Biggest question mark heading into Dolphins season: what is the identity of the offense?

Biggest question mark heading into Dolphins season: what is the identity of the offense?

Well, Mike Kuno’s on the Toyota of Hollywood hotline. You can watch him locally on CBS4 and nationally on CBS Sports HQ. And he will return this season as the sideline reporter on CBS4’s Dolphins preseason broadcast, which is very exciting. Kuno, I think Jimmy got that wrong. Where are you calling us from? Where uh where are you having the hot dog today on National Hot Dog Day? Jimmy seems like the only one on the program that understands me. and gets me. So, I think all of a sudden I’m team Jimmy. Mike, I told him I told him an hour ago, “Your ass ain’t eat no hot dog.” I got I know you. I mean, remember Mike used to do stuff for the show, though. He used to care about the show and then all of a sudden he’s on HQ and he’s doing Dolphin Sidelines. All of a sudden, he’s like a different guy. Yeah. I’m big I’m big timing you now. That’s what it is. I mean, you finally you finally cornered me to get me back on. Um, and yeah, I’m going to big time you a little bit here. Yeah, I mean I mean the guy, you know, in his in his earlier days in broadcast, you know, he would call me and he would go, “Listen, this Jimberry is eating up all my air time and uh and I can you get me on the radio at least.” And I I said, “I think I got I said I I think I can wedge you in if you’ll eat a McRib or something.” And he’s like, “Whatever you need, because I know Jim Barry won’t do that. So, whatever you need.” Yeah. So, I had to deal I had to deal with a week’s worth of guilt trips because I’ve been so busy with work. Hadn’t been able to come on. But he’s sending me clips of Josie. He’s sending me clips of Omar Kelly at at various establishments around like just like see they’re doing it. They’re doing it. I’m like, oh, real true friends of the show. Here’s Omar Kelly drinking a slurpee on 7-Eleven on prem. I have poisoned my body enough for you over the years. Uh, you got a fry at a Panther game. That’s all you get. The snack wrap was reintroduced. Couno wouldn’t go to McDonald’s for us. I figured hot dog day. Can you just Can you boil up a hot dog there at home then? I’m sure you have hot dogs in the fridge, right? Boil boil a hot dog. Well, I mean, you can’t grill it, right? Yeah. Yeah. What are we going to do? Why can’t I grill one? It doesn’t feel like you’re a guy who would fire up the grill at a moment’s notice. It seems like you’d have a whole procedure. Oh my god. I grill like four times a week. You do? Yeah. What about a zucchini dog? That little crowder powder. What’s that? A zucchini dog or something like that. Zucchini dog was my nickname in high school. Uh I bet it was. All right. Well, Mikeo disappointing us not calling from because we asked you to get a uh one of the roller dogs at 7-Eleven. When’s the last time you met? Man, I will I will never I I I don’t know. It’s been a while, but I will never do the roller dogs again. I told you the story in Tallahassee buying the two for $1 from like the Shell gas station roller dog because you’re like a broke college. I can’t go back to that. I can’t upgraded Hulk. Roller Gizzy. I mean, the old Kuno I used to know. Knock down a couple of Gizzies, wash it down with a Shamrock Jake. And I I don’t even know this guy anymore. Never happened. Never. None of that ever happened. I don’t even know this guy. Now he’s showing up at Panthers games with a Tupperware full of zucchini muffins. We had to catch him at Florida State. That’s when That’s when That’s when Bleep went down. That’s when Bleep went down. I would have I would have eaten a Tupperware at Florida State had you asked me. Like you guys just missed the boat alto together. You know, uh Salana counts as macros. Do you count macros? No, I used to do that stuff, but you got kind of get into a rhythm of what’s what and then you don’t have to you don’t have to count it. So, you just eat a whole lot of protein and and move on with your day. I don’t want to look at an app every time I have a have a meal. It’s pretty lame, huh? He likes What does he like? Micro greens. Is that what he He drinks micro greens and omega-3 eggs free range. Yeah. You ever have an uh omega-3 egg? I don’t I don’t know what that is. It’s just a cage-free egg, Mike. I mean, these guys are these guys are And how many times do I have to tell you? Were we caging? Were we caging eggs before? Were they going to escape? What are we What are we doing? Micro greens are a great source of fiber for the last time. But I think Mike brings up a great point. It’s a cage-free chicken. I don’t think we call it a cage-free egg because the Man, those eggs are quick. Why do you think the price went up this year on eggs? Well, that’s up for debate. I could go. So, again, he’s going to be doing the Dolphin sidelines for the preseason on CBS 4. Do we know, we were talking about this with a couple of guys, couple of analysts. Are the Dolphins