Mike McDaniel led the Miami Dolphins to two straight playoff seasons, but it looks like there will not be a third. Part of that reason is penalties.
There is a strong belief that Mike McDaniel's coaching and lack of discipline increases pre-snap penalties, which are especially hard to overcome during a game. A 1st-and-10 turns into a 1st-and-15, and the worst penalties are those that come on third down, erasing a makable conversion into a much harder attempt.
So, how bad are the Dolphins?
Bad enough that they rank second in total penalties that involve lining up properly. Bobby Belt, who covers the Dallas Cowboys for 1053 The Fan, put up an interesting post on X, showing the best and worst teams having formation issues. The Dolphins didn't rank so well.
Does your team have trouble just lining up properly? Well, you probably aren't very good if so.
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) December 18, 2024
Teams with the most and least formation/personnel penalties: pic.twitter.com/kPhluSYBoV
Dolphins under Mike McDaniel must improve their pre-snap issues if they are going to win
The Dolphins are ranked behind the Cleveland Browns with 14 total penalties involving issues with just lining up. The Dolphins have seven illegal formation penalties and five illegal shifts to go with the rest of the issues.
These are discipline problems, but they also indicate coaching problems. McDaniel's playbook isn't easy, and the plays themselves are quite intricate in terms of the names of the plays; it's why so many get irritated the Dolphins take so many delay-of-game penalties for not having the play in. At some point, McDaniel is going to need to simplify some of them.
Of those teams ranked on the bottom, only the Vikings have a winning record. On the other side of those stats, the Raiders are the only team with less than seven wins with the fewest pre-snap penalties related to formation.
The Dolphins need to get better in this area, and it will be interesting to see if McDaniel can get his team focused over the next three weeks and into next season. He has stressed the need to reduce pre-snap issues, and that includes formations as well.