CBS’ Simms on Tagovailoa, Dolphins’ pickups and why he can envision them challenging Bills

A case could be made — and NBC’s Cris Collinsworth is among those who have made it — that the Buffalo Bills are the best team in the NFL.

But CBS’ Phil Simms said he will not be at all surprised if the Dolphins seriously challenge the Bills for the AFC East title this season.

“If you told me the Dolphins will be a contender to win the AFC East, I would not be surprised. I almost expect it,” Simms said in a phone conversation. “Miami was closing the gap at the end of last year. These additions by the Dolphins are not draft picks that they are hoping to come through. These are proven, get-it-done guys with everyone they signed.

“Getting Terron Armstead is not a good move, it’s an unbelievable move. Tyreek Hill, when you get somebody like Hill and Armstead, who are franchise guys, that changes the whole group. It’s going to change the way people play you. It’s going to change the offense dramatically. They are going to get the ball to Tyreek Hill continuously with short passes.

“I talked to a few defensive coordinators before they played the Chiefs. It was unanimous: If he goes across the field, there’s nobody that can run with him. You can’t chase him across the field and think you’re going to keep up and still have a chance to defend the pass. I would expect [ a heavy dose] over the middle [to Hill], but some outside routes, too.

“Cedrick Wilson is a good player. Jaylen Waddle is part of the reason why NFL teams went crazy about wide receivers. They see Waddle and Ja’Marr Chase and say this is great. They hope they get the same instant success. Some will and some will not.”

Simms said Tua Tagovailoa now has “way above average” personnel around him with Hill, Waddle Wilson, Mike Gesicki, Raheem Mostert (“he knows that run game great”), Chase Edmonds and “if the offensive line is what I think it will turn into it - much better than last year.”

Simms said he believes Tagovailoa can operate this offense at a playoff-caliber level.

“I think he’s the quarterback I thought he would be,” Simms said. “He’s done a good job of acclimating himself to the NFL. I thought that stint at the end of the year [from the Baltimore game on, for the most part] was good by him, good decision making, accurate. A lot of short throws. Many teams that’s what they do, too.

“He gets rid of the football quickly. Throws an extremely catchable ball. He does throw spirals. They did a good job coaching him for what he is.

“I like his body language on the field, his personality. I know players like him. He works hard. With what’s around him, he has a chance to have physical success and apply all that with his personality to the team and get people to galvanize and rally around him.”

On the other side of the ball, that Dolphins “defense, oh my God, that defense is a nightmare,” Simms said. “Some teams had success against them, but the style, the blitzing, everything they did [was impactful]. In that Ravens game, [Baltimore] had no answers. No quarterback wants to go in the game where they know it’s going to be so tough; all those blitzes and if we don’t [adjust], it caves in on you.”

Simms said in his view, “the biggest wild card” is not Tagovailoa, but “the head coach.”

Mike McDaniel’s manner is “different but that doesn’t mean it’s bad or good.”

Simms is eager to see what McDaniel does with the Dolphins’ running game; he was San Francisco’s run game coordinator for three years before becoming offensive coordinator last season.

“Most teams put in new pass plays every week,” Simms said. “The 49ers put in a lot of new run plays every week and disguises and looks. They come out of the box and you say, ‘What the heck is that?”

Simms knows this much: McDaniel has “walked into a team that played very well at the end of the year and a roster that I look at, it’s loaded. It’s loaded. It was a great job by the front office. It really was.”

This is Part 2 of my five-part NFL/Dolphins media series in the two weeks leading up to the season. Here’s part 1.

Here’s my Tuesday piece on Tua Tagovailoa and one-seldom discussed area where he must improve, and some Tua nuggets.