Well Dolphins fans, our young team performed much like a young team does. Mistakes, mistakes, and more mistakes. I’m not worried in the least that we lost to a team that many people pointed out to be the “one team we can beat”. We are a very young, very inexperienced team. Add in to the equation that due to Sully and Haf’s choice to evaluate the bottom half of the roster by playing them extensively in the Preseason, which in turn left the greater majority of starters playing 1 drive only, and that in the very first preseason game, which in case you forgot was a month ago, August 14th. You can hate the decision or agree with it, but either way, to expect a large group of players who are very young to not play together at all, and expect them to defeat a team laden with veteran players who have played together, it’s kind of silly. On the other hand, to expect this team to perform better each and every game now that they have played together, and will continue to do so is also fair.
This week, the Miami Dolphins stayed in Cali, after their defeat by the hands of the Raiders, not quite the “Sea of Hands”, but effective enough. I hope the lack of travel gives us a leg up, we can sure use any advantage. The 49ers had to travel back from Australia after dismantling the team thought of as a Superbowl favorite in the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams. The Niners kept their foot on the gas in that game and never looked back. The LA Rams never got off the mat in this one falling 27-7, and believe me, the score isn’t even accurate gauge of how efficiently and thoroughly the Niners beat the Rams. Third down efficiency tells a big story, and this one reveals a lot. SF was 7-12 (58%) on 3rd Down while the Rams languished at 2-9 (22%). The 49ers held a 7 minute edge with the time of possession, 33:50 – 26:10. This will be their objective again, and we saw how easily 2nd year RB Ashton Jeanty ran all over our defense, and the 49ers have a fantastic tandem with CMC (Christian McCaffrey) and rookie 3rd RD pick RB Kaelon Black. Last week against the Rams these 2 combined for 133 yards and that could be 333 yards unless our front 7 play better.
I think one important aspect for us is doing a better job of getting RB De’Von Achane the ball. He’s our best offensive weapon, hands down, and there’s no excuse for not using him a lot. We just paid him well, (4YR/$64M) so now it’s time to get rewards on your investment. It’s pretty simple really, if we can the ball effectively,. we take away their advantage of holding the ball from us. of course, this will require a significant improvement in our defensive play, but improving from what we did last week shouldn’t be asking a lot. RB Ashton Jeanty accounted for 147 total yards, 102 rushing on 23 carries and 45 receiving yards on 6 receptions. We have to find similar success this week for Achane. If we do, we can stay in this game, a game where the Home 49ers are just shy of 14 point favorites.
I like what I saw out of our Wide Receivers last week, especially rookie WR Caleb Douglas who made it evident why he was a 3rd RD choice, and perhaps not the reach everyone here said he was. WR Caleb Douglas made a big splash, hauling in 5 receptions for 94 yards, including 35 yards after the catch. On the other side of the ledger was rookie wideout Chris Bell, our other 3rd RD pick. WR Chris Bell was targeted only twice and he finished with only 1 reception for 25 yards. Not disappointing in any way though, I think it’s fantastic he’s on the 53 man roster and playing, and not on IR/R. 2nd year WR Malik Washington was the most targeted receiver with 8, but the small statured Washington only came up with 3 receptions for 53 yards. Not having enough balance of the running game and trhe passing game didn’t help the QB, the receivers, or the O-line, or the game result for that matter, but OC Bobby Slowik will most likely make some changes for Week 2.
I think the biggest disappointment for me was the D-line. I expected better from Sieler, Phillips, Biggers and Chop, but it’s important to note that DL Zeek Biggers didn’t play one snap in the preseason. Regardless, this unit just has to be better. No pass rush at all, especially considering we were up against the cement footed veteran QB Kirk Cousins. Cousins, the 38 YO QB attempted 30 passes and was not sacked. If you thought the above stats with the 49ers and Rams looked slanted, the Raiders had the ball for even longer, 34:53 – 25:07. Hard to win a game where your defense spends all that time on the field. DE Chop Robinson is optimistically questionable for this game with a concussion, and if he can’t go, RDE Josh Uche and backup DE Malik Herring will be tasked with the pressure of getting pressure.
One unit that looked so bad and good at the same time was the secondary. Rookie 1st RD pick CB Chris Johnson was a big contributor to the bad. He was beaten all over the field, by RB’s and WR’s alike. I’m not worried about him, again, lack of experience and playing time in the preseason definitely stung us in Game 1. Not that one game makes him a seasoned veteran, but he will be better if the 49ers challenge him like the Raiders did. One thing I can say in the positive for Chris Johnson is he can play the run and tackle. He will get better and better with more playing time. Rookie S Michael Taaffe recorded his first INT, along with 2nd year Safety Dante Trader who got his first INT of 2026. As for the LB’s, ILB Jacob Rodriguez stuffed that stat lines with 14 total tackles (5 solo, 9 assisted). The aforementioned rookie CB Chris Johnson was 2nd with 11 tackles (5 solo, 6 assisted). Also, despite getting beat, rookie CB Chris Johnson led the Dolphins D with 2 passes defensed.
I think overall, the O-line looked at the very least serviceable. I think TE Will Kacmarek is still banged up, he didn’t look like a sledgehammer, or even the best blocking TE in the draft, but again, not playing in the preseason didn’t help him any. If it sounds like I’m killing Sully and Haf here, I’m not. Just pointing out that they had a difficult decision to make, to evaluate the bottom half of the roster knowing full well who was making the top end. They chose to do that in lieu of getting starters more reps and familiarity. It was a necessary evil though, considering our lack of cap space and the knowledge we had to field a very young 53 man roster. One player who looked particularly good in Game 1 was our first first RD pick LG Kadyn Proctor. He was mobile, athletic, and nasty, all wonderful traits to have, and he used them well.
