“McDaniel’s job is secure this year, but the Dolphins need to show improvement over the second half of the season”
The red-hot Los Angeles Rams seek to maintain their momentum against the Miami Dolphins in Week 10. This is only the 15th meeting between the two teams and the first since the Dolphins knocked off Jared Goff and the Rams 28-17 during the 2020 campaign.
Miami is on shaky ground with head coach Mike McDaniel following a 2-6 start. I spoke with Kevin Nogle from SB Nation’s Dolphins blog The Phinsider to discuss McDaniel’s job status and more ahead of this week’s matchup.
Q – Tua Tagovailoa has been efficient in the two games since his return from IR, but that hasn’t resulted in wins. What do you think is the best option moving forward regarding Tua if the Dolphins continue losing?
A – I do not think anything changes with Tagovailoa. The Dolphins know he is the only way the offense actually functions like an NFL offense. We all saw what Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle, and Tyler Huntley looked like trying to run this offensive system, and no one wants to see that again. I think Miami absolutely continues to play for wins and they do that with Tagovailoa on the field.
Q – Entering this season, Mike McDaniel was viewed as one of the top offensive minds in the game, yet his reputation took a major hit with Tagovailoa out of the lineup. What were some of the issues McDaniel dealt with without his star QB, and how much of the criticism he’s faced is deserved?
A – The biggest issue with McDaniel right now is how he makes adjustments. Since Week 14 of last year, the Dolphins are 4-9, with or without Tagovailoa. Has the rest of the league caught up to what McDaniel does on offense? This year, we are seeing the team return to running the football more, and it is having success, but they still are not winning. Dolphins fans remember the days of the Adam Gase offense, where Gase as a head coach only worried about the offense and the defense completely fell apart. McDaniel is not as one-sided as Gase was, but right now, the team is not playing a full game on all sides of the ball. With the offense starting to find itself following the return of Tagovailoa, the defense has struggled to get the stops they need. Special teams have been a mess for the last several years, and a change probably needs to occur there.
I think McDaniel’s job is secure this year, but the Dolphins need to show improvement over the second half of the season or else I might revisit that opinion.
Q – Finishing out close games has proven to be an issue for Miami this season as they’ve lost three straight by a combined 10 points. Why have the Dolphins struggled so much in closing out games the last few weeks and how might they change that against the Rams?
A – I really wish I could point to one thing. Miami needs one first down to kill the clock? Stopped short. They need one defensive play to force a punt and get the ball back? Penalty. It has just been this weird season of Miami needing to execute one time, and they cannot do it. The answer is probably earlier in the game when they settled for a short field goal attempt instead of a short 4th-and-1 conversion, or a wide receiver dropped any easy first down catch, or a running back fumbled to end a long run, or a big play was called back due to an illegal formation penalty, but it feels like Miami has been able to overcome some of those in recent games, only to not make the one play they need down the stretch.
I would really like to say the Dolphins have just had a few cases of bad luck, with the ball bouncing the wrong direction or something, but at 2-6, there is more to it than bad luck. Miami needs to execute better, from tackling, to staying disciplined and not committing penalties, to play calling and game planning. There is way too much talent on this team to be having this many problems.
Q – Who are some underrated players on offense or defense that LA fans should watch out for on Monday night?
A – Rookie running back Jaylen Wright is starting to find a bigger role in the offense. Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane are the top two runners, and rightfully so, but Wright has been a little more involved and has been playing well when he gets his opportunities. I would not be surprised to see his role in the offense continue to grow, especially if it allows Miami to move Achane into a hybrid runner/receiver, creating a mismatch wherever he is on the field.
On defense, Cam Smith at cornerback is finding his role in the defense after being shunned into a redshirt rookie year last year. He has only played in two games this year after starting the season on injured reserve, but he played about half the defensive snaps in each of those. I do not know if he will have a huge impact on this game, but if the Rams are trying to stay away from Jalen Ramsey, Smith may be the corner in coverage. At least for Dolphins fans, he is someone we will watch to see if he is the cornerback of the future for the team.
Q – The Dolphins sit at 2-6 and in third place in the AFC East, so this is a must-win matchup for Miami if they have any remote chance of making the postseason. Despite the rough start, the team has upcoming games against weaker opponents like the Jets (2x), Raiders, Patriots and Browns. How confident are you in the Dolphins making a second-half run like LA did last season and what are your realistic expectations for the rest of the year?
A – Before the season, this was a team that should compete for a deep playoff run and probably a dark horse for the AFC Championship. Now, heading into Week 10, this is a team that has seen just about everything go wrong. They should be able to make a run – but at this point, they should have been able to do a lot of things and have not. Like I said earlier, they are too talented a team to be this bad, but they have clearly dug themselves a huge hole and probably cannot climb out of it. If they can get back to even being in the AFC playoff picture in Weeks 16, 17, and 18, they probably have had a huge improvement. A .500 team at this point might be the best we can hope to see.
