Coming off of a 30-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Miami Dolphins continue to prove that the narratives are correct. The narrative being Miami is soft, Miami cannot play in the cold, and Miami cannot beat good teams.
The unfortunate thing for Miami fans is that these narratives remain true. Mike McDaniels record now against teams that finish the year .500 is 3-14. The worst part? Two of those three wins were in McDaniels first year. To make it even worse, those wins were in weeks 2 and 3 of his first year. The other win being on Christmas eve against the Cowboys in 2023. However, that Cowboys team had speculation themselves, as they finished the year losing a playoff game at home against the Green Bay Packers.
How did Miami get to this point, well I believe the answer is simple, the roster is poorly constructed. Whatever excuses due to scheme, play style, cap space the Dolphins have made does not matter. They continue to get bullied in the trenches against good defensive lines. They cannot threaten a good rushing attack against teams like the Chiefs, the Packers, the Ravens, etc.
Miami let a really good offensive guard Robert Hunt walk and go to the Carolina Panthers. I understand the thought process behind letting him walk, the Panthers gave Hunt a massive pay day. However they did not use a high draft pick to replace the position, instead let Liam Eichenberg start who is known for poor offensive line play.
This is a recipe for disaster for when December football rolls around, the temperature drops, and organizations are on their A game. This places a massive stress on the quarterback and play caller, and it simply is bound to end up in a disaster. In previous years, Tua Tagovailoa has played poorly towards the back end of the year. This year seems different though, Tagovailoa is sharp, making great decisions, making plays out of structure, and spreading the ball around. It seems his time off the field was very beneficial.
The defense and offensive line has done a poor job in these big games. Deshon Elliot, former Dolphin and current Pittsburgh Steeler, said that Miami has a culture issue. He said their players are not focused, and are soft. While it seems crazy and disrespectful to say, he might not be wrong. Miami has always crumbled and shot themselves in the foot in the biggest moments.
What is the solution? It seems easy to say fire Mike McDaniel, however that might not be a great move. As bad as his teams have been against great organizations, they do have a very difficult offense to stop. Anthony Weaver looks like a solid hire on the defensive side, they could use another year together to build continuity on both sides of the ball.
I believe the true solution is using cap space on the interior offensive line and committing to pounding the rock on the inside. Commit to a strong run game. The window dressing and outside zone can stay, but an interior rushing threat is vital to beat those great defenses.
Moving on from Tyreek Hill could be a great start, Miami has played very well without Hill in the lineup. Tua has shown, specifically against the Jets in 2023 when he played a flawless game.
This move from Hill can create immediate money to invest in the guard positions, or better yet draft picks to spend on the guard position. This alone could be a great first step to have a chance. Another necessary step is that Mike McDaniel needs to look in the mirror and make changes. McDaniel has one of the NFL’s best fullbacks and he did not use him fully against Green Bay in the run game. In the red zone, he got the ball zero times, that makes no sense to me. Instead they went in shotgun and passed twice on one of the games biggest drives. If Miami committed to a power run with their fullback it’s possible they would get in.
All in all, changes need to be made to the Dolphins organization. Any corners they have cut in the past have been exposed mightly over at least the last five years. The time to make changes is now, or else the Dolphins will continue to be mediocre for years to come.