Mike McDaniel, head coach of the Miami Dolphins (transcribed from Philadelphia) In playoff mood:
“Everything is learned. That was a very important thing. I knew there would be this atmosphere before the game and I think it's very important that our team has a younger squad. These measures are essential. You have to feel what it’s like to play against such a good team away from home.Your margin for error is very small and as you know, an important part of your progress throughout the season. When you lose games, you want it to be against a really good team and you want it to hurt. It's painful to bring coaches and players together in the locker room now because they feel like they're definitely leaving some plays on the field. You know, the losses, if you approach it the right way, if you don't point fingers and look inward, even
can be a good thing. That's why we are determined to push this issue forward starting tomorrow."
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On penalties:
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"Well, there's no doubt that you can't have a minus 10 on penalties. So let's look at their common features. Is there a trend that should be evaluated and carefully considered on a case-by-case basis? You can't just point the finger and say it's unfair, that doesn't make sense to me.It's more about looking at ourselves, what we can control and what we can improve in our game. You know that there are generally penalties if you are not in the right position at any stage. So we have to start there and make sure the guys understand things and learn from them because when you're dealing with something as frustrating as this loss, you might as well do it, it's better to get over it. It was worth it. We will definitely focus on that.
On Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa's interception:
“No, especially this one, there were a couple of double plays that were designed with man coverage in mind, so they kind of spread out to where they were closest to each other. That's not the case. I have no protection if you have it. For this particular
comedy, I thought we had solid protection there - low, and when Tua watches the film I'm sure he will critique himself for the leader he is and where he is in his life Career: He's too responsible for shots and somehow lets them go off the back foot.So I was hoping that [RB] Raheem [Mostert] would give in and play. He had a problem with this that apparently had to do with local legal contacts. We certainly didn’t lose the game because of that. “Certainly based on that game, I thought Tua played very, very well and made a lot of plays under pressure.”
How quickly he went on to the first attack and what influence that had on his game:
“We were behind the chains more than usual. We had a few little details on some plays, hats off to the Philadelphia Eagles for making us pay every time we played: Maybe our lane was a little too narrow or too wide, or maybe they were missing it Offensive just a hair. To attack effectively, we rely on the running game. We started the game a little late, so we're proud of that and we'll definitely improve as we go along.
On the need to win away games and what the coaching staff can do to make sure they're ready:
"Well, from my perspective, I've got quite a bit of money on my back because they're working on it, what your team is and what you can and cannot do on the field.Sometimes coaches can be too aggressive in some things they do. I felt like if that was the case, it would start with me. There were a few situations where this could have been corrected, but in one of them we had to call a timeout because I changed my play call too late, so it wasn't up to the players' discretion. Back then, we weren't as sharp as usual when we came out of the meeting, which always leads to different things, so we're going to take a hard look at what we're doing and how we're doing it, and of course we're going to get better because it hasn't enough to win and defeat a football team like that. It's a shame because I thought our defense gave us a real chance to win with the way they played and we made some great physical plays that were a little wasted."
Stan Dolphins LB David Long Jr. and S Jevon Holland after collision:
“So [Dolphins S] Jevon Holland was evaluated on site by a specialist and cleared to return to the game. [Dolphins LB] David Long [Jr.] and I went into the locker room and, you know, never came out. I'll learn more about it, I haven't had a chance to speak with [Dolphins head athletic trainer] Kyle [Johnston] and his team, so I'll give you an update on Certo tomorrow."
How close Dolphins WR Chase Claypool is to playing:
"[Dolphins WR] Chase [Claypool] made a series of plays that - the circumstances, the game - wore us down. So we expect him to play a little bit more, but once you start playing, if [Dolphins WR Jaylen] Waddle leaves the game, it becomes harder to sign a new player unless he can do it lies in his game package, as I said, that we have strayed from what we set out to do. He's doing a great job, he's already played a small role for us. So I hope the situation gets worse as he gets more opportunities to play in our offense.
How injuries affected the game:
“You know, good players, the more good players you have, the better you definitely get, although it would be hard for me to see that, you know - in In a way, look." What we have, and we were very confident before the game, players that would play a lot of snaps, and I think it would be great to have some players come back to our team, but they would be without X , Y coming out or Z, whatever it is, it's not the reason we lost.We could have still won the game if we had played our style of football at the highest level.
The Dolphins CB has their range, so it seemed unwise to me - at this position, with this injury - to push the limits at this point, knowing how important [Dolphins CB Xavien Howard] has been to the team all season is. He had a great week and will probably bite my ear next week, probably every day
, because he definitely didn't like watching this game in street clothes.
On the team recovering from two defeats:
“I think they felt they could do it. Let me just say this: there are obviously some positives to come out of this game. I had the feeling that the team could compete against strong opponents in such an atmosphere.We still have some growing to do and this is definitely part of our journey. I was encouraged by our temperament in the dressing room at half-time. The way we played on the pitch gave me encouragement and we were hoping to close that gap. When that happened, I felt like our guys were really appreciated, but unfortunately it was too short.
How struggles on the offensive line affect the offense and the game:
“Yeah, that’s definitely part of the job.This is neither the first nor the last decision. This can definitely help you make a decision. For me, this is 100% my job. This is something that will not go away and can never be used as an excuse. We need to prepare for possible shift changes and snow removal, and tonight that wasn't enough.
Dolphins CB Cam Smith has zero defensive snaps:
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“It’s just natural growth. Players go on a lot of different journeys and he has a very talented group of players and I think that this has to be done well by the team and the player himself to make sure that they are properly aligned and the most important thing in his case is that obviously he improves and gets closer to his goal. In my opinion, it's not enough for guys to learn on the fly in a position like this because it's like quarterback
where you don't want to hinder their progress by forcing them to see you on the field early. This can lead to scarring. I really like the way Cam does things and sooner or later he'll get his chance on the court, but tonight wasn't the night."
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