OK Dolphins fans, the schedule is out, so now we know who we’re playing, when we’re playing them, and most importantly, where we’re playing them. We start off the season with 2 home games in a row, but neither of those games give us a real heat advantage. Our home opener is against another FLA team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, so they’re nearly as accustomed to the heat as our team is. We then play the Bills on Thursday Night Football, which not only gives us a short week, but the heat advantage is nullified by the 8:20PM start, because the sun won’t be baking the Bills players all game long. The Jaguars drafted LSU WR Brian Thomas is RD1 and he should help QB Trevor Lawrence, who no longer has WR Calvin Ridley, so Brian Thomas, veteran WR Christian Kirk, along with TE Evan Engram, and newly acquired former Bills WR Gabe Davis round out the receiving corps.
The Bills, appear to have taken a step back, but as you know, I strongly feel that as long as Josh Allen is their QB, we’ll always have a difficult time taking them down. The Bills traded back a couple of times and made their first selection in RD2 taking Florida State WR Keon Coleman. who gives Allen a big target with excellent 50/50 ball skills. He makes those difficult catches, but we’ll have to see how quickly he can be assimilated into the offense. The Bills also added former Dolphins WR Chase Claypool. We know this is going to be a tough matchup, especially if our star OLB’s are missing, Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, and we’re forced to rely on rookies Chop Robinson and Mo Kamara, along with veteran LB Shaq Barrett.
Our first road trip will be a long one, all the way to the farthest state in the contiguous United States, Washington, the farthest NW state, to face the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks selected my favorite DL in this draft, Byron Murphy from Texas at #16 in RD1. Later on they picked up Connecticut OG Christian Haynes, who many here liked as well. The Seahawks will bring back QB Geno Smith as their starter, along with veteran WR’s D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The Seahawks were 9-8 last season, so I’d hope we can make the best of that long road trip.
When we return home to Florida, we’ll host the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football for a rematch. If you’re a Dolphins fan, you couldn’t possibly forget the the last minute upset victory by QB Will Levis and RB Derrick Henry. The Dolphins led 27-13 in the 4th QTR, but the Titans got 2 unanswered TD’s, one a TD pass from Will Levis to WR DeAndre Hopkins, and then after the Dolphins drive stalled and we punted, QB Will Levis found WR DeAndre Hopkins on a deep pass for 36 yards from the TEN 36, which then led to a Derrick Henry 3 yard plunge to take the lead 28-27, leaving the Dolphins 1 minute and 49 seconds to win the game. The drive started at the MIA 26, and the Dolphins managed one first down before losing the ball on downs, a 4th and 2 sack of Tua by Harold Landry, and that was that. A brutal collapse that I’m sure our boys would love to avenge!
Our next game is a road trip to the Northeast, to face our division rival New England Patriots. We’ve been doing well against the Pats the last 3 years and have 5-1 record against the Brady-less squad. The Patriots drafted what they hope is their franchise QB taking North Carolina QB Drake Maye at #3 in RD1. It’s entirely possible veteran QB Jacoby Brissett is under center but the Patriots may elect to begin the future for Maye sooner. Playing in Foxborough in October won’t be a weather disadvantage for us, so hopefully we can come away with another road victory.
We’ll have an early BYE week this season, and that will be Week 6. I’d always prefer a later BYE, but if our 2 OLB’s are still OUT at this juncture, I’d say their return could be the following week. We come out of our BYE Week and travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts. Colts starting QB Anthony Richardson, drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft #4 overall in RD1, was injured last season, but will be the starter once again this season. Richardson looked promising last season before the injury (Shoulder). The Colts have feature back RB Jonathan Taylor and in addition to WR Michael Pittman, the Colts drafted WR Adonai Mitchell from Texas in RD 2. It was, however their first pick at #15, when they selected pass rusher Laiatu Latu from UCLA that made Dolphins fans groan. Both of those players should make an impact for the Colts this season, and this will be no walk in the park.
Week 8 will bring us to this year’s Fest Game, as we host the Arizona Cardinals at Hard Rock, Sunday October 27th, just a scant few days before our own Herd’s birthday! The Cardinals suffered a rough 4-13 record last year. Their first draft pick should help QB Kyler Murray, who missed 8 games last season, and was pretty awful when he played. The Cards selected potentially the most NFL ready WR in the draft, and perhaps the best WR, in Ohio St. WR Marvin Harrison Jr at #4 in RD1. The Cards later added big DL Darius Robinson from Missouri. I would hope we can handle the Cards, and make it a wonderful birthday weekend for Herd!
We head back on the road to a place that has not been kind to us. The weather shouldn’t be a huge factor in Buffalo in early November, but Orchard Park is a little bit of a house of horrors for our Dolphins. We haven’t won there since 2016, and that was an OT affair, in which not Ryan Tannehill, but backup Matt Moore engineered the victory. I would love nothing more for our Dolphins to end the damn curse there, but we need to be healthy, and we’ll need to be physical. Tall task of course, but this is the 3rd season for HC Mike McDaniel, and I hope he can find the right gameplan to take the Bills down in their house. That would be a huge victory for our team.
We travel to California for yet another Monday Night affair, as we face off against the NFC’s Los Angeles Rams. The Rams, led by QB Matt Stafford had a nice finish last season making the playoffs, only to lose a tough matchup against the Detroit Lions, and their former QB Jared Goff, he of $212M contract fame. The Rams drafted 2 very good defensive players in the 2024 NFL Draft, first beginning with Florida St. pass rusher Jared Verse. The Rams then doubled down and took Florida St. DT Braden Fiske, both players favorites here. The Rams have big WR Puka Nacua who had 105 receptions last year for an astounding 1486 yards. The Rams feature a RB by committee approach with RB’s Kyren Williams, Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers, and gone is RB Darrell Henderson. Stafford throws a lot, and the rookies will add some pop to their defense.