One especially disappointing revelation was our ST’s play. More specifically, punt and kickoff coverage, or lack thereof. We allowed KR RB Dylan Laube 2 returns for a total of 95 yards, and his long was 50, so doing the math, we allowed 2 KO returns for over 45 yards.. Unacceptable!!!! With a young team, we should have guys flying around cracking skulls, not what we saw. That just has to be better, or no matter what the rest of the team does, they will be playing from behind. On punt returns, we allowed 2 returns for 34 yards. One return was 23 yards, the other 11. Again, we have to be better there.
It’s so difficult to evaluate our QB play. On the one hand, it was truly wonderful to see our QB have the ability to not only have the physical and mental capacity to run past a first down marker, and not get killed, but to actually do it! One thing I can point out with certainty is that QB Malik Willis held onto the ball too darn long. He needs to get that clock in his head and use it. 5 sacks for 35 yards. His passing stats were not good, 15-27 220 yards, 0TD, 1 INT. He added 39 yards on 6 carries. I know Malik Willis was just trying to make things happen, and when you have a bunch of young receivers who don’t have the savvy to wriggle free of coverage, he just needs to throw the ball away. I’m sure Haf and OC Bobby Slowik had this discussion with Malik Willis.
So what do we expect in Week 2, on the road, against the very formidable San Francisco 49ers in their home opener. For those of you in the know, this is the “Patterson Bowl”, Doug VS Dar. Our resident Dolphins fan blogger Doug and his wife Darlene, a Niners fan. House divided and all that jazz. Dar must be licking her chops for this one as the Dolphins look like easy prey, but sometimes, things aren’t what they appear. Especially in the NFL, where crazy things happen all season long, could the Dolphins upset the 49ers to knock a trillion people out of their “Knockout Pools”? Last week it was the LA Chargers, could it stay in Cali and be the Niners who look like one of the best NFL teams after Week 1? Stay tuned!
GO DOLPHINS!!!
Austin Jackson has looked pretty bad so far this season
We may get outmatched now. We need to make some plays on offense.
PP – from last page
Sky TV has Broncos v Jags. You’ll need to find a DAZN feed somehow. They have all games. I use IPTV som I’m mega rusty on ‘links’ these days. I always used first row sports back in the day – all one word. Try it in google
got it. Thanks.
👍
Honestly, there are guys on the Niners open all over the place. I don’t think our guys understand their assignments and where they’re supposed to be
we appear to be playing strict zone , and they are picking us apart
Stable front office, established team and playbook, experienced players vs 1st yr HC, mix of rookies and mercanaries, new playbook and inexperienced players with a rookie green dot LB. We stayed in it to HT then faded. It’s ended how I thought it would
And the rout is on. These are the growing pains for our young team.
^
Our safeties are a huge weakness.
The Flying Pig
says:
September 20, 2026 at 5:59 pm
Austin Jackson has looked pretty bad so far this season
———
+100000000000000
He’s been an absolute liability thus far.
just held on a pretty good run too
MikeE, I agree
Brock Purdy is s a surgeon back there. 49er’s execute so well
seriously?
our DBs have no clue how to play zone and we have no passrush
RB Wright must be hurt with Washington returning kicks
Are you fuckin’ kidding me, Austin Jackson? ANOTHER penalty?
Jaylen Wright just continues to be a disappointment
Ollie Gordon a bigger disappointment
^
What’s your opinion on Pinion?
Like a cheap Bic razor. Replaceable
Needs to work with the WRs
he sucked at camp and he hasn’t improved
Minion
Ok, so now the wheels fell off. Oh well, 1st half was amusing
can’t watch any more of this triple A football
Hafley is supposed to be the DB coach that can take hisins…
Really, omg
Holy crap. Our coaches have almost nothing to work with here. Just people totally unprepared to do basic things like kick a football.
158.3 passer rating for Brock Purdy thus far.
what do you expect 7v7?
Did I not say the rout was on?
its hard to evaluate our D individually, when someone is out of position every play
ukfinfan
says:
September 20, 2026 at 6:19 pm
Minion
———
Hahaha! Winner! Good answer! 🤣
It’s tough to field a team with 27 players with 2 or less years expedience.
that’s why I predicted us to finish 4-13. Feels a little optimistic right now!
ditto Brian
BBM,
if only a highly rated safety was there for us when we picked at 13…
Year 1 of a scorched earth rebuild. Don’t lose sight of that
Why are we throwing 25 yards downfield to a LB? Where is Chris Bell? Caleb Douglas?
throwing the ball deep to the FB on 1st down is an interesting choice
CB Chris Johnson getting beat like a drum. Hopefully they can get him straightened out
I feel like we regressed since the raiders game. This is gonna be. Along season.
I think the 49’ers are just that much better than the raiders.
ding ding
CB Chris Johnson is NOT a slot CB. Play him on the boundary where he BELONGS.
Don’t know why Coach Haf wants to fuck homeboy’s brain up like that.
^
I actually understand why we’re doing what we’re doing with Chris Johnson. We’re developing him for his future role as a shut-down CB.
Phelon – if you can’t get a link to Fins, Dallas vs Skins is on terrestrial TV ch. 5. Should be on all hotel tvs
if only a highly rated safety was there for us when we picked at 13…
—–
Who might you be talking about…..LOL
Kadyn Proctor will be playing RT before you know it.
RT > S
I think it’s rather clear that Kadyn Proctor will be our next franchise RT.
