MIAMI — Everyone associated with the Miami Dolphins has put on a brave face.
What else are the players and the coaches supposed to do, or say, while the team awaits Tua Tagovailoa’s return from the gruesome concussion he suffered in Thursday night’s embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills?
The season’s on the brink of disaster with 15 games to go, and South Florida’s NFL franchise is being placed in Skylar Thompson’s hands at least until Week 8, when Tagovailoa is first eligible to come off injured reserve.
And don’t expect the Dolphins to make wholesale changes to the offense.
Head coach Mike McDaniel is adamant that Thompson, a former Kansas State standout the Dolphins selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft, not only fits his offense, but has a good enough grasp of it to run a version that’s not dumbed down.
“I’m confident,” said Thompson, who closed out Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to the Bills completing 8 of 14 passes for 80 yards. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job. … I’ll be ready for it. It will be fun.”
Hopefully fun accounts to wins, which will keep Miami’s season afloat.
“We got a lot of bank reps throughout [the offseasons while the Dolphins were] in contract negotiations with Tua, and he stepped in and filled the void,” receiver Jaylen Waddle on Thompson.
Unfortunately, Thompson’s not a precision passer like Tagavailoa, so that means the volume on a lot of the timing plays needs to be turned down.
Thompson’s aggressive by nature, which makes him a little reminiscent of former Dolphins backup Matt Moore, who led Miami to the playoffs in 2016 as Ryan Tannehill’s backup, so expect him to lean on the deep ball.
He often scrambles out of the pocket to buy himself and his receiver some time, and McDaniel hinted he could use Thompson’s athleticism to the team’s advantage.
Problem is, that’s a dangerous approach, and doesn’t keep the offense on schedule. He has worked on breaking that habit, but truthfully speaking, his knack for improvisation is seemingly what appeals to McDaniel.
“In all those situations you’re grading the player and what he’s executing, what he’s seeing live speed. Time and time again he’s done things that are very difficult the first time around,” Thompson said. “With an extra year under his belt I thought in a tight race he really separated himself. His game has developed since he’s had a starting opportunity in the National Football League.”
McDaniel points out he learns the most about players in their first everything, and Thompson has typically impressed him in those many firsts.
At least that’s the story he’s telling us, despite Thompson delivering a 40-17 loss to the New York Jets in 2022, in his first NFL action. In that game, which he was called into duty when an NFL spotter ruled that Teddy Bridgewater sustained a concussion of the Dolphins’ first offensive possession. He completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards. He didn’t throw any touchdowns in that game and was sacked twice, threw one interception and fumbled.