one of the great unknowns this season where they could just as easy be a playoff team as they could just as easy be the seller dwellers in their own division? Like do we know? Do we have any idea going into the season what they’re going to be? Okay, so this is kind of the way I look like when I talk about a floor with the Dolphins. The way I look at it is what we saw last year with Tua in there and Tua out. So the combination of that was eight wins. So I think in my mind you start at about just Tua being there is going to like for an entire season you can put your floor somewhere right around seven or eight wins. So that to me and then what happens next where they could figure out the offense obviously the offensive line there’s going to be some changes there. That’s where I go. So that’s why I I I don’t see this team being a bad football team. Like I’m not like I don’t think they’re like a four- win team. I’m I’m just not going to buy that. Um I think they’re more it’s more like are you gonna get eight and nine Miami Dolphins or is it gonna or is the ceiling gonna be a little higher from there? That’s where I kind of put put their baseline because they are getting a lot of look Minka Fitzpatrick being back there at safety is certainly going to help but the defensive line’s going to look a lot better this year. Not so many injuries coming into the season. So I to me I I just don’t see them as one of these, you know, polarizing teams in terms of the number of wins. And Mike, you bring up the O line and I’m with you, you know, uh Armstead retiring and bringing in young guys. I can’t say his name. I’m not gonna try. the the second round pick. But my biggest question is quarterback. Like if I’m another team going into a game and it’s Kater Coo and Storm Duck, I’m not running the ball very much. Is Is that the biggest concern or is it another position? No, I mean, no, you’re right. It is. It is the biggest question mark. We’ll see if they can find a veteran sometime between now and then, maybe even trade for one. But that’s why I think that, you know, having Sheiler there and Chop and Jaylen and and Bradley, having that unit healthy, um, and getting to the quarterback, to me, that’s going to help so much. And, and you really, you know, I I think we kind of forget the, you know, what Bradley Chub was adding the year, you know, he was healthy when it was him, Cer, um, Jaylen for most of the year before he got hurt, like he was an 11 sack guy. uh he was either first or second in the team in tackles for a loss that year too. Like that that was a lot of production you lost with Bradley Chub and Jaylen being out. So that obviously would help that that that would help on the back end with those corners in terms of time to throw obviously, but you still need some dependable guys. So they they do have to figure that out. Um that is the biggest question mark going into camp. There will be camp battles and we’ll see if they can find someone maybe on the market that they can plug and play uh immediately. Hey, what about offensively? What’s the identity going to be in your mind, Kuno? Is it is it going to be in 2023 the Cuz I know we we’ve done and the Dolphins have been talking about they’re train they’re trying to change, you know, the culture inside the locker room and they’re trying to be a tougher team and what like they can say what they want to say, but when they start playing games, are they going to try to really be a more run first team or is this just going to end up being the track meet that we saw in 2023? because hey, Tyreek should be healthy, Wadd should be healthy, and hopefully Tua was healthy for 17. So that is my that is my number one question going into this year is what the offensive identity will be because look, last year they even told us like and you know Mike McDain said at times like even Tyreek was saying, “Hey, we need to be a little bit more balanced on offense in terms of the way we attack teams.” To me, you if you have two of the fastest guys in the NFL on the outside, use two of the fastest guys in the NFL on the outside. And then you know what Devon Hand can can give you out of the back field in terms of you don’t know whether he’s going to run the ball or be a pass catcher and we know all the motion and stuff they do. If you can figure that out, that part of the offense out again like you did in 2023, I’d much rather them see them go that way because sometimes using that threat to set up the run isn’t bad. We saw we saw Raheem Moert um set a Dolphins franchise record uh in terms of touchdowns that year and a lot of it’s coming out of the backfield. So to me, I I just think you just lean into lean into your your most talented players. Use them and and to me that’s that’s where I would go in terms of finding an identity. It it just it seems so simple. I know it’s not the NFL like there’s a lot of moving parts, but I would if it were me, I would go back to more of the track meet style. Get those guys going. Even Malik Washington, I