The fact the Miami Dolphins lost to the Houston Texans on Sunday was hard enough to swallow. But the fact they lost a game they desperately needed to win showcased problems within the organization.
Miami needed the win on Sunday to keep their hopes of the playoffs alive. Instead, the defense stepped up to keep the team in the game while the Dolphins offense stayed in Miami. After the game, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel took his spot at the podium and managed to confirm he doesn't really know what he is doing.
From being too soft to undisciplined, there are plenty of problems that McDaniel doesn't know how to deal with. Chalk up winning against good teams as another one.
McDaniel was asked about his message to the team over the next three weeks. The head coach said that he doesn't want the team running from this feeling of loss. "It's terrible," he said. McDaniel has talked about overcoming adversity every time Miami loses to a good football team. Yet the Dolphins still come out soft against the next one they face.
"We have a team that loves football, that’s very prideful, and so there’s three games left with paid attendance, and we’ll turn to that page tomorrow."
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel continues to make same mistakes over and over again
Fans are thrilled that the players love the game they are getting paid to play, but they would probably prefer a team that is more physically sound and prepared than "prideful." If McDaniel is going to turn the page tomorrow, he is a slow reader because that page should have been turned a long time ago.
The Dolphins gave up a game-changing fake punt, and McDaniel made it worse when he told the media they had planned for that happening and did, in fact, have a play called to stop it. But they didn't, and it was another black mark on Danny Crossman, who needs to be out of Miami.
"We were anticipating that situation, so we had the appropriate call, and I’ll have to take a look at the execution of it because I was surprised it was the punt return scheme that we want in that situation to defend against that specific play."
McDaniel doesn't need to watch the tape to see if it was executed properly, the fact they picked it up nearly uncontested is the proof it wasn't executed properly. If McDaniel is to be believed, having a fake punt call in on special teams and then completely blowing the defense of a fake punt is inexcusable and shows the lack of coaching this team has.
Miami's head coach also answered questions about the offensive line play. McDaniel again deffered to watching the tape and said that there were good protection plays. Unfortunately, the penalties again killed the offense.
"The Texans had a really good game plan off our 2nd and long, and it was hard for us to overcome those penalties which cost us points."
It doesn't matter what the defensive game plan is or how good it is if your undisciplined offensive linemen are giving them opportunities. McDaniel said he would need to look at the tape, but again, there isn't much the tape will tell him that the naked eye already hasn't.
McDaniel has had three seasons to figure out what it means to be a head coach in the NFL, but the same mistakes are being made on the field, and he is still finding excuses as to why it is happening. There are two reasons why. One, the coaching, and two, the personnel and something has to be fixed.