In Week 11, we return home to host the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders moved on from oft injured QB Jimmy Garropolo and signed veteran backup QB Gardner Minshew III. The Raiders tried to improve the offense by drafting the best TE available in the 2024 NFL Draft, TE Brock Bowers, and then following that up with a very good OC prospect we all know here, JPJ Jackson Powers-Johnson. RB Zamir White gets his chance to shine as heads the RB room. Veteran WR Davante Adams still brings it every game, along with Jakobi Meyers. The Raiders had a tough season last year, we’ll see how well Gardner Minshew fares as the starter.
In Week 12, we host the Patriots for our 2nd meeting of the season. Hopefully being home for 2 consecutive weeks has this team rested and ready to go because we need to beat the Patriots as we begin the difficult part of our schedule. I’d imagine Drake Maye will playing by then, that’s if he doesn’t start the season from the get go. Hopefully, our defense is humming along at full strength, with Phillips and Chubb back in the groove, and we give him more than he can handle.
Week 13 is where the most challenging part of the schedule starts. We fly to Wisconsin for a Thanksgiving Evening matchup in the cold climes of Green Bay to face the Packers. The Packers, despite a middling record of 9-8 managed to whip the Dallas Cowboys 48-32, and QB Jordan Love made it look easy. Love threw 3 TD’s, and no INT’sand RB Aaron Jones added 118 yards on the ground. The Packers lost the 49ers in a very competitive 24-21 loss. The Packers signed FA RB Josh Jacobs, and will pair him A.J. Dillon, as they finally parted ways with RB Aaron Jones. The Packers feature 3 young WR’s, Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed. Obviously, the weather could be a big factor here, we don’t play well on the road when it’s cold, that’s been heavily documented. We need to somehow find a way to overcome that, or don’t expect to see this team go any further than we did last season.
We come home in Week 14 to host our division rival NY Jets for the first time in ’24, a 1PM, but it’s December 8th, so the heat won’t be a factor unless South Florida has some crazy heat wave. The Jets had horrendous O-line play, and they did what they could to remedy that by drafting Penn State OT Olu Fashanu, much loved here on FMU, especially by PSU fans Brian in NY and M13. The Jets also made a big Free Agency acquisition, taking WR Mike Williams from the LA Chargers. In addition, in RD 3 they drafted their slot WR Malachi Corley from Western Kentucky. To help bolster the O-line, the Jets also signed former Cowboys OT Tyron Smith, and OG John Simpson from the Ravens. Of course, Aaron Rodgers should be back as well, so the Jets will no longer be an easy task in ’24, as long as he stays healthy. WR Garrett Wilson will no doubt benefit from having Mike Williams on the other side.
In Week 15, we travel to Texas to take on the Houston Texans. The upstart Texans had a very successful 2023 season. Their young QB who they drafted #2 in the ’23 NFL Draft played like a pro right out of the gate. He had an excellent season, even winning their first playoff matchup against the Cleveland Browns in impressive fashion, 45-14, in which Stroud threw 3 TD’s and finished with a 157.2 rating, nearly perfect. The Texans didn’t waste any time improving the roster, picking up WR Stefon Diggs from the Bills. Add Diggs to the already talented young WR corps of Nico Collins and Tank Dell, and that offense will be tough to stop.
Week 16 brings the San Francisco 49ers to Miami for a late Sunday Kickoff at 4:25PM. No doubt, Dar and Toba will do their best to attend, or should I say Dar will do her best to drag Doug to FLA to see her beloved Niners. Any way you slice it, this is a very trying task for our team. The Niners who of course lost a close matchup with the SB Champion Chiefs are an excellent team. The Niners drafted slot WR Ricky Pearsall from Florida with the 31st pick in RD1. Later, they also added RB Isaac Guerrendo, a fan favorite here for sure. The Niners defense is tremendous, and QB Brock Purdy will be in his 3rd season in this offense. Tough job here, but maybe the home crowd can get us a win!
Week 17 will have us back on the road after a rough matchup with the Niners. We travel to yet another cold weather destination, Cleveland to face the Browns. The Browns had all kinds of QB troubles last season. DeShaun Watson played in only 6 games, and veteran QB Joe Flacco gave Cleveland a nice temporary jolt, but ultimately they got wiped by the young Houston Texans in the playoffs, 45-14. Joe Flacco is no longer a Brown, but they have quite the interesting QB room with Watson, Jameis Winston, and former Ravens backup Tyler Huntley. The Browns feature the WR trio of Amari Cooper, former Broncos Wr Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore, former Jets WR. TE David Njoku still toils the seam there. They have one of the most productive run games in the NFL with RB Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford. They have an excellent O-line as well, and a solid defense. I can only hope our team is healthy at this point of the season, and we prove we can win a cold weather game on the road.
The Week 18, Season Finale will have us traveling to my area, New Jersey to face the NY Jets, which could be for the Division Crown! The game has not yet been given an actual date, it can potentially be flexed, but some time that weekend of January 4-6, we’ll be playing the Jets. As stated before, if Aaron Rodgers is the QB, they’re a considerably better opponent than we faced with QB Zach Wilson under center, and he’s now in Denver, behind rookie QB Bo Nix. By this point last season, our defense was a shell of what it started as, too many injuries to the D-line and mostly OLB’s to mention here. It was absurd. We must be in better condition and we have to do better managing that. Whether it’s the Jets we’re competing with for the crown, or the Bills, this will obviously be a huge game either way. We know we have folded too many times at the end of the season, time to fucking turn that around!
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Finsmob Unleashed 
IMO, there is a GIGANTIC difference between ‘excuses’ and ‘reality’. Some have the ‘NO EXCUSES!’ mentality, which will always undermine an operation. If one can’t identify problems, the problems will likely continue.
In this instance (the ’23 Miami Dolphins season), we got the injury bug x2.
Solution: stop bringing in injury-prone players, or players who look as though they could be leveled with one hit. Perhaps this ‘track team’ ideal doesn’t work as good as it looks on paper.
We need a bigger boat…
“We’re going to need a bigger boat”…
https://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-12-17-jaws.gif
WordPress is beginning to really suck! Can’t post gifs or tweets anymore?
M13
I don’t really think fans should worry about mentioning injuries whether it’s perceived as an excuse or not
we don’t play the game
the danger of excuses is really about the players relying on them – to excuse losing
it doesn’t matter what we say – the team is going to play the game. So if you think injuries affected the seasons – say it!
