Dolphins show once again in loss to Packers that they're exactly who people say they are
Another cold environment in front of a national television audience, another underwhelming performance for the Miami Dolphins. It was more of the same that Dolphins fans have gotten used to seeing when Miami gets into freezing temperatures, which they were in Green Bay on Thursday night in a 30-17 loss to the Packers. Pushed around […]
Another cold environment in front of a national television audience, another underwhelming performance for the Miami Dolphins.
It was more of the same that Dolphins fans have gotten used to seeing when Miami gets into freezing temperatures, which they were in Green Bay on Thursday night in a 30-17 loss to the Packers. Pushed around on both lines of scrimmage. Opponents tearing through their tackle attempts like a hot knife through butter. Focus and discipline issues, from pre-snap penalties to muffing punts. It was, well, par for the course with this franchise.
Tua Tagovailoa talked on Monday about going to Green Bay to "kill" the narrative that the Dolphins can't play in the cold, that the Dolphins are soft, as former teammate DeShon Elliott made waves by saying earlier this month. That narrative is alive, very well, and even louder after another no-show by Miami in a pivotal game against a quality team.
And it's not something that fans have to speculate about anymore. If it wasn't clear enough from their own eyeballs (quite clear), it's uncontroverted after LB Jordyn Brooks confirmed the same in an interview after the game.
"No, I felt like we let the elements control the way that we played. I thought we was soft. Simple as that. I thought we was soft today.
"I don't know if guys was too cold. I don't know what it was, but I felt like the elements played a part in how we played as a group., and so, and that was the result that we got."
There you have it. Any questions?
The real insult to injury was when the Packers were starting to pull away in the first half. Former Dolphins Chris Brooks, whom the team released in September despite a strong camp in South Florida as the team's most physical runner, bowled through tackle attempts from his former mates on an 18-yard run late in the second quarter on a Packers touchdown drive. Brooks totaled 28 yards on 3 carries for the day, but it was a perfect microcosm of the Dolphins and their lack of physicality.
Miami isn't built for this, for when teams have a talented and grueling front and offer stern resistance. Both lines remained a concern after the offseason, when the team did little of significance to overhaul the units outside of adding Aaron Brewer and Calais Campbell (the most pleasant surprise of the season, to be fair). Miami needs to get better and particularly tougher up front on both sides of the ball. They also need another safety. A linebacker. The shortcomings are glaringly obvious in a game like this.
They need guys who are physically and mentally tougher than what's on this roster right now. Because sometimes you have to get down and dirty, and you have to put aside what's going on with the weather if you're going to win in the crunch time of the season and in the playoffs. And it's not in this team's DNA.
Like Mike Tyson used to say, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. When these Dolphins get punched, they have no answer. And if Chris Grier can't find guys over the offseason who can fight back, who can infuse some toughness and grit into this roster, this franchise will never get where it wants to go.
Miami Dolphins’ refusal to allow a player to play in 2024 actually makes sense beneath the surface
Miami made a decision in an atypical situation with one of their veterans
