Travis is someone whose opinion I truly respect, starting as a poster here at the phins and his talent and abilities leading to his hiring as a staff writer for the Dolphins. With that being said, he and I are of the same opinion when it comes to Vic Fangio and how the defense is going to help the offense. I’ve said before the defense was going to help the offense by giving the offense more “at bats”, forcing more 3 and outs or turnovers which will give the ball back to the offense, but something so obvious that didn’t occur to me… Tua and the offense are going to be facing a more stout defense during camp…during practice which is only going to make the offense that much better. They’re not going to be surprised come game time facing a stout defense because they’ve already faced one in camp and practice.
I've seen some quotes from camp saying that same thing. Facing a beast every week either makes you better or tears you down mentally if you're not tough.
Pathetic, Trolls find it funny, he basically showed his true colors, put his azz on ignore everyone, that’s what he deserves
I have seen so many miserable opinions on cbssports.com that I take anything they say with a grain of salt. With that being said, they ranked our offseason to be the best in the league. Let's hope it delivers results. 1. Miami Dolphins No team extracted more value out of the 2023 offseason than the Miami Dolphins. Defensively, the Dolphins upgraded their personnel and coordinator at the highest levels. Miami completed a slam-dunk trade by sending a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and tight end Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for six-time Pro Bowl and three-time first-team All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Even though he toiled through a 5-12 Rams season in 2022, the 28-year-old still has plenty left in the tank. Ramsey was Pro Football Focus' third-highest graded cornerback last season with a grade of 86.4, trailing only 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie Year of the Year and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (87.9) as well as Denver Broncos 2022 First-Team All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II (86.8). Sure, they had to throw $35.5 million in guaranteed money at him over the next two seasons, but at the acquisition cost, it was worth it. This is what smart teams do to maximize their quarterback's rookie contract window. Pairing established Pro Bowl veterans like Ramsey, cornerback Xavien Howard, and linebacker Bradley Chubb and ascending youngsters like linebacker Jaelan Phillips and safety Jevon Holland with one of the best defensive coaches in the league in Vic Fangio could take that side of the ball to the next level. A similar effect to what head coach Mike McDaniel and All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill had on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, receiver Jaylen Waddle and the rest of their offense a year ago. The Dolphins defense ranked among the league's worst against the pass (27th) and in scoring defense (24th) under former defensive coordinator Josh Boyer in 2022, but four of Fangio's last five defenses have ranked top 10 or better in points allowed. Much of the NFL copies his two-high safety foundational structure, which says everything about the value he can provide on the South Beach sideline. Scoring defenses under Fangio (last five seasons as coach) SEASON FANGIO (COACHING ROLE) PPG ALLOWED NFL RANK 2021 - Broncos (head coach) 3rd 2020 - Broncos (head coach) 25th 2019 - Broncos (head coach) 10th 2018 - Bears (defensive coordinator) 1st 2017 - Bears (defensive coordinator ) 9th Signing former Tennessee Titans linebacker David Long to a team-friendly deal (two years, $10 million) was a steal for one of the league's best run defenders at the inside linebacker position: his 6.6% run-stuff rate is tied with Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah for the best in the NFL at their position, according to Next Gen Stats. The 26-year-old's 38.3% quarterback pressure rate also makes him the best pass-rushing inside linebacker in the NFL among those at his position with at least 15 pressures last season. A much-improved defense, along with Year 2 in McDaniel's offense for Tagovailoa (who led the NFL in pass yards/attempt (8.9) and passer rating (105.5) in 2022), Waddle (18.1 yards per reception, most in the NFL in 2022), and Hill (his 119 receptions and 1,710 receiving yards were career-highs), could position Miami to go on a deep playoff run in 2023. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...-thrived-the-most-with-their-roster-building/
Yeah, I am too. This season will be interesting because most pundits acknowledge we have a crapload of talent but we're still predicted by many to finish in 3rd or 4th place in the division. I think that's a passive-aggressive shot toward the coach more than an acknowledgment that the Jests or Jills are better on paper. We're going to have to go out and prove that we can put it all together on Sundays and I'm down for it.