Am I the only one who is noticing these 49ers cheerleaders? 😎
Are they women? LOL
I suppose one must wonder these days, especially regarding San Fran! LOL
But on the serious tip… the 49ers have some pretty hot lady cheerleaders.
stat padding time
and they can’t even do that right
Our OL is just really bad. Not a new problem but man it’s bad.
Austin Jackson is the perfect Grier pick.
^
#20 is using this time to catch up on all the felonies he missed out on
Shit
Austin Jackson seen pleading with the Zebras… when the penalty wasn’t on him. He’s lost all of his confidence.
Great draft, wasn’t it? 3 1st-round picks, 3 bad picks!!!!!!
Oh, man… don’t get me started! General Grief truly funked it up.
MALIK to MILLER!!! TD!!!
me watching us finally score a TD
Haha, #20 you got beat you little bitch!
LOL, Chargers!!!
So, it’s early but I’m baiting Rams and Chargers fans I know and one of them already wants McD to move back here.
Yeah, the powerhouse Chargers are 0-2, playing Buffalo next week.
They look awful…and by extension so does McD. That offense has been BAD.
Well, we have played 3 decent quarters of football out of 8 quarters against 2 teams who are undefeated and currently lead their division.
That still doesn’t make me feel any better.
Well, we are moving up on Tankathon draft order. LOL
Proctor was a little worse this week than last but it was the 49er’s tough D.
I thought we did pretty well. The 49’ers are obviously a great team. You don’t manhandle a very good Rams team without being good yourself. We were respectable almost all game. Lots of miscues and mistakes but better than I expected. Our red zone needs a lot of work. Our DBs and OL are pretty bad. We have no pass rush, and our Fat Boys are getting manhandled too easily. Lots of that can be fixed though.
Good game for what it was. I also tried to jinx a Jets fan with, “I think you guys might win this one.” I can only hope I helped.
McD’s and Tua’s teams are combined 0-4. No takebacks, guys.
the MM and Tua stink is spreading slowly thru the league 😜
so many mistakes in the third. A young team and a 1st year coach I guess it’s expected. I feel like our line didn’t give Willis any time. We have to get rid of the ball faster. 1st half I thought we were making progress from last week but the 2nd half sucked.
generally the sign of a team that isn’t deep, or very good
Just finished watching the game. That was brutal. The first 5 drives by SF ended in a touchdown, and our only touchdown was by our 5th WR late in the 4th.
To sum it up, nothing really positive in this game, so I’ll leave it at that.
I think there was some positive. Some free agent/draft needs are becoming clearer even after just 2 games in RT, Edge, Safety, CB, RG and RB depth.
I look forward to getting Trey Moore and Kenneth Grant back. I would like to see Trey Moore in place of Willie Gay on the defense.
yeah, those positions we pretty much knew before the season.
Looks like the defense played the run well enough. McCaffrey only had 23 yards rushing on 10 carries, 2.3 yard average. Kaelon Black only had 25 yards on 7 carries. The longest run between the 2 was only 6 yards.
Brock Purdy was the difference making in shredding the secondary. Of course, he rarely had any pressure from the pass rush unless it was a blitz.
Now it is back home to face the Chiefs in week 3.
Jets currently have the #2 overall pick (via the Colts).
We currently have the #8 overall pick due to having the toughest schedule of all the 0-2 teams.
The Colts will be better and win some games. I think we will too, but the Colts are a better team
Crow-Armstrong needs 2 more stolen bases in the last 6 games of the regular season to make the 40/40 club. He hit his 45th homerun and got his 38th stolen base last night. He’s tied with Schwarber for the most homeruns in MLB.
Another terrible Mets trade 😦
I know. I like to keep putting it out there. 😉
Jesus, my KC fan friends have just become insufferable over the past few years. I wonder if Dolphins fans were like that when we used to be good.
it’s gonna be a long week.
Maybe the Chiefs will be looking past us toward their week 4 matchup at the Raiders. I doubt it though.
We should poach Kader Kohou off the Chiefs practice squad today. Start him at slot CB/NB and move Chris Johnson out to boundary.
I agree.
I thought it was a bad holding call on Proctor. Watching from the angle in this video, it was a hold.
not sure of anyone saw the Caleb Williams injury play yesterday
but it looked pretty bad – a lot of people thought it was an Achilles injury or something
He fell down pretty much untouched (it looked at first as if van Ginkle tripped him but he didn’t touch him) he rolled around in paid, made noises you can hear on tv
turns out it’s just a hamstring and it’s not even that serious. He might play next week
so it just looked bad at the time – in part bc of his reaction
am I the only one that sees that as a negative in Caleb Williams – to fall like that on what appears to be a minor hamstring injury seems a little…soft…
maybe I’m being too harsh – but I remember Marino completing a pass after he blew his Achilles
Marino never got up after he blew his Achilles.
My buddy blew his Achilles and said he didn’t have much pain at all. Said it hurt but mostly his foot wouldn’t work anymore.
I’ve heard that too.
Agreed Pig, thought the same thing as I was ready your post, and before you said soft
I’ve had hamstring injuries running the bases (softball) and just kept going, different situation, but same injury. I didn’t have anyone coming after me though
Young players we should poach off practice squads now to try and upgrade the roster.
Bills – RT Jedric Wills or OT/OG Chase Lundt, Safety Geno Stone
Eagles – Safety Cole Weisnewski
Bengals – DE/Edge Isaiah Foskey
Cardinals – OG Caden Barnett
Texans – Slot CB Alijah Huzzie
There are about 12 more I would poach toward the end of the season and then give a futures contract to for the 2027 season. Most of them are rookie or year 2 players.
We just poached a Line backer from the Bills.
