Less is More | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Less is More

McDaniel's performance as a play-caller and game-manager is certainly in question for a host of reasons.

He's got things to address in '25 and he'll either do it or he'll probably lose his job given that the Dolphins are not particularly loyal to these relative cheap / inexperienced HCs they hire.


The argument is tough though. On the one hand, McDaniel has given Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert and Jonnu Smith the best years of their respective careers. Pretty much every one of those guys has reached the Top-5 in something extremely relevant. McDaniel's also gotten a lot from Achane & Ingold and there's hope the same might continue with Wright in year #2.

That's a lot to brag about, especially when it involves virtually every position of production within your offensive roster: QB, WR, TE, RB, FB, etc.

Still, those are mostly all good players who have all had solid careers or will do so independent of what team they're on and who's calling plays. So McDaniel earned some leeway but he does need to pick it up, particularly WRT managing games. His challenges, play-calling and in-game operations are all in question.
 
Last edited:
Mello Yello said:
McDaniel's performance as a play-caller and game-manager is certainly in question for a host of reasons.

He's got things to address in '25 and he'll either do it or he'll probably lose his job given that the Dolphins are not particularly loyal to these relative cheap / inexperienced HCs they hire.


The argument is tough though. On the one hand, McDaniel has given Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert and Jonnu Smith the best years of their respective careers. Pretty much every one of those guys has reached the Top-5 in something extremely relevant.

That's a lot to brag about, especially when it ranges from QB to WR to TE to RB. He's also gotten a lot from Achane/Ingold and there's hope the same might continue with Wright in year #2.

Still, those are good players who have all had solid careers or will do so independent of what team they're on and who's calling plays. So McDaniel earned some leeway but he does need to pick it up, particularly WRT managing games. His challenges, play-calling and in-game operations are all in question.
Click to expand...

This is true but it reminds me of the Wildcat days where the Dolphins took the league by storm but the following years, average.

McDaniel didn't evolve his game after his monster year 1. Once teams took away the over the top routes, Mcdaniel started Behind LOS passes...

Also, the lack of game management and too long to get plays in, wasting Time outs. It is not a Tua issue. When Tua was dealing with concussions and we had backups, they also had difficult time getting the plays on time. It's a HC issue.
 
Too complicated. Un-necessary for the QB to have that much going on in his head and try to perform the play to perfection after it took 30 secs to figure out what the hell they are going to do. This clip of Tua telling what goes on pre-play and what he has to process is enough for me.

I am willing to bet other teams with more successful offenses than ours do not have this complicated of a playbook and pre-snap mental calculations. If the QB who should know everything about every play is struggling, think about the OLinemen.

Set your players up for success. Upgrade your OLine, give Tua plenty of audibles and go play football. I will be so glad when Black Monday '26 arrives (Might not take that long).
 
stillhardcore said:
Too complicated. Un-necessary for the QB to have that much going on in his head and try to perform the play to perfection after it took 30 secs to figure out what the hell they are going to do. This clip of Tua telling what goes on pre-play and what he has to process is enough for me.

I am willing to bet other teams with more successful offenses than ours do not have this complicated of a playbook and pre-snap mental calculations. If the QB who should know everything about every play is struggling, think about the OLinemen.

Set your players up for success. Upgrade your OLine, give Tua plenty of audibles and go play football. I will be so glad when Black Monday '26 arrives (Might not take that long).
Click to expand...
Yep, Tua may not be the smartest guy in a MENSA exam but I believe he knows FB. McD has to have play calls that allows Tua to command the play at the line. Defenses have a huge advantage if they consistantly snap at a second ort two on the clock and there isn't enough time to coord the correct blocking.
 
artdnj said:
Yep, Tua may not be the smartest guy in a MENSA exam but I believe he knows FB. McD has to have play calls that allows Tua to command the play at the line. Defenses have a huge advantage if they consistantly snap at a second ort two on the clock and there isn't enough time to coord the correct blocking.
Click to expand...
This is an excellent point!

Snapping the ball 1-2 seconds before hitting 0 gives the Defense a chance to time it well.

Like you said, Tua may not be the smartest but he played at high college level at Bama. Tua's biggest asset besides his accuracy is reading the field.

