Were the Dolphins Simply Overrated?

Do the Miami Dolphins have the talent to make a late-season run?

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) runs with the football against Miami Dolphins safety Marcus Maye (26) during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

What else was Tua Tagovailoa going to say?

In the aftermath of the Miami Dolphins' crushing 28-27 loss against the Arizona Cardinals in his return to the lineup, the quarterback was asked whether the team still had time to recover from its 2-5 start.

This is where Tua pointed to the 2021 season when, in his second NFL season and first season as the full-fledged starter, the Dolphins rallied from a 1-7 start to get to 8-7 and put themselves in a position where they didn't need any outside help to make the playoffs.

This is where Tua said the 2024 Dolphins have way more talent than the 2021 edition, making sure to add that he meant no disrespect to that other group.

But just how talented are those 2024 Dolphins?

Is it possible that maybe they've been overrated because they do have a lot of recognizable names?

The Arizona Cardinals don't have a lot of those recognizable names, nor have they had a lot of recent success, and yet they came to Hard Rock Stadium and shocked the Dolphins in Tua's much-ballyhooed return — complete with the loud cheer when he slid at the end of a scramble — with a walk-off victory.

The Arizona Cardinals traveled to South Florida for a short week after playing Monday night.

The Arizona Cardinals were looking for their first winning streak since 2021.

The Arizona Cardinals, who may have three players that anyone other than a hardcore NFL fan or follower wouldn't recognize.

And, yeah, sure, the Dolphins played short-handed on defense without Zach Sieler and Kader Kohou, on top of Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb. But the Cardinals were missing four starters on defense, so injuries can't be used as an excuse here.

Simply put, this was a team the Dolphins were supposed to defeat if they were as talented as they were supposed to be.

But maybe this is where the illusion comes into play, and — not to put the spotlight on two players — this is where guys like Jordan Poyer and Odell Beckham, Jr. come to mind. They're big names with very good NFL careers, but now they are more big names than high-end NFL players.

And then there's the question of how good the front-line players are and whether everybody is performing up to their standards.

Tua Tagovailoa is a good quarterback, and at times, he is very good, but is he elite? Take Sunday, for example. Tua was very efficient in his first game from his concussion, but Kyler Murray was special for the Cardinals and was the difference-maker.

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey very well might be a future Hall of Famer. He's been very effective with his blitzing. However, he gave up some key completions, including a touchdown, to Cardinals rookie Marvin Harrison, Jr.

Harrison has the look of a future star in the NFL. Still, Ramsey is supposed to be a current star, and he's most definitely being paid like one.

There are others. Tyreek Hill seems a bit off this season, even though he played a month with suspect backup quarterbacks, which is an entirely different issue on its own. Jaylen Waddle and Jonnu Smith have dropped more passes than players of their caliber should.

Look at it this way: Who has been the Dolphins' best player through the first seven games? Sieler probably. And then maybe Calais Campbell, but Campbell is a 38-year-old defensive lineman who realistically can't be asked to take on a full load.

So maybe it's time for the big-name players to match their reputation.

OVERCOMING THE BAD START

Having said all of the above, Tua is probably still right that the 2024 team has more talent than the 2021 edition, though he also correctly pointed out (obviously) that it doesn't mean the Dolphins can replicate what they did three seasons ago.

That's because it's important to recognize that the Dolphins had the luxury of a very comfortable seven-game run during which they faced five backup quarterbacks: Tyrod Taylor, Joe Flacco, Cam Newton, Mike Glennon, and Ian Book.

That helped the Dolphins have a stretch of seven games where they held five opponents to 10 points or less, the one game with a decent degree of difficulty being a 22-10 Thursday night victory against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.

Over the next seven games this season, the Dolphins are scheduled to face Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford, Jordan Love, Aaron Rodgers (though maybe that's not such a challenge anymore), and C.J. Stroud.

Clearly, this will be a bigger challenge than the 2021 Dolphins had to go through.

And the Dolphins certainly won't make any noise without their big-name players stepping up their game.