The Dolphins ended their offseason program on Thursday, and Mike McDaniel seemed pleased with how his players so far have responded to an 8-9 season while also working to correct tardiness and other issues that hindered the team last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy with we\u2019re we are at….going into summer break,\u201d he said after the team had a closed walk-through to end a three-day minicamp. \u201cA team bond has occurred where you have a team identity. A standard has been created how we do our business, that is where I want it.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean moving forward? Now that we\u2019ve identified that, we have systems in place that is a daily application….<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys were highly motivated to have a different sense of team. Because they were motivated, all the people in place have worked together to satisfy that. We\u2019ve established what the standard of our team is, and that\u2019s a big deal moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
With regard to the 2024 culture issues that players and coaches have worked to correct, it was eyebrow-raising this week when linebacker Bradley Chubb said players were \u201clying\u201d last season when they spoke of having the right culture inside the team. Chubb then said the culture is genuinely better this season.<\/p>\n
Asked about that comment, McDaniel said: \u201cIt would have been awesome if he had told me on the front-end when they were lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
McDaniel addressed other issues, with the team going on break now until training camp begins the week of July 21:<\/p>\n
\u25aa He said receiver Jaylen Waddle, coming off a down season, \u201chas shown his teammates who he really is. The way he worked on his game has transferred into what we need to see from him and every player. Your best players must show a commitment to have growth in their game.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s understanding his role as a leader a little more. He has taken more ownership in the totality of practice. When he feels a lulls, he has no problem going over to the defense and starting some competitive vibes… The best players have to strive to be better… Everyone gets juiced when Waddle is juiced. He\u2019s been more juiced lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Did McDaniel feel defenses figured out Miami\u2019s offense last season and that he needs to adjust?<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things very clear is defenses spent time trying to… make us perform in all facets,\u201d he said, fully aware that Miami\u2019s number of 20-plus yard plays dropped from top five in the league in 2023 to bottom five last season in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201c… They\u2019ve showed us we have to earn our way out of that,\u201d McDaniel added. \u201cYou can easily [do that] as a group. If you\u2019re trying to do it just with passing, it\u2019s going to be difficult, close to impossible. It speaks to what we preach every day — balance, run affecting pass and vice versa. The point was kind of proven last year. It\u2019s up to us to lean into our philosophical beliefs…. You need to threaten people in multiple ways or they will make you pay.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDaniel made the comments a day after ESPN\u2019s Booger McFarland implored McDaniel to become more \u201cinnovative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa How has McDaniel changed his coaching style?<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for me to evolve,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m asking that of the players. It\u2019s important to lead by example in every way you can. There has been evolution. To be able to tell exactly what this is, it\u2019s hard to [explain]. It\u2019s something I\u2019m always searching for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa McDaniel said right tackle Austin Jackson \u201cis doing well\u201d and his absence from Wednesday\u2019s practice is \u201cnot related\u201d to last season\u2019s knee injury and surgery.<\/p>\n
\u25aa McDaniel said center Aaron Brewer \u201chas a skill set that\u2019s unique at his position.. He can be a very violent player.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa McDaniel said cornerback Cam Smith is \u201cdoing a great job. His key is how is he going to build on it?\u201d He said there have been \u201cgains\u201d in his game.<\/p>\n
\u25aa He said improving tackling has been a priority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dolphins ended their offseason program on Thursday, and Mike McDaniel seemed pleased with how his players so…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2049],"tags":[3922,18700,217,7,14706,216,251,2087,4836,6,185,3235],"class_list":{"0":"post-134116","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-aaron-brewer","9":"tag-bradley-chubb","10":"tag-dolphins","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-jaylen-waddle","13":"tag-miami","14":"tag-miami-dolphins","15":"tag-miamidolphins","16":"tag-mike-mcdaniel","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-team","19":"tag-the-dolphins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114692582536119704","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}