The 2024 Miami Dolphins offense has been broken. Mike McDaniel needs to get back to what works.
Dear Mike McDaniel,
I know this season is not going the way you expected. It is clearly not going the way anyone expected. But, I know it has to be hitting you especially hard as your two years of amazing offensive schemes have suddenly disappeared into a team that has the lowest point total in the league and has not led during regulation in any game this season.
I know I am not saying anything you do not already know. But, I wanted to ask you one simple favor as a live-and-breathe Dolphins fan and as a representative of a decent portion of the fanbase.
Please stop trying so hard.
Maybe this is just my opinion, but to me, it seems like the 2024 season has been about evolving your offensive scheme and proving that you are able to continue to adjust your system. But, it has not been working.
I know you are missing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, and I know he is the ideal point-man for your system. But, even when he was playing, something felt off.
Where are the crossing routes and slants that got the ball into the hands of wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Hill is the number one player in the NFL, according to the players vote for the NFL Top 100 this year. He was threatening the league’s receiving yardage record last year. Right now, he is 31st in the league with just 217 yards receiving, 272 yards behind Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins. Hill has made the Pro Bowl in every season of his career, and he is looking like a journeyman receiver who is an afterthought in the offensive gameplan.
And Waddle is just another player at this point.
I know, there have been drops and it is hard to fault you for those. But the Dolphins’ offense does not work without getting the ball to Hill and Waddle – and right now, they are not getting the ball.
Last year, you mentioned that the next evolution of the offense is to get the tight end position involved. Fans envisioned your experience with San Francisco 49ers’ tight end George Kittle – and the signing of Jonnu Smith made the future look blindingly bright.
Nine catches for 78 yards.
Just for comparison, former Dolphins tight end and cast-off Mike Gesicki has 15 receptions for 147 yards for the Cincinnati Bengals.
I know Raheem Moster’s chest injury took him out of the lineup and likely forced De’Von Achane into a more conventional running back role than was desired. All the pre-season talk of Achane being lined up out wide looked like it was coming to fruition early in the season, but then vanished. With Mostert looking like he is ready to come back, will we see Achane begin to play a myriad of roles all over the offense?
And, if I may make a suggestion, can we see less passes to the line of scrimmage or behind it. They are not working. Hill has dropped too many of them. The defenses know they are coming. Hill, Waddle, Smith, Achane, etc. are not able to work through four defenders to make a play after catching the ball two yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Your offense is looking more like Adam Gase’s offense than the Mike McDaniel offense we saw the last two year.
Bring back the slant if you would like to see the receivers get the ball quickly. Let Hill use his speed to create separation, not have him catch the ball standing still and expect him to make everyone miss.
The defense has been playing so well, trying to keep the team in games. Even as the offense struggles to score more than a field goal, the defense has kept games close for much longer than they should have been. When they force a turnover or a punt, they are rewarded with a three-and-out possession by the offense and are back on the field just a couple of minutes later.
I will not go into depth about the rash of pre-snap penalties, because I know you already know they are an issue. Tua can handle those movements and control the offense. Tyler Huntley, in just 13 days of being in your offensive system, clearly cannot. Why continue to overwhelm him.
This season is not lost, but it sure is starting to feel like it is. Beating up on the New England Patriots on Sunday would go a long way toward righting the ship. It would send the fans into the bye week with a good taste in their mouths, something they have not had this year.
Please get back to what worked last year. Get back to being the aggressive offensive play caller who uses the middle of the field to open up the deep ball. Let Hill and Waddle make plays at speed instead of trying to accelerate from a standstill when the defense is already closing on them. Use Achane to create mismatches.
Get this offense working so Tua has something to come back to.
I know I am not saying anything you do not know. I just want to see the Dolphins offense of 2022 and 2023. Not whatever this has been the last couple of weeks. I know the fans are restless. Please give them something to excite them.
We know you are a great offensive mind. We know you can make an offense explosive. We know you can find ways to scheme players into mismatches, and then exploit those opportunities. Right now, though, the evolution we expected to see and that you wanted to make is not working.
Please, get back to what works.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
The Phinsider.
