Hyde5: The good news — and bad news — of the Dolphins’ schedule dates
New England in September.
Buffalo in October.
The Meadowlands in November.
You want the good news of the Dolphins schedule? There it is. Those AFC East rivals presented the potential coldest-weather games on the schedule — and that’s gone. No big change in climate. No snow. There’s not even the threat of a wintry December or January wind that could be a concern for the average-armed Tua Tagovailoa.
The complete schedule was released Wednesday night and it book-ends the Dolphins open at New England on Sept 12 and close against the Patriots on Jan. 9. They also play at Buffalo on Oct. 31 and at the New York Jets on Nov. 21.
That’s a warm-weather schedule considering the options. The opener will be the first look at the next-look Dolphins — and the new-look Patriots. This will be the first season start for Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. It will be an unveiling of the Patriots’ free-agent splurge that re-did its roster. It also will be a reunion of sorts with old Dolphins/new Patriots Davon Godchaux and Kyle Van Noy meeting old Patriot/new Dolphin Jason McCourty and Adam Butler.
The roles have changed for this coming opener, though. The Dolphins surged last year to within a final week of the playoffs while New England struggled without quarterback Tom Brady. The quarterbacks for this opener? Tagovailoa vs Cam Newton, probably. But there’s also a chance it could be Tagovailoa against his former Alabama teammate, Patriots rookie Mac Jones.
And, of course, the season will open with Dolphins coach Brian Flores matching wits with his mentor, Bill Belichick.
2. The bad news isn’t just that the Dolphins will be off to London for an Oct. 17 “away” game against the “home” team, Jacksonville. It’s that there’s no built-in bye week around the game. They play at Tampa Bay on Oct. 10 and against Atlanta on Oct. 24th. How odd is that? Meanwhile, the Dolphins bye week is Dec. 12th, making it the latest bye week in Dolphins history. Another scheduled oddity.
3. More good: London trip aside, this is as soft a schedule from the look of May as you could hope for. It’s not just the weather-friendly look. The Dolphins have six games against playoff teams from last year - and two of those are against AFC. Six of 17 games. True, everything changes from year to year and what matters is the health of a team on any given week. But this looks as managable as a schedule can be.
4. More bad: The closing three games will be telling. At New Orleans. At Tennessee. Against New England in Hard Rock Stadium. Those three teams can go either way from the look of May. The New Orleans game is a Monday night affair. Is Will Jameis Winston still be the Saints starter? The good news for the Tua: That’s the scene of his biggest game for Alabama in winning the national championship in the second half as a freshman.
5. There’s a lot of talk that the first eight games are tough. Hmm. Here’s the schedule: At New England, Buffalo, at Las Vegas, Indianapolis, at Tampa Bay, at Jacksonville (in London), Atlanta, at Buffalo. Two of those teams - Buffalo and Tampa Bay - made the playoffs. Jacksonville is in rebuild mode. Indianapolis has the Carson Wentz Experiment. Who knows what Atlanta will look like? If this is the tough part of the schedule, it tells how relatively civil this schedule is.
