Coach Mike McDaniel meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

Coach Mike McDaniel meets with the media | Miami Dolphins

know what your after the game uh agenda is. Um, but I know AI is also getting pretty good, but there’s a picture of you strolling down A1, strolling down the elbow room, I guess. Good near A1A. Looks like your car, looks like you, looks like your watch. Is is that AI or is that real? Well, you know, that’s the that’s why like the good old days, you know, the the the throwbacks of your where you could trust, you know, the the internet and the images because, you know, it is pretty detailed that, you know, I do live in that area, but I mean AI, right? So, it does. Well, I mean, are you confirming or I mean I I live in that area. AI is real. That’s what I got for you. Okay. One of the things that stood out to me about the game was that No, for the record, I did not answer it. That’s the that that’s the punchline of the humor. One of the things that stood out to me about the defense, I felt like every time Josh Allen broke out the pocket, he got put on his ass. Um Bradley Chub was very intent about just getting him on the ground. I’m curious, what does that do for a quarterback knowing at the back of your head like, okay, if I break this pocket, I might get hands put on me. But then also, what do you think that did for the defense yesterday? Well, well, I think there’s a a a supreme level of discipline that it that you’re you’re talking where you’re you’re disciplining in in your back end and your coverage, rush lanes to get them to uh uh to escape the pocket in a non-threatening fashion. And then, you know, it’s a fine line that you play. Um, you know, they had they had a uh the desire to um to affect the passer by, you know, tackling him within the rules, but you can’t let that desire um you can’t wish it into existence and do it in situations where you’re going, you’re two steps away from the quarterback and then you’re gonna get a penalty. So, I thought it was um it was good disciplined football and when you’re able to um you know get the best player um on the team to uh be affected by the way that you’re playing. I think you you you generally have good results. So, I think that it was vitally important um considering that he he’s a guy that if you don’t affect he uh he will affect the outcome of the the game drastically. Collect some uh injury um updates if you can. Austin Jackson, James Daniels, Jason Sanders, Liam Mikeberg, are any going to uh start practicing this week? So, the um I’ll have a firm answer on Wednesday. Uh right now um the uh between the logistics of um coaching through the film um from this morning and then traveling to another country. Uh it’s kind of um I don’t really have a exact picture. We’re all traveling and uh there is a chance um uh that somebody does. Um but um we’ll see if that someone does. Mike, after the game, Patrick Paul, do you want to follow up? Robinson, do you have any idea whether he’ll be able to play this week? Um, I think it was a very uh he it was a very close call. Um, I just thought it was uh it it was too um you know, I wasn’t comfortable with with him uh just getting uh the the clearance necessary. And I thought he was he really really wanted to play. And u when you’re dealing with uh uh those uh those types of injuries, it was best we were fully certain that we could um have not just this game but the the following games taken care of um expecting them against uh the commanders. So after the game, Patrick Paul said that the postgame locker room was quote unquote crazy. Then we saw the video. What did you observe from that whole scene of the blowing off of steam? The uh laundry bin races, if you want to call it that, and Prince’s little break dance. Yeah. What did you observe from that whole thing? Um yeah, I think that was an earned celebration. I think uh I think you saw um a a a team that um w was exuberant based upon the execution of something that they knew they held the belief that they could do um entirely themselves. Um there’s a lot of empower empowering features to that. Um, and I think they also they were celebrating um the win in uh um laundry bins or trash trash cans, whatever you want to call them. Um, and but they were doing they were celebrating together three different phase players all um exuberant about the same thing. Um I think they also recognized that they captured uh what they had been working towards um in terms of a style of play for an entire football team. So um the main thing uh for us is that it wasn’t um just just the opponent. It was much more about ourselves. Um and uh uh we’d been working and had numerous occasions where we we felt like we were close and we fell short to being able to play a a complete three-phase football complimentary football game. Um and I think they were pretty excited to to uh crack the formula. um and wanted to get all the celebration out yesterday um because we are uh firmly um commanders um today moving forward. Which going back to Isaiah’s question about the the pass rush. I’m curious on the back end of the coverage to get your take on what you saw on film because I think I saw a stat that it was Allen’s longest time to throw in a couple of years that he’s had and there wasn’t a lot of bling from the defense as well. So with a bunch of young guys, Marshall playing on the outside for the first time, Trader getting a bunch of reps, Juju Brent’s getting some run. I’m curious