle.

THE RAMSEY SPEECH ABOUT BULLYING

The Dolphins' defense has had its moments so far this season, but we have yet to see this terrifying group that the unit hoped to be based on Jalen Ramsey's speech to his teammates after practice.

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks relayed Ramsey's message to the media and expounded: "So if we can be the initiators, we can be the bullies. I think that makes you a dominant defense, where you're proactive rather than reactive."

The Dolphins really could have used that kind of dominant defense against Seattle when they were forced to start Thompson at quarterback, similar to what the Pittsburgh Steelers did in getting off to a 3-0 start despite a rather pedestrian offense.

The defense did keep Seattle off the scoreboard for most of the second half, giving the Dolphins a chance at a comeback, but where was the defense at the start of the game when getting off to a lead might have eased some pressure off, Thompson?

By the end of the first quarter, Seattle had 151 yards of offense and 17 points, and that 17-3 lead would be awfully hard for the Dolphins to overcome with their backup quarterback.

And, unlike the offense, the defense came in with every player on the active roster healthy and available.

So, the defense can get better and continue working toward becoming dominant bullies. The offensive line can most definitely improve to the point where it won't be a concern to anybody.

And maybe the Dolphins can also win some games and become what was expected of them: a good team.

But right now, those things should be somewhere else, or someone said they would be.