The 2024 season will be here before we know it, and the Miami Dolphins offense will look a little bit different this upcoming season. They have added some key parts to make the NFL’s #1 overall offense even better, which leads me to the statement: NO MORE EXCUSES!
That’s right. The Dolphins are coming off back-to-back seasons in which they had late-season collapses. They had an 8-3 start in 2022, which led to them not winning the division and being the final wild card spot and the 7th seed. In 2023, they had a 9-3 start, which once again led to them not winning the division and getting in the playoffs as the 6th wild card seed.
And it is easy for some to point the finger at the quarterback for the failure of the Dolphins to “Finish Their Story” in each season. But in reality, the finger should be pointed at Mike McDaniel.
Mike is the head coach; the buck stops with him.
Like every NFL head coach, Mike is judged on wins and losses at the end of the day. Winning regular season games is nice, but when you have an 8-3 and 9-3 start, you would hope some post-season success would happen.
It didn’t.
And yes, injuries were a factor, and yes, Miami’s defense gets some blame.
But in reality, this Miami Dolphins offense came up short in big games time after time in 2022 and 2023 and is the real reason Miami didn’t go further than what they did.
So, where did Miami’s offense lack last year, you ask?
Wide Receiver Depth
Well, Miami went out and added Odell Beckham Jr. this past week, and they used two of their draft picks on Malik Washington and Tahj Washington. Do I expect either Washington to make the team or contribute right out of the gate? I’m not sure but Miami used some valuable draft capital on this position so they may.
We saw Braxton Berrios and River Cracraft fail last season when they were asked to step up when Hill and Waddle were less than 100%.
We saw Robbie Chosen/Chosen Anderson, or whatever he calls himself, this week, and Chase Claypool came up short repeatedly when their number was called.
OBJ won’t come up small when his number is called. OBJ is a legit 3rd WR, and the two rookies will either play better than Berrios/Cracraft and take their jobs or push the two vets to play better, so either way, it’s a win-win.
The overall wide receiver depth is improved heading into this year. That can only help Mike McDaniel and his offense.
Tight End Talent
Last year, Miami’s tight end room was, well, how can we say this nicely? NOT VERY GOOD
Durham Smythe is a nice player but not exactly a dynamic tight end. Julian Hill is, well, a guy on an NFL roster.
So Miami went out and added Jonnu Smith, one of the most dynamic pass-catching tight ends in the NFL. Smith had 50 receptions last year in Atlanta on a poor offense. Then Miami went out and added Jody Fortson, who is probably a better version of Julian Hill. So, long story short, Miami’s tight end room has greatly improved over last year.
Running Back Depth
Last year, Raheem Mostert missed crucial time down the stretch in weeks 17 and 18 when Miami had huge games vs Baltimore and Buffalo. DeVone Achane got hurt in the preseason, went on IR in the season, and got banged up again after he got off IR.
Miami’s running back room isn’t bad; it’s just always injured. Then, behind them, you had Jeff Wilson (who Mike McDaniel had as a healthy scratch some weeks) and Salvon Ahmed, who also had his season cut short with an injury.
So Miami traded a third-round 2025 pick to get into the fourth round of this year’s draft and select Jaylen Wright, who some had rated as either the first or second-best running back in this draft.
So, if when Mostert and Achane go down again this year for a period of time and miss games, Miami should have some fresh legs with amazing speed ready to step in so the offense and that running game don’t miss a beat.
The Offensive Line
Now I know what you’re thinking: How come you’re not talking about the offensive line? Well, very little has changed since last year. We have a new center, but essentially, they brought everyone back and are putting the band back together, minus Robert Hunt.
Well, that was a decision made by the Dolphins coaching staff and front office. They could have drafted a plug-and-play offensive lineman in Rd 1, but they didn’t. They could have chosen a player in Round 2 who is “more NFL Ready” than Patrick Paul. They didn’t.
So, if that blows up in their face, it is their fault, and they can’t point the finger at anyone else.
I know Miami may still sign a guard after June 1st, and that is great, but is that really going to change the trajectory of Miami’s offensive line in 2024? Probably not.
The point is that McDaniel and Grier made the call not to address the offensive line in a serious manner, so they will live or die with that decision in 2024.
This leads to my overall point of this article: Mike McDaniel has no more excuses.