I don’t think fans give excuses for the teams performance – we just comment on what we observed
so I’m fine with fans and media discussing injuries
and actually not mentioning it would be delusional
Injuries really affected out season
^
Thank you, Pigster!
You guys better get used to backups playing good since you wanna blame losses on injuries because most of our starting players along the LOS are already backups! Lol
Exactly.
After Armstead Wynn, and Williams went down, we had to start their backups on the entire left side, and then when Hunt went down too, Jackson was the only starter left for the stretch run of our season.
Then Rob Jones who was the backup for Hunt got hurt, and now we’re starting Lester Cotton, a 3rd stringer. Even Jackson was out for a little while, which is when Kion Smith stepped in admirably.
Our OL coach got a lot of credit for for improving him and Lamm so the drop-off wasn’t a total disaster, but it was, as we lost those games, maybe not to sacks surrendered, but to a restricted game plan where Tua had to throw it somewhere in a hurry every play.
btw ppl are saying the injury to Williams was so catastrophic that his career might be over.
So it wasn’t the sacks against Tua, that changed our game plan, it was the pressure😜
We have 11 interior DL competing for probably 5 spots. We’ll probably only play two at a time 65% of the time.
Lead by Sieler you never know if someone else steps up on interior DL.
I have high hopes for Tartt
lol…maybe we should add some pressure to the debate…
PFF, via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post, pointed out that Tua grades at 93.6 when he has a clean pocket, but drops to 51.6 when under pressure. That is a big drop and something that he needs to work on.
instead of just trying to shock people Joe, why don’t you put a comparison out there?
Anyone with half a brain could see Tua wasn’t the same last year under pressure with the added weight, so how about adding the 2022 numbers
yeah also defenses had their dream scenario with us as the injuries mounted. Tua faced a jail break pass rush a super high number of times.
With Hill and Waddle trying to run deep routes or delayed crossing routes so much due to getting knocked around at the LoS, the defense dared us to throw to WR3 or TE1.
But we didn’t even HAVE a TE1 on the roster. And our WR3 was either another smurf or guys who would be WR 5 or 6 on other teams.
So when Tua got pressure, which was frequently, he didn’t have Kelce doing the TE version of 7-11.
Both Lamar and Josh Allen had TWO quality TEs.
This is why I feel so much better about the coming year after signing Jonnu and Odell.
Seems like Grier asked McDaniel what he needed and went and got them. Plus a bigger body home run RB to fill in when Achane gets nicked up. Plus 2 rooks who play slot with YAC instead of going down on first contact. AND a kid LT for Armstead to train up right!
PLUS 2 young wildman EDGE rushers. PLUS a smack-down safety.
I think it was a great draft … with 3 guys who were bonafide steals at that pick.
I agree with Brian. There is solid tape of both Gallimore and Tart.
I’m hoping we get their best as they have both been inconsistent.
… hoping somebody gets Tart’s head on straight.
There’s a reason guys like Tart can put up good tackles for loss numbers on a limited basis, being fresh can do wonders
There’s also an opposite reason our D struggled against good teams, when we needed them the most (too many snaps), so when it was time to step it up a notch they (Sieler and Wilkins)were worn out
Maybe this platoon system will work out better, didn’t in 2019, but that was a different animal
Tart’s issue was he wanted to get paid, but they didn’t want to pay him and he pouted, he should be motivated this year
^^^^
The first part of MF13’s post at the top is very wise.
It’s why I don’t mind losing Hunt. I think he’s a good mauler, but our offense needs very agile IOL.
Maybe if we get the prototype McDaniel wants, the play designs won’t twist their knees so much because they’re built for it.
Our HC hasn’t had much time to change personnel to fit his needs, especially as the D hasn’t had a real architect at all. Now we should start to see guys come to our team who are the guys our HC and DC want, not whoever was left from different systems.
Sounds good, but we looked really good last year, when Hunt was mauling guys down the field, and not letting them sniff Tua
What did Chris Sims ever win?
I like these negative Tua rants during contract negotiations
https://phinphanatic.com/posts/chris-simms-slams-tua-tagovailoa-with-insane-dig-dolphins-qb-01hypjdxhx45
He’s terrible…lol. Read that earlier, and passed
^
naples,
MM always wanted to throw the ball as quickly as possible. That was the plan regardless of any injuries. Skill guys need to win for this offense to produce.
and if anybody couldn’t see how good Hunt is then you don’t know what you’re looking at. He also brought a toughness to this OL that is sorely needed.
Agreed Randy – I would say, and so would many others say that Hunt was our best, most consistent O-lineman. I would also say Wilkins was our best, most consistent D-lineman.
agreed, but we can’t pay a G $20 million, especially in this system. Wilkins was our best DL, but once he hit FA you knew he was getting paid too. Unfortunately, our draft picks tend to break in the contract year or shortly before, usually landing them big contracts. Either that or the FA can’t se far enough down the road to sign them to more reasonable deals.
I love the very first Highlight where Jackson’s rusher sheds his block and makes the tackle 😂
IDK, looks like his assignment was to get out and get on the LB Smith.
yes, he let the first guy go , then after he engaged with the guy on the. Second level , he shed his block.
also, I was watching the wrong guy on that play 😬
Just look at his fantasy points per game by month over the past two seasons:
above are Tua’s FF per game averages by month. It doesn’t tell the whole story, but there’s definitely something there. Ding, Ding.
But the injuries to the defense!
And Mike E comes out of his corner swinging and lands the first punch!
That and MM doesn’t seem to bring anything new through the season. Teams got them figured out by midseason.
he HAS to fix that. They need counter that somehow. If he can’t figure it out (I said this during the season ) , then he’ll never be more than a good coach .
Earlier we were on NFL Network Hard Knocks, from the Philbin years, during a preseason game with the Bucs Chris Hogan was wide open, to which the he’s always open line was said
That staff and FO office was so stupid, that they cut Hogan, much to those on here’s dismay
I mean WTF, he was so open all camp and in the PS, yet someone decided we had 4 or 5 better receivers
My opinion, last season the hype with Hill getting 2000 yards was detrimental to the overall success of the team.
