Are the Dolphins on the Verge of Collapse?

Are the Dolphins on the Verge of Collapse?

Because we’re another day closer to death. Remember this big hole turns it on accelerating. You can kiss him goodbye 70- 20. Remember when the Miami Dolphins dropped 70 points on the heads of my Denver Broncos? And the only reason they didn’t hit 73 points is because former Broncos ball boy Mike McDaniel took pity on his hometown team. And let’s see what they’re going to do. They’re not going for they’re they’re just going to run the play and run the clock out. That’s the right thing to do. It’s just when you’re that close to to this type of record, you’re talking NFL history. That was a massive day for Broncos and Dolphins fans. And not only because it was my first video to hit a million views. So glad over a million of you enjoyed one of the worst moments of my football fandom. Seeing Mike White come in. I had to adjust and throw a bomb to Robbie Chosen who got a step on Pat Sertan for a touchdown is the lowest I’ve ever felt as a fan. That’s a backup quarterback in garbage time throwing a touchdown to a guy coming off the practice squad who changed his [ __ ] name to Chosen, beating my team’s best player. That was the game that Mike McDaniels Dolphins put the NFL on notice. It wasn’t that they were going to score 70 points again, but you got an idea of this offense’s peak. Spade a spade. That’s a historic victory. Kind of a historic game. One more. You put up some historic numbers today because you didn’t give a about the scoreboard. Third time the team has scored 70 points over 7. What’s the question? What’s the question? feel about and peak it was. It wasn’t the sneak preview of one of the league’s best offenses since the 2016 Falcons. It was pretty much the entire show from start to finish. We are just getting started. I am so proud of everyone. The Dolphins had a premiere and a finale all in the same game really. The Dolphins downfall though didn’t happen all at once. It started subtly somewhere around the middle of 2023. Right after that 70 to20 thrashing of the Broncos, that game, which looked like a pro team beating up on a high school squad, set the tone for what appeared to be the future of NFL offense. As the most explosive unit in the league ended up being more of a mirage than a sign of things to come. Since that day, Miami has gone a mediocre 16 and 16. missed the playoffs once, bowed out early in the frigid cold the other time, and watched its window of contention all but slam close in the brutal, unforgiving AFC. Now they’re desperately signing washed up and aging corners like Jack Jones and Mike Hilton to shore up a defense nobody wants to play for. Those players signed in desperation after already questionable starting talent like Arty Burns tore his ACL during the first week of training camp. And we’ve got Tua telling reporters Tyreek Hill to earn back the team’s respect after Hill teased his exit numerous times. And at the conclusion of 2024, this is my first time I I haven’t been in the playoffs, man. So, like I said, man, I I I I just got to do what’s best for me and my family, dog. If that’s here, if that’s where wherever the case may be, man, I’m I’m f to open that door for myself, dog. Like like I’m out, bro. I’m not the only one that heard that. You guys aren’t the only people that heard that. When you say something like that, it’s you don’t just come back from that with, “Hey, my bad.” You know, you got you got to work that that relationship up. You got to build everything up. Uh the promise of this team has vanished just like the cars in Miami apparently. What the [ __ ] going on in Miami, bro? No [ __ ] The [ __ ] just disappeared. So today I Brandon Pererna will try and explain what the hell happened to the Dolphins here on That’s Good Sports where you must subscribe. [Music] Did you subscribe? Did you? If you don’t subscribe, I’m going to get closer and closer and closer to you till I’m in your room. Sorry. YouTube said to be more aggressive in asking. [Music] Today’s episode is sponsored by Bare The hype surrounding the Miami Dolphins in 2023 was very real and a bit surprising. To get to that 70point game, Miami had fired head coach Brian Flores during the 2022 offseason following three seasons with the team. At that time, the firing was a bit odd because Flores had just produced back-to-back winning records and was building a more than capable defense. We now know there was trouble in paradise and that Brian Flores treated Tua like [ __ ] If you woke up every morning and I told you you sucked at what you did, you don’t belong, that you haven’t earned this right, and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, “Dude, you