Yeah. Let’s hope Allen continues to s—t the bed like last year. I’m really hoping Cameron Goode can become a solid player for us. I think OLB is important for us for edge containment. That’s been a weakness.
Agreed. I'm hoping the issue between Diggs and Allen manifests as a team-killing chemistry issue. Also hoping A-A-Ron decides it's a good idea to send d*ck pics to whoever took over Jenn Sterger's job.
Here Are the Areas That Mike McDaniel Needs to Improve in Year Two with the Miami Dolphins He’s off to a good start but needs to make strides in his sophomore campaign. By George Forder@GeorgeForder3 Jul 4, 2023, 11:30am EDT Mike McDaniel has burst onto the NFL scene and will hope to lead the Miami Dolphins into the postseason for the second time in as many seasons as their head coach. I’ll be honest with you, I love his coaching. I do. I’m a Mike McDaniel fan. For my money, I don’t know if it gets any better than when he cracks a good press conference joke or calls a play-action shot to Tyreek Hill (a little Office Space reference for you cool cats out there). I’ll be serious now that I found a way to incorporate that into my article. I have been a big supporter of McDaniel since the day they hired him. He’s intelligent and highly motivated to succeed... in my experience, these are the kinds of people you bet on. His style is unique and the way he interacts with players and the media is different from what we have come to expect of head coaches. His belief in Tua Tagovailoa helped to validate much of what I saw in his film from years one and two. He identified Tua’s strengths (accuracy to all parts of the field and a lightning-quick release) and catered the offense to those strengths. It propelled Tua into the conversation as a top-10 quarterback in the NFL and helped lead Miami to their first playoff birth since 2016. What to Fix in Year Two Like anything in life, being a great NFL head coach means making continual incremental progress- if you’re stagnant that means you’re falling behind the competition. With that in mind, we need to ask what positive changes can Mike McDaniel make to lead the Miami Dolphins to an even more successful 2023 campaign. Lean on the Running Game Before any analytics folks get up in arms, I’m not advocating for the Miami Dolphins to become a run-heavy team. In fact, they should continue to pass the ball for at least 60% of their offensive snaps. When you have two of the best receivers and one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL, that isn’t a tough decision to make. With that said, problems begin to arise when your offense is too one-dimensional. There was a stretch of contests where Tua Tagovailoa just didn’t miss throws. From week 8 (Detroit) to week 12 (Houston), Tagovailoa completed 72% of his passes with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions (a 134.17 QB rating). For much of that time (outside of the Browns game), the running game was an afterthought-Tagovailoa was the offense. When the Dolphins came up against more capable defenses, that one-dimensional nature became a problem. In the following two-game stretch, Miami averaged 13.5 rush attempts per game and dropped back-to-back contests against the LA Chargers and San Francisco 49ers. Tagovailoa wasn’t quite as sharp as he had been and the offense had nothing to fall back on. No one should be hoping they transform into the Baltimore Ravens overnight, but their 22.8 rushing attempts per game (second fewest in the NFL) is unbalanced and puts too much on a young quarterback still in the process of mastering the offense. Get Plays in Quicker This is one that every Miami Dolphins fan has a right to be frustrated with. The constant motion and adjustments made by McDaniel’s offense (pre-snap) will always lead to fewer seconds on the play clock at the time of the snap-that is understandable. Breaking the huddle with fewer than ten seconds on the play clock is on the play-caller though. The Dolphins tied for the 3rd most delay-of-game penalties in the NFL for 2022 and too often the offense was rushing to get to the line of scrimmage and get the football snapped. It cost them dearly in the Wildcard contest against the Bills. What would have been a 4th & 1 (65.5% conversion rate) with 2:34 on the game clock turned into a 4 & 6 (43.1% conversion rate). With Miami only being down by a field goal, they had the opportunity to take a lead and win the game on this drive. Instead, they failed to convert and lost by three points to the Buffalo Bills (gross). Take Fewer Homerun Shots We all know the narrative that was around Tua Tagovailoa going into the 2022 season... he “can’t throw the deep ball.” Mike McDaniel did his best job to send that thing into orbit and nuke it. Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in average depth of target (ADOT) and completion percentage on deep (20+ yards) passes. He had the 4th most deep passing yards in the NFL (while missing several games) and was PFF’s 4th highest graded passer on deep throws (just ahead of Patrick Mahomes). While it’s obvious that the narrative is completely nonsensical (even if clueless casuals will hold onto it), there were times when McDaniel went to the well too often. Tua Tagovailoa is a rhythm passer and it can be difficult to get into a rhythm when you’re constantly going for the long ball. This was most evident in the Chargers game, where he posted his highest ADOT figure for a full game all season. https://www.thephinsider.com/2023/7...to-improve-in-year-two-for-the-miami-dolphins Instead of utilizing Tagovailoa’s fast release and elite short accuracy (or a running game) to get the offense into a rhythm, they took deep shot after deep shot. It led to one of Tua’s worst days as a pro and McDaniel’s worst offensive performance of the season. We unfortunately only got to see Tua play two more games (with mixed results) on the season before concussion problems shut him down for the year. Year Two could be Special It’s difficult to have a better rookie year as an NFL head coach than McDaniel did. He led the Miami Dolphins to a playoff birth and has earned the respect and admiration of folks around the league (including the media). If McDaniel can clean up some of these first-year struggles we could see a balanced, efficient, and absolutely unstoppable offense in year two. Combine that with a Vic Fangio-led defense, and the Dolphins might finally be back in title contention. https://www.thephinsider.com/2023/7...to-improve-in-year-two-for-the-miami-dolphins
Hard to blame the coach on taking deep shots. The QB makes that decision. Agree with the other things. He will get it corrected.
I agree with the three main points listed but would have added being more conservative when considering whether to go for it on 4th down. I'm all for having confidence in your team and your play calling, but he took chances last season that I think 2nd year coaches don't take. And yeah, it was to mixed success but it seemed like failing in those situations was worse than the benefits of success.
I think you’ll see less 4th down attempts this year because of increased confidence in what will be a much improved defense.
Am I the only one who watches us get a 4th-and-1 and immediately shouts "Go for it!" before seeing the offense stay on the field, at which point I start shouting "No! You idiot! Don't listen to me!"?
It depends on situation for me. Often i think run it on 3rd and 1 and run it again if you don't make it.
It depends on the outcome of the first run for me. If we go off-guard for no gain or a slight loss, I want to see special teams. If we get half a yard on a play where a defender came up big, I'm generally cool with going for it. Personally, I like it when coaches throw on 4th-and-1. In that situation, I prefer to go big or go home instead of running a predictable "safe" play because I also hate it when teams run wide on 4th-and-short because running 20 yards to get one seldom seems to yield good results.
Two seasons ago, Joy was ripping into the team for continuing to try to develop Tua. On her podcast, she was ready to move on after his first season. She's a Dolphins fan, but she ran out of patience for us to put a competitive team. Hearing her express any optimism is exciting.
Report: Brandon Jones expected to practice on field with Miami Dolphins this week By Jason Simpson Updated: July 24, 2023 Miami Dolphins safety Brandon Jones, who last played during Week 7 of the 2022 season, is on track to practice this week with the team. It’s a major step forward for the 25-year-old as he enters his fourth NFL season. “Starting S Brandon Jones, who suffered his injury (left ACL) during a Week 7 game last season against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, is expected to be on the field practicing with his teammates this week, a league source said, and could be on the field as early as Wednesday when the team has its first practice, barring an unforeseen setback,” wrote NFL insider Adam Caplan. Jones’ ACL injury cost him a majority of his third season in the league. Before the injury ended his season, he accumulated three passes defended, a forced fumble, two sacks and 49 combined tackles across seven games. The Dolphins evidently have a lot of confidence in the former third-round pick, as they reportedly didn’t offer big money to any safeties in free agency due to how they feel about Jones. The Texas native has been making progress with his recovery throughout the offseason and now seems to be in really good shape as the end of July approaches. Dolphins veterans are set to report to training camp on Tuesday. Dolphins fans got a pretty good look at Jones during the 2021 season, when he appeared in 15 games and started 13. He tallied one interception, one pass defended, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He also had five sacks, 79 combined tackles, six tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits. Miami’s