Halloween costumes dotted the Hard Rock Stadium stands on Thursday night, but the real costumes were worn by the team on the Miami Dolphins side of the field. They dressed like pro football players attempting to beat the Baltimore Ravens.
It was always going to be a challenging game for the Dolphins. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was back after missing several weeks, and Baltimore's Derrick Henry is one of the best running backs in NFL history. Miami, who was playing at home, were big underdogs, and they didn't disappoint.
What Thursday night proved, more than anything, however, is that Dolphins head coachMike McDaniel is not equipped to coach and prepare a football team to be ready for big games. Add the short week between games, and this team looked lost from the very start.
Mike McDaniel's inability to prepare Miami Dolphins on a short week is just one more reason to fire him
It's one thing to be unprepared; it's another to be embarrassingly bad. On Thursday, that was the Dolphins, again.
McDaniel didn't have a lot of time this week, but with that, there should have been something up his sleeve to keep the Ravens guessing. Instead, Baltimore's John Harbaugh took McDaniel to the head coaching school.
With the loss, the Dolphins drop to 2-7, and while they will say all the right stuff after the game about turning it around and proving who they are in the coming weeks, no fans have any belief that Miami can win their next two, let alone enough to climb back in a playoff chase they are so far out of.
Ross has repeatedly said through sources that he really likes McDaniel. That's fine; it's hard not to. The guy is fun and energetic and fits the "nice guy" image, but this is a competitive sport, and the Dolphins are not competitive, not consistently anyway.
Miami isn't likely to fire McDaniel before the end of the season. They should, but there is also a problem with elevating someone to that role, and frankly, this coaching staff doesn't have anyone who can do it any better.