It wasn’t the only issue, but in the end it didn’t help.
I think that’s right
we just didn’t spread the ball out
it makes us easier to stop on offense – once you shut down Hil, you shut down the offense
https://x.com/finsxtra/status/1795173108422185072?s=12
this stat says it all
look how often in different scenarios where Hill is targeted
I know some of you focus a lot on OL
but I think, when we have offensive woes, the problem is very simple – teams shut down Hill
in 2024 I hope we spread the ball around a lot more
FinsXtra
@FinsXtra
🎥 Raheem Mostert on Tua Tagovailoa: “I think that he’s looking in the best form, in the best shape of his life. He’s taking care of himself, taking care of his body and he’s trying to do some remarkable things this year.” (
@RossTuckerPod
) #GoFins
Just one caveat though: He gained weight last season so he would be more durable (at least that’s what we were told). Will he be less durable if he’s 15 lbs lighter? I guess time will tell
I think his experiences with injury and concussions has made him very aware. Jujitsu is an awesome way to combat those issues. Martial arts are defense first.
You can’t play worrying about getting injured constantly. If you are, then you ain’t playing your best. Tua better not be worrying about how to fall….a bit of crap, by the way…football isn’t jujitsu. You are getting hit and falling differently. You can learn how to have a better base and take a blow better but that’s about it. It’s not that big of a deal. Good for Tua but that’s not the core of the issue.
And….what helps most is, guess what, a good OL! Lol
It’s not crap, have you watched any replays of his injuries?
One of his concussions he fell like a baby, that doesn’t yet have neck control, on his GB injury he was looking downfield and not paying attention to where he was, after the pass
Comparing him to Tannehill, Ryan would get into the fetal position before contact, and why he sucks in the pocket (gives up on the play too soon), Tua does a complete 180 with any regard for his body(pre 2023, not sure what he did in 2023, but it was different)
I don’t want tubby Tua. He’s got very average mobility to begin with. He needs to be a lean machine so he can move as best as possible. Then, he needs to learn to shuffle in the pocket better. It’s not always about running, it’s about shifting your spot a yard or less and still making the throw. If Tua has to try to escape the pocket, he’s done. Again, tougher for shorter QBs, I get that. Get a lot of bodies around shorter QBs, and they struggle to see anything. Tua is throwing to spots. He’s not usually reading routes and putting it on guys.
I agree
steve,
it’s crap that it makes a lot of difference. I’ve been hit and hit others and caused a whiplash fall. Like it or not, there isn’t much you can do about it. If you’re thrown backwards with enough force, your neck muscles simply aren’t strong enough to prevent the whiplash motion. The NFL has pretty much ruled that sort of hit out, but it still happens. Blows directly to a QB’s head rarely happens anymore either because it’s a major penalty to barely touch a QB’s helmet. You actually believe a guy who’s played football his whole life doesn’t know how to take a hit? Where was this discussion in his college career? In football, you don’t always get to choose how you hit the ground. In jujitsu you almost always have at least some control in how you go down. It’s not a similar comparison. Sometimes the size difference alone in football is the difference.
It is great pablum to feed fans to keep them loving their QB though! We’ve seen this ploy a lot in recent years.
it’s not crap I’ve seen the difference
Hunt’s a good RG. But he didn’t get to the Pro Bowl.
I just wondered if he and a couple others we let go were really suited for the system HC and new DC want here.
it’s not unusual or wrong for new coaches to change from guys who aren’t a scheme fit, even if they were productive in the previous system.
and it sometimes takes a couple-three years to accomplish.
Herd
I agree about Hill. He’s not a diva per se, but he does have a mouth on him. And that 2000 thing can never be a team first goal.
naples,
Hunt can play in any system. He’s not a slow, lumbering guy. He’s plenty athletic enough to play in an outside scheme. I see him as a top 10 guy. If they’d just let him play guard from day one, he’d have been further along. Last year he was playing really good before he got hurt. When he came back, he struggled. He definitely looked rusty. I think they moved on from him for one reason: money. That’s fine. It’s a choice. High end FAs are always overpaid….often grossly.
I don’t use pro bowl appearances to evaluate a guy. It’s a name recognition vote. All pro I view a little differently. Hunt didn’t make any of those either! Lol
Randy, it’s not about worrying about getting hit, it’s a mental training to handle the hit and protecting yourself. You saw it last year. The Jujitsu isn’t crap. Ever watch MMA. Those guys prepare themselves for much more violent attacks and falls.
More Miami Dolphins Practice Observations
With the Dolphins’ top four targets out, the passing attack was clunky. The backups who got a promotion Tuesday struggled to create separation in 11-on-11s.
(Tagovailoa got no team reps Tuesday, but did have at least three touchdown passes in 7-on-7s, including deep strikes to Erik Ezukanma and Tahj Washington.)
The flip side of that coin? The defense had a very good day, flying around and blowing plays. And the trash talk? It was in midseason form.
Among the defensive highlights:
Jevon Holland, who wore the orange jersey and the in-practice aux cord for having the team’s best practice last Thursday, was also very active.
Rookie Malik Washington had a ragged day, with at least one drop and another failed pass play due to a less-than-ideal route.
He’s always trying to get better.
https://phinphanatic.com/posts/mike-mcdaniel-reveals-biggest-difference-noticed-tua-tagovailoa-otas-01hz001p9gx6
Absent from the workout were Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Odell Beckham Jr. Also, Braxton Berrios, a candidate for No. 4, was in attendance but working with trainers.
Absent from the workout were Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Odell Beckham Jr. Also, Braxton Berrios, a candidate for No. 4, was in attendance but working with trainers.
* TE Durham Smythe dove for a TD catch in seven-on-seven goal-line drills.
* Tagovailoa found Erik Ezukanma for a TD.
* Channing Tindall broke up a Tagovailoa pass intended for Malik Washington.
* A fumble on the exchange between Liam Eichenberg and Mike White was fumbled and recovered by Jevon Holland.