are the best fit for this.” How would it make you feel listening to one or the other? Flores has also filed a lawsuit against the NFL for racial discrimination in the hiring practices of its coaches. A lawsuit that has gone nowhere really for the time being. My point here is the Dolphins were a mess. After drafting Tua in the first round, nobody knew if he was good. They still don’t, but that’s besides the point. Okay. Team owner Steven Ross was in the middle of tampering as he secretly tried to lure Shawn Payeyton and Tom Brady to the team. Uh Mike McDaniel was one of the last coaches hired in that hiring cycle. Who can forget when Yanni broke the news to us? [Music] No, not that Yanni. Yanni Caracus. Sports anchor Yanni Caracus joins us with more on the hire. Yanni. 8-year-old Yale graduate is considered an innovative football mind. 10 coaches were hired in 2022. Half of them terrible. Josh McDaniels, Nathaniel Hackett, Matt Eberfloose to name a few. NFL.com ranked Mike McDaniel as the fifth best hiring. But it felt like Miami settled for the one guy who would say yes to the job in Miami. To be clear, I [ __ ] love Mike McDaniel. I’ve hyped him up as hard as anyone. and he and the Dolphins front office took a 9 and8 team and turned them into a 9 and8 playoff team. All jokes aside, Tua looked instantly better with Mike McDaniel leading the team. Week two, week two if you will, tua tag ovalia was a statement game trailing 28 to7 to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens at halftime set the stage for a six touchdown 469yd performance that culminated in 28 fourth quarter points and a wild comeback victory for the Dolphins. It was the first time anyone really saw Tua’s full potential as a quarterback in the NFL. That’s how Mike McDaniel and Tua really kicked off their tenure together in 2022. Unfortunately, shortly after, Tua suffered that highly publicized concussion which led to him missing two games while the Dolphins hit a three-game losing streak. Tua suffered another concussion at the end of 2022, forcing him to miss the final two games and of course the wildcard game against the Bills. When he’s not injured, he’s great. He’s got to stay healthy. I’m not the only one that heard that. It took nearly 2 months before Tua was ultimately cleared from the NFL concussion protocol, which is why all of us worry every time he takes a hit. What was lost though is the Dolphins nearly upset the Bills in the wildard round with backup quarterback Skyler [ __ ] Thompson taking the snaps. What was evident is that the Dolphins with a healthy Tua had the pieces to compete. Specifically having the funniest head coach in the NFL. Tomorrow is the trade deadline. Do you anticipate any movement by you guys? What? There’s a deadline? There is. There is. Oh man, I’m terrible with deadlines. Okay, maybe Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were important, too. The 2023 Dolphins though were fun, fast, and flashy. Building upon what they started in 2022, they made use of horizontal space better than any team I’ve seen. Tuo was healthy. Tyreek Hill was unstoppable. Jaylen Wadd was waddling his way to his third straight thousandy season. Mike McDaniel was the NFL’s favorite new boy genius. And the defense was good enough to make the team look like a real threat in the AFC. Thanks in part to new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, a hardened callous football cremagin to balance out the loving, nurturing Mike McDaniel. Raheem Mustard had a career revival with his highest rushing total ever at over a thousand yards and a staggering 18 rushing TDs. He was complimented by standout rookie running back Devin Achan who also ripped eight touchdowns and had big plays. The Dolphins had the number one offense in total yards per game, rushing yards per game, and were second in points per game at 29.2, trailing only, oh [ __ ] the Dallas Cowboys. Really? Mike McDaniel in year two with Tua had cracked the can of tuna wide open for Miami. But after peaking at 11-4, they stumbled to the finish line, collapsed in the frigid cold at Arrowhead Stadium in the playoffs, and left fans wondering whether this team could beat anybody good when it mattered. The following season, answered that question and in not a good way. Tyreek Hill was accosted by the police on his way to the Dolphins week one game. An ominous sign of things to come for the season ahead. Injuries continue to pile up. Tua got banged up again. Six more games missed from a hip and a another concussion. The explosive offense that had once led the league in passing and points turned into a checkownheavy toothless version of its old self. Hill, who had led the entire NFL with 1,800 yards