Trade Mike White to the Jets?

[Mr Fan]

The Jets are the only team that thinks he is any good and they are looking to upgrade their backup QB position.

If we trade him we would save $3.5M in cap space with only $1.7M in dead money.

I don't think there is any difference between him and Skylar Thompson so we might as well stick with Thompson as our backup QB, trade Mike White and save $3.5M in cap space.

Funny part is I would be curious as to what McD could do with Zach Wilson...

 

[Marine-O]

I don’t know. Skylar played pretty well in the Buffalo playoff game.

The defense played pretty good Skylar did not.

 

[kcbrown]

After that pick 6 - I was done with him.

Shows lack of mental wherewithal and care with the football.

How do you come in late in a game, playing during scrub time minutes, & you STILL throw a pick 6??

 

[kcbrown]

McDaniel runs a "gimmick" offense that only works with Tua at QB. The gimmick is having Tua throw the ball in two seconds or less to either Hill or Waddle, and mostly ignoring any other wide-open receiver even if Hill or Waddle are covered. However, this offense only works against defenses that can't and/or won't disrupt the timing of the route, flood the targeted area of the field with defenders, or apply immediate pressure on Tua, especially up the middle.

I say this because if McDaniel wanted to run a "real" NFL style offense, then he would have demanded a better o-line from Grier. Instead, they never made the o-line a priority because McDaniel wants to get rid of the ball quickly, thereby negating the need for a line that can sustain blocks. The original starting line worked okay for a while. However, they didn't plan for injuries (or smart defenses). Also, if McDaniel was a "real" OC with actual playcalling experience, they would have spread the ball around more in the passing game. Far too often the ball was forced to Hill or Waddle when other options were available, or a run would have been the smart play.

IMO, McDaniel, like Gase, liked to call the play that would have the lowest possible odds of success, thinking that he would fool the defense. So, it really doesn't matter who the back-up QB is, because McDaniel's offense only works (against bad teams) with Tua. White and Bridgewater had decent games with their former teams but looked bad in McDaniel's offense behind Grier's o-line. Skylar Thompson looked really good in his preseason debut with a vanilla gameplan, but didn't do as well with McDaniel's playcalling and a lousy o-line.

IOW, as long as McDaniel is calling the plays and Grier is building the o-line, the QB position in Miami is irrelevant.

Realest take right here.

Not sure why the coach(es) can't see this.

 

[royalshank]

White and Thompson are both pretty terrible. I think they need to improve backup position and draft someone.

Dolphins got lucky with Tua staying healthy a full season. I wouldn't roll those dice again.

Agree. Of the two I actually prefer Thompson for some unknown reason.

 

[Sticky Gloves]

Is one of Tua's weaknesses the reason why the passing offense mostly ignored the TE position?

I don't think ignored is the right word. We re-allocated resources to speed BOTH at WR and RB. The scheme is focused on getting ball to speed. TE doesn't really fit that speed mold.

Want more TE passes? Get ready to take the ball out of Waddle and Hill's hands.

 

[AMakados10]

Funny part is I would be curious as to what McD could do with Zach Wilson...

Zach has talent and got stuck in a horrible offense with the worst OL in football and OC Nathaniel Hackett.

I’d sign Wilson to develop behind Tua instead of Skylar or White. Problem is the contract is fully guaranteed so I don’t think there’s any cap relief to cut him and Fins aren’t trading for his $11M cap hit. There’d have to be something in middle if Jets wanted to unload him.

 

[gofins60]

I don't think ignored is the right word. We re-allocated resources to speed BOTH at WR and RB. The scheme is focused on getting ball to speed. TE doesn't really fit that speed mold.

Want more TE passes? Get ready to take the ball out of Waddle and Hill's hands.

True. However, I'm sure that there were a lot of stalled drives that could have been kept alive if Tua had thrown the ball to someone else for an easy gain or 1st down instead of trying to force it to Hill or Waddle. The question is, who made these decisions? Did McDaniel tell Tua to throw it to Hill even if he's covered? He does love the big play. Did Tua not see a wide-open Smythe (or ?) at the 1st down marker? He has admitted that sometimes he can't see over the line. Or, did Tua just throw to his 1st read (Hill) even though Hill was double-covered because he felt pressure due to a crappy o-line and isn't the type to scramble and make a play off-script?

Actually, running the offense strictly through Hill and Waddle makes it easier for the defense to defend. You have to use them as decoys once in a while and spread the ball around, but McDaniel doesn't seem to want to do that.

 

[gofins60]

White has his dream job....he grew up a Dolphins fan and this is where he wants to be...something to keep in mind

Another thing to keep in mind:

White, like Bridgewater, looked decent with his former team, but sucked in Miami. IMO, the problem is McDaniel's playcalling and Grier's inability to build a good o-line. I'd bet that White would look better with a good o-line and someone else calling the plays.

 

[gofins60]

Zach has talent and got stuck in a horrible offense with the worst OL in football and OC Nathaniel Hackett.

I’d sign Wilson to develop behind Tua instead of Skylar or White. Problem is the contract is fully guaranteed so I don’t think there’s any cap relief to cut him and Fins aren’t trading for his $11M cap hit. There’d have to be something in middle if Jets wanted to unload him.

He wouldn't be doing much better with McDaniel's playcalling behind Miami's o-line!

 

[Sticky Gloves]

True. However, I'm sure that there were a lot of stalled drives that could have been kept alive if Tua had thrown the ball to someone else for an easy gain or 1st down instead of trying to force it to Hill or Waddle. The question is, who made these decisions? Did McDaniel tell Tua to throw it to Hill even if he's covered? He does love the big play. Did Tua not see a wide-open Smythe (or ?) at the 1st down marker? He has admitted that sometimes he can't see over the line. Or, did Tua just throw to his 1st read (Hill) even though Hill was double-covered because he felt pressure due to a crappy o-line and isn't the type to scramble and make a play off-script?

