The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

The defense is still the main issue as I see it. They are still giving up way too many 1st downs, but the 1st downs are at least becoming a little harder to come by. I do still feel like this is year 1 of a little bit of a rebuild and change in philosophy for the Dolphins. I fully understood at the beginning of the year that it might take more than a few games to get to where they want to go. I thought the Dolphins defensive line did a better job stopping the run and actually put some pressure on Herbert too. I give Herbert a lot of credit as he made several plays where there wasn't much there. A lesser QB wouldn't have fared as well. There are still plays that are way too easy as well, but I think those are becoming fewer and further between as the season progresses. If they can continue to work at it, I think they will eventually have a bit of success.

I'm also encouraged that I see the Dolphins offense finally utilizing some under utilized positions like Fullback and TE like they should have been doing all along and it wasn't just Waller making plays. There were some good catches and hard runs by Julian Hill and Tanner Conner in there as well. Maybe it took losing Hill to finally realize that you have to also use size and strength to your advantage and not just speed. I'm also encouraged with what I see from Gordon on short yardage. Miami has traditionally had a lot of trouble with short yardage situations and finally in yesterday's game I thought they converted some good short yardage plays and that kept drives going and it's not just chunk plays for Miami anymore. This is going to get even more important as they get into the 2nd half of the season. This is the type of stuff that I've been wanting from Miami since McDaniel arrived, less flash and more meat and potatoes. Sustain drives. Move the ball with both speed and power. Keep the ball away from the opponent. Keep your defense off the field. This is how you win in December and in the playoffs. Miami needs to learn how to win these types of games. They aren't winning them yet, but at least they are competing. Baby steps.

I know most fans want McDaniel gone, but I've actually been surprised with the way that his team has hung in there and have been playing hard for the most part. I fully expected Miami to fall apart in the 3rd quarter of that game yesterday but to my surprise they battled back and gave themselves a chance to win in the end. That was encouraging to me. The team isn't where it needs to be, but I'm not convinced that McDaniel can't get it there yet. I do see some changes and I do think there is cause for some optimism. There's a long way to go but the season is 17 games long. I want to see if the team can put together a bit of a winning streak and fight back or if they fold. There's still a ton of winnable games on Miami's schedule, but they are going to have to find a way to win those games and not just be competitive.

Just like everyone else I'm very disappointed in the record, however after watching the game yesterday I was encouraged by some things and I do think it's possible for Miami to still have a decent season. No, I have no illusions that Miami is headed to the playoffs, but 6 or 7 wins is still a possibility in my humble opinion and if Miami can rally a bit, I think McDaniel deserves more time to make the adjustments work. Miami has again been hit hard with injuries and in my opinion this always was a bit of a rebuilding year. I knew going into the season it wasn't going to be pretty, but I did want to see those adjustments made and see if they paid off a bit. I'm willing to give it the full 17 see how they are playing in December before throwing in the towel on McDaniel. If they don't look any better in December than they look now, then I'll be ready for a coaching change as well.

Seeing as you realistically can't make changes until the season is over, I agree with your sentiment.   In the  event that McDaniel is kept around, Weaver needs to go and they need a Fangio-esque type coordinator.

We had one. His name was Vic Fangio.

I don't think "coordinator who is totally disinterested and only in Miami for a paycheck" (i.e. what Fangio himself was in Miami) would solve any problem for the Dolphins.