in 2023, didn’t even reach 1,000 yards on 81 receptions. Jaylen Wadd was stuck in neutral. The big play runs became rare and the ground game couldn’t convert in short yardage scenarios to save its life. The short yardage issues, the running game issues last year. How do you change that identity? Take the run out on third down. What you want to you that’s my honest opinion. If it’s third and short, he’s not a powerback. I be telling him that in the locker room, but he’s so he a power back. That’s why you got Jaylen Wright. That’s why you got Ali Gordon for those kind of situations. Defensively, it got worse. Javon Holland walked. Jaylen Ramsay was traded. Taran Armstead retired. Kais Campbell went back out west to Arizona. Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkle, who were key guys on that 2023 team, have been gone. Although it looks like they may have dodged a bullet with Christian Wilkins. Christian playfully went to kiss a teammate on top of this. I don’t I we’ll see. What was once an aggressive, dangerous defense got hollowed out by age, several injuries, and cost cutting. The Dolphins went from a unit that blitzed and was opportunistic to one that spent most of the season reacting and rehabbing. Vic Fangio bounced after one year and was instantly swooped up by the Eagles where his defense put the clamps on the Chiefs in their Super Bowl victory. While the defensive injuries through the course of 2023 were devastating, so was watching the guy who was deemed a bad fit for Miami coach up one of the best defenses in 2024. This current 2025 offseason, Miami tried to plug the mini in massive holes with midlevel signings and a few draft picks, but the big moves were subtractions. Tyreek Hill hinted at leaving before walking it back. At the end of the day though, Tyreek Hill is now 30 years old and in year 10, which feels significant for a guy who’s relied on otherworldly speed his entire career to succeed. McDaniel and Chris Greer were retained, but it was made clear things better change. They are no longer the young darlings of the AFC East. They’re a duo that’s going to have to rebuild and reload on the fly while the rest of the division around them steadily gets better. Tua still matters more than anyone else, but his durability is now more a liability than an unknown. Entire stadium cheers for him sliding. The Dolphins signed him to a big deal, but you get the sense this might be his last shot to prove he’s the guy in Miami. He’s got to stay healthy. His wins against playoff teams few and far between. Just seven and 17 in his career. His effectiveness when things break down, not great. When Tua is playing within rhythm and executing the offense as it’s called, he’s as good a point guard as you’ll find. But I don’t think anyone is scared of Tua when the Dolphins are trailing by one or two possessions in the fourth quarter. Well, except of course for the Ravens who let us all down in the playoffs in very different ways. Now, Tua’s extension complicates things, but it doesn’t cement him. Behind Tua is Zachie Wilson, who went through the Shawn Payeyton rehab facility last year. And then rookie quarterback Quinn Ears, who’s got a good arm, good mobility, and enough animal kills under his belt to give us Pet Cemetery 5, but is a complete unknown in the NFL after a good but not great run at Texas. If Tua gets hurt again, and history says he probably will, Miami could be in the wilderness again. Good thing that’s where Quinn Eu thrives. The offensive line was supposedly a priority this off season. They signed James Daniels coming off an Achilles tear and drafted Jonah Savana, but they’re relying on guys like Patrick Paul to protect the blind side. Paul was raw last year. He’ll need to grow up quickly. Losing Teran Armstead for all his injuries still stings. Even if the line holds, the wide outs need to bounce back. Hill and Wadd didn’t dominate like they used to. Neither guy had 1,000 yards last year and got to the It got to the point where John Smith was the best option for them in the passing game. Teams figured out how to play Miami. Two safeties deep, forced the short stuff, hit Tua if he holds it too long. They didn’t have an answer. John Smith had a great year statistically, but now he’s gone and they replaced him with [ __ ] Darren Waller, whose body is already falling apart before training camp really even began. The tight end position is a valuable chess piece for Mike McDaniel, which was apparent last year. But now we just have to assume the targets are going to Pharaoh Brown. Jesus, they really didn’t have a backup plan behind Darren Waller, who is a necessary guy to have a backup plan for. Take your time ahead. He’s got to stay