The Miami Dolphins started the 2021 NFL season off great with a win against the division-rival New England Patriots. After that, they couldn’t buy a win as they lost their next seven games. Something changed when they played against the Baltimore Ravens in front of a national audience on Thursday Night Football. Miami rattled off seven straight wins to get back into playoff contention down the stretch. Circumstances did not go their way and the Dolphins were eliminated from contention after a Week 17 loss to Tennessee. While Miami is certainly in better shape than several other teams that fell short of the postseason, there are still improvements to be made.
The following provides a list of three things for the Miami Dolphins to address in the 2022 NFL offseason.
3 Things for Miami Dolphins to Address in the 2022 NFL Offseason
1. Find a New Head Coach
Perhaps the better way to phrase this need is “Just don’t fire your head coach when he has been doing a great job.” On Black Monday, the NFL world was shocked when the Miami Dolphins fired Brian Flores. All he had done was compile a record of 19-14 in his two seasons at the helm. This firing really makes no sense to anyone. Miami had a winning percentage higher than 24 other teams in the league over the past two seasons combined.
The Dolphins’ defense got exponentially better as the 2021 season progressed. Tua Tagovailoa is developing as an NFL-caliber quarterback and the team has slowly been stockpiling offensive weapons around him. The Dolphins made a major mistake by firing Flores, and he will undoubtedly be a head coach elsewhere next season. Since the front office decided to go through with the move, they had better find a pretty top-notch alternative.
2. Work on the Offensive Line
It is hard to pass the ball in the NFL when your QB is getting pressured a lot. Tagovailoa was only sacked 40 times this year, but he was one of the most pressured quarterbacks in all of football. By the halfway point of the season, all five of the Dolphins’ starters along the offensive line had allowed at least 37 pressures each. No other lineman in the league had 37 pressures allowed at that point. Add that fact that Tagovailoa has a history of being injury-prone and poor offensive line play is the last thing the Dolphins can allow to persist into next season.
Expect Miami to either use a high draft pick on the offensive front and/or bring in a veteran via free agency to help stabilize what is already a young group.
3. Lobby with the NFL to Face More Opposing Quarterbacks with an “O” in Their Last Name
Here is a weird stat that is 100% true: The Miami Dolphins were 9-0 this season in games they played against opposing quarterbacks with the letter “O” in their last name. Don’t believe us? Here’s the full list of QBs Miami beat last season:
- Mac Jones (twice)
- Tyrod Taylor
- Lamar Jackson
- Joe Flacco
- Cam Newton
- Zach Wilson
- Ian Book
Oh, and to make this stat even more insane, the Dolphins also went 0-8 in games against quarterbacks who did not have the letter “O” in their last name. For those keeping score at home, the full list includes:
- Josh Allen (twice)
- Derek Carr
- Carson Wentz
- Tom Brady
- Trevor Lawrence
- Matt Ryan
- Ryan Tannehill
The 2022 NFL schedule is due to be released around May, but we already know what teams the Dolphins will be playing. For their sake, hopefully, all 17 of their opponents next season wind up starting quarterbacks with the letter “O” in their last name!
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