Week 4 opponent Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott had the highest of praise for the Miami Dolphins this week:
“Very good skill,” McDermott said this week. “Tua [Tagovailoa] is throwing the ball extremely well. And their schematics are almost revolutionary in what they do. Coach [Mike] McDaniel is very creative and does a lot of things to get you out of position on defense.”
McDermott is half-right. What the Dolphins are doing isn’t almost revolutionary. It’s legit changing the game — and how the NFL‘s customers experience the game.
Miami Dolphins Offense Is ‘Almost Revolutionary’
On Monday, there were two dreadful nationally televised games. The combined scores of the four teams that played (Eagles 25, Buccaneers 11 and Bengals 19, Rams 16) was 71.
The Dolphins alone scored 70 the day before.
And how those teams scored those points were dreadfully dull compared to the perpetual motion machine they built in South Florida.
That prompted us to send out the following tweet:
Gotta say 90% of the NFL offenses are borderline unwatchable after experiencing what the Dolphins run
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) September 26, 2023
The response was overwhelming — and overwhelmingly unanimous.
Here are a few representative replies:
@ghouleh: “This is a major issue. Makes watching other games so difficult. Why is no one open! Where’s the motion!! Omg!!!! move damn you!!! Just crazy how our minds are being rewired.”
@KVil32: “Yes! I tried getting into Monday night football. Turned it off in 20 mins. WAY too slow!”
@TheRealNadelman: “Watching both the games tonight thinking the same thing. Everything looks slow, and I caught myself saying ‘look at them, still running the same basic old school offense'”
The good news for consumers? The NFL is a copycat league, as we explain in our latest PFN Miami Dolphins Podcast, so expect to see teams poach McDaniel’s coaching staff and playbook in the coming offseason.
But that won’t help the Bills, who on Sunday host the Dolphins in the biggest game of this young season.