Jay Cutler proved to be a very good Game Manager in his first game with the Miami Dolphins. He was able to keep the Dolphins offense moving, and they managed to squeeze out a win against the Chargers. Philip Rivers had a much better statiscal day, but his team could not score enough points to stay in the game. The Dolphins were playing an inferior team, but they showed that this game manager thing might work with Cutler.
He managed the game as they asked
The offense that the Dolphins laid out for Cutler was managed perfectly today, and he was able to get the team through the game without anything seriously bad happening.
The game never got out of control, and they were able to come away with the win. The Dolphins can use this performance to work on their offense if they want, or they can take the soft approach. Allowing Cutler to do just enough to win might make them a viable team this season as they decide if they even want to keep Ryan Tannehill.
Moving on from Tannehill
This writer believes that you move on from Ryan Tannehill when you think that he does not give the team the best chance to win. You start working on a new offense with Cutler, and you move on. Ryan Tannehill is a good enough quarterback, but the Dolphins could fall out of love with him at any time. We know this to be true because teams have lost interest in players after they were hurt.
Tom Brady has his job because Drew Bledsoe got hurt, and Jay Cutler might seem more appealing to the Dolphins.
The design of the franchise
The franchise has been designed to function around a superb offense, but they do not have the sort of offense that they believed they would have. The Dolphins have shown us that they do not have a true identity.
They were so quick to sign Jay Cutler after Tannehill was hurt that it is funny to think what would have happened if Tannehill had been terrible this year. They could have saved themselves an entire season of development, drafted a new quarterback, and moved on with the development of their franchise. Now, the Dolphins have to answer questions about how they will deal with Jay Cutler after the season is over.
They are caught between a rock and a hard place because they have not planned properly. Add to that the arrival of Hurricane Irma, and we are left with a Dolphins franchise that seems to be listing out of control. They have to rebuild, they have to help their community, and they have to make a very hard decision at quarterback.