* Rookie RB Jaylen Wright also wore a camera on his helmet so coaches can spy Wright’s view of plays.
* Grayson Murphy sacked Skylar Thompson.
* Tindall made another play to sack Thompson.
* River Cracraft caught a 30-yard TD.
* Tagovailoa hit Tahj Washington with a TD over Isaiah Johnson to end the workout.
Players not spotted: Terron Armstead, De’Von Achane, Isaiah Wynn, Bradley Chubb, Kader Kohou, David Long Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Jaelan Phillips, Kendall Fuller, Da’Shawn Hand, Cam Brown, Cameron Goode, Shaquil Barrett.
Working with trainers: Berrios, Aaron Brewer, Kader Kohou.
Orange jersey for practice player of the day last workout: Holland.
@WingfieldNFL
Practice is done, some thoughts: Play of the day was the last one when Tua feathered a 40-yard TD to Tahj Washington right over the outside shoulder. Good route, good stack, nice track and it’s six (7 on 7).
Channing Tindall was my player of the day – play speed popped.
Tim,
Yeah, I’ve done jujitsu, football, MMA type wrestling without the striking….unless you consider fights between brothers. lol So yeah, I know what it is and what it does. It’s completely different than being hit in football. Yes, learning how to control your own body is always beneficial. But, getting blindsided by a guy 100 pounds heavier than you or getting crushed by 2 guys at once all while your focus HAS to be downfield and making a play, is nothing like jujitsu…or wrestling….or MMA. Controlling your balance. Keeping a solid base. Knowing how to turn into a fall are all great. QBs are BEING hit. They’re not engaged with the person hitting them most of the time. In jujitsu or MMA your focus is one guy on the mat with you. In football you may not even see the guy hitting you. This stuff takes on a life of its own, but I’m always a fan of cross training!
Anything that helps your game is what athletes do. Nothing is perfect but there are ways to do things better. Tua is always trying to get better and he’s humble. I admire that about him.
I agree Tim
Tua in 2022 had 2 conclusions, that could’ve been prevented by just falling properly, that’s why the martial art was suggested
Frankly, Tua just needs to throw the ball away more. Don’t take the hits.
I agree with that. He has a problem with wasted plays. Nick Saban talked about that. That’s the competitor in him.
This is a big year for Tindall. He’s got to raise his game or he might end up being a guy who bounces around every year.
I can’t see him making this team. I see him out of the NFL soon to be honest. By all accounts, he doesn’t have the intellect to play in the NFL. Hopefully I wrong and we get that cover LB we were all duped into thinking we got!
3rd year you have to show something.
Keep your eyes on Edefuan Ulofoshio, LB, Washington. The Bills drafted him @ R5P161 and he was the #4 coverage LB in all of the NCAA last season, per PFF.
If he makes their PS, we might be wise to poach him.
That is, of Draft eligable players from the 2023 NCAA season.
We’re now one week away from getting a huge boost to our Phins’ economy!
Perhaps I should say salary cap, not economy… but y’all know what I mean!
I expect a new deal for Tua when the book has more money.
Yessir… same here, man.
LOL, not how it works🤣
If it’s not just coach speak, it’s rather encouraging to hear that Tua is throwing stronger ropes than ever before. The slimmer Tua is certainly going to be more mobile while maintaining/enhancing his strength.
Muscle memory is everything, hence his Jujitsu training: he now knows how to fall instinctively upon getting hit. NO, this doesn’t make Tua invulnerable to blindside hits or two players sandwiching him at the same time… nobody can prevent that from happening except for adequate O-Line protection at it’s best. Even then, shit happens.
Nonetheless, it seems that a more nimble Tua will be able to extend plays in ’24 and make more happen than ever before. I find this to be a positive happening.
Not sure why you guys think that the additional money we’ll be getting June 1st has anything to do with Tua’s contract. He’s on the books now for $23.1M. Unless we’re planning on paying him more than that this season, we don’t need that money at all. I just think both sides can’t nail down an agreement. Now of course it’s possible the contract gets done in June, or maybe even July, but that would simply be a coincidence, not a result of the extra June $$$
You nailed it
The holdup is the guaranteed money
Thanks Steve – I guess it is possible we pay him more than the $23.1M this season, but I don’t think it’s likely
Since he’s under contract for the 23m they usually do an extension and not a tear up and create an entirely new contract, paying bonus money this year making the current year cap go down
Don’t be alarmed at the avg per year in Tua’s contract, they’ll come out and say 55m avg per year for 5 years and everyone will be freaking out, before even knowing what the fully guaranteed money and other terms are
Last year MM apologized to Mostert and promised he’d get more opportunities in 2023, we saw how that played out with his 20+ tds and 1000 yards rushing
MM is offering the same for Achane this year
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/mike-mcdaniel-offseason-gives-devon-achane-a-chance-to-fully-understand-our-offense
I don’t care who gets what number of targets or carries, just make the mist of them
Add EZ into the mix on some end grounds and some 3rd down YAC situations and the DCs head will be spinning
Just over 10 weeks until our 1st preseason game
What Tua lacks is flick
Mahomes, Jackson and Allen while being pressured have this uncanny flick of the wrist to throw quick passes, Tua has a quick release, but has to wind up to throw
When I talk about Tua getting a contract in June it’s not because that will make it easier to sign him to an extension. I think the team might rework some contracts then and rework their books.
Why would they need to re-work contracts?
I thought I read an article about it from Barry Jackson like a month ago or so. I don’t really follow the cap that closely. He was talking about the team restructuring deals moving forward and Tua was part of that.
100 days till kickoff. Can’t wait!
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Miami Dolphins favored a lot early in the season, underdogs plenty throughout the latter half.<br><br>(Lines according to BetOnline) <a href=”https://t.co/aKDedwQopu”>pic.twitter.com/aKDedwQopu</a></p>— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DavidFurones_/status/1795884093948764485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>May 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
https://x.com/DavidFurones_/status/1795884093948764485
https://x.com/DavidFurones_/status/1795884093948764485/photo/1
Preseason predictions like this rarely stay the same for all sorts of reasons. Every year we see teams predicted to be good or bad and it’s the opposite with the exception of a few.