mean, he had packages last year uh where you saw some flashes of that speed. I just I I I just like what they have at wide receiver and until they can tell me that and show me they can run the ball, just lean on those guys. Yeah, I’m with that. Who do you think they’re closer to? Being the team that they were in 2023 or being the team that we saw last season because I’ve made the case to Crowder and Solana and Jimmy that hey, ignore last year. Like only worry about 2023 when Tua was healthy. whatever you saw last year was to me an aberration. I expect them to look like they looked in 2023. Which one do you think is the the the closer to this team being this season? I I’m I’m going to caveat I’m going to say they’re closer to 2023, but I’m going to caveat this because last year that was just frustrating. That was just a frustrating year because of the injury at quarterback, him in and out of the lineup. So then that’s why I said like that’s to me that’s the baseline. If that’s how bad it’s going to be again, you know, this team’s going to be I I think at worst seven wins. Um the but man, there were just so many times that season 2023 where it looked like opposing defenses just had had no answers. And then there was times where some teams seem to figure it out like the Baltimore Ravens. Um I I’m just, you know, it’s a it’s it’s find the middle ground of whatever 2023 was. It’s not the 70 points and then it’s not the team that, you know, um went into Baltimore and got blasted. I I it’s somewhere in the middle where you’re seeing a lot of production where you’re seeing Tua being Look, that year Tua was the number one passer in the league in terms of yards and he was top five in terms of touchdowns. He had 29 that year. It’s got to he’s got to be somewhere in that 1 to8 range for this offense to me to be to be clicking at at what we remember seeing in 23. And Mike, speaking of two, it’s it runs through him. The team like I don’t say the offense, the team runs through him. If they don’t get to, you know, mid20s, you know, high 20s, 30s, like I don’t think they’re going to win, you know, choke teams out defensively. But is is is our concern of the backup quarterback something bigger this year because of what we saw with Tim Bole and Huntley and all those guys last year? Like when Zach Wilson gets in the game now, you really have to pay attention, don’t you? Yeah. So, think about this. So last year in terms of uh in terms of passing plays of 20 or more air yards, the Dolphins had 10 all season and that was I believe that was tied for 31st in the league where the year before they were first. So and you can see even even Tua his air yards uh last year took a took a bit of a dip. That’s why I think like like he’s got the offense has to go back to that 2023 style and having like having your quarterback room your backup quarterback room set you not know that these are the guys you know you’re not going back and forth or all of a sudden in in the end of July or mid August you got to find a new guy. No, the fact that these guys are going to be in it and you know, Zach Wilson has experience as a starter in this league, you feel a little bit better about that stuff and maybe trust it. Look, if Quinn yours is it gets in there at any point, something terrible has gone wrong, right? To like like two quarterbacks have gone down. I you probably feel Zack Wilson’s no good, which is a possibility. Which, you know, but we’ve but at least you’ve seen him start NFL games before. Um that’s why I say maybe he’s no good because I’ve seen him. Right. Right. I know. I know. But but at least there was some plan to address it this year where last year it felt like we were it was just kind of like like trying to play catchup the entire time something bad happened at the quarterback position. Gono, what did you think of the swing off to end the All-Star game last night? Thank you for asking because Salana tried to sneak in a really bad really bad take in the middle of the night. Um, I thought it was great. The only my only hangup on it was that um, Mr. Boon, pick someone else, right, to hit home runs on that line? Because we needed to see it come down to the last guy. That’s my only That’s my only gripe. Well, do you know why he was forced to pick who he was forced to pick? Did Did some guys just like hit the showers and leave? Am I making that up? Not just hit the showers were literally on airplanes. They like Aaron Judge was on an airplane. Like everyone left. The real stars play the first couple of innings because they start and then they get out of there so they can have a a little modicum of a vacation before the league starts back up again. But that was No, it was great. It’s a great idea and I love it and but there but there are certain guys across the league that just seem built for that kind of stuff. Schworber and Peter Lonzo would be top of my list in terms of who would you want to have a swing off. I would choose those two guys in any top five uh for a swing off ever. Um