Five things Mike McDaniel, Dolphins need to tackle this season – Orange County Register

The Miami Dolphins made a surprising change at the end of the 2021 season, moving from Brian Flores to Mike McDaniel.

Despite the new direction, this cannot be seen as a rebuild after consecutive seasons winning for the first time since 2003, both games in which the Dolphins have won a single victory without a stop. after the season. McDaniel should immediately be compared to the standards set by Flores, so forget a learning curve for the 38-year-old first-time head coach.

Flores has come under fire, in large part, for the way he head-butted owner Steve Ross and general manager Chris Grier. Ross pointed to a lack of communication and cooperation as he explained the decision. Flores countered by naming the Dolphins in a class-action lawsuit against the NFL, alleging racist biased recruiting and retention practices against Black coaches for prominent roles. turn on. His most damning claim in Miami is that Ross provided a financial incentive for the gains and losses in the 2019 season, which Ross has vehemently denied.

Now, Ross and Grier have hired a stylistic opposite to McDaniel. For McDaniel, who has a background in offensive coaching, to make it seem smart for them to pick him, he’ll have to turn Miami’s attack while maintaining the team’s defense on the way to goal. overall including reaching the knockout round.

With most of McDaniel’s coaching staff already on hand, here are five things McDaniel and the Dolphins must do this season:

Be interested in Xavien Howard’s contract

First, stay true to what’s good with the team.

The Dolphins will have a potential capped amount of space leading the league and why not use a small portion of that to appease your best player on the roster and make sure he’s satisfied?

When Miami added 2021 incentives to Howard’s contract during training camp last August, it was merely a warm-up that could take to the streets, keeping him in the off-season to get him to withdraw. request your transaction. After Howard’s 2020 10 interception campaign, he’s added 5 more in 2021, one for a single touchdown, tying and recovering two defeats, returning one of those for a grounding and can be largely credited for at least two of Miami’s most impressive wins with a forced game changer.

With the Dolphins keeping defensive coordinator Josh Boyer out of Flores’ regimen, along with many other defensive assistant coaches, the scheme will likely remain similar. And for Miami to comfortably roam, the team needs to be sure at full-back with Howard, Byron Jones facing him and Nik Needham in nickel. Make sure you prioritize Howard’s defensive success last year.

Find out what you have in Tua

Reports come out that the Dolphins were intent on sticking with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa during his third NFL season before McDaniel was hired, so he probably had to be on board with Tagovailoa before taking the job.

Now, McDaniel must figure out how to turn Tagovailoa into a quarterback starting in the NFL’s top half, meaning a top 15 finish in the league, to prove his confidence after this season. Tagovailoa has had every good reason, from recovering from a hip injury that ended his college career to lack of organizational support in the pursuit of Deshaun Watson, to a matador offensive line and lack of attacking players.

Regardless of what Tagovailoa has around him, he himself has shown unsettling limitations with his arms and zip in his throws. Another year removed from a hip injury could ease some of those worries, along with a season after rib and finger injuries cost him time in 2021. All of these factors have led to some of his uneven games over two seasons, but if he has to battle injury again in 2022, it will be difficult to continue. business into the hands of such an injury-prone defender.

Fix attack path

A key factor in keeping Tagovailoa healthy is handling this attack, especially in blocking positions where there’s a lot of pressure. The Dolphins have used up too much draft capital on the line in recent years and are still arguably the worst at securing passes.

There are several liners the Dolphins can draft with their pick from the 49 at the end of the first round, but there’s good reason to feel uncomfortable letting Grier draft another line-up. Part of the fix has to be through the free agent with its old, established options. McDaniel knows what a strong offensive line looks like when working with the 49ers, and his offensive coordinator also hires Frank Smith, so their assessment skills can help bolster this unit.

They’ll also find people lining up for what they want to do, a running game that features an outside area map. The Dolphins are likely to be the first offenders under McDaniel, and that could play a role in facilitating Tagovailoa.

Find a top shelf inside the liners

This is where the defense of the Dolphins can take the next step. It has been very strong up front on defence, especially if Miami can secure a defensive finish to Emmanuel Ogbah this season. The crossing peaks there between Ogbah, Jaelan Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel and others even including the safes. That youthful combination of Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones has ample potential, especially when combined with the coverage of Howard and Byron Jones as they enter their game.

Jerome Baker is a great leader in this defence, and he’s flexible when he slides to play outside defender or combine with another inside defender when in the basic 3-4 set. That could be the final piece to an already established defense that Flores switched to with McDaniel keeping defensive coordinator Josh Boyer in that role.

Add more players

First, if McDaniel wanted to introduce the running game, as he already knew, he might favor the running back position over the Dolphins did under Flores. Grab your chance to come back early so you don’t get counted among a bunch of late-round or unqualified runners before season-old additions like Duke Johnson and Phillip Lindsay take over. defender at the end of the year.

McDaniel will be happy to find ways to get Jaylen Waddle’s ball, but he’ll need the help around him to stay fit and ready. Will Fuller was supposed to deliver that as a deep threat in 2021, but Miami only had one game and his quarter never coincided with Tagovailoa’s readiness. Find another recipient to complement the rest of the offense. Close-Ending Mike Gesicki’s lack of deterrence wouldn’t match McDaniel’s offense, but letting him walk away also opens another hole for a catch threat.