what you saw in the zone distribution and then plastering after he got off schedule. Yeah, it was uh it took uh uh empty the tank type of effort. You know, I think the there was a lot of um good rush lane integrity, very disciplined pass rush um where he was um stepping up to um uh stepping up and then out uh through, you know, that was kind of an orchestrated rush plan. I think the uh the backend disguises um were uh the the top level that we had executed which was um you know I think affecting his decision-m and his progression that you know generally all offenses have timing elements to it um with predetermined reads and when you start going to reads too fast um sometimes you know there’s like a a one play jumps off uh a negative -4 completion um tackle for loss by Jack Jones and that was the he had gone through his pro progression that was his last player in his progression that the disguise um kind of threw him off timing and that allows people to be in position for a checkdown um and those types of executions I think um you know it was calculated what what we’re doing. I thought, you know, led by coach uh Weaver, the the plan was um and and really all the all the the entire defensive coaching staff, their plan was very tight. Um it was very purposeful and then the players um had made it come to life in in a real way. You can tell the the scheme is now theirs. Um, and when you play with football with a scheme that you own, um, 11 people can play with conviction. And that’s all we were looking for that game. That’s what I thought we we had throughout the, um, four quarters. Mike, after the Atlanta game, you obviously didn’t get the result that you wanted uh, the next game. How do you make sure that doesn’t happen again? Well, you know, I thought that um we we really established a a a tempo to our work week that we found successful in in that Atlanta prep and then um we had things fall short in the next game. So, the whole focus this past week was um taking what we’d learned from our prep for Atlanta and applying it to Buffalo um exclusively us and how we do things. So, this will give us another chance to replicate that um on the heels of um trying to replicate that in the in the first place. basically are trying to stack these the these games. Um and we know uh what’s at stake. There’s two very different outcomes that we’ve experienced in the last two weeks. So um my confidence is as high as it’s ever been and in the guys um uh uh really answering the bell for for you know the the type of preparation we have to have the the challenge. this this week is you have the international component. Um, and is that uh an extra opponent for you or is that um something null and void to the equation because you’ve established um the way that you non-negotiably want to um prepare, address, and execute a football game, you know. And so, uh, we’ll be, um, very focused on making sure that everything is exclusively, uh, commanders related, um, which is, uh, you know, whatever whatever opponent’s next, you have to, uh, do that in this league or you’re going to get humbled. And I want to ask about Jaylen Wadd. What’s something that he does better now at this point in his career versus when you first got here? there’s um when you’re I think he’s executing as a a um a an elite one receiver. Um to do that you have to be not only capable um of separating um against man coverage and um you know giving reason to be a primary in zone but you have to be um uh uh very connected to the timing of plays in critical situations. So his route running versus man coverage on third down whether he gets the ball or not he’s running um running routes to win that are demand that uh is what you expect for um from a a big time um receiver but there’s a different level of um there’s different levels of receiver play and I think when you’re uh connected with your uh physical capabilities but you’re um locked in and always um getting open when the quarterback’s ready to throw. Now, now you’re uh case in point, his his target to completion ratio super high. Um and when he’s not getting the ball, he’s he’s separating and um giving the opponent cause for concern because that they’re at the football game, too. And even if he doesn’t get the ball, they’re like, “We can’t cover that. We need we need to make ourselves light somewhere else which opens the opportunity for um you know the the post safety was very very focused on Jaylen Wadd when um Greg had that 22 yard gain you know things like that. So, um, and, uh, receivers, uh, he he was way down the field on that play because he had a really, he’s consistently getting releases, um, which is threatening the defense and, um, affecting plays when he doesn’t have the ball. Go ahead. Just having played an international game a couple years ago, just what did you learn from that experience as far as preparation, um, the approach, and can you lean on that experience? Yeah, I there was um we very much did in the in the preparation for this for this trip. Um there’s things that I thought we nailed and there’s things that you can learn from. Um the the biggest thing is that getting getting the team prepared for the unique portions of the trip. Um, it’s not, you know, I I I, you know, I like getting the guys out there and not um and and on the player day off, being able to, you know, to take advantage of of the opportunity to play abroad, but to do so kind of like it’s like um uh going somewhere for training camp. you get to