Absolutely correct.
OUCH…
https://x.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1795918842679435450
I would not be surprised if we signed Calais Campbell for even just a vet presence and limited snaps.
I’m totally down for that. And if we can bring Ogbah back for a more realistic contract, I’m totally down for that as well.
Not sure about Ogbah; I see Barrett, Chop and Kamara holding the fort on the Edge until Phillips and Chubb are good to go. Kamara has a sleeper feel for me. He reminds me of the type of player the Steelers and Ravens would draft and hit on.
ATTENTION FMU MODERATORS,
Many of us (including yourselves, I’m sure) are getting frustrated that visual tweets can no longer be posted here. Instead, the posts only show up as links that need to be clicked upon. This really slows down the experience, being most don’t want to click on links without knowing what it’s all about. This adds more cookies, more windows, and just plain sucks.
What I do know? Elon Musk recently (about 2 weeks ago) made Twitter (X) a .com site. Could that have anything to do with it, or is it more of a WordPress problem? Is there anything that could be done via WordPress to allow tweets to show up again in our posts?
Thanks in advance!
In order to help y’all troubleshoot the problem, there seems to be no problem when it comes to posting YouTube videos here.
I find if you’re experiencing a send delay hit send again during that and it goes through.
No send delays when it comes to posting tweets… it always goes through first time for me and just posts a link instead of the visual tweet.
Thanks Capt Obvious. We are aware there is a problem. It’s been mentioned here numerous times. Between WordPress changing things on a whim du jour and the former twitter having its own changes, I have no idea what is going to happen whenever I click to post, same as you. I’ve spent a lot of time on their site, trying to figure it out. I can tell you that WordPress thinks they are great and don’t understand what we’re complaining about. I’ve sent them screenshots, they have looked at the site, read your complaints. They still think they are doing a great job.
I can’t spend any additional time on it.
Yeah… you could have done without the “Capt Obvious” statement. I’m trying to HELP, not trying to be insulted.
Apologies for trying to help. SMH
I probably could have. But you’re telling us we have a problem like we don’t know it. We know! It didn’t just happen today. It’s been discussed. WordPress changes things all the time for reasons known only to them and then appear baffled that we don’t love what they’ve done. I personally think your issue is an X/twitter issue. I think they want you on their site rather than being able to see and read a tweet elsewhere. We can’t do a thing about it if that’s the case.
I’ve spent countless hours on their support site trying to get them to recognize the issues they have caused here, going back to last year. So telling us that it’s slowing your experience here and it sucks strikes a nerve with me.
Test
https://x.com/john_keim?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
I’m fine with no links or twits or facebeaks! 🙂
I tried telling you guys Tindall was way overdrafted. He played on pure athleticism. They put him on the field and said: “Get ball.” That’s about it. He ran as fast as he could to the play. Maybe he made the tackle. Maybe he was going so fast he missed. I assumed it was because he wasn’t bright, but you can’t really tell as a fan. Great speed and athleticism but no football sense. That doesn’t work in the NFL. I thought he might work on ST with his athleticism.
He was technically a 3rd round pick but a comp pick which was really 4th round range. I don’t think he was overdrafted. His athleticism was worthy of take a look. He was the #102 pick which is early 4th round prospect.
herd,
A big thank you to you and the admins for what you do! I probably don’t say it enough. I have no complaints other than there’s too much QB talk! Can you work on that? Lol
Dear Elon Musk,
Please help us, the average age around here has to be close to sixty, we don’t understand all of the changes. We hide out here to avoid social media and have discussions about our favorite team. Nothing complicated.
Thank you,
FMU
son,
Why are you addressing a post to after shave? I assume that’s what elon musk is. What’s wrong with Brute? You from Russia or something?
I’m an Aqua Velva man
“I’m a Dapper Dan man”
But are you bona fide?
in the NFL, if you’re on the bench and interfere with a ball carrier they’ll reward a td, in the NHL, if you hang over the boards and the puck hits you they just do a restart face off, WTF
Why is it OK to hang out over the ice?
I mean, it’s live substitution?
seriously though, the nfl rule is because an infraction is more likely to decided a game.
I know that’s nuanced and this isn’t a hockey board but I kinda feel like it’s true…
I’m not talking about substitutions, I’m talking about players while on the bench, what’s to say one of those pucks that hit someone on the bench wouldn’t have gone in the back of the net
You don’t have to award a goal, but a penalty would suffice and keep them inside the bench area
I’m pretty ok not to see the embedded x posts. This way we all can decide if we want to consume said media. Conversely we connect more w those who clicked through and see what we saw. Win/win
Eichenberg got the Orange practice jersey.
Ranking the Best NFL CB Duos Ahead of the 2024 Season | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report
—————-
Thought we might would have been top 10, guess not. Though, I knew the Jets would be. They are stacked top to bottom on defense.
We got the first honorable mention, for whatever that’s worth
At least they gave us honorable mention since their rule said if it’s their first season together then they can’t be ranked.
owe you a beer, Mike.
For those who live down there:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOxNGVrWMAAgUJb?format=jpg&name=900×900
Naples closest, not sure who else.
@RapSheet
The #Vikings are re-signing veteran guard Dalton Risner on a 1-year deal that has a signing bonus, per-game and 53-man bonuses and incentives if he’s the majority of season starter, sources say.
Good, we have a better LG
Dov Kleiman
@NFL_DovKleiman
Jets fans are worried about QB Aaron Rodgers health after he had treatment done on his feet during today’s practice.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs is reportedly facing two misdemeanor warrants for second-degree cruelty to dogs or cats.
On March 28, Tuscaloosa animal control found a pitbull and a rottweiler mix locked on a property that Buggs had rented. The dogs were discovered to be “severely malnourished, emaciated, neglected and the residence appearing to be abandoned.”
They were also found with “no access to food or water.”
The pitbull was eventually euthanized after a failed heartworm treatment and due to aggressive behavior.
