McDaniel addresses new injury, Chargers fallout. And a startling Tua stat, roster moves
A 10-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Wednesday:
▪ The knee injury that has surfaced for Terron Armstead is nothing particularly alarming, Mike McDaniel indicated Wednesday.
He won’t practice much — if at all — this week as he rests the pectoral injury that sidelined him for the 49ers game, and the knee issue that’s now requiring treatment.
“It is along the same lines of he’s going to get treatment and not doing much of anything full speed” this week, McDaniel said.
▪ McDaniel was noncommittal about running back Jeff Wilson Jr’s status this week; he left in the first half of the Chargers game with a hip injury.
“He’s a true warrior,” McDaniel said. “I really was nervous when I saw it visually. [I recalled] scars of some people in the past having something similar. He’s going to be doing everything he can and is one guy I have complete experience with and trust in that if he’s going [to play], he will meet expectations with his physical style of play and what he brings to the table.”
But Wilson couldn’t practice Wednesday and his status is very much in question for Saturday’s game at Buffalo (8:15 p.m, CBS-4, NFL Network).
▪ Asked on Wednesday about the Chargers limiting the Dolphins passing game by clogging the middle of the field, McDaniel said: “It wasn’t that the Chargers did anything we hadn’t seen. What they were was hyper-competitive.
They played as well as they played all year... and outphysicaled us. It wasn’t because they were doing this cheat code.... Their players were better prepared.... Their 1-on-1 matchups in [the pass] rush won and they took advantage of us not being on [our game], which hopefully was humbling to the other entire offense.”
What does he tell Tua Tagovailoa when the opponent has strong inside leverage? “Don’t throw it inside,” McDaniel said.
▪ Asked about his reputation as a positive person and his thoughts on getting angry with his team, McDaniel gave an interesting response on Wednesday.
“I’m a positive person. But don’t get it twisted. I’m positive because I recognize that things are so adjustable now and moving forward.... I hold people accountable in group settings to a fault;what bothers me is intent and preparation. When that is an issue, that’s when there’s times that the team has seen [his anger], and it didn’t happen a ton, but it’s because they don’t give me that option too much. That’s where the venom comes out and I get pissed.
“But if they need me to get mad at them to do it right, it’s not the guys I want. I want to teach them. But at some point, guys have to come together. To be your best, you have to want to. You can do as much as you’d like. Maybe it makes you feel better if you scream at somebody, but I want to have something that will help somebody. And it’s not because I’m trying to be nice to them. It’s because I’m trying to coach them and I don’t worry or lose any sleep.”
▪ The NFL said Wednesday that Jaelan Phillips’ roughing the passer penalty against Justin Herbert on a sack should not have been a penalty. The competition committee will discuss making roughing the passer reviewable in 2023 and beyond.
“Didn’t like the call,” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said Wednesday on a conference call with reporters. “We thought that Phillips did what we are asking the coaches to coach and the players to actually execute.”
The penalty after the third-down sack gave the Chargers an automatic first down, though they did not score on that drive.
NBC’s announcers, NFL star J.J. Watt and others ripped the penalty call after it happened.
▪ Tagovailoa’s career metrics always have been good when given time to throw. But even with a clean pocket, he completed just 7 of 20 passes against the Chargers. That 35 percent completion rate with a clean pocket was second worst in an NFL game this season, behind only a stinker from Jets QB Zach Wilson.
▪ On Tagovailoa running for first downs in the wake of the concussion earlier this season, McDaniel said: “He knows exactly what’s at stake and he knows we’re all counting on him to protect himself. Tua’s a competitor almost to a fault. Good luck telling him to slide before the sticks if he’s frustrated in a game. He’s done a better job of that.”
He tends to put himself more at risk when he’s frustrated. “[Sometimes] he tries to take things in his own hands. I don’t get super pumped about it. It’s almost like he feels bad. ‘I know coach I wasn’t supposed to.’ He’s trying to achieve stuff.”
▪ Dolphins receivers averaged just 2.8 yards of separation on Sunday, worst for them in a game all season. As ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky noted, Dolphins receivers — for the most part — weren’t open against the Chargers defense.
▪ A couple days after playing his first seven snaps on offense for the Dolphins, receiver Freddie Swain was poached off Miami’s practice squad, by Denver. And Minnesota poached cornerback Kalon Barnes off Miami’s practice squad; the Carolina seventh-round pick didn’t appear in a game for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins replaced Swain by signing former Broncos receiver DaeSean Hamilton to the practice squad. Hamilton has 81 catches for 833 yards and five touchdowns in 46 games and nine starts for Denver between 2018 and 2020. He hasn’t played in an NFL game since.
And Miami replaced Barnes on the practice squad by signing cornerback Ka’dar Hollman, who played in 18 games with one start for Green Bay in 2019-20.
▪ The Dolphins, who have struggled in cold weather, will be facing 30 mph winds, temperatures in the 20s and potential snow on Saturday night.
McDaniel said the Dolphins aren’t doing anything in particular to prepare for the weather, beyond turning down the temperature inside their indoor practice facility on Wednesday. They’re not traveling to Buffalo early.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 2:14 PM.
