This is the time of year where I’d rather be watching A Christmas Story on repeat than suffering through a meaningless Dolphins game.
Alas.
Those are the only types of games we have.
Ho.
Ho.
How mighty was Quinn?
Rookie quarterback
Quinn Ewers got his first NFL start on Sunday, leading the 6-8 Miami Dolphins at home against the 4-10 Cincinnati Bengals.
So?
How did he do?
About as well as a rookie in his first NFL start.
Ewers finished the day 20/30 (66%) for 260 yds, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs.
Now, sure; the final score was pitiable. But, there was a drive derailed by a bad OPI call, then a fumble, an INT, and a failed 4th down conversion, all in a row, all leading to Bengals touchdowns.
None of that was really on Ewers.
The second interception immediately afterward was. But, hey. Who cares?
Ewers had a lot of college experience and success. I have to say, over a one game NFL sample size, he looks comfortable in the pocket: No happy feet and no panic around pressure. So, that’s cool.
He doesn’t share a lot of traits with Tua (in the sense that Ewers feels like more of a traditional pocket passer not inexorably tied to timing routes and quick release plays), so to see him in MM’s offense is fascinating.
One perspective is that the game plan should lean on the run and not ask too much of a rookie in his debut. The other is that it should call for plays that attempt to instill confidence in him (even if it’s halfway pretend) by letting him rip it since you literally have nothing to lose.
MM’s game plan kinda did a little bit of both. The team had 28 carries to 30 pass attempts, so they were well balanced, but let the guy just huck it downfield once in a while. At least it’d make it more fun to watch.
In the end, it didn’t matter whatsoever because the Dolphins love to completely melt down in the 3rd quarter of games, rendering any possible assessment of Ewers’ ability somewhat moot.
And boy, do the Fins love to be moot.
Defense without Minkah was heinous
It’s true: Minkah’s absence wasn’t the only reason the defense was unpalatable.
They managed to be wholly unpretty in every which way, to the tune of surrendering 309 passing yards, 4 pass TDs, 105 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs, and 45 (!) points.
Despite their record, the Bengals have some elite pass catchers (even if they push off harder than anyone in the league), so it’s a tall task to defend them all. But the Dolphins’ D really failed to live up to it.
Safety is a major position of need, to me. Ashtyn Davis isn’t good, Ifeatu Melifonwu isn’t good, and Dante Trader is the worst of the young guns so far.
Speaking of young guns, I can at least try to slap some Maybelline on this Wilbur: Miami has some youth that could maybe be kind of somewhat okay in the future?
The three new rookie DTs are improving, Chop Robinson is young and seems to wake up a little as each season gets toward the end (though it’d be nice if he’d start earlier than, say, Week 10), and some depth guys like Jason Marshall, Cameron Goode, and Quinton Bell pop up from time to time.
I don’t know, man.
This game ended with Joe Flacco at quarterback in garbage time. I’m just trying to hunt for a speck of cheer around the holidays.
Maybe some young offensive players have potential
I’ll just keep this wild goose chase going.
I mean, Achane is elite. He made the Pro Bowl, which no one who knows anything about anything cares about, other than in the hopes that it makes him feel good about himself because he deserves to feel good about himself. He’s electric every time he touches the ball. He’s the sole source of sustained success for Miami’s offense, which is, counterintuitively, something I wish they’d stop leaning on immediately.
This season is done. Don’t get him hurt, Mike. Mmmmkay?
Apart from Achane, fellow runners Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon have shown flashes of competence. Jaylen Waddle is still young and aspiring. Jonah Savaiinaea has nowhere to go but up, where he has slowly started to head. Julian Hill is growing into his role more effectively than he did as a rookie and I’ll even shout out first time NFL wide receiver Theo Wease because, though he bobbled a drop that became an interception, he served as a comfort target for Ewers due to their familiarity with one another on the practice team and he was the one called for a totally nonsensical OPI that began the Dolphins’ demise.
Again, it’s almost the New Year. So whatever teensy weensy shred of hope I can glom onto, glom I shall.
I wish Mike Gesicki was still in Miami
I don’t care that he doesn’t block. I don’t care that he isn’t a superstar. I just love the guy.
Weekly Overreaction: Miami should invest in two new quarterbacks
It’s called an overreaction for a reason.
I use the word ‘invest’ specifically because I don’t mean drafting a guy on Day 3 and signing a league minimum veteran Free Agent. I mean using one early round draft pick and then maybe another. Or orchestrating a trade of Tua (good luck; I get it) that brings in someone with a track record and at least some remaining upside. Or mortgaging the future on some outlandish Draft Day swap.
I don’t know the specifics. It’s not my job. It’s currently not anyone’s permanent job, really.
I suspect Miami will have a new GM next season that isn’t the present interim GM (not that I have enough knowledge to form an opinion on whether that’d be a good thing or not) and that GM will need to fix the quarterback situation right quick.
Ewers looked as good as I expected. He had poise in the pocket, he handled the offense with confidence, and he seemed at least likely to hang on as a backup, worst case.
That doesn’t mean I still wouldn’t take two swings at solving the issue for the long term.
People that say ‘If you have two quarterbacks, you have none’ are picturing a situation with Marcus Mariota and Carson Wentz. If you have Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, you have one superstar and one unrealized gain of a boatload of draft picks.
Sign me up right this millisecond.
That’s what I want under the Dolphins proverbial Christmas tree.
Get to it, Kringle.
What would you like Santa to bring you this year? An oil drum in which to start a jersey fire? A rock with which to smash the TV? Open box after box of sadness in the comments below.