I loved it. I thought it was great. And I’m I’m also happy that Sters was able to contribute there in that spot because everyone around the country is probably like, “Who’s this Stardw guy?” But we’ve been watching him hit 19 home runs for the first half of the season. We knew he had the power to do it. Salana doubled down on it in the two o’clock hour. I mean, maintains it was awful. It uh No, no, I just didn’t love it the way everybody else loved it. Puno, everybody. I I I I texted Hawk before I even looked at Twitter. I was telling Hawk, man, like I don’t think this is good. I I don’t think this is fun. And then I go to Twitter and I’m expecting the same reaction. And I literally can’t find a single person who didn’t like it. Everybody’s talking about the entire night, right? Everybody’s talking about it being like the best thing that’s ever happened in sports. And I I didn’t have that reaction. I I didn’t I didn’t feel that way. You got to look at it. Look at it through the prism prism of baseball who has traditionally messed up this game by having ties and all a sudden calling games like they have over the last couple of years they have made adjustments to the game itself, whether it’s extra innings, whether it’s the pitch clock, whether it’s the robotic umps that are coming into play. This was just another thing that baseball fans, young and old, can point to and go, “This was a cool way to end this.” So that Did you see the last out of the game, dude? That little check swing where the ball didn’t leave the batters box. Like, how can the All-Star game end in a 6-6 tie on that? So, like, to me, that’s why they needed something that would have been the most antilimactic finish to an All-Star game after the way that AL came back in that they were down 6 nothing. and for it to end on that little check foul ball whatever um would have been a disaster. So look at the prism of the changes baseball has made and you just put this in the win column for what they’ve been doing. You call it a disaster. I I would have called it uh spectacular because it means I could have gone to bed earlier instead of watching a bunch of guys taking you were watching it. You literally only tuned it out because I texted you I texted you that there’s a dong off like you I mean that’s the only reason. Yeah. Yeah, I didn’t watch a single minute of the All-Star game, Mike. I didn’t even know about the check swing. That does sound ridiculous. Oh my god. You see, that’s what I’m saying. You’re arguing with Yeah. And And a little con a little context, buddy. You know, like man, you’re so you’re so good at this like that that you’re perfect for. This is why you win these awards for Miami Times because you could just swoop in with a hot take, not have seen an entire game and and just, you know, you zigged when everyone zagged. Guy told us Julian Hill was going to be the next great tight end for the Dolphins. Could be. I’ve got I’ve got Kuno today. He will not say a bad word about Zack Wilson or Julian Hill. This dude is excited for his sideline. Taran Waller trying to get him to take a shot at Jim Barry at uh I I mean I’m giving him easy targets. He’s passing on all of the only thing he wants to attack is Gizzies. Yeah. See, I know how to I know how to bob and weave. I’m doing giving you the old rope. Oh, we’ve noticed I’m giving you the rope a dope while still getting air time, which is which is just beautiful. like this is like used. You have an air fryer. Someone texts in that you could air fry a hot dog. Uh I used to have an air fryer and then it and then it crapped out on me. Um which is was a disaster because I used to man my old my old go-to candy was you dice up a little mango, put some chili powder on it and make and dry a mango in there and like little I am on a mango kick lately. Funny that you say mango. When’s mango out of season? Because I am on a major mango kick. It’s getting there. It’s getting there if it isn’t already. Yeah. It’s never really out of season, though. You just go to Publix, you buy some mango. Can you get mango all year long? All year long. Yeah, you can. But that’s not candy, Mike. That’s a dried mango. Don’t call that candy. You’re not You get the right mango, though. It is almost like c The ripe mango at the heart of mango season is almost like eating a Snickers bar. That’s ridiculous. Caramel comes out of it and everything. And Hulk, you better quit trying Jim Barry. Jim Barry ain’t no easy win now. Oh, listen. I uh I used to have Jim Barry on the show till Coono stole his slot and now all of a sudden uh won’t do any of the fun stuff that he promised. Who? Me or Jim? Is this how Is this how Jim got off doing this? Is that how he got out of it? Pretty much. Yeah. Couldn’t For whatever reason, I could not get Jim Barry to agree to go get an Orange Julius while talking about the Panthers preseason to pick this man’s brain a little bit more. See you Kuno. We love you. Love you too. Hey

Previewing Miami Dolphins training camp with CBS4’s Mike Cugno.