Realistic expectations for the Miami Dolphins season opener on the road in Indianapolis

Realistic expectations for the Miami Dolphins season opener on the road in Indianapolis

And we’ve talked plenty this week about what kind of game you’re expecting from Miami and Notre Dame and you’re expecting the under. What kind of game are you expecting for the Dolphins Colts a week from Sunday? Because I’m I’m curious if you know I love the cutesy brand of football that Mike McDaniel played at the beginning of his tenure here. I’m looking for like the 320 yards passing from Tua and 18 different receivers involved and I’ll I’ll give you the motion penalties and the false starts if it uh if it’s an exciting offense. Are you expecting a 270 yard day from Tua and a big debut for Tyreek Hill this season? Or are you expecting more of a Devon Han and Ali Gordon and uh some tosses to Julian Hill? I’m thinking the ball to Julian Hill. I’m going to be mad. But no, a tiger. What is it say? A zebra doesn’t change it stripes. Mike McDaniel cannot not do the cutesy stuff. It’s what it’s what made him a head coach. It’s what made him successful. It’s what made him score 70 points. It’s what we talk about it like that. We’re going to have the pre pre- snap motions, all these resets, double motions, the little flee flicker motion where the guy comes across and runs back behind Tua. All that’s still going to be in. And I don’t not Hulk, let me I do not not want Tua to throw for 300. I’m not saying don’t let two throw for 200. I want them to get to third and one and fourth and one and run the ball downhill at somebody’s head. I want them to have a a bully some kind of bully packet some kind of physical mentality because if two is still doing what he did 22 23 that offense what it did they were with top offense in the league. You’re going to go play the Ravens and the Bills and those teams that have it and you have to be able to do it. I expect third and fourth and short to look different, but I still want the cutesy stuff. I still want Tyreek on the bang eights. I still want reverses. I still want hand sweeps. I don’t want a double reverse on fourth and two. That’s where it’s going to piss me off. But I still want them to score 30, 40 points a game. You know what I want on fourth and two? What? Boot leg. Naked boot. Naked boot. Let’s go. Let’s get that. Let’s get that rushing over to uh let’s let’s surprise them all. Huck, our entire season goes off of Tua’s health and you are you are defense knowsing expecting that bootleg at all. That the defense knows they would never risk him that way. You could run on the first play if you have the ball at the 30 the first play. Tua could run for a 70 yard touchdown if you have the guts, Mike McDaniel, to run a bootleg on play number one. And Tua is not Lamar Jackson. Play number one. They run a naked. They literally aren’t going to be paying attention to him. They’re going to see him uh shooting down the sideline and they’re going to say there’s no chance he has the ball. He’s going to get about 13 yards and slide. Now they’ve seen the play. Let’s save the play for week 17. Lana, what kind of offense are you expecting? Uh, opening game. Remember last year opening game, Jacksonville comes to Miami and we are expecting Dolphins kind of fizzled out in 2023. They lose a Tennessee game. They go up to Kansas City. They’re playing literally in the frozen tundra. They have guys off the street trying to win them playoff games. They’re coming back with a vengeance. Week one against Jacksonville. two was going to shut down the Trevor Lawrence uh discussions and then Javon Holland saved your season by punching out a ball and the Dolphins grinded the win out and credit to them for doing it by the way. It’s not an indictment on them. I expect that type of game. I expect a game that’s set up for Riley Patterson to win it with a game-winning field goal. No, but seriously, that’s that’s what I expect. Tua has not thrown the ball to Tyreek Hill in pads against another team since last season. Think about that. And Tua didn’t play the last two games. I believe even though Crowder, I know you you say preseason doesn’t matter. Those two have their timing down. I don’t know, man. Tyreek, who had surgery, hasn’t played football since he quit on this team. They’re clearly not necessarily in on the best terms personally. I think there’s going to be a little bit of a of a period there where they have to feel each other out again. I don’t think the Dolphins offense is gonna be firing on all cylinders week one. And I happen to think the Colts defense is a very good defense as well. I think they win the game. By the way, I don’t think any of this is a criticism of the Dolphins. I just think it’ll take them a little bit of time to get back into that rhythm where they’re one of the best and most prolific offenses in the NFL. But but to that point, Salana, you you make sense with the chemistry talk. If Tua is going series for series with Daniel Jones, Tua’s been here five years, lore with them. Daniel Jones got there five months ago and just got the starting job two weeks ago. That would be trouble. Like you’re saying, they win, but if they win with a Patterson field goal late to go up 20-7, that’s not what you should do against a Daniel Jones defense. And Daniel Jones should be on his ass a lot if our pass rushers are doing what they’re supposed to do. Don’t forget though, Indianapolis are the favorites. So, not everyone sees it that way. It will be troubling if this offense goes out and does what did did what they did. Who was it the last preseason game? Jaguars. Those first two series, that cannot be the first two series of the Colts game. They can’t go out there and get two penalties. Tua can’t get sacked twice. No, you got to have something set. What would you uh set the overunder at for Darren Waller targets? Two. I don’t know. I I’ve been I’ve been looking for any player props. I’m just curious what what it I I don’t even know if there will be a prop for it because there’s really no way to prognosticate it. Vegas likes an edge. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that. Um but yeah, I wonder I wonder I I mean because I got the Odell thing in my head where I thought he was going to be the secret weapon and uh he never really handed out. I think after Waller has a big game, like kind of like John did last year, after they see that he can can push the ball down the field and help Tua, I think his numbers will go up. But this Joker hadn’t played football in a year and a half, went through a mental mental health thing and retired. Like, I think he might need some time to get back on his feet on the field. But it’s why it’s why I’m hesitant to just expect the Dolphins to look like they’re in mid-season form. Week one, two years ago, this video is going viral. Two days ago, Tua comes out in LA on the road week one. This is 2023 and he is effing unbelievable. It’s one of the best Tua games we’ve ever gotten. Remember in the fourth quarter, avoids a sack, steps up in the pocket, throws a dart to Tyreek. He had Tyreek all over the field the entire game. And then the game-winning touchdown drive back shoulder fade to Tyreek Hill. It’s the one example of that play actually effing working. But man, you have a team that their running back is banged up. Their tight end hasn’t their starting tight end where we assume hasn’t played a snap in over a year. Tyreek Hill, their number one option is banged up. Hasn’t taken a snap in any sort of football legit football work in over a year. You have Austin Jackson, your right tackle, who hasn’t taken a snap in a long time. Um, I’m talking preseason. He has he’s been out. Like, there’s just a lot of question marks on the offense. So, I think it’s it’s naive to just say, “Yeah, they’re coming out. They’re dropping 37 points. Tua is going to throw for 300 plus yards and they’re going to look great.” Like, I think they can get there, but I think it’ll take a little bit of time. If they were playing the Eagles, I would be more on your side, Salana. They’re playing the Daniel Jones le Colts, right? But the Colts defense is the only reason that team had nine wins last season or eight wins last season. Okay. I mean, I the defense game defense like it’s 2002 Bucks. I’ll tell you what I would argue though, Crowder. It’s kind of like what we talked about Carson Beck Sunday night where he’s got experience doing this. So Daniel Jones, the Dolphins aren’t the Eagles. So, I think the the prevailing notion is Daniel Jones is more than capable of beating lesser teams. He’s got trouble when, you know, it gets all uh hot and bothered against the real good ones, but the Dolphins are not looked at as a great team. So, I think the fact that it’s Daniel Jones out there is probably uh a positive in many people’s opinions when it comes to the the

Going around the room to share our expectations for how the Dolphins offense and defense will look vs the Colts in Week 1.