2023 Miami Dolphins and Realizing the Haters Were Absolutely Right

Sometimes in life, we attempt to accomplish something we know we aren’t capable of but we try anyway ¹ And we call anyone who doubts us ‘haters’ even when there is no malice behind their skepticism.

All season, it felt like the 2023 Miami Dolphins were going out there to prove the haters wrong.

In 2022, the Dolphins finished 9-8 and 2nd in the AFC East. Their season ended with them losing to the Buffalo Bills in the first round behind backup QB, Skylar Thompson, because Tua Tagovailoa was leading the NFL in concussions.

The game plan for 2023 seemed clear: surround Tua with SPEED and get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible to keep him out of the blue medical tent with blood leaking out of his ears.

They drafted running back, De’Von Achane who set an NFL record scoring 6 touchdowns in his first 4 career games.

There’s a reason why Tyreek Hill might win the MVP. The entire offense was built around giving the fastest football player the football so he could be fast. This is the logic that makes us call Dolphins head coach, Mike McDaniel, a genius.

In Week 3, Miami beat the absolute DOG SHIT out of the Denver Broncos 70-20.

Tua put up 309 yards with 4 touchdowns and a 155.8 passer rating.

De’Vone Achane ran for 203 and 2 touchdowns.

His backup running back, Raheem Mostert scored 3 touchdowns.

Tyreek Hill had 9 catches for 172 yards and a TD.

Miami looked like bullies off to a hot 3-0 start.

It was Week 3.

They would immediately lose to the Bills the following week which started a pattern.

The Miami Dolphins could not beat good teams. The ‘haters’ got louder after every L.

The Dolphins lost 6 games this season: Buffalo, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Tennesee, Balitmore and Buffalo again.

Outside of a game against the Cowboys they miraculously won in the waning minutes, Miami only beat up teams like Washington, New England and all of the New Jersey squads.

All season long, the haters knew Miami were front-running frauds who stood no chance when the games actually mattered in the postseason. Although the Dolphins had the best offense in the NFL, it was obvious their team was dog food against real contenders.

Not only was there a large enough sample size to recognize Miami had proven absolutely nothing against great teams, but the genius idea of going with speed over size works in the regular season in Miami or early in the year when the weather is normal.

When the playoffs start and you have to travel to Kansas City for a football game played in -30 wind chill, your speed advantage is turned off. In Saturday night’s first-round elimination, Tyreek Hill had his hands in his pockets at the line of scrimmage. The ground was ice. Running fast wasn’t even an option.

But what was truly exposed in Miami’s 7-26 loss to Kansas City was Tua fucking Tagavailoa.

TUA INTERCEPTION pic.twitter.com/AR2jADwvUS

— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) January 14, 2024

Outside of a 53-yard touchdown to Tyreek Hill—that Tyreek had to stop running to catch because Tua couldn’t get the ball far enough down the field—Tua was obsolete.

And sure, it was cold which for sure affects any quarterback’s ability to perform but you can’t use that excuse when Patrick Mahomes is on the other side making plays left and right. Mahomes threw for 262 and a touchdown. He had no problem with the weather at all.

Of all the quarterbacks at the top of the standings, Tua might have the most ‘haters’ and what happened this weekend is exactly why. You have to build a specific offense around him. An offense that doesn’t work when it’s cold out.

Tua played in Hawaii, Alabama and now Miami. So basically, the only way a Tua-led Dolphins team can win a Super Bowl is if they have an incredible regular season where they snatch the 1 seed, giving them home-field advantage to the Super Bowl.

So literally everything has to go right for them to have a chance or else they’re going to travel to Cincinnati or Kansas City or Buffalo, where it’s astronomically colder than Florida.

The previous head coach, Brian Flores, was FIRED for not believing in Tua. His own head coach was a hater. And like all of the other Miami Dolphins haters, Brian Flores was right.

The 2023 Miami Dolphins were doubted all year long and the doubters were 1000% correct. This is one of the rare occasions where the haters deserve an apology.

How can the Miami Dolphins win in 2024?

Easy.

Keep every single thing exactly the same except QB1.

Kirk Cousins will be available. I imagine Jameis Winston won’t be welcome back in New Orleans considering how he ended the year there. If the Cardinals and Bears draft a rookie QB and want to move on from Kyler Murray or Justin Fields (although Fields holds onto the ball too long which is the opposite of how this offense operates.) Shit, even Sam Howell in Washington has a cannon arm that can air it out to Tyreek downfield.

And that’s not to say Tua Tagavailoa doesn’t have a spot in the NFL.

If a team is flooded with talented skill players and simply need a guy who can throw screen passes to them, Tua is the GUY. Look at the Atlanta Falcons. They would be in the playoffs right now if they had a QB who could get Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts and Drake London the ball.

The NFC might be the best place for Tua. I’m saying this now and if/when Tua gets there, he’ll have an embarrassing road game in Green Bay and I’ll have to delete this sentence.

Anyway, shout out to the 2023 Miami Dolphins haters. Y’all won.

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