Actually, running the offense strictly through Hill and Waddle makes it easier for the defense to defend. You have to use them as decoys once in a while and spread the ball around, but McDaniel doesn't seem to want to do that.

I think the offense McDaniel built was a timing offense. So basically ball goes into X place at X time regardless of if receiver gets to the spot or not. Tua isn't great off script, or off-balance. I'm not sure how many other ways you can build an offense with Tua's physical limitations. Flores built RPO offense for Tua. Kept it pretty simple. McDaniel's offense more about speed and timing. It's definitely a more explosive offense, but can be shutdown by jamming guys.

I agree. I'd prefer Tua takes deeper drops and reads field, but I don't think he's capable of running that type of offense.

 

[gofins60]

I think the offense McDaniel built was a timing offense. So basically ball goes into X place at X time regardless of if receiver gets to the spot or not. Tua isn't great off script, or off-balance. I'm not sure how many other ways you can build an offense with Tua's physical limitations. Flores built RPO offense for Tua. Kept it pretty simple. McDaniel's offense more about speed and timing. It's definitely a more explosive offense, but can be shutdown by jamming guys.

I agree. I'd prefer Tua takes deeper drops and reads field, but I don't think he's capable of running that type of offense.

Good points. First, I don't like having strictly a timing-based passing offense because like we saw, it can be disrupted. And second, IMO a "real" NFL QB should be able to run any type of offense and make throws to all parts of the field, along with being able to move around to avoid pressure and improvise.

I guess a timing offense is okay if it's just one part of a well-rounded offense. IMO, a good offense should be able to do everything, whether it's dink-and-dunk, big plays vertically, outside zone running with speed, and power running up the middle. Different situations call for different styles of offense, but McDaniel seems to have one style and that's it.

 

[Ray R]

Like who? Who could they possibly sign or draft to compete with Tua?

Watson?
Oh yeah, that'll take off like a "Lead Zeppelin". - LOL

 

[WestLondonDolphin]

He wouldn't be doing much better with McDaniel's playcalling behind Miami's o-line!

Good points. First, I don't like having strictly a timing-based passing offense because like we saw, it can be disrupted. And second, IMO a "real" NFL QB should be able to run any type of offense and make throws to all parts of the field, along with being able to move around to avoid pressure and improvise.

I guess a timing offense is okay if it's just one part of a well-rounded offense. IMO, a good offense should be able to do everything, whether it's dink-and-dunk, big plays vertically, outside zone running with speed, and power running up the middle. Different situations call for different styles of offense, but McDaniel seems to have one style and that's it.

Bizarre takes:

From SI:

Dolphins finished 2023 season ranked first in the NFL in offensive yards (401.3) per game, sixth in rushing yards (135.8), first in yards per carry (5.1), second in red zone efficiency (65.5%), and second in scoring offense (29.2 ppg)

I completely understand being disappointed by how the season ended but this type of posting has just left reality behind completely

 

[gofins60]

Bizarre takes:

From SI:

Dolphins finished 2023 season ranked first in the NFL in offensive yards (401.3) per game, sixth in rushing yards (135.8), first in yards per carry (5.1), second in red zone efficiency (65.5%), and second in scoring offense (29.2 ppg)

I completely understand being disappointed by how the season ended but this type of posting has just left reality behind completely

Maybe my way of thinking doesn't make sense to you, but that's okay. (I am an odd one! )

On one hand, stats can show basic tendencies and performance averages. However, on the other hand, those stats are misleading and don't show a true picture of the team's performance. For one thing, that 70 point Denver game was an anomaly and never repeated, so it really skewed the stats. Also, what good was being 6th in rushing yards and 1st in YPC when toward the end of the year McDaniel decided to stop running the ball on 3rd or 4th and short, and in goal-to-go situations? I realize some of that was due to having back-ups on the o-line, but it was also McDaniel refusing to run the ball when it would've been the smart thing to do. (On a related note, I sometimes wonder if McDaniel and/or maybe Tua were force-feeding the ball to a covered Hill even when other options were open because they were trying to help Hill reach 2K yards. If so, they really hurt the team.)

A lot of the yardage on those stats were from earlier in the season when Miami was playing mostly losing teams. Miami had 11 wins only because they got lucky, and the majority of their schedule was against inferior teams. Stats are nice, but being able to beat good teams in the regular season and winning in the playoffs against top teams is what makes a team successful. Unfortunately, Miami couldn't do that.

A further point to show that stats don't matter is this: Suppose that the 70 point game wasn't a singularity, and they also scored 50+ points against the Panthers, Commanders, Giants, Raiders, and once each against the Jets and Patriots. But on the flip side, Sanders misses one of his FGs against Dallas. This would make Miami #1 in probably every offensive category by far and would shatter the scoring record. However, that one missed FG against Dallas means that Miami ends up at 10-7 and misses the playoffs. So, what good were those stats if they couldn't make the playoffs?

It's not how many yards you get or how many points you score that really matters, it's the situation in which you get them that counts. TDs are not always equal to TDS in the overall picture. Three TDs in the 4th quarter of the Broncos game meant absolutely nothing, since they decided to not break the scoring record. However, if they had scored just two TDs in the 4th Quarter against the Bills in the final regular season game, they would have secured the #2 Seed and the AFC East title. Yes, my example here is just fantasy and not what actually happened, but it is within the realm of possibility for the top ranked team to miss the playoffs, because Miami came very close to doing that.