Mike McDaniel – August 9, 2024 (Postgame)
Friday, Aug. 9, 2024
Postgame – Atlanta Falcons
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Q. How does it feel to get back into the stadium and ending the night with a victory?
MIKE McDANIEL: — It was a good feeling because every game you play, you want to see your team finish. That’s the hardest thing in football and there was a lot of obstacles this game with a plethora of injuries. So to see our team find a way, some really strong efforts. Had some defensive players playing out of position because of some depth issues so it was good to see our guys get a win in front of the home fans.
Q. What did you say from Jaylen Wright today?
MIKE McDANIEL: It was what I’d hoped to see, which was there was both – it was his first outing – but what I wanted to do was see a confident runner that found confidence after something that he didn’t like, okay? That’s the big thing in this league, is everything doesn’t go well all the time. He had a couple things he didn’t necessarily love in terms of a cut, a slip. I mean, even mid-play, I think he dribbled a screen pass, then still found some resilience. It was a good first outing for him because he got a little bit of everything and he finished strong.
Q. What were your thoughts on the two quarterbacks?
MIKE McDANIEL: Yeah, I think each quarterback has a different set of circumstances. That’s why you try to replicate in a competition, you try to replicate that as close as possible. Inverse situation at some point in the preseason. I thought both quarterbacks in their own scenarios had some issues during the game and then they were able to bounce back and do some things, specifically in the second half. I wanted to get Mike (White) in a rhythm and there was some stuff outside of his control that I wanted to see how he would respond to that and I thought he did a good job responding, even though we had a rough, rough set of circumstances. We were down in the second half to one tight end and one running back and we had a receiver that we just got on board two days ago, so it was a tough situation for him to be in, and I thought he maintained his composure, but we still have a ton of work to do.
Q. Was it the plan to have Patrick Paul play that deep into the fourth quarter?
MIKE McDANIEL: We kind of wanted to see really how he was doing during the game. We were comfortable with it and Butch (Barry) wanted to keep him in a couple extra drives. Our plan was at the beginning of the third quarter to get him a series and get him out and we left him in a little bit. I thought he had some real good opportunities to learn, and I thought he played fast and physical. There was some good stuff there.
Q. You mentioned the circumstances like with the injuries. How much of the evaluation for especially like a backup quarterback do you use these games as opposed to what you see in 11-11s and what you see on the practice field?
MIKE McDANIEL: There’s a balance. Every day on the practice field is monumental for quarterbacks, specifically when they’re in a competition behind the starter because you get a lot of information. You’re always dispersing the reps and sometimes guys get more than others, and you have to see how they perform in both situations. It’s a balance. I think that’s important because you need to see how guys perform with the starters, the guys that are veterans that have been here for a little bit, and then some of the new guys, too. It’s all important evaluation tools that we kind of combine, but there’s a lot of days ahead before our last preseason game. We have a lot of evaluation opportunities coming fast and furious.
Q. Was Chop Robinson a coach’s decision, not injury related?
MIKE McDANIEL: It was a situation where he probably could have gone. At the same time for a guy to get his first NFL outing under – he was battling through some stuff, it was a coach’s decision that was minor injury related, but he should be back soon.
Q. Is there concern that Aaron Brewer might be longer term as opposed to short term?
MIKE McDANIEL: It would be week to week I’d say, so yeah, we feel good about where he’s going.
Q. What are your initial thoughts on the new kickoff format seeing it now in person?
MIKE McDANIEL: It’s cool. I think you better be on your p’s and q’s as a kickoff unit because live, in action, you can see about how often you’re about one block away. It will be a cool experience. I’ll be excited to watch the tape because it’s an explosive opportunity for both sides. It was an exciting taste of it. It’s really weird to see people stand, like, over on the side where the ball’s going. I didn’t think about that before. But, like, I guess I’ve seen a lot of football and that’s never been the case, so it was something to get used to, but it was good.
Q. On Aaron Brewer’s situation, if he’s sidelined for a week-to-week situation, how does that change the quarterback-to-center exchange dynamic and the rest of the offensive line?
MIKE McDANIEL: It puts some pressure on said exchange. That’s something that – I look at it like this – most of the time you’re not fortunate enough to have no health-related issues on the offensive line for a whole season. So it’s better to have this scenario now than for the first time in Week 10. You’d prefer not to have it at all, but that’s not always reality. I think it will take some extra commitment for some guys to make sure that everyone’s coordinated. But it’s something we’ve been familiar with here. We’ve had this scenario before, so we’ll be banking on those reps and there will be some guys having to do some work.
Q. Is there an update on Isaiah Wynn in terms of when he’ll be able to work?
MIKE McDANIEL: Quite honestly, as I’ve been staying out of the timelines, right now there’s not really an update. I know he’s working hard and diligent. Again, that has been kind of up in the air and gray. I’ll be notifying you guys when it’s close to field action. We’ll see. I’ll be visiting that on Monday.
Q. A number of guys got hurt in this game. How is Kion Smith doing?
MIKE McDANIEL: I don’t have an update on him. I think Kion has been really developing in his craft so we’re hopeful, but I’ll get an update tomorrow.
Q. Isaiah Mack had a huge fumble recovery in the second quarter. Could you touch on his mental fortitude at that point in the game?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think there was some good, aggressive play and getting those turnovers was gigantic in the ultimate outcome for the team. It was cool that he was opportunistic and really gravitated towards the ball. Then it was cool how he continued to play. Got a lot of snaps and I thought he did a good job. Excited to see the tape on him, too.
Q. Initial impression on Ethan Bonner? It seemed as though he was targeted quite often…
MIKE McDANIEL: I thought it was a really good game for him because he got the trials and tribulations. That one ball – immediately when something like that happens in the preseason to a young player, I am locked in and laser focused on how they respond because that’s how you learn how they are. It’s all fun and games when you’re in practice, but you’re in a stadium and you get beat and I thought he really responded well. He played with his technique and fundamentals after that, which is what you have your eye on so I thought it was a day of growth for him.
Q. When you look at film sessions after games, what excites you the most as far as getting new film as opposed to just reviewing old film?
MIKE McDANIEL: The thing that really fires me up specifically in preseason games where your major focus is on the players, you’re not as driven by the score, is seeing specific things that have been coached. You end up knowing the story and going through the journey of all these players. There’s a lot of things that we’re coaching them on. Then when guys specifically in game situations really harness stuff that we’ve focused on from a technical standpoint, it’s really cool to see. You want to see that because that’s what you’re practicing for. You’re practicing for these moments. And you’re hopeful that in these moments that practice can pay dividends. So when you see that, it gets you pretty fired up.