You remove his ability to see the field and chance of going through his progressions. I am convinced that we need to keep Tua. Imagine Sean Payton with Tua.... look what he did with their QB.
 
artdnj said:
Yep, Tua may not be the smartest guy in a MENSA exam but I believe he knows FB. McD has to have play calls that allows Tua to command the play at the line. Defenses have a huge advantage if they consistantly snap at a second ort two on the clock and there isn't enough time to coord the correct blocking.
Click to expand...
Yes, never thought of that angle. You know when the offense is going to snap the ball if only 1, or 2 secs left. Maybe explains why the DLinemen are 3 yds. deep in our backfield before we hand the ball off! This complicated pre-snap calculations are also why we never run the 2-minute hurry-up offense....it takes too much time to figure out what play to run!
 
Dthrill_08 said:
This is true but it reminds me of the Wildcat days where the Dolphins took the league by storm but the following years, average.
Click to expand...

IMO, the narrative of what the Wildcat was and what it meant is far better when connected to running QBs now dominating the NFL where offenses have a strategic advantage in terms of blocking and the defense really doesn't know what's coming and has to simultaneously play both the run and the pass and do so for far longer than the normal 2-4 seconds.

To that extent, the legacy of the Wildcat is that it paved the way for how football is now played. Thus it's alive and well in today's NFL.

That's an entirely different narrative but one that's very interesting nonetheless.

Dthrill_08 said:
McDaniel didn't evolve his game after his monster year 1. Once teams took away the over the top routes, Mcdaniel started Behind LOS passes...
Click to expand...

To your 2nd point, McDaniel has most certainly evolved his offense in each of the 3 years.

In '22 McDaniel instantly made Tyreek & Waddle dominant players right out of the gate. That cannot be downplayed. His ability to script an offense in the offseason and show up week-1 with something devastatingly potent is a clear advantage he brings to the table. Still, at that point most plays began with stationary players.

In '23 the motions really kicked into high gear and this again proved to be a massive problem for opposing defenses. The way Tyreek ripped apart the Chargers defense in week-1 starting in motion demonstrated right out of the gate the offseason tweaks were going to re-shape the Dolphins offensive attack. It was clearly a problem for opposing defenses.

In '24 we saw full use of TEs and RBs in hopes of spreading the ball around and sustaining longer drives. While it obviously accomplished that, it didn't result in an improvement overall because it cost the team in terms of explosiveness. But it's not clear to what extent Tyreek Hill's injury played a part in his reduced involvement.


To argue McDaniel hasn't put his hands on the offense each year and proven beyond any doubt that he can affect change is clearly wrong though. There is not a single OC in the game today who has done so much to innovate his offense as McDaniel. Like him or not as a HC, he's a wickedly clever OC and the way he's rebooted Tua's career, gotten his people paid and made everyone in his offense (more) famous is a credit to what he does.
 
Last edited:
stillhardcore said:
Too complicated. Un-necessary for the QB to have that much going on in his head and try to perform the play to perfection after it took 30 secs to figure out what the hell they are going to do. This clip of Tua telling what goes on pre-play and what he has to process is enough for me.

I am willing to bet other teams with more successful offenses than ours do not have this complicated of a playbook and pre-snap mental calculations. If the QB who should know everything about every play is struggling, think about the OLinemen.

Set your players up for success. Upgrade your OLine, give Tua plenty of audibles and go play football. I will be so glad when Black Monday '26 arrives (Might not take that long).
Click to expand...

Other team's complicated plays play some part, but watching the playoffs, talking heads would say 'X is playing a lot of 2 deep,' but the opposing O was still relatively successful on deep shots. Plus, playing 2 deep, and MIA WRs still can't get open consistently. Another observation during the playoffs . . . how frequently Os got to LOS with 15 sec on the clock, as opposed to Miami's 5-10. 5-10 more seconds for the QB to diagnose the D is a lifetime.
 
stillhardcore said:
Yes, never thought of that angle. You know when the offense is going to snap the ball if only 1, or 2 secs left. Maybe explains why the DLinemen are 3 yds. deep in our backfield before we hand the ball off! This complicated pre-snap calculations are also why we never run the 2-minute hurry-up offense....it takes too much time to figure out what play to run!
Click to expand...
Timing is crucial to offset any defensive advantage. Frankly, I think McD receives way too much credit for scheming or designing plays. I think his play calls are predictable so I am sure a really good DC is quite tuned in to the way we operate and doesn't let all the motion stuff confuse his players.

One point, we struggle with short yardage, struggle long time and what nuance has he come up with? Has he tried a big fellow to lead block? A Dlineman or any big body to carry/push ala several teams who have come up with something. I am not a fan, stagnation and same 'ol with this O
 
Mello Yello said:
IMO, the narrative of what the Wildcat was and what it meant is far better when connected to running QBs now dominating the NFL where offenses have a strategic advantage in terms of blocking and the defense really doesn't know what's coming and has to simultaneously play both the run and the pass and do so for far longer than the normal 2-4 seconds.