do something um that uh that that encourages team bonding and and you get another rep at um doing things that you people have never done together. Um and then but then focusing throughout the week, there’s there’s a lot more media ass there’s a there’s a lot more it’s just a change in tempo. Um and like I said before, we we’ve recently found what we feel like is our formula to prepare for a game. and um making sure that that formula isn’t compromised um by location and uh alterations in schedule, much of which are, you know, there’s just attacking all the things that are unique um and making sure those just because they’re unique, they don’t affect our style of play um on the following Sunday. So, uh, it was it was very helpful, um, uh, having having a a trip and this not being the first time for us to do this and I’m looking forward to it. A few more injury questions. DS, Julian Hill, Ashton Davis, and Russell Douglas. Just where are they? Feeling great um about uh where where they were progressing. They were pretty close. Um, so I’m very optimistic for all of them. um uh very optimistic for all of them next week. And a quick followup, when you have a player that goes out there and plays as well as Juju Bruce does, how does that affect the the depth chart? Um well when players take advantage of the opportunity um they generally get more opportunities and specifically with him you know I thought you know not having a training camp and and being uh late addition that he’s done a phenomenal job understanding what we’re asking and I think he um put on uh you know a display of why he was here um and and really it uh he showed his evolution within the system so that he could um be a be a tool and a resource for us. So, he’s uh I think he’s earned more time on the field. How that um shapes out has to do with him and and uh um you know, all the other guys. But, uh anytime you have a guy step up, it helps the whole team because you just got better at the position regardless. um whe whether he’s if he’s not on the field, it’s because somebody’s playing very well or he’s on the field because of um the plays that he was cap capable of making. A question about your youth on the team. By my calculation, um 15 of the 47 players who played yesterday were third year or younger and um seven of the eight 2025 draftes played. Everybody except Quinn Yers. What have you learned about the young players this season? What did you learn specifically yesterday about the young players? They uh you know to quote Danny Green, they they are who I thought they were. That in terms of the internal fortitude of what it takes to um you know progress your game in the National Football League. Okay. Um you’ve had I think each each player’s had their moment where they’ve felt the weight of uh you know failure and the uh the desire for production and having to maintain confidence while growing is is the toughest code to crack in the National Football League. But what I think you’re starting to see is um you know why we had such strong faith in in their ability to do a challenging um but uh real opportunity which is have realistic real playing time a as a rookie. Um and you know I think the it’s what we were counting on. Um, I think all the guys uh are are past their uh their their rookie season um in our mind um for expectation and I think they they agree and uh um we’re we’re moving forward with uh football players that are learning how to play together and learning the standard with which you have to be prepared to um execute your assignment on every play. Devon Han obviously was very good from the first day that he stepped on the field for the Dolphins, but what have you seen him do that much better this year and in particular yesterday? So, I think he he you know, he’s a gifted athlete that is has learned how to challenge himself um and really change his his standard for uh an expectation for play. I think going into that game uh this past game, you know, we we tried to make very clear that this is a um we were going against a high strain, high effort collective that if we could get um a lot of guys covered up and we could get Devon one-on-one in space that, you know, the game plan was to kind of do that and let him um you know, make plays um on on one player without pursuit. And uh I think he really rose to the challenge. He um you know he had a a different level of focus and um he he put a bigger burden on his own shoulders to to um execute and make make guys miss in critical moments. And I think he uh he’s he’s also learned how to um get a lot of leaky yardage as I’d call it. A lot of post contact two to three yards on edges of defenders um which is which drastically affects you know the next play call the next third down down distance. And um you know, I think he’s doing a great job uh uh getting his game to a a spot that the team needs and um is extremely confident making more um even more plays and he’s always been a playmaker. So, um, I like where his games end. He’s still hungry to for more and so we’ll hopefully get more.

Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/channel/MiamiDolphins

#MiamiDolphins #NFL

For more Dolphins content: http://www.MiamiDolphins.com
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on TikTok: http://tiktok.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MiamiDolphins
Follow us on Reddit: http://reddit.com/u/yourmiamidolphins
Get the app: http://apps.apple.com/us/app/miami-dolphins/id563617073