We started the season out west two in a row and the 2nd game was against a juggernaut. This 49ers team reminded me of Walsh/Montana. We can only learn from it moving forward. A lot of our rookies are being thrown right into the fire.
You guys still don’t see the lack of talent?
We also have 27 players with two years or less experience. We know what’s happening.
But YOU specifically were denying that we had a lack of talent. I guess you are sticking to that fallacy?
Not looking for a fight, Rock. That also meant young players with little experience but have talent. We have more young players than most teams would want to have but we know what happened and why. We have some good vets too that want to be part of this new team. This season might be similar to 2019.
Agree with this
@MiamiDolphins
Roster Move | We have waived inside linebacker Liam Anderson.
He was a head scratcher in the first place
Just watched the highlights. In case anybody was wondering, the Malik Willis bomb to Ryan Miller was 47 air-yards before the catch. It was a weird throw as Malik looked almost off-balance upon release… don’t know what that was all about.
Sufficed to say, if he put his full weight into a throw, I wouldn’t be surprised if it went for nearly 70 yards. Dude’s got a cannon for an arm.
Cue it up to the 9:50 mark to see what I’m talking about. It looks as though Malik came off his planting foot a little early and kind of fell away as he released.
Pretty ball, very accurate, hit Miller in-stride… but that was awkward looking.
Rock
I think we have a lot of inexperience – whether or not we have a lack of talent depends on how those very inexperienced players play this season
It’s hard to bring more than a dozen rookies in and no whether they de talented enough to play in the nfl or not
really even players who have put up good numbers, may be doing it just bc they are getting snaps, where other day 2 and day 3 picks are not even getting snaps
I guess the fact that so many young players are getting playing time is evidence the teams lacks talent
but I still there’s a possibility that with experience, the team plays much better and needs up being more “talented” than other rosters
I’ve got to give this O-Line of ours a couple/few more games before I come completely unglued: they need time to gel.
However, a vet like Austin Jackson should be playing a lot better than he has over the last 2 games. If he’s not playing up to snuff, Big Jonah is going to be the one to immediately suffer at RG… playing beside a Pro-Bowl Center in Brew, and a liability in Jackson.
Personally, I’d rather end the experiment of Kadyn Proctor at LG (don’t get homeboy used to the left side!), and just play him at what will be his eventual home at RT. That way, we can better evaluate Big Jonah at RG.
I’m already putting Guard high on my priority list for the ’27 NFL Draft, specifically LG.
it’s pretty disappointing to be talking how bad the OL is again…
Indeed!
But as I said, I think we need to be patient to allow this new unit as a whole to gel.
My patience is running out with Austin Jackson, though.
I think that’s a good thing. Next year, with the draft, a lot of the OTs coming out will probably move inside, so an LG instead of an OT will be much easier to draft. There are a handful of guys who will be very good LG prospects. …like Cayden Green and Austin Siereveld.
I would even add Carter Smith and Trevor Lauck to that list. Someone might draft Smith to actually play OT though.
I think any Siereveld, Smith and Lauck could play anywhere on the OL for you.
The team has not said once that Proctor is going to be a future Tackle. Not once. That is something YOU GUYS keep saying, maybe to make yourself feel better about taking a player out of position at #13?
I’d say there is much of a chance that Proctor winds up being our LT as there is of him becoming our RT. PP has regressed this season through two games and will be looking for his pay day contract next season. He might not get it. The MAY decide to move on from him and slide Proctor to the left.
ALL is just wild speculation because the decision makers have said Proctor will start at Guard. NOT that he will start at guard and be groomed to play tackle.
I personally dislike (JMO) the cross-training that Kadyn Proctor is getting at Guard, and Chris Johnson at nickel CB.
I get it… I actually DO. However, I believe it’s skewing eval for not only themselves, but the players next to them.
There IS a method to this madness (again, I get it… and may as well do it in rebuild year 1), but I’m not sure it’s proper in any/every case.
Hoping it works in the long-term…
I’m not crazy about it either. BBM brought up Darth Kader, and I agree we should be looking to poach him in the short term.
Kader or even poach Alijah Huzzie from Houston. He’s a solid built slot CB at 5’10, 195.
I get starting Proctor out at LG more than I get playing Johnson at nickel. I don’t see them moving Proctor at all during the season but could move him out to RT next off season. If they do anything about Jackson right now, it would be giving Caedan Wallace a shot. At some point, I think they need to and see what he’s got before trying to move Proctor.
Wallace can’t be any worse than Jackson after these first 2 games.
Putting Proctor next to Jonah would NOT benefit anyone. It certainly would not allow us to evaluate Jonah any better.
BBM…I’m with you. Keep the left side stout…we need a whole new right side for next year and the future…stop fucking moving all our OL around….develop it..lol
Bullshit concept? I think we only have 60% of OL, the left side seems set to meand should be used as a strength…fucking call plays to your strength…LEFT…what’s so complicated about that.
Holy shit…we can actually run a QB sneak…omfg!
PFN has us as #1 in the 2027 mock simulator now. I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised. It was just a matter of time. LOL
You should see some of the crazy trade offers I’m getting. LOL
rich0322
says:
September 21, 2026 at 6:12 pm
I’m not crazy about it either. BBM brought up Darth Kader, and I agree we should be looking to poach him in the short term.
———-
Agreed with you both. To NOT poach Darth Kader would be foolishness, IMO.
Kader had finally embraced a leadership role, he’s solid, and he’s still young. He’s a building-block player who can be had for a song.
So if I play this song, let’s bring Darth Kader back!!!
Rich, I don’t totally agree with PFN’s player rankings on a few players. Though they do update on a weekly basis.
I have been using AtoZ Sports simulator also.