healthy. That’s like owning a bull and a china shop and not having insurance on your place of [ __ ] business. I know what you’re thinking. They brought in Nick Westbrook A hoping a bigger red zone target will open things up. That’s the plan. Just have him catch touchdowns and do nothing else, just like he did with the Titans. Whether it works is anyone’s guess. The defense has changed so much it barely resembles what it was two years ago. No Jaylen Ramsay who demanded a trade. No Javon Holland. No Jordan Puyer. No Kus Campbell. So Brandon Jones, who has been a stud for the Denver Broncos, by the way, he’s definitely has, you know, that dog mentality in him, which I appreciate. I’ve always wanted to be with the quarterback that has that dog mentality. Just Zack Cer, who’s been rock solid inside. Chop Robinson is the hopeful breakout at the edge, but he needs to improve as a run defender. Jaylen Phillips and Bradley Chub are coming off their annual season ending injuries. No offense to either player, but it feels like having something torn is now just their default state of being. When they’re out there on the field together or just recording double-digit sacks, that’s an anomaly. But at the end of the day, it’s like every position group has an asterisk next to it with the Dolphins. The linebacker room now revolves around Jordan Brooks, who’s dependable, and Tyrell Dodson, who finished strong, but has never been a long-term answer. They threw a couple of names into the mix, but there’s no obvious upgrade. The secondary pretty much a full-on rebuild. Kater Coo is the only returning starter from 2023. He’s been placed on IR, which means he’s done for the year. Kater Coo, is that how you pronounce it? Kater Coo is that Cahoo. Cahoo. Boy, that shows you how relevant the Dolphins are nationally where you don’t know how to pronounce the name of a starting defensive back to a tag oval. Jack Jones and Mike Hilton were brought in. And while both are serviceable, neither’s going to cover Stefan Diggs or Garrett Wilson without help. And by help, I mean a large sword to swing at the 86 receivers who are more athletic than them. And my axe, Ashton Davis and Aitu Melon Fonw are the new safeties. Neither screams game changer to me. And the AFC hasn’t gotten any easier. It’s gotten harder. The upper echelon of the conference is still leagues ahead of Miami and the middle class has surpassed the Dolphins by uh a significant measure. This is a horrible time to be mediocre if the Fins are even lucky enough to be mediocre in 2025 because that might end up being generous. And that’s where the Dolphins are currently at best stuck in the middle. with you. Not bad enough to tank, not good enough to contend. Their power ranking has dropped. Their win total projections are in the 89 range. They’re exactly where they finished last year. Another day closer to death. This is the same franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since December 30th of the year 2000. That’s over two decades of false contention. Even in their best moments, 2023’s hot start to his Pro Bowl season, Hills historic stretch, the bottom, has always dropped out. I don’t think their fans are tired of losing. They’re tired of almost winning. And it’s a different kind of misery to be in. But I do want to talk about why they couldn’t keep up that hot start in 2023 and not just the reason that it got cold at Arrowhead. By the middle of 2023, teams have started to solve Mike McDaniel, not by stopping the Dolphins completely, but by neutralizing the things that they did best. The biggest adjustment was the rise of the consistent two high safety shells against Miami. Defenses committed to bracketing Hill and Waddle, taking away the deep shots that had been uh the offense’s calling card. Safeties stayed disciplined and refused to bite on motion and play action. Instead of chasing all of the McDaniels pre-nap window dressing, defenses held their ground and forced the Dolphins to march methodically down the field, daring Tua to throw over linebackers and between safeties on longer drives rather than hitting one play home runs. The other key was disrupting timing at the line of scrimmage. Miamiy’s passing game relied heavily on rhythm and quick reads and defenses started jamming Hill and Wadd early, knocking them off their routes and throwing off the timing of Tua’s first read. Without that clean immediate option, Tua often had to hold the ball longer and that exposed the Dolphins offensive line which has been mediocre for years and also like every other position group perennially injured. The blueprint became play press coverage underneath, bracket the deep ball with the two safeties, and force Miami to