———————-
@TomPelissero
Statement from #Chiefs DL Isaiah Buggs’ agent, Trey Robinson, who says his client has been the subject of police harassment and arrested two times over his refusal to close his Tuscaloosa hookah joint.
——————-
So, being arrested for cruelty to animals is police harassment. WTF
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
Follow
The #Dolphins and star WR Jaylen Waddle have a new deal on a three-year, $84.75M contract extension that includes $76M guaranteed, sources say. Waddle is now one of the league’s top five highest-paid WRs.
Guess I needed to add text
Ian Rapoport
@RapSheet
Follow
The #Dolphins and star WR Jaylen Waddle have a new deal on a three-year, $84.75M contract extension that includes $76M guaranteed, sources say. Waddle is now one of the league’s top five highest-paid WRs.
BBM,
That’s our world today. When you’ve done something wrong, just claim you’re a victim and it’s somebody else’s fault. It works so why not?
it’s our world today, because the people responsible keep getting voted in
Yep
OMG!!! Waddle is overpaid!!!! How can you pay him that much? Has he made a pro bowl? Is he a top 5 WR? This will ruin the team!!! How can we go on?!?!
Preach it Randy!
Soon enough, he’ll be our #1 WR when Tyreek is gone, maybe as early as next season though
🤔
They actually should have done that with Wilkins, and maybe even Hunt. Once you let them hit FA, they’re as good as gone. I know, they half assed it with Wilkins, if they paid him near top 5 money in ’23 he would have been here
Yeah, what a jackass, what an fn jackass
Yeah, let’s get out in from of a runaway train
MikeE,
Since I retired I’ve discovered this thing called waking and baking. Who knew?! I’m just being a smart ass. I really don’t care much what players are paid. It’s like talking about injuries. Lol
You retired??? Awesome! Good for you! Looking forward to cutting back a day or two, but retirement is a ways down the road
Never understood that type of thinking
The more we over pay, the less good players we’ll have
It’s like living in Cali and saying I don’t care what the min wage is for fast food workers and frequenting them
Smart to resign Waddle now. That is a lot of guaranteed money also.
Learning from past mistakes???
Something isn’t quite right there with his contract, maybe it’s a 4 year contract or the guaranteed money isn’t being reported accurately…
You are right. Will have to see when details are out.
This should put Waddle under contract through 2027. By the 2026 season, this won’t be top 5 money and might not even be top 10 money.
steve,
Nobody…voted in or not…is responsible for the way I think. Going down that road is just another abdication of responsibility and blameism. I’m responsible for me. Period.
And, I’m a football fan. I don’t go to accountant firms and watch them work. I don’t always need to see how the sausage is made to enjoy my bangers and mash.
or holding someone accountable, and the purpose for voting in general
People are so brainwashed today, there’s no accountability for their actions
Fanny Willis steals money by whatever that was she did with her boyfriend lawyer, and they still vote the corrupt POS in
Waddle has agreed to a three-year contract extension that will make him one of the league’s highest-paid receivers and keep him tied to the organization through 2028, according to multiple reports.
This is his 4th year, so still on his rookie contract, then in 2025 he’ll be on the 5th year option
Maybe they’re using the 5th year option to justify in their mind avg per year
Still makes no sense why they felt they had to pay that much
I’m just hoping Waddle doesn’t break. If he does become our #1 when Hill departs, he’s gonna get a lot more attention and physical play. He’s already had a bunch of lower body issues. He’s played through a lot of stuff but that changes as the years mount. Get what you can out of him in the next 2-3 years because he may not last much longer.
He was the #1 WR his rookie year, and played great
Steve, yeah, just saw that. Spotrac has it loaded already.
Jaylen Waddle | NFL | Spotrac.com
It doesn’t look so bad the way it’s laid out on Spotrac
He’s making more real money than Tyreek, yet doesn’t have anything close to Reek’s cap hits
Yeah
His cap hit in 2025 did go up with the signing bonus. About 4 million over what was projected on the 5th year option. But still not bad with a cap hit of 19.9 in 2025 and 21 mil in 2026. Goes up significantly in 27′ and 28′.
Also, most of the guaranteed money will be paid before the 2027 season. Not a lot of dead money after 2026 if something happens.
steve,
young guys can play thru stuff. Old guys don’t. We’ll see how he holds up when teams start focusing their coverage on him and beat on him all game long. He’s got time to bulk up a bit too. Concussion/TBI. Major ankle fracture surgery. He’s already had issues.
He’s 25
FINALLY
A Jersey I can’t get some use out of
🐧
Waddle is getting 36m fully guaranteed, 76m total guaranteed
I think that so long as Waddle lives up to his expectations (no reason to believe he can’t), it’s a good deal.
As BB Mike stated above, “learning from mistakes”. As Steve stated above, “he’s only 25”. If we had waited much longer — and being WR is a top $$$ position — we’d be paying much more per year for his services.
Now we just need to get Tua re-signed and hopefully, we have enough $$$ to either sign another stud or just roll the $$$ over to next season.
bailbondmike
says:
May 30, 2024 at 10:00 am
@RapSheet
The #Vikings are re-signing veteran guard Dalton Risner on a 1-year deal that has a signing bonus, per-game and 53-man bonuses and incentives if he’s the majority of season starter, sources say.
———-
Excellent. We had no use for his weak play anyway. Happy he’s not an option any longer.
herdfan
says:
May 29, 2024 at 7:59 pm
…WordPress changes things all the time for reasons known only to them and then appear baffled that we don’t love what they’ve done. I personally think your issue is an X/twitter issue. I think they want you on their site rather than being able to see and read a tweet elsewhere. We can’t do a thing about it if that’s the case.
I’ve spent countless hours on their support site trying to get them to recognize the issues they have caused here, going back to last year…
————
See, these are things that are unknown to me… and likely many others, too. I had NO IDEA that you’ve spent so much time on the issue. For that, I THANK YOU!!! 🙂
And it would seem the issue has been corrected, as BB Mike was able to post a tweet at 10:03 AM today! YAY!!! THANK YOU!!! 🙂
HERD ROCKS!!!
Waddle has had over 1,000 yards all three seasons he’s been in the league. I’m glad we signed him.