Yeah, there’s a bunch that seems out of whack.
The Rams look like highlighter pens
if we hit on the next draft we may have half a team…lmfao
I love it!!!!
Start the fuck over!
Jaxson Dart just got crushed
how ironic , Dart injured standing in the pocket …
The point…rhis is a beginning and we haven’t begun…it’s all fucking new
I’m still not convinced Proctor can play tackle in the NFL. He will struggle with speed and quickness.
He looks like he moves pretty darn good if you ask me.
I’d prefer he stay at LG and we upgrade RT.
Javon Holland having another good game .. INT , FF and FR
BBM’s Post Week 2 Mock Draft. Traded #1 overall pick for Jets 3 firsts and their 2028 1st. Crazy offer by the sim. Traded up in the 4th to land another edge.
5. Colin Simmons EDGE Texas A+
11. Tae Johnson S Notre Dame A-
17. Charlie Becker WR Indiana A-
33. Melvin Siani OT Texas A-
65. Vicari Swain CB South Carolina B
100. Elijah Green CB Tulsa C
104. John Henry Daley EDGE Michigan C
150. Jeremiah Hasley TE Duke C
180. Luke Montgomery OG Ohio State C
231. Keyjuan Brown RB Louisville C
251. Markis Deal DT TCU B
2028 NYJ 1st
Where is the QB? We need a QB.
Welcome home guys the Chiefs are in the house. It doesn’t get easier.
something I mentioned a few times why we aren’t getting many wins, not getting any callsin the Rams drive, that just ended in a TD, they had holding (even though it was a sack) not called, dude bear hugged the DL as he went to QB, then at the end of the drive they didn’t call holding on an outside run, #84 hands his hands up like I didn’t do anything (usually called)
Sounds like traveling and missing the game was a good thing.
I thought this was funny…..but sad.
“Long-time sportscaster Dan Patrick took a light-hearted jab at Tua by congratulating him for his role in both franchises’ struggles. “Congratulations to Tua Tagovailoa, he is actually helping two teams compete for the number 1 pick.”
Patrick’s comments, made on his Dan Patrick Show podcast, are absolutely true. The money Miami has has prohibited them from being active in free agency. Their options were limited to low-cost free agents, draft picks, and undrafted free agents. It’s a perfect recipe to make a run at the first overall pick in next year’s draft.
While this is going on, Tagovailoa is on the bench watching it all, and because he isn’t on the field, the Falcons missed two opportunities to win. Kevin Stefanski brought Tua into Atlanta to provide veteran leadership and quality competition for Penix.
A hometown boy that went to Westlake HS…I just found that out from my Accounting Manager. Her son played with Taaffe. Awesome!!!
__________
Transcript: S Michael Taaffe Press Conference – September 21
Sep 22, 2026 at 09:49 AM
Dolphins Staff
Read the full transcript from S Michael Taaffe’s postgame media availability on September 21, 2026.
So two games of heavy snaps for you in your first two NFL games. If you had to assess what you’ve done well and then what you think you could get better at specifically?
Michael Taaffe: Yeah, what I could get better at, just slowing the game down early. I thought I did a better job of that Week 2 two, this last game, but it’s just kind of how the game goes. I think the first play of the game for me, I made a tackle on Deebo and that kind of gets your juice going. When you don’t make a tackle until the second, third drive, then it’s kind of, you have to find a way to get into that groove faster if you don’t get that immediate contact. So that’s why I think I did a better job. So I still got to find a way to keep it going. Other ways to improve, when you’re playing safety, you always have to look at, did you communicate really well? Did you secure the deep part of the field? Did you eliminate explosives? Did you tackle really well? And did you play man-to-man really well? Because talking to a lot of quarterbacks in this league, Sam Ehlinger is one of my really good friends, I got a chance to talk to Bo Nix as well in the offseason because they’re in the same room, obviously talking to Malik a ton. What they think is when they see a safety on a receiver, that’s a win for them all day. And they see a running back and open field on a safety, that’s a win for the running back all day. So if you can tackle really well and if you can play man really well as a safety and obviously do the things that you’re meant to do, communicate and make sure everybody’s on the same page, then that’s a recipe for a really good safety. So looking at, obviously, the learning points in the games, but also just can you keep doing what you’re doing good, and then can you fix what you need to fix?
You mentioned that first series. I believe you had a good run fit on there, just with McCaffrey. Just what did you see the overall improvement in the run defense from Week 1 to Week 2?
Michael Taaffe: Yeah, front showed up, front seven. You got to give the credit to the front seven. They relied on us this game to be more involved as safeties to be in the run fit and I took that challenge. And I think all four safeties that played this game took that challenge on. It was like, hey, they want us to be involved in the run fit, let’s go get involved. And all of us had to come with a sense of physicality that when the running back’s in the hole, go meet them and go bring that force, go bring that physicality, go bring that effort. And that’s what I try to do. Christian’s a really good back. The other back’s really good. Deebo’s a really good runner. Kittle’s a really good tight end, run after catch. They obviously got really good receivers last week. But when you meet somebody with that force, then you just wrap on and you keep running your feet. So that’s what I try to do, and I just try to trust my training.
What’s the kind of read and react mentality that has to go into that as a safety because maybe you also have responsibilities up top as well?
Michael Taaffe: Yeah, obviously as a safety, your definition of your job is a safety net. When everything goes wrong, can you get the guy on the ground? So obviously you have a little bit more responsibility than just tackling the running back that I’ll kind of keep to our defensive scheme. But once you see it’s run, can you go find the hole that you’re designed for? And can you go hit it with a sense of urgency and know that if you hit it faster than the running back, then it’s going to be a no gain. So that’s the type of football that I like to play because the other 10 guys are holding their gap and I can trust that they’re holding their gap and if I am allowed to go run through my gap clean, then I should be able to go make that tackle and I feel like that’s what I showed out there.