defense took a step back last season and allowed 23.5 points per game. With Vic Fangio now in the mix and the Dolphins set to get some key players back from injury, the 2023 season could feature a big turnaround for Miami on the defensive side of the ball. It also helps that newcomers like Jalen Ramsey are now in South Florida. The Dolphins don’t have an easy schedule this season, and they’re stuck in perhaps the toughest division in the entire NFL, but that’s not going to stop them from trying to claim their second playoff bid in as many years. Miami’s 2022 campaign was a step in the right direction, but the team still has tons of boxes to check, including winning a playoff game for the first time in over two decades. https://dolphinnation.com/2023/07/2...ctice-on-field-with-miami-dolphins-this-week/
**Cough cough** Chargers' Justin Herbert lands mammoth five-year extension that makes him highest-paid player in NFL history The deal ties Herbert to Los Angeles through the 2029 season By Tyler Sullivan The next domino in the quarterback market has fallen. The Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert have reached an agreement on a multi-year extension, the team confirmed Tuesday. Specifically, it's a five-year, $262.5 million extension that ties the quarterback to the franchise through the 2029 season, according to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones. Herbert's deal can also reach $265 million with incentives, per Jones. Herbert became eligible for an extension this offseason after having two years remaining on his rookie contract, including the fifth-year option L.A. picked up last offseason. Herbert's extension, per Jones, includes nearly $219 million in guarantees. In his first new-money year of the deal in 2025, he'll receive $100 million. Herbert's new deal also includes a no-trade clause, according to ESPN. This deal is just the latest in what has been a massive boom at the quarterback position over the previous few seasons. Prior to Herbert's reported contract extension, the most recent deal that come down across the league was the five-year, $260 million contract Lamar Jackson signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Herbert's deal is just a tad more than Jackson's and currently makes him the highest-paid quarterback in the league. From an average annual salary standpoint, Herbert will make $52.5 million per season and could even bump to $53 million with incentives. That's more than Jackson ($52 million in AAV), Jalen Hurts ($51 million), Aaron Rodgers ($50.2), and Russell Wilson (48.5 million), who round out the rest of the new top five. Herbert LAC • QB • #10 CMP%68.2 YDS 4739 TD 25 INT 10 YD/ATT 6.78 The 25-year-old landed in Los Angeles as the No. 6 overall pick of the Chargers back in 2020 out of Oregon. Upon arrival, Herbert has been prolific, breaking the rookie record for passing yards per game (289.1), passing touchdowns (31), and completions (396). Herbert has the most passing yards (14,089) through a player's first three seasons in NFL history. He also has the second-most passing touchdowns (94) to begin a career. He's never thrown for less than 4,300 yards in a season and is coming off a 2022 campaign where he notched a career-high 68.2 completion percentage. While Herbert's play on the field has been stellar during the regular season, the quarterback is just one game over .500 (25-24) in his career and has yet to win a playoff game. Los Angeles was able to reach the postseason for the first time during the Herbert era last season, but the Chargers fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars after blowing a 27-point lead. With Herbert now being paid as the top quarterback in the entire NFL, he'll now be expected to lift Los Angeles not just to a single playoff win, but to contend for a Super Bowl year in and year out. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...makes-him-highest-paid-player-in-nfl-history/
Pretty good for a "terrible" QB Wonder what Burrow will get. He might take less, he seems to want a great team around him.
If Tua balls out this year he's gonna get Jackson money - which is new money. Herberts deal is more like 43 million a year when you factor in the old money aspect.
If Tua balls out, and is given a massive deal, they better have something in there to get themselves out of the deal due to injuries.
Don't recall anybody calling Herbert terrible. But yeah, good for him. I hope Tua's in that neighborhood next season because it'll mean he played well.
Some interesting things about us trying to trade for Barkley, Armstead, Winn. Click on the podcast in the middle of article. I couldn't get it to post by itself. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/dolphins-mike-mcdaniel-explains-terron-armstead-isaiah-wynn-pup-moves-but-there-s-a-catch/ar-AA1eoblW?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=76a92b809a6440d99ad4bd5a1ff7ffd2&ei=14#:~:text=Related video:,Wynn and Terron
