Post Game Press Conference – Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel

DOLPHINS HEAD COACH MIKE MCDANIEL

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

October 6, 2024

Q: How does it feel to walk out of here with a win compared to what could have happened there in the final minutes?  

MM: I think this is a cool game for our team because you know what it usually takes to be able to beat the Patriots is the type of game that I thought our team really needed in terms of winning when everything isn’t great, winning when there’s a ton of frustrating things that happened during a game and leaning into what we’ve really learned to be a strength of our team, which is the defense. Again, another valiant effort. It was a big deal. It’s been 24 days since the Buffalo game. In the NFL losing streaks are real. They’re not fun. So for the team to have to find a way to overcome a lot of sloppiness that wasn’t to do with intent or preparation, but you know, things that we have to clean up in our game and to be able to still find a way it feels great. Kind of knew it was going to be a game like this, but you want to see your team take steps forward. I thought we did today.

Q: Both Wright and Mostert cleared 80 rushing yards today. Was that the plan throughout the week to be that ground-heavy, especially after your injury to De’Von?

MM: Yeah, I think we had been disappointed with what we’ve produced on the ground just in general. So it was a huge point of emphasis to really hone in on our fundamentals and the technique. To the credit of the offensive line, they punched some holes. I think the running back room was ready to put the team on their back, so to speak. I think having Raheem back was awesome. It was unfortunate to lose De’Von for sure. Then you saw a rookie play some snaps where you can feel his confidence just being established. So the plan was to be able to go toe-to-toe and win any way you need to, and I think that was the main objective led by the captains. I think they did a really phenomenal job of keeping everyone’s head space correct. It was very fitting that one of our newly-minted captains this year, Alec Ingold, scored the touchdown because he was a heavy part of the run game production this week for sure.

Q: On the final drive there was a physical presence running the ball that we really haven’t seen much of that yet.

MM: I think when I say the game we’re looking for, we’re not looking to be frustrated, but you know, you have some frustrating points during the course of a game, and nobody cares. Then you have a 17-play drive to get your first touchdown of the day. That’s something that I think when you are talking about your football team and the types of games you want to win, you know, that’s very similar to November, December football where certain weeks you have to strap up and be able to win the line of scrimmage and do it down in and down out. I think that’s a huge piece of the puzzle to me that — we weren’t measured in our words to each other in team settings this week. We challenged each other to be able to win a game like that just in general and not have to have super explosive plays to win a football game. I think that that’s what I’m really proud of is that I know what it takes for our team, in particular that has high ambitions, to put together a 17-play drive at the end of the game, and that means you’re staying locked in regardless of result during the course of it. That’s something we can built upon as we clean up the layers of things we have to clean up.

Q: It was a mixed bag for special teams today, but overall I think it’s 11 penalties now for the season for that unit. How will that unit be evaluated?

MM: Very critically. I think you have to assess the common denominators. The thing I was proud of is you have several things that don’t go your way, you hit a post, and you have a snap that you wish you could have back, but I think we were able to get several very crucial points after that. So the resolve. You don’t want to have to test your resolve every week, but that was an important piece. And then, you know, you give up a blocked punt, but then had complete faith that that would get corrected and that we would be able with the game on the line to get New England to burn their time-outs and trotted that same unit back out there. So those are things to build upon, and they’re much easier to do in the win column. I think that that gives you the opportunity to really assess the common denominators because that’s what you’re trying to find. A lot of times penalties come from particularly offensively and – really in all three phases. Sometimes penalties can occur because people are trying too hard to own their responsibility, and they’re leveraged or edged, and then you hold or you – really all three phases that same thing can occur. I’m careful or judicious with looking at full sale this has to be better to continue to win football games. So you have to find some resolution, and that will come through collective study and effort by our coaching staff and then apply it to the players as we do across the board.

Q: Anything you can say about the injury to Achane and Holland?

MM: Yeah, just coming off the field. We’ll be evaluating those in the next couple of days. I do know that De’Von was out with a head injury that I believe to be a concussion, so he will be in the protocol. Then we’ll check out what Jevón — the extent of that is, which fortunately we have a bye week, so we have time to figure that stuff out.

Q: Speaking of the bye week, what does this week mean for Tyler Huntley to be able to stay in the classroom, stay in the lab without having to play a game on Sunday?

MM: It’s huge. You’re playing catch-up the whole time that you’re playing football and you’re knowing your responsibilities, your knowing what the pass concepts are, and now you have a chance to study really the strengths and weaknesses of certain things. For him to play convicted, I think it’s going to be huge for him just to have things settle down because you don’t really have time for much when you are just jumping in in an NFL workweek. You have to orchestrate a lot of moving parts, and I thought he did a good job handling all that. He has done a phenomenal job really since he’s been here, but it was a step forward today for sure.

Q: The snap that went by him, was that — what happened there?

MM: We were executing a no-huddle play. He was communicating to the line of scrimmage and communicating to the offensive line what the play was. Then after he did that, he was communicating to the Z receiver. Brew thought he heard the cadence, which Snoop hadn’t given any sort of indicator of a cadence, but he thought he heard one. So he snapped it, which is why it was a gigantic negative. Moving the ball pretty well, but it was one of the three drives in the first half that you felt like you should have points in some way, shape, or form on that drive hoping to convert and get in the red zone and score a touchdown. So that was part of the things that we got in our own way, which is why it’s — you can clean those up all day, but you know, for our team we needed to find a way to win a football game with that adversity right in our face, which is what I was happy about.

Q: Alec used the word to describe Tyler, “command.” How much of a sense for his command of this offense when he’s not on the field? Like do you get to interact with him on the sideline? You hear coaches report back to you about him?

MM: Absolutely, I can tell by the conviction with the other ten people coming out of the huddle. When you’re in a huddle and people have conviction and ownership of — and command of the huddle, you see people leave with certainty from the huddle. Then on top of that, every single play his technique and fundamentals I think I’m connected with. So after the ball is snapped, whatever coverage is presented, you have an idea where the ball should go, and you are watching his technique through to the defensive structure. I could tell all week that he was going to operate in a high fashion, but I could feel during the game simply through his teammates and how they’re approaching each play even if it was a run, and it was with conviction to the line of scrimmage on almost every snap. I think we did have one presnap motion penalty, but beyond that, it was — that was much improved from the week before.

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