I guess it’s safe to say that if Sean Payton were the Miami Dolphins coach, Tua Tagovailoa would have had little or no room for error as a starter.
That’s what I gathered after hearing Payton’s appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Monday, where he hits the ball for one of his former players.
Payton believes that at some point during Mike McDaniel’s first season as Miami head coach, he will call in the team to find a new arm – in this case the former reserve of Saint and now in Miami, Teddy Bridgewater.
“I think we’ll see you two in Miami at some point,” Payton told Cowherd. “I think at some point, and they played well yesterday against Tua, but the Teddy Bridgewater that I had before, he was an excellent player. And I think that’s one of the unique things this year, I’ve counted eight teams where I believe we’re going to see a lot of midfield play. Not because of an injury, but because of an argument, if you will. “
This year Payton has more time than he usually does to give the football watching public his opinion. He left the New Orleans Saints after last season, and it looks like he’s the Dolphins’ first choice to be their head coach in 2022. The NFL has opened an investigation into the franchise after litigation that Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL for racism. Part of that lawsuit accused Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of surreptitiously setting up a meeting in which he essentially ambushed Flores with a “prominent QB.”
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That full-back, according to an NFL investigation, appears to be Tom Brady. Investigation disclosure that the Dolphins had “unacceptable exposure” both while he was on the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster. The Dolphins also had a chat with Payton before he officially stepped down as Saints head coach.
Reports from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin in early 2022, that Brady and Payton came to the Dolphins as one deal packagewith Brady either quarterback or minority owner.
Now we certainly know if Payton takes the job, it won’t be with the goal of making Tagovailoa the star quarterback that many thought he could be when he finished second in the vote. Heisman title in 2018. Not when he ranked. The plaudits for Bridgewater, who despite winning just five single starts for the Saints in 2019 have not been yielded – and subsequently, battered as a starter for the Broncos and Panthers times. in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Who knows what Bridgewater might have been without that terrible injury, but today he is not a player who can help any offensive behavior become more dynamic – even if his former coach he believes in him.
Then again, nothing from the Dolphins 20-7, Week 1 win over the Patriots gives viewers or fans absolute confidence that Tagovailoa – who is currently beating Bill Belichick and the Pats 4-0 – will Become the NFL’s top defender. Nothing he does, though, will make anyone else think Bridgewater needs to be behind center – unless Tua is injured.
Miami’s signal callers were also not helped by the people in front of them. I can say with confidence that after the first game, the Dolphins’ attack line has seen minimal improvements compared to the disaster of the 2021 season. Backruns Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert averaged 2.1 and 3.2 yards per take, while Tagovailoa doesn’t throw the ball off the field as much as he deals with defensive pressure.
In his third season as the NFL, regardless of the lineup he played and the number of games he missed, Tagovailoa doesn’t need to repeat some of the bad decisions he showed in the fourth quarter. On day 2 and 3 with less than nine minutes left, he launched a booty designed to the right. Under mild pressure, he nearly unleashed a terrible intercept on a pass that he plowed right in to double the defense. Then, twice, under pressure, the ball hit the ground. One is almost a groping, and the other could easily be called a deliberate grounding.
Even so, there are enough positives to keep the idea of Bridgewater sharing time with Tagovailoa in any way a reality. He puts the ball in the hands of his players, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, whenever he can. And that 4th and 7th was thrown to Waddle in coverage that happened an encounter that was the kind of play that could change any game against any team.
But Payton didn’t get the Dolphins gig. And judging from what he told Cowherd, if the 2022 plan is for him to be head coach and Brady to be in the head office, the Dolphins are lucky they were sued by the feds for possible racism. system.