either run consistently or rely on tight window throws. Teams also attacked Miami’s run game differently, while Devin Han is explosive. Defenses started crashing down on outside zone runs, forcing Miami’s smaller speedbased backs to run between the tackles where they’re less effective. If it’s third and short, he’s not a power back. I’ll be telling him that in the locker room. On third and short situations, the Dolphins struggled because they lacked a bruising downhill back or a dominant interior offensive line. In a way, the Denver Broncos showed every defensive coordinator in the league what not to do in that game. And I’m still waiting for a collective thank you. By late 2023 and throughout 2024, defensive coordinators simply made Miami play left-handed. They were determined to take away the speed advantage and the Dolphins didn’t have enough answers. McDaniel’s offense leaned on quick game RPOS’s but without Hill winning deep and with Wadd battling injuries the spacing just wasn’t there. Defenses played zone stayed patient and tackled well. The Dolphins were forced to string together 10play drives which increased the odds of mistakes. Whether that was Tua forcing a ball, a holding penalty killing momentum, or a blown block leading to a sack, or more tragically giving Tua enough time to think the best option is for him to run straight into the defense head first. McDaniel’s motionheavy offense, once considered a genius wrinkle, also became predictable. teams realized that much of the motion was simply that window dressing and used it to diagnose the play rather than get caught chasing it. Motion is effective when it forces confusion or a shift in the defense to help the quarterback identify the coverage. But when the defenses are prepared and disciplined, it loses its bite. In short, teams figured out that Miami’s offense lacked a plan B and fundamentally it wasn’t as good as we thought it could be in that 70point game. What’s the question? When the deep ball was taken away, when the run game wasn’t hitting big plays, and when Tua had to go through progressions rather than hit his first read, the Dolphins sputtered. McDaniel hasn’t yet evolved the scheme enough to counter this. Until Miami develops a more physical run game, a reliable offensive line, and intermediate passing options that can thrive against zone coverage, defenses will continue to copy this blueprint. That’s what makes 2025 such a tipping point. Mike McDaniel has to prove he’s more than cute press conference answers, miked up sound bites, and fun schemes. No, I just wanted him to stop scrambling. And it was pretty irritating because he didn’t listen at all. But most importantly, he just needs his [ __ ] quarterback to stay on the field because when two is out there, Mike McDaniel has a 25 and 13 record, which is pretty good. Plus, I really need a uh head coach with comedic chops to win a Super Bowl. The Dolphins, more than any other team, need to pray to the football gods for good help this season. And I think we’ll be talking positively about Mike McDaniel again. I should announce that my wife went to the grocery store, which is exciting because I’m a big snack time guy. Chris Greer has to prove he can build a sustainable roster, not just win the trade deadlines. Tua has to prove his body and his brain can handle a full season and that he’s more than a precision passer who disappears when the pocket collapses. It sounds like Tua finally realizes he has to prioritize his health during game play, which is good. Why are you guys going to be much better than people anticipate this year? Well, I think it starts with me, me not putting myself in situations where I can’t be available for this team. If I can stay healthy for for our guys, I believe and I believe the team believes that I give us the best chance to potentially, you know, go go do what we say we want to do. I really hope the Dolphins haven’t peaked under Mike McDaniel. And I hope McDaniel essentially raises the floor of what this team is. And if there is a peak, let’s say it came against the eventual Super Bowl champions in subarctic temperatures cold enough to break a piece of Patrick Mahomes helmet off. McDaniel might get a second shot to rebuild this team, but he’s going to have to get some physicality out of this new team. And Chris Greer is going to have to convince guys to stay there and not just trade for former players like Minka Fitzpatrick. Thanks for watching. That’s good sports. Thanks for watching here. Good luck, Dolphins. I hope for Mike McDaniel’s sake, for Tua’s sake, that you guys find your rhythm again this season. Tua tag ovalia. Another day closer to

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