Just two weeks into the season, the hard work is being put in but maybe the results aren’t there from a win-loss perspective. Mentally in the locker room, whether it’s the younger guys leaning on the veterans, how do you handle that early in the season when you’re not seeing the results yet that you want to see?
Michael Taaffe: I think results is one thing, but looking at the actual tape is another thing. If you break down the tape, is it this didn’t go right because one guy didn’t do their one-eleventh or I didn’t do my one-eleventh here or somebody else didn’t do it. And the coolest thing about it is everybody’s owning what they need to do better. Everybody’s owning what they did really good and everybody’s owning what they need to do better in the moment. And so for us, it’s like, ‘hey, dude, look at the tape. We’re this close on this play, this close on this play,’ from special teams to offense to defense. If we just keep continuing doing our job, then I feel like we were right there in it. You know, we go in 6-14 at half and we rely on our defense to go get a stop and that didn’t happen. And so that third quarter got away from us, but it was all something that we could control. And at the end of the day, it’s a really good sign to know that it’s in your control because if it wasn’t in our control, then it would be like, oh shoot, but it’s all in our control and all these plays, like Malik just stood up here and said is, it’s on us. And so obviously the new team that’s coming in here to Hard Rock next week, Mahomes and the Chiefs, they’re a really good outfit. They’re a really good team. I got a lot of respect for everybody on that team, and I played with Xavier Worthy for three years. But if we just focus on us this week and what we can do to get better and the urgency that it takes from special teams to defense to offense, then we can go out and compete with anybody.
I got a crazy question about your power of recall. When Ryan Fitzpatrick was here as a quarterback, he once recalled all 100 touchdowns that he had thrown. We’ve heard LeBron James talk about every possession of a fourth quarter. Golfers know every stroke. How many plays can you recall from Sunday’s game? Can you recall what, like, fifty-six defensive snaps or what? How is your power of recall?
Michael Taaffe: I would like to say my recall is one of my strong suits. I think I use that as an advantage because I understand – I think that’s what I did better from Week 1 to Week 2 is I understand, OK, this is what they hit us on. And if you can remember that in the moment, because it’s going fast and all this misdirection that Coach Shanahan brings to you in that West Coast system. If you can remember what they just hit you on, what is the next move off that? Or if it’s a guy like Coach Shanahan, he likes to come back to the things that worked, maybe just add a different formation. OK, you see the formation, but at the end of the day, it’s just an X, an S, a Z, a Y, a quarterback, a halfback, and if you put them all out there as just X’s and O’s, then you see the formation, you see what they’re trying to do, the scheme, then you can go make a play. So I think recall is really important. I like to say that I use that as an advantage.
Earlier, I asked Hafley about any concerns in the secondary from yesterday, and he talked at length about the communication. What was going on in terms of communicating back there? What was working, what wasn’t working?
Michael Taaffe: Yeah, I think Coach Hafley, he’s told me, I think he’s told y’all, he trusts me to be in there because of communication. I think that’s one of my strong suits. So at the end of the day, if communication is something that we need to work on, then I look at myself in the mirror because I was out there for almost every snap. And so he believes in me, and my teammates believe in me, and I believe in myself to communicate top notch, the best communication in the back end in the whole league. And that’s the standard that I hold myself to. That’s the standard that my teammates hold me to. That’s the standard that we hold each other to. So you can point fingers or you can say, communication, that’s 16’s strong suit, so I got to find a way to get it done. Clearly, we didn’t communicate well enough on Sunday. And so we got to go back to the drawing board, and we’re going to be better, and we will be better. So take it as a learning experience, and I can’t wait for another game to go prove that we can do better.
Two games under your belt, just what have you learned about the way the NFL likes to run their offenses?
Michael Taaffe: It’s a little bit different of a scheme. I mean, you break it down, like college, you don’t huddle. So the huddle is an aspect to get the guys that are showing disguise are they going to go on the ball and snap it really quick? Now they just got you in a disguise. Are they going to go on a hard count? Now they see is there a rotation. Are they close to the hash? Maybe it’s one-high. Are they getting wider from the hashes? Maybe it’s two-high. Are they getting right on top of their number twos? Maybe it’s quarters. Or you look at the time clock on 3rd down. All right, it’s getting 8, 7, 6. All right, he’s about to snap the ball. So just understanding what the quarterback’s trying to do with the cat and mouse game with the safeties, I think is the really important thing. But also a lot of it is matchups. George Kittle, Pro Bowler. Christian McCaffrey, Pro Bowler. Mike Evans, Pro Bowler. Juice, Pro Bowler. Brock Purdy. Pro Bowler. I know there’s more Pro Bowlers on that team, but understanding what they’re trying to do and what their strength is and our coaches say, who’s the guy you’re going against every single week? And you have to know that guy like the back of your hand. So I think a lot of it is matchups, too. And that’s the cool thing about it, is Coach Hafley puts us in really good matchups and to just let loose, cut it loose and go play free. And that’s what we got to do more of, just go play free.
You mentioned earlier some of the conversations you had with the quarterbacks. What’s the biggest piece that you’ve taken in those conversations that kind of helped, especially if you guys have faced these loaded offenses?
