MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Monday wasn’t a day for the well-rested at Miami Dolphins HQ.
The team charter from Germany touched down in South Florida well, well past midnight, leaving little time to sleep before a full day of self-reflection and correction after a maddening loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
They returned home to a country of skeptics since the Dolphins (6-3) are now winless in three chances against teams with winning records.
But the “hurt” — coach Mike McDaniel’s words — that came with game film review Monday wasn’t just an exercise in masochism.
It had a purpose. It reminded coaches and players alike that the Dolphins can compete with the NFL’s best — if they get out of their own way.
Are the Miami Dolphins Pretenders or Contenders?
“The feeling of the locker room is that when we lose, we beat ourselves,” McDaniel said. “And it so happens, I think, in this season, that when we have beaten ourselves, there’s been three teams that have really taken advantage of that, and they all have winning records. Correlation, causation?
“The bottom line is we’re finding different things out that have nothing to do with our opponents, in my opinion, as much as they deserve credit.”
MORE: Miami Dolphins Depth Chart
In other words, if the Dolphins play their game, they’re as good as anyone. And that’s true. No team had scored 70 in a game in decades. The Dolphins did that.
The fact that it came against a sub-.500 opponent in the Denver Broncos shouldn’t obscure the fact that when the Dolphins are on, they’re nearly unstoppable.
Their problem? They’ve been off in every marquee game they’ve had this year.
When they lose, they commit penalties (24 in their three losses, 30 in their six wins), turn the ball over (four in their losses), and fail to make the big plays when they’re there.
Sometimes, it’s a miscommunication between quarterback and receiver. Sometimes it’s a drop. Sometimes, it’s a botched QB-center exchange.
Sunday featured all three.
Tyreek Hill had arguably his worst game as a Dolphin, losing a fumble (which KC returned for a touchdown) and adding to his league-leading total in drops (he has six on the year).
“In order to win those big games against those better teams, the penalties, the costly penalties, the big plays that need to be made at certain times, have to happen,” said Dolphins tackle Terron Armstead. “We feel extremely confident that we can and will, even though the narrative is that we haven’t, which we haven’t. The facts are the facts, and we can’t argue that.”
Mike McDaniel’s Plan To Get It Fixed
It’s good that the Dolphins have identified the problem. Now, they need to come up with a solution.
Concentration lapses — particularly in the biggest games — have been the team’s biggest shortcoming during the McDaniel Era.
MORE: Week 10 NFL Power Rankings
Back in January, they had a chance to pull off the biggest upset in Wild Card Round history, but their game operation stunk late against the Bills, and it killed their late rally.
“I think you’re always trying to assess how you can do stuff better,” McDaniel said. “I think that starts from the top. I think it’s important for me to be proactive in finding things that can be done better.
“I also think that it’s as important that the pillars of importance stay consistent. I don’t see anything but the daily application of your intent, your focus, your deliberate nature, the presence that’s involved with that. I think that’s the nuts and bolts of everything, and everything can extrapolate from that.
“… I think overall, it’s that much more important for me to double down on the pillars and values of being present, deliberate practice, and game-like workweeks that will ultimately render more successes than failures and being able to win big games against tough opponents.”
McDaniel added that the team’s poor record against playoff-caliber teams during his time here is not some big mental block his locker room needs to overcome.
“I don’t think our team is in need of any prove-it in that way,” he explained. “I think that it’s important to understand that the narrative will continue until we change it. But I honestly also don’t think that that’s something that’s in the back of our team’s mind. I think correlation and causation are two different things, and I don’t think that we’re losing games because we don’t believe.
“Good teams have made us pay when we’ve allowed ourselves to be vulnerable, in terms of shortchanging our execution, fundamentals or technique, and that, as we’re learning, NFL teams are good, and it’s to be expected,” McDaniel added. “… I think we’re all aware of that narrative. It’s a pretty no (expletive). I’m very comfortable with it because I wouldn’t want to be like, ‘No, this is you don’t have to prove it. You’re entitled to our belief.’ No, this is what we do. Our team doesn’t want to be given anything.
“We’ll continue to work. We’ll let people talk about the things that move the needle for the business of football, but if we’re doing our jobs and worried about the right stuff, we’ll change the narrative.”
From the current NFL standings to team depth charts to coverage of every game in the 18-week NFL schedule, we have all the news from around the league to keep you up to speed!