Yes, you had the #1 offense in the NFL last season. Great. Take a bow.
But it needs to be mentioned your offense struggled in both KC games, vs. Baltimore, vs. Buffalo not once but twice, and vs. Philly. Those are the caliber of teams you need to beat to bring the Dolphins to another level.
You have more weapons in the passing game, upgraded the tight end room, and added another super-fast running back; what else is needed at this point?
There are no more excuses for Mike McDaniel in 2024. Your offense better still be among the Top 5 in the NFL, and it better produce vs the good teams.
You are no longer a rookie head coach.
You are no longer a first-time playcaller, and you are still learning.
If this offense underperforms this year, takes a major step back in production, or can’t get the job done vs good teams, then all eyeballs will be on you.
No more excuses for Tua. All this QB wants Patrick’s money but they can’t win a playoff game or their Division. He isn’t worth 50 to 55 million a year and if he get it Ross need to sale the team. Tua fold the last 2 years at the end of the year when we need him most. He have played poorly last 2 years at the most important time of the year. An this is the man we trust not me . Everyone wants his money but they can’t beat him or win a playoff or their own division without folding. Tua
I fundamentally disagree with the premise of this article. As a coach, McDaniels can continue to get better if he shows any sense of humility. And he clearly has. The genuine way he treats his players, the desire for excellence that he has, and his willingness to take responsibility, for how this football Performs breath of fresh air. This is a man that can and will improve with time. This is a man who Accepts his mistakes and tries to get better.
Tua on the other hand has a much harder road To climb from being a One quarterback. And unfortunately, physically, I don’t think there’s much room for improvement. Yes, we don’t play well in winter, But it’s not McDaniel‘s fault. We’ve sucked in the cold weather for as long as I’ve been alive. But realistically, we’re not going to be as good this year as we were last year. I firmly believe that McDaniel deserves several more years to grow. I am definitely not ready to hand him the keys to the franchise yet. How many years did we give Taneyhill after all? I believe a coach deserves at least that.
You should be talking about Tua, because he’s the one throwing interceptions, and bad interceptions for that matter. It’s only McDaniel’s fault because he fully supports Tua. An undersized, already reached his ceiling, injury riddled quarterback. Last year was the only full season Tua has ever played, please don’t act like the outlier season is suddenly his MO.
Personally don’t care if they get rid of both of them, but McDaniel is not a better coach than Flores. Flores never got 100mil to improve any part of this organization, but McDaniel has now gotten 2 back to back seasons of throwing 100mil+ at free agents, but Flores still had a better winning record in December and the extra 100mil has only translated to 1 more regular season win and then an embarrassing playoff appearance.
Skylar was a better quarterback than Tua in the playoffs, but unfortunately McDaniel lacks the ability to have his offense ready and they took an embarrassing number of delay of game penalties.
Tua is like having John Beck behind center in the playoffs. A whole lot of 3 and outs followed by horrible interceptions. The guy fails every time he has a real challenge. Time to ditch this underachiever and get a real quarterback, but Ross is proof intelligence and wealth aren’t exclusive to one another.
Fuck the Dolphins, I look forward to texting my boys “I told you so” when they fail again late in the season. September and October don’t matter when you play like the 20th best team during the 2nd half of the season
I know everyone wants to blame Tua for not winning ‘big’ games and not winning a playoff game and say he doesn’t deserve big money. I disagree with that. However, I somewhat agree with this article. My takeaway from games against winning teams last season was that McDaniel got outcoached in most of those games by more experienced coaches, I kept saying to myself why is he game planning differently than he did against lesser opponents? Why aren’t we throwing deep as much for one thing? For example, in the KC playoff game, Tyreek, arguably the best WR in the NFL, only had 8 of 38 targets. Why? Are you telling me Reek can’t outrun two defenders on better teams or are you just afraid to try? Why get conservative and change what works all season because it’s against a better team? As for Tua, how about some slack? He had us one point away from a division title and home playoff game in 80 degree temperature instead of – 30 degrees before the defense collapsed and gave up 15 points in 4 minutes against Tenn. Additionally, how can people say Herbert is worth $50M/yr and Tua is not? Tua has led the NFL in rating or yardage each of the last 2 years, has a better record and is 2-0 against Herbert heads up and they have identical playoff records of 0-1.