So every time we sign someone are we going to bring up not signing Wilkins and Hunt. You can’t sign everyone and teams have to choose their priorities. That’s what happens when you have a lot of good players.
he’s probably our best draft pick in years
if he was a free agent – I bet he would be the highest paid WR
people underestimate how good he is bc Hill gets all the attention
but I think eventually he will be our #1 WR and
this is a great signing for us
it also shows the team is serious about building around Tua, Waddle and Hill as their nucleus.
Yep
I agree with him.
As do I, particularly playing at home in the playoffs. I’ve talked about this matter in recent weeks.
🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧
The most important thing about signing Waddle, is we get to keep the best celebration dance in the league in Miami.
Leader
https://phinphanatic.com/posts/dolphins-fans-will-love-raheem-mostert-quote-bringing-along-jaylen-wright-01hz4rc0ywmj
If Waddle was so great, why do we need Hill? He’s not a top 10 WR, Wilkins was a top 10 DT/DE. I think the big reason we’re paying Waddle is because we’re not going to pay Hill
We’re building this team through offense. We’re trying to make it impossible to matchup.
I think they redo Hill’s contract next year voiding the last year and then reduce his 2025 cap hit by putting a bunch in a bonuses spreading dead cap out down the road.
Similar to what they did with Ramsey.
Right now spotrac has our 2025 cap at -10.7 mil but we will get another 7 mil back on 6/1 when X’s release comes off the books. We are probably at around -3 mill in 2025 cap.
We will have to see where Tua’s contract puts us. Also, I think Chubb will be a post 6/1 release.
I didn’t do a thing as far as a tweet posting or not. It happens frequently. As I said, I think its an X/twitter issue. They change things, embedded tweets don’t work. Then WordPress or whatever you’re using has to update so that it will work again. Then they change it again, on and on.
WordPress has also changed many things in the last year, it’s continual and based on comments I see on their support forums, no one likes most of them. They cannot grasp we liked things the way they used to be. We don’t want to continually log in, tell them we don’t want notifications or whatever it is. We don’t need to be notified of a new post. Yet here we are.
I now get emails to approve a number of comments, no rhyme or reason to it that I can determine. Some only have one link so its’s not the number. I approve them if I see them. I’m ready to look elsewhere. Maybe our own reddit page? They have broken me! I give up.
🏳️
That you have taken so much of your free time in an attempt to resolve these issues is what matters to me… and many others. We THANK YOU, Herd, honestly and sincerely.
Perhaps a Reddit page is the answer… I dunno.
TH is asking for a new contract with 3 years left?! Catch the ball in money time!
He is? He said he was going to be done after the 2025 season.
I just read it behind the last post….maybe I read it wrong?
No, you read it. I just did as well. Wonder who the source is. Only thing in quotes is “So sign me” that he said earlier before Waddle being signed.
I think he wants to play a little longer that what he previously stated (2025) and knows he would have to be resigned. I don’t think it is about him wanting to be highest paid. He knows he isn’t going to see that $ in 2026 so if he wants to play longer in Miami it will be on a new deal.
Look for us to get the ball to Achane out in the flat one on one often. I think we’re going to see him on the field with Mostert at the same time pretty often. We like to spread teams out wide with our speed. But the inside zone runs are still available. If teams get too big on us they can’t match the speed. If they play nickel it’s about can they win one on one? That’s what I think MM is doing.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see Hill, Waddle, Mostert, Achane and Janu Smith on the field at the same time. What ya going to do defense?
Exactly! How do you play big or small? Our RBs aren’t big but they run more physical for their size and the speed.
And that isn’t even the speed lineup, take out Jonnu and add Wright
Non-speed lineup add OBJ or Fortson, that’s 8 guys that can kill you with speed, YAC or catch radius, lots of options
Beer and pool time! BBL
Bum
Tim – So if the defense isn’t good enough, and the offense doesn’t score enough against better teams to win, you won’t blame the defense, or the “whole team”?
No, we’ll blame you Stugotz😝
Mike, right or wrong I agree with Rich Eisen. That’s how we’re doing it. The idea isn’t to suck on defense but Edge and CB is viewed as a higher priority than DT and RG. Tua is also a big part of where the cap is going to. It’s not my opinion but what is happening.
I can’t listen to it at work, I’ll check it out later. Only thing I can say without saying seeing it though is just because we’re doing it, it doesn’t mean it’s the right way to do it.
That’s the first thing I said. 😉
Waddle has these guarantees:
I hope we sign Tua with similar fully/guarantees, outs each March for the next season, but closer to the 10 years Mahomes got
of course Tua will have more fully guaranteed money, but with Waddle’s structure we’d have outs along the way
I’ll blame Matt Roth. He must’ve farted and the shock wave gave Grier an embolism.
You sure that wasn’t Piggy?
🐖💨
57 players ran 800 routes or more in the last 2 seasons.
only Tyreek, Justin Jefferson, and AJ Brown git more YPRoute run than Waddle.
HIll 3.64
Jefferson 2.79
Brown 2.78
Waddle 2.73
I like Waddle. I just wince everytime he gets hit. Hopefully he’ll make it though the contract
My take on what Rich Eisen said to me is that this team feels they need to make sure they play at home. I don’t see how that differs from last year’s mission. We know how that turned out. I’d love to have a team that can win anywhere, against any team at any time. This concerns me. If the end of the season once agains determines our fate, we need to beat teams on the road in cold climes too.
KC is a tough place to play always. But extreme temps against the best coach and QB with a top defense was just not doable last year. We signed two edge and a LB just to play the game.
Maybe they will trade Hill. Get out of cap hell and pick up some draft picks. Works for me.
After this season, a pre 6/1 trade in 2025 would clear 11.6 mil in cap. A team could have Hill for an easy 21.8 mil in 2025 then release him after the season as his base pay in 2026 is 43.9 mil. No team is going to pay him that.
That said, I don’t know what a team would give up for a 1year rental.
I don’t think he goes anywhere even if he tries to attack a guy at a marina again. lol
The main cap casualties will be Chubb and Armstead.