Hyde10: QB problems, defense’s first quarter, Titans loom again — 10 thoughts on Dolphins’ 24-3 loss at Seattle

There’s bad. There’s ugly. And there’s Seattle 24, Dolphins 3 on Sunday.

The team knew it needed help with its starting quarterback out. But help never materialized until Seattle had built the kind of early, double-digit lead every opponent has this season.

Here are 10 thoughts on the game:

1. The prime problem Sunday wasn’t Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion. It was the mega-drop in talent to Skylar Thompson. He was effectively given this start last winter when the Dolphins didn’t sign a better backup.  Sure, he beat out Mike White. But there were growing questions in preseason. Still, nothing was done. Thompson looked lost before he got injured Sunday. He completed 13-of-19 passes for 107 yards, was sacked five times and got three points when the defense gave his offense the ball at the Seattle 6-yard line. Not good enough, obviously. Green Bay, Minnesota and Pittsburgh are all undefeated after playing back-ups in at least two games. The question is what GM Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel thought would happen back in February and March when they made this decision.

2. Let’s look at the next three games that suddenly don’t look like as soft as they once did:

* Sept. 30. Tennessee at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday night. Selling an 0-3 team and a 1-2 team isn’t what Monday Night Football expected. Then again who cares what a network expected? Green Bay just whipped Tennessee, 30-14, on the road with back-up Malik Willis.  So let’s not go too far off the deep-end saying how back-up quarterbacks spell trouble in the short term. Tennessee, while winless, is the team that sunk the Dolphins season with a fourth-quarter comeback last year. Sending the Dolphins to 1-3 would put them on the brink this year.

* Oct. 6. At New England. It’s Tom Brady Day for the Patriots, and if ever there was a chance to sink the Patriots’ celebration this is it. New England isn’t Brady’s New England. Not even close. They’re 1-2 and looked like dogmeat in a 24-3 loss to the New York Jets.

* Oct. 20. At Indianapolis. After a bye week, this would look like another win against a Colts team that got its first win Sunday against Chicago.

3. Play of the game: Geno Smith to D.K. Metcalf for a 71-yard touchdown late in the quarter that made it 17-3. Game over. Dolphins safety reacted to Metcalf’s cut with the result being the Seattle receiver ran into open field. This is the kind of big play the Dolphins have won with the last couple of years right down to taking advantage of the defensive coverage.

“They were playing low quarters on one side, playing halves on the other side,” Smith said. “We got the safety in the position we wanted him, and he really dug down on the in route. … Just knowing the coverage, the safety in the quarters coverage is going to be more aggressive to any in-cuts or underneath routes. You try to take advantage of that. D.K. read that perfect, the protection was great, we got the play off.”

4. What’s happened to aggressive Mike McDaniel? He kicked a chippie, third-down field goal with eight seconds left in the half against Buffalo rather than have Tagovailoa run one more play into the end zone. In Sunday’s opening drive, facing third-and-1 at the Seattle 39, he opted for a 57-yard field goal that missed. Small sample size. But McDaniel led the league in fourth-down attempts (and conversions) last season. Of course, their short-yardage plays might back his decisions as on Sunday …

5. Look at two possessions that might not make Grier chuckle about questions of his offensive line:

* The offense was handed the ball first-and-goal at the 6 after a Kader Kohou interception in the first quarter. Result: A 2-yard run by De’Von Achane up the middle was negated by a Julian Hill false start. Facing first-and-goal at he 11 now, Thompson threw for passes of 1 and 6 yards before an incompletion. Sanders kicked a 23-yard field goal.

* They had first down at the Seattle 3 early in the fourth quarter. Two Achane runs up the middle netted a yard. Durham Smythe then couldn’t get a catchable pass and Tim Boyle threw incomplete on fourth down. Seattle ball.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Perkins and Furones on Skylar Thompson’s injury, Miami’s loss to Seahawks in Seattle | VIDEO

6. Quote of the day: “The quarterback is the extension of the offense and the offense is an extension of me. I don’t know that I’ve ever won a game with three points. … We’ve got to figure it out fast.” — McDaniel.

7. The Dolphins had 11 penalties, including four on successive plays from scrimmage at one point. Now, Seattle had 11 penalties, too, suggesting either these refs were flag happy or these teams are undisciplined. Or both. But here’s a question: Dolphins tight end Julian Hill had four penalties and kept playing in the game? He had a couple catches afterward so you can see why. But is there a line a player can cross in making mistakes before he’s pull from the game?

8. Yes, the defense played well over the final three quarters in limiting Seattle’s offense and setting up the offense in some cases. But let’s not get carried away here. They gave up 17 points in the first quarter. This was a game where the defense was asked to carry more of a load due to the quarterback situation. Instead, it put the game in a double-digit hole.

9. Seattle held Tyreek Hill to three catches and 40 yards and Jaylen Waddle to four catches for 26 yards. But let’s be clear: It wasn’t just a Sunday thing or Thompson thing. Last week, Waddle had four catches for 41 yards and Hill had three catches for 24 yards. Each had some big plays in the opener against Jacksonville, but the offense still only had 20 points. Have defenses caught up to this offense? It’s McDaniel’s chess move now.

10. Quick hits:

* The Dolphins were 1 of 15 on third and fourth downs.

* Condolences to the family of Mercury Morris, who died at 77 and was one of the big personalities I got to know in writing a book (Sill Perfect) about the team and then through the years in my good dealings with him.

* Any complaints about over-officiating only go so far. The Dolphins led the league in false starts and illegal formations coming into the game.

* The Dolphins first play was a well-designed pass in the flat to an open Achane that went for 22 yards and looked like a good confidence-builder for Thompson. It was their longest play from scrimmage of the day.

* Some good news: Zack Seiler balled out — getting a sack and an interception.

 Next week. Tennessee on Monday night, as mentioned. It’s worth mentioning again considering the difference between how a 1-3 and 2-2 start will feel like for this team in the easy part of its schedule.