To that extent, the legacy of the Wildcat is that it paved the way for how football is now played. Thus it's alive and well in today's NFL.

That's an entirely different narrative but one that's very interesting nonetheless.



To your 2nd point, McDaniel has most certainly evolved his offense in each of the 3 years.

In '22 McDaniel instantly made Tyreek & Waddle dominant players right out of the gate. That cannot be downplayed. His ability to script an offense in the offseason and show up week-1 with something devastatingly potent is a clear advantage he brings to the table. Still, at that point most plays began with stationary players.

In '23 the motions really kicked into high gear and this again proved to be a massive problem for opposing defenses. The way Tyreek ripped apart the Chargers defense in week-1 starting in motion demonstrated right out of the gate the offseason tweaks were going to re-shape the Dolphins offensive attack. It was clearly a problem for opposing defenses.

In '24 we saw full use of TEs and RBs in hopes of spreading the ball around and sustaining longer drives. While it obviously accomplished that, it didn't result in an improvement overall because it cost the team in terms of explosiveness. But it's not clear to what extent Tyreek Hill's injury played a part in his reduced involvement.


To argue McDaniel hasn't put his hands on the offense each year and proven beyond any doubt that he can affect change is clearly wrong though. There is not a single OC in the game today who has done so much to innovate his offense as McDaniel. Like him or not as a HC, he's a wickedly clever OC and the way he's rebooted Tua's career, gotten his people paid and made everyone in his offense (more) famous is a credit to what he does.
Click to expand...
Valid points but he has some glaring failures against good teams and that is our dagger in the back
 
Mello Yello said:
McDaniel's performance as a play-caller and game-manager is certainly in question for a host of reasons.

He's got things to address in '25 and he'll either do it or he'll probably lose his job given that the Dolphins are not particularly loyal to these relative cheap / inexperienced HCs they hire.


The argument is tough though. On the one hand, McDaniel has given Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Raheem Mostert and Jonnu Smith the best years of their respective careers. Pretty much every one of those guys has reached the Top-5 in something extremely relevant. McDaniel's also gotten a lot from Achane & Ingold and there's hope the same might continue with Wright in year #2.

That's a lot to brag about, especially when it involves virtually every position of production within your offensive roster: QB, WR, TE, RB, FB, etc.

Still, those are mostly all good players who have all had solid careers or will do so independent of what team they're on and who's calling plays. So McDaniel earned some leeway but he does need to pick it up, particularly WRT managing games. His challenges, play-calling and in-game operations are all in question.
Click to expand...
It's true that those guys had good years but what was the result of that? With all that talent, why weren't they winning Division titles and playoff games? Under McDaniel, guys accrue stats, especially against inferior teams, but those stats don't help them to beat good teams or win playoff games. On the other hand, it also shows how Grier can occasionally find some talent, but only weapons, as the team's foundation is weak.

Grier always says that he and the HC work as a team, so that means that both Grier and McDaniel don't believe that you win in the trenches. What good is having two high-priced WRs when the o-line can't hold their blocks long enough for the QB to go through his progressions? The smart thing to do is to build a good o-line, but Grier can't do that. The next best thing is to have a big, strong, mobile QB who can evade the pressure, break tackles, and work off-script, but they keep their smaller, fragile, injury-prone QB, and McDaniel tries to scheme his way around all of their weaknesses.

The end result is a bunch of meaningless stats with a pathetic record against good teams. With this talent the team has a lot of potential, but this potential is unrealized because Grier can't build a solid foundation and McDaniel is woefully inept when it comes to running an offense and managing a game, not to mention the team's Club McDisney culture.
 
artdnj said:
Timing is crucial to offset any defensive advantage. Frankly, I think McD receives way too much credit for scheming or designing plays. I think his play calls are predictable so I am sure a really good DC is quite tuned in to the way we operate and doesn't let all the motion stuff confuse his players.

One point, we struggle with short yardage, struggle long time and what nuance has he come up with? Has he tried a big fellow to lead block? A Dlineman or any big body to carry/push ala several teams who have come up with something. I am not a fan, stagnation and same 'ol with this O
Click to expand...
He does use Calais Campbell as a blocker on fg's + PAT's, but I agree. if Campbell is good enough and big enough to help on kicks, why not on short-yardage situations?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom