Mike McDaniel – November 24, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, November 24, 2024
Postgame – New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel
Q. What impressed you about Tua’s performance?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think it was another game where he’s found a way to improve the way that he plays the position throughout the game. In previous years, we’ve just spent a lot of time talking about the most monumental thing that you have to overcome as a quarterback, which is playing the position regardless of the ebbs and flows of motion. So not changing how you play based upon positive or negative results and letting every play stand on its own. I think since maybe the Buffalo game on, I think he’s really taken a step forward in that direction, so him playing at the level that I think that he has the last couple games was a feat in and of itself because it’s become more of the norm and not the exception. I think making the plays that he needs to make, understanding the progressions and how to get completions, when to extend plays – he came in at halftime frustrated that there was too many hands, as he put it, on a couple of those red zone opps where he almost turned the ball over, and was frustrated with himself but then moved on. That’s the key for our team is when you have a confident player touching the ball every play that is impervious to the emotions of the game, good or bad, as a collective unit, you can be a problem for people to defend.
Q. How important was WR Jaylen Waddle getting the opportunities he had and coming through with those opportunities?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think one of my favorite things about this game that I’ll remember is Waddle has been taking his route running, his release work, the nuances of the receiver position, and he’s had so much growth over the last month and a half while also fielding questions left and right, whether it’s in the media or even at home, like where is the production, where is the production, where is the production. To get better when the ball isn’t coming your way so that you’re aptly prepared when the ball does, it’s everything that I believe in, everything that – it was an earned game for him. He got the opportunities and because his mind has been in the right spot where he’s been focused on what he can control and not all the other noise, he was able to really make some big-time plays in those moments. It’s something that I don’t think people truly spend the time really putting themselves into receivers’ shoes. In the National Football League, especially if you’re one of the better receivers in the league, you have expectations of output that you have no – a lot of times you have no ability to control. A lot of players get worse from situations like that. He’s been eager to help the team win, and he’s been doing that week in, week out, by plays off the ball or plays when he doesn’t have the ball. For him to make some plays on the ball this game was much deserved, and we had a lot of teammates that are fired up for him.
Q. You’re not one to duck narratives, reality, or whatever. We’ve been waiting 11 months, 12 months, whatever it is, to see you in a cold weather game again. You’ve gotten back in the mix. You won the three games you had to. What’s next for the Miami Dolphins this week?
MIKE McDANIEL: Well, you’re just going to let me really lean into this victory for a while, huh? (laughter) Yeah, I’m eager for those moments. Just like you’re eager to settle the score if you don’t – if you believe that you’re not just a front-running team, you have to win when there’s some adversity going on. And so instead of just complaining and wallowing in the fact that people say those things, we’ve been able to win some games with our backs against the wall, so to speak. The same thing applies with – I’ve already told the team, there’s two things that will be said until we do something about it, (and that is win games against) good teams and (in) cold weather. It doesn’t bother me in any way, shape or form. We have some plans on how to attack this week, but I relish that opportunity because, yeah, there’s one way to correct that. I know there’s a locker room full of people that believe and are eager to set that narrative straight, but there’s only one way to do it, and there’s only one way you’d want it to be done is you want to go earn that sentiment or maybe some take-back from some people that have strong opinions, or they’re going to be right and it’s your choice as a team. We’ll get started on that tomorrow. Tonight will be less Packers and more Barbies, right Ayla? (laughter)
Q. There was a report this morning that this club was ready to trade DT Calais Campbell to the Ravens and that you stepped in and argued or made the point that he was too valuable to lose.
MIKE McDANIEL: I guess, yes, the offer for compensation for his services was real, and I think it wasn’t like it was Chris (Grier) versus me. It was more that Chris looks at it the way I do, or we work together, and I may or may not have thrown an adult temper tantrum. (laughter) I think you have to look at – that’s the tricky thing about Chris’ job is he has to look long-term and short-term at the same time, what’s the best for the organization, and then he also – we rely on each other for things that I need to be on top of, and one of those is the locker room and what one individual does for an entire team. I think it speaks to Calais because that was a strong compensation for a guy that’s – he just passed the 30-year-old mark. (laughter) It speaks to how he’s playing. It speaks to what he means to the team, that teams would be willing to do that, and there was some competition for that. But yeah, my job is to speak on behalf of what’s the best thing for the 2024 Dolphins. I’m just fortunate to work in an organization where myself and the GM can be transparent and work together, and he didn’t want to see any more adult temper tantrums.
Q. I know the game got out of hand a little bit. Your thoughts on watching QB Drake Maye today, what you saw from him today and throughout the season?
MIKE McDANIEL: Yeah, it was what we kind of prepared for. He had ownership of the game even a little bit more than what had shown on tape. He made some plays in similar fashions that he made on tape. I think when you’re able to be a pocket passer but then extend plays and make teams pay when you’re in man coverage or two man, it’s a problem. He’ll continue to make plays as he gets better and better in the pocket. It’s a guy that honestly, I’m not really rooting for his development, being in the division, but I can appreciate the player, and they have a very good player to work with at that position. We’ll continue to have to be on our stuff.
Q. You pulled your starters for a series there in the fourth quarter and then put them back in after the fumble six. What went into the decision to go back to your starters?
MIKE McDANIEL: Well, personally it’s my least favorite good problem to have is a multiple score lead in the fourth quarter and trying to figure out the perfect scenario. I had a lot of conversations with players that – there were a lot of guys that were resisting coming out, which is a phenomenal thing. That’s exactly what you want. Then I won a couple arguments with some of the players, and then the results of when they weren’t out there, I quickly backpedaled out of that and allowed them to do what they wanted to do from the jump. Guys wanted to stay out there based upon wanting to finish the game and the amount of emphasis that we’ve put on not just starting fast but finishing the way that you start and finishing strong, and although it wasn’t – the fourth quarter wasn’t necessarily completely smooth, there was some positive stuff going on, specifically players that wanted to be on the field and lead us to victory.
Q. There’s obviously a lot of season left, but when you look back to when you were 2-6, what did you guys do right to get to this point to put together this nice stretch?
MIKE McDANIEL: I think starting with the captains and the leadership council in the locker room, guys chose to believe, and that’s hard when everyone is telling you the opposite. They chose to believe. They chose to focus on what matters, which is doing their jobs, and they focused on not getting ahead of themselves and taking it one practice at a time, one meeting at a time. I think you can’t understate – three-game losing streaks in the National Football League feel like an eternity, and we’ve had two of those this season. Like I explained to the team when we were 2-6, it is feast or famine basically with the team, because if you can stay together through all that adversity, generally the season has great things in store because, like life, it’s not about avoiding adversity, it’s about flourishing within it. Or you can lose another game and you can have people – you can have issues left and right. What I’ve seen is guys that have fought for something they’ve believed in starting April 15, 2024. They believed in this team taking a step, taking another step from the two previous seasons. It didn’t start out the way that we were used to, so you really can’t hide. You find out who really believes in what you’re doing, who really believes in each other, and there’s nothing more powerful than us against the world, and sometimes fate allows you to be in those situations. What does that leave us? Our record now is 5-6, and the Packers aren’t going to care about our three-game win streak. The Packers are going to want to make us the team that can’t win in the cold or beat good teams. We’ll have an opportunity on Thursday to either prove them right or wrong, as well as everybody else in front of a bunch of families that are digesting and judgmental. (laughter)
Q. What has LB Chop Robinson’s development done for the defense?
MIKE McDANIEL: It’s been very timely, I’ll tell you that. You hope – you have a lot of forecasting in the draft process. You feel strongly based upon all the work and all the talent, but then it comes down to the human being. The NFL season is brutal for rookies, so to see him come on and continue to have a bigger effect on NFL games, during the period of time where every other football season he’s ever played in his life is ending, it speaks to who he is. It speaks to the entire outside linebacker and edge room, some of the most competitive, relentless players we have on the team, that are as invested in each other as anyone. Man, it’s real cool to see a player handle all of the pressure that comes with being a first-round draft pick on a team that needs the rookie class to produce and to just chop wood every day – see what I did there? (laughter) And get some results that weren’t just earned this week. It’s been earned since the day he was drafted. I’m fired up and can’t wait until this game is his worst game.
-DOLPHINS-