Michael Taaffe: Understanding where they’re going with the ball in different situations. So I think this game, what quarterbacks break it down is, it’s a situational game. So you’re going to get a certain amount of plays when you’re backed up. You’re gonna get a certain amount of plays when it’s 2nd-and-10. You’re gonna get a certain amount of plays when it’s in the fringe area, which is like the maroon zone, just right outside the red zone. You’re gonna get a certain amount of plays when it’s the red zone, or when it’s 3rd-and-long, or when it’s must have it 3rd-and-5, when he gets you in a disguise. So it’s a lot of situational football that they had talked to me about. At the end of the day, a lot of the schemes are similar. So what is this coach’s flavor? A lot of the quarterbacks had taught me to study the offensive coordinator also. That’s something that you don’t really do in college either, is knowing who the offensive coordinator is and knowing his family tree, knowing his coaching tree. So did he come from Coach Shanahan? Did he come from – for defense, is it Coach Hafley or somebody like that? So just knowing the coaching tree, knowing what he likes to do, knowing his scheme. And then the last thing that I would say about quarterbacks is the first 15 is real. So the offensive coordinator and the offense is going to scheme all day their first 15 plays that they’re going to run against you. They think they know they’re going to get you in this call and this call, and they’re going to run it and run it and run it and run it. They’re going to motion and motion and motion. And so you just got to be ready for that. And so just knowing looking a little bit at the tape with Coach Reid and Patrick Mahomes, he’s going to like to take it downtown. So we’ve got to secure the deep part of the field. He’s going to use his legs. He’s going to go try to make a play and he’s going to give it to his speed guys. And then obviously the running backs are really, really talented, one of the best in the league. So knowing what they’re going to like to do on those first 15 and then the situational football.
There’s a rotation going on at safety. Can you assess your reps of playing alongside both Dante Trader Jr. and Zayne Anderson and what you like about playing next to each one of them?
Michael Taaffe: Yeah, I mean, no difference. Both of them – what I respect about both of them is when the ball, for some reason, hits the post safety, when we’re in post safety defense, usually the running back shouldn’t get up to us, but we know nothing’s perfect. When the ball gets up to them, they get it on the ground, and that’s so sick. They’re not scared. They’re not backpedaling. They’re running at the running back, whether it’s Christian McCaffrey, Pro Bowler, Ashton Jeanty, future Pro Bowler, I think. They’re going and they’re going to get the guy on the ground. They’re playing with a level of physicality. They’re making me feel comfortable out there, so they’ve helped me a ton. Couldn’t give enough credit to those guys. They deserve it. They helped me a lot. And there’s no beef between us three. We’re all just really excited for one another, which is really, really cool. It’s really rare to come around that to where three guys that, in this league that I got to get used to is fighting for money, fighting for food on your table, and you’re just happy for each other it’s really cool and I’m so glad that I’m in that position with them.
Overall PFF grades: Offense (min. 10 snaps)
Top 5
Bottom 5
Overall PFF grades: Defense (min. 10 snaps)
Top 5
LB Joshua Uche – 71.1
DE Malik Herring – 67.7
LB Jordyn Brooks – 64.3
DE Robert Beal Jr. – 60.2
CB JuJu Brents – 57.8
Bottom 5
DL Zach Sieler – 44.1
CB Chris Johnson – 43.5
S Dante Trader Jr. – 37.3
S Michael Taaffe – 34.8
DL Keith Cooper Jr. – 30.8
Pass protection grades (OL only)
Run-blocking grades (OL only)
Pass-rush grades (front-seven only, min. 10 pass-rush snaps)
Coverage grades (min. 10 coverage snaps)
90+EliteExceptional, rarely achieved over a full season
80–89Very Good / Excellent/High-level starters and Pro Bowl contenders
70–79Good / Above Average/Solid starters and reliable contributors
60–69Average / Solid/Routine rotation players or below-average starters
Below 60Below Average / StrugglingBackups or players who are a liability on the field
looks like everyone with a few exceptions graded as Below Average Starter or Struggling Backup….
But very talented “Below average and struggling backups”…..
he looked better in PS, has more confidence than last year, but still plays soft, needs to be nastier
How does Uche have a 78? Style points? WTF did he do?
6 tackles, 3 solo, 1 tackle for loss, 1 QB hit playing 32 snaps
its hard to look good individually, when too many guys are out of position too often
its just gonna take some time. Against KC its probably going to be another rough outing
bailbondmike
says:
September 22, 2026 at 12:16 pm
Pass protection grades (OL only)
Run-blocking grades (OL only)
————–
THAT is what I’m talkin’ about, how Austin Jackson’s futility may stunt the growth/evaluation of Big Jonah.
If Jackson is only batting 50.4 in pass-pro, how is the young guy Big Jonah supposed to respond regarding his assignments?
I realize Jackson had a very tough challenge going against Bosa, but Jackson posted an embarrassing 52.5 grade in the run game. That isn’t cutting the mustard for a 1st round draft pick from 2020.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/player/_/id/47612/austin-jackson
As I replied to you above, moving the rookie Proctor with the 39.1 rating out to RT would negatively affect BOTH the young guys. Yesterday you were calling for them to make that move.
@RapSheet
#Bears QB Tyson Bagent is dealing with a concussion and is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, sources say. With Caleb Williams likely out with a hamstring injury, CASE KEENUM could be the starter vs the #Eagles.
———–
GO CASE!!!
