Miami Dolphins must fix running game, special teams with Tua out: The Tape Don't Lie

SEATTLE ― The Miami Dolphins were hammered at the Seattle Seahawks , 24-3, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the Pacific Northwest.

Skylar Thompson was knocked out with a ribs injury.

The Dolphins may be down to Tim Boyle or T yler Huntley to start next Monday against the Tennessee Titans.

Miami's defense played fairly well, so there's that.

Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell had some positives.

Many coaches believe " The Tape Don't Lie ," and that list includes coach Mike McDaniel .

"The game tape survives time," McDaniel says.

Here are some things we noticed from Sunday's film:

The Dolphins should be running the ball more

There are probably plenty of ways to explain, justify and/or defend Mike McDaniel's decision to not run the ball more on Sunday.

No, this is not a dominating offensive line.

Yes, the Seahawks were probably somewhat focused on stopping the run.

But Miami had some success with De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright and it would have made sense to us to relieve some pressure on Skylar Thompson with more runs.

When McDaniel arrived in South Florida he made it clear that he wanted to zig when the league was zagging.

Without Tua Tagovailoa, he really need to zag more.

And so, yes, he needs to run more in our opinion.

In particular, Achane and Wright have found success with inside runs.

It is true that Miami's bread-and-butter has been the outside zone play.

But the Dolphins need to do anything that is working.

At the moment, that appears to be inside run.

The Dolphins are averaging 4.6 yards on on 20 rushes "up the middle," per NFL stats, 13th in NFL.

On runs to ends or tackles, left to right, Miami ranks 24th, 22nd, 20th and 23rd.

What is happening on special teams

Danny Crossman's special teams unit has had some trouble over the years.

And Sunday was no exception.

The Dolphins had a slew of illegal formation penalties, continuing a 2024 trend.

Miami had five special teams penalties on Sunday.

The Dolphins need to get this fixed.

It's not something McDaniel should tolerate. At all.

Maybe it's time for Tyler "Snoop" Huntley

It can't be worse than Tim Boyle, right?

This is no offense to Boyle, who is a steady veteran and seems like a nice guy.

But Boyle does have 16 touchdowns and 38 interceptions in his combined college and pro career.

Perhaps Huntley - who won't have the entire play book down - can at least inject some energy into this Tua Tagovailoa-less offense.

He can really run. He can create some enthusiasm and excitement on the field, the sidelines and in the stands at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night.

I get it. The Dolphins operate a complex offense.

Well, if Huntley starts, use a condensed package of plays.

It has to be the best option.

The whole thing is built around Tua Tagovailoa

It should be more clear than ever that Tagovailoa is a special quarterback and no, not anyone can operate the Dolphins offense with great success.

It is also on McDaniel to make adjustments for whatever quarterback is under center in his absence.

But man, Miami is a different team and McDaniel is a different coach, without Tua available.

His quick processing. His quick release. His timing. His accuracy.

Thompson tried his best but he does not possess a similar tool bag.

Don't take Tua's uniqueness for granted, folks. You'll miss him while he's gone.

You're missing him now.

This & That

Calais Campbell has proven to be a really solid signing. He's a veteran leader and he has just enough left in the tank to contribute... It was not exactly a vote of confidence in the short-yardage game that McDaniel bypassed a fourth-and-1 in the first quarter for a 57-yard field goal attempt by Jason Sanders ... It may take some time for Chop Robinson to diversify and amplify his array of pass-rush moves... It's only three games, but Pro Football Focus has Miami's safety duo of Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer ranked as the 65th and 73rd-best safeties in the NFL, at the moment... Usually we complain about players who are overpaid. Well, Zach Sieler is underpaid. And that's OK. He's well-paid. And very productive. We're just pointing out how well that signing continues to pay off for Miami. Sieler has 10 sacks in his last 16 regular-season games. He also has 2 sacks in 2 Dolphins playoff games.... Julian Hill's penalties were truly damaging on Sunday, including an illegal motion when Miami was down 10-0 and in the Seattle red zone after an interception by Kader Kohou ... The Dolphins are 4th in the NFL with 27 penalties and 2nd with 238 penalty yards... This has been a tough start to the season for tight end Durham Smythe . If Smythe hauls in a pretty good ball from Tim Boyle in the end zone, it's a 17-10 game early in the fourth quarter. That would have really changed the complexion of that game. For the season, Smythe has 6 targets, 2 catches, 11 yards... When targeting Grant DuBose , Smythe, Robbie Chosen , Braxton Berrios and Erik Ezukanma , Dolphins QBs are 4-for-19 for 29 yards in first 3 games.

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Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post . You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe . Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter . Help support our work by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins must fix running game, special teams with Tua out: The Tape Don't Lie