Tua’s NOT the Biggest Problem with the Dolphins, but is Part of the Problem…Which IS the Problem
Tua’s NOT the Biggest Problem with the Dolphins, but is Part of the Problem…Which IS the Problem
The Miami Dolphins are 1-5, and with so many problems in Dolphins-Land, I couldn’t begin to list them all.
Some of the problems are significant, while others are minor.
Whether it’s the run defense, the secondary, the offensive line, or the lack of big plays in the passing game with Tyreek Hill out of the lineup, this is a flawed football team.
Tua Tagovailoa hasn’t played his best football in 2025 either.
In the eyes of some fans, Tua is to blame for everything and all of the losing.
That is unfair.
In the eyes of others, though, Tua isn’t Miami’s biggest problem, so you shouldn’t hyper-focus on him.
Well, that is kind of giving him a free pass in some ways.
The reality is that Tua is not the biggest problem with the Dolphins, but he is part of the problem….and at its core, THAT IS THE PROBLEM!
The Dolphins gave Tua a $212 million contract with $167 million fully guaranteed.
When you make that money, you can’t be any type of problem, big or small.
And that is the core of the Dolphins’ problems.
Suppose Tua was balling out week in and week out, playing at a Pro Bowl or All-Pro level, and the Dolphins were still losing games. In that case, Tua should get that free pass, and the Dolphins organization, Mr. Ross, and Dolphins fans can hang their hat on: we’ve got the right quarterback in place; we need to build around him.
But that isn’t the case, far from it.
Maybe Tua isn’t the biggest problem with the Dolphins, but the fact that he is a problem at all tells you all you need to know about why this organization isn’t going anywhere.
In six games this season, Tua has seven interceptions, including three this past week alone.
He threw game-ending interceptions against the Patriots and Bills in September, as the Dolphins attempted to stage a comeback in the late 4th quarter.
So, however you want to rank all of the Miami Dolphins’ problems in 2025, is fine, but the fact that Tua is on that list is, at its core, the problem.
He shouldn’t be on the list of problems at all.
Not when an organization goes all in and pays him the kind of money he is getting paid.
Tua is a Problem and is Not the Answer
Not only is Tua a problem on this roster, but he also isn’t the answer moving forward.
What he did after the loss to the Chargers, throwing his teammates under the bus, is not what a leader does.
Not one that just walked off the field in which he threw three interceptions.
In the NFL, the franchise quarterback needs to be the leader, and it’s obvious his teammates don’t respect him.
Please don’t take my word for it.
Joe Rose on WQAM said it.
Andrew Whitworth said it.
Mitchell Schwartz said it.
Emmanuel Acho said it.
Chris Canty said it.
Countless other former NFL players who have played at the highest level have said it since Sunday night.
Even some of Tua’s teammates, like Patrick Paul and Aaaron Brewer, when asked about what Tua said, all but pleaded the fifth and wouldn’t answer.
And once you lose the locker room, it’s over.
Now, Tua may end up on a different team next year, with a new locker room, and maybe he can win them over and rebuild his reputation.
But in Miami, his reputation is shot.
With this coaching staff, who won’t be here much longer, with his teammates, many of whom won’t be here much longer, and with this front office that has to feel burned and regret for the contract they gave him a little over a year ago.
So, fans and media members can nitpick that this interception wasn’t Tua’s fault. He led a game-winning drive, but they still lost the game. Please don’t blame him, and there’s all that on-field stuff to debate about Tua.
At this point, it no longer matters.
While he may not technically be Miami’s biggest problem, he is still a problem, and that is the problem.
Your franchise quarterback, who is eating up the most money on your salary cap, shouldn’t be a problem at all.
And until you remove that problem, the Dolphins are on the island of irrelevancy.
$28 Million Rams Free Agent Defender Called ‘Barkley Stopper’
Last season, facing Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley represented its own special type of torture for the Los Angeles Rams.
While Barkley was great from start to finish in 2024 on the way to winning a Super Bowl, rushing for over 2,000 yards and being named NFL Offensive Player of the Year, there was no team he laid waste to more than the Rams in that stretch.
In 2 games against the Rams, Barkley rushed for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns both times.
In a 37-20 Eagles win in Week 12 of the regular season, Barkley had 26 carries for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns to go with 4 receptions for 47 yards.
In a 28-21 Eagles win over the Rams in the NFC Divisional Round, Barkley had 26 carries for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns — including a legendary, 78-yard touchdown run in the middle of a snowstorm.
Headed into a Week 3 battle of unbeatens between the Eagles and Rams in Philadelphia, it remains to be seen if Los Angeles is ready to finally make a stand against Barkley, with a new face trying to help them get it done.
‘Barkley Stopper’ Comes To Rams In Free Agency
Those staggering failures played into why they signed 5-foot-11, 310-pound nose tackle Poona Ford to a 3-year, $27.6 million free agent contract on March 10.
Now, we get to see if Ford can be the difference maker the Rams hope they paid for when the unbeaten Eagles host the unbeaten Rams in Week 3 — and see if Ford can truly be the “Barkley Stopper” described by Los Angeles Times reporter Gary Klein.
“The Rams signed Poona Ford to a $27 million contract as part of a defensive makeover done, in part, to try and stop Eagles running back Saquon Barkley,” Klein wrote on September 20. “Poona Ford is at the forefront of the Rams’ purpose-built ‘Stop Barkley’ brigade.”
Ford Not Typical NFL Defensive Lineman
One look at Ford’s career shows an interior defensive lineman with a career trajectory perhaps unlike anyone in the NFL at his position.
That almost starts and ends with Ford’s stature — at 5-foot-11 and 310 pounds he’s built unlike almost any other NFL defensive lineman.
That’s something Ford has heard at every point of his football career having to prove himself. Take into consideration that Ford was the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year at the University of Texas in 2017 but still went undrafted in 2018.
Ford turned that disappointment into a lengthy NFL career.
He made the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and played his first 5 seasons there before spending 2023 with the Buffalo Bills and 2024 with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Ford has started 81 out of a possible 103 career games. He had arguably his best season as a pro in 2024, starting all 17 games for the Chargers as he finished with 39 tackles and career highs in sacks (3.0), TFL (8) and QB hits (9).
Barkley Off To Slow Start in 2025
For Barkley, facing the Rams might be the remedy for a slow start to the 2025 regular season. Through 2 games, Barkley has 40 carries for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns — the most telling stat there being he’s averaged just 3.7 yards per carry.
In his historic 2024 campaign, Barkley averaged 5.8 yards per carry and ran for over 100 yards in 2 of his first 3 regular season games.