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-media-max-width=”560″><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Napoleon dynamite <br>Chicago bears edition <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/Chicagobears?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Chicagobears</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/DaBears?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#DaBears</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/BearsNation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BearsNation</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/fyp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#fyp</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/foryoupage?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#foryoupage</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/chicagobears?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#chicagobears</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/chicagobearsfootball?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#chicagobearsfootball</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/donutmilkman?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#donutmilkman</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/cngpodcast?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#cngpodcast</a> <a href=”https://x.com/hashtag/chicagobearsnation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#chicagobearsnation</a> <a href=”https://t.co/ikMpxsQTRy”>pic.twitter.com/ikMpxsQTRy</a></p>— CNGPODCAST (@GuyWalk91815793) <a href=”https://x.com/GuyWalk91815793/status/2102497599500722629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>September 22, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.x.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Watch the video of Case Keenum!
https://x.com/GuyWalk91815793/status/2102497599500722629
Good thing we focused on building “the right way” and drafting 3 receivers and one OL with our first 6 picks. Yeah, that’s sticking to your word.
It took you guys exactly ONE WEEK to go back to bitching about the OL. I love it. LOL
Willis is doing his best imitation of a backup QB. Achane has 110 yards and a 3.5 ypc Our 2 rookie WRs have 8 combined catches over 2 games. And, that elite blocking TE who was gonna change our running game….ain’t.
But yes…..the OL the OL the OL. It’s like people didn’t actually believe we sucked. Must be all that talent. Lol
LOL @ Randy! 😆
I’ve stated (and I hope you’ll agree?) that it’s going to take time for our O-Line to gel.
I think it’s too early to tell regarding the unit as a whole, but Austin Jackson should be performing better than he’s shown over the last 2 games. JMO
this season is about patience, relax grasshopper
Warning: this 2-round mock draft doesn’t have us taking a QB. You’ve been warned.
(Trade down with Cleveland, not using current standings since it’s only been 2 weeks) Miami gets #3, #24 & #35; Cleveland gets #1 and mid-round pick.
3. Jeremiah Smith-WR, Ohio St. (Might be the best WR to come out since Randy Moss)
24. Will Echoles-DL, Ole Miss (very dynamic and I believe he’ll be better than any D-lineman on our current roster)
33. Kenyatta Jackson-Edge, Ohio St (Good size, good pass rush, sets edge, and can even drop back at times in coverage)
35. Melvin Siani-OT, Texas (Elite athlete who can play either OT position)
I like it! Echoles is a disruptive stud and I took Siani to be our RT also.
you should have take a QB
I would much rather take a “franchise QB” than a generational wide receiver. EVERY TIME. The impact on the game is not even close.
I’m not taking a QB in any of my mocks until we know who is coming out. Besides, outside of Carr and Mensah, I’m not really impressed with the 2027 group. I warned everyone and figured someone would gripe about it. LOL
That’s specifically WHY I griped. LOL
No worries. If they like a QB, they will draft him; nothing I say will change that. LOL
I just like doing the mocks…
I haven’t said it in a while, so here goes.
Fuck Nick Saban
https://dolphinstalk.com/2026/09/nick-saban-drew-brees-zach-thomas-packers-dolphins/
How did I miss the first two?
Finally, Chop Robinson is dealing with a head injury that led to him sitting out of the 49ers contest. He’s still in concussion protocol, and this is his third reported concussion in just over two seasons at the highest level.
I’m not sure if he missed any time with the first two, so it’s easy not to remember if that is the case. I just hope this isn’t another missed 1st round pick by the organization.
so FAR it seems that way. He was just OK as a rookie and then regressed. This off season there was a ton of hype about how much he’s grown, but through 7 quarters NOTHING.
He fell down on top of a guy that was already tackled and got credit for 1/2 a tackle.
No sacks, no pressures, no tackles, no forced fumbles, no stats WHAT SO EVER.
Barry Jackson@flasportsbuzz
Among 11 players who auditioned for the Dolphins Tuesday were 3 kickers. The most experienced: Lucas Havrisik, who’s 19 for 24 on field goals (3 for 4 from 50 plus) and 26 for 31 on extra points in 9 games for the Rams in 2023 and 3 for the Packers last season.
Riley Patterson better get his shit sorted.
It’s the incremental growth that counts this year, and I like his attitude.
https://dolphinstalk.com/2026/09/michael-taaffe-dolphins-defense-communication-chiefs/
he seems like a very smart player. I’m sure were gonna get better. I thought the first half of the last game we played pretty well. Willis also needs to play better. He took a sack in the red zone when he could have easily thrown the ball away. i’m worried about our receiver group. Maybe we should have kept waddle. idk
Bleacher Report came out with their updated top 50 draft prospects. They had 19 players they classify as 1st round talents, 4 of them QB’s (in overall ranking order) #4 Darian Mensah, #13 Dante Moore, #14 Trinidad Chambliss and #17 Arch Manning.
Other QB’s landing in their top 50 are #34 CJ Carr, #36 Jayden Maiava and #47 Drew Mestemaker.
The only OL to get a 1st round grade came in at #10 in OT Jordan Seaton from LSU. Only 2 other OT’s made their top 50, #27 Trevor Goosby and #31 Trevor Lauck.
7WR’s, 7 Edge and 6 CB’s were the deepest groups in their top 50.
These are the top 4 categories on their grading scale. None of the QB’s got any grades this high.
Grading Scale
10: Unicorn
9.5-9.9: Franchise Cornerstone
9.0-9.4: Rookie of the Year-caliber
8.5-8.9: Impact Starter
Darian Mensah got the highest QB grade of 8.4.
WR Jeremiah Smith received the highest grade of all at 9.8 followed by Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore at 9.5 and were the only players graded above an 8.5.
More on the OL
Best Run-Blocker: Trevor Lauck
Best Pass-Blocker: Jordan Seaton
Best Zone-Blocker: Trevor Lauck
Most Pro-Ready: Trevor Goosby
Most Versatile: Trevor Lauck
1. Jordan Seaton, LSU (8.1)
2. Trevor Goosby, Texas (7.9)
3. Trevor Lauck, Iowa (7.8)