Man, what a good ending.
Oh, sorry; I just finished Stranger Things.
The Dolphins’ 2025 season?
Let’s just say I’m not nearly as sad to say goodbye to that.
Miami played with an eye toward the future
Regardless of how bleak that might be.
They followed
my advice (I know because of both their loyal readership and their unreturned fan mail) and didn’t play De’Von Achane or Jaylen Waddle. Austin Jackson, Darren Waller, Chop Robinson, and Minkah Fitzpatrick also didn’t participate, due to various reasons, leaving most of the reps to depth guys.
That’s genuinely swell.
It avoids any ridiculous at-the-finish-line injuries that could affect otherwise successful careers (for Achane and Waddle, specifically) and allows younger players to get meaningful time in an otherwise meaningless game.
Jaylen Wright was the lead running back (though he averaged 1.8 YPC, so we’ll just choose to ignore how positively this will or will not affect his confidence going forward), while the leading pass catchers were fellow children Theo Wease, Greg Dulcich, and Tahj Washington.
Youth is going to be key for a team with cap challenges and a fair chunk of holes in the roster. And, lucky for all of us, the Dolphins have both.
Obviously, speaking of youth:
Quinn Ewers could lead this type of offense
In his third start as a professional American football quarterback, Quinn Ewers finished 16/23 (70%) for 137 yds, 1 TD, and 1 INT.
He’s a rookie in his first game outside the confines of his home stadium. This means he’s going to make mistakes, such as throwing an interception in the end zone and taking a few questionable sacks. He’s also going to grow as he gets more opportunities (we hope).
No; he’s not a dual threat Superman-style player. He’s a guy who can succeed when the team plays balanced, mistake free, smart football. There’s a big distinction between that and ‘everything needs to be perfect to work’.
A successful offense with Ewers in charge necessitates some help from some non-Ewers pieces:
- Playcalling that values the run game, mixes up short and deep passing, and responds to what the opposing defense shows.
- A defense that actually stops someone every so often.
- Eventually, the ability to adjust plays at the line based on pre-snap evaluation.
Can the Fins’ staff set up the playbook to allow for #1? Can they collect enough talent to allow for #2? Can Ewers evolve enough to ever approach #3?
My lifetime of fandom tells me no. No to all three. But if I gave into the shrieking voices calling from the void of eternal disappointment, I couldn’t call myself a fan in the first place.
Winning culture and winning teams can be built on a similar foundation. With those elements in place, it’s not a requirement to have the threat of a 70 yard QB scramble. It’s certainly a nice to have and makes things easier, but there are countless examples of quarterbacks who had success without that capability.
Ewers just might be the next.
Mike McDaniel might just hang on
I (sort of) support giving MM one year to show what he can do as a head coach, without the same front office and quarterback that have been tied to him for his whole career so far.
Yes; I know he calls really stupid plays sometimes. Sometimes a lot. I know he must give halftime speeches as if he’s allergic to charisma. I know he handles timeouts with all of the care of an atom bomb in a china shop.
BUT.
I also know he’s only built an offense tailored to his team’s best attributes which, for his whole tenure, have been Tua’s timing and accuracy along with Tyreek Hill’s unmatched speed and squirreliness.
At its apex (read: 2023) it worked wonders. As soon as it deviated even a tiny bit whatsoever from perfect, it fell apart (read: all other times). Heading into 2026, Tyreek is almost certainly gone and Tua feels very likely just behind him (or on the bench with a degraded hip that has clearly relieved him of his former elite attributes). Former GM Chris Grier was let go during the season, leaving MM all alone as the remaining holdover.
I’m usually a big advocate of cleaning house meaning to clean house entirely. In this instance, I can squint and see an exception.
Assuming Hill and Tua go, MM will be left with Ewers as his likeliest QB1, barring a draft pick from a class that doesn’t look enticing on paper. While some may see that as a built-in excuse, I view it as MM’s last chance to prove he can construct an offense that actually works all the time, rather than one that’s hamstrung by a design with an extremely narrow set of requirements.
All that said, if the new GM grabs a free agent QB (like Malik Willis or Ryan Tannehill), drafts some magic sleeper, and/or wants to bring in a totally new coaching staff to take over: I ain’t shook.
The only way I am, in fact, shook is if the team goes through any amount of changes, yet still trots out the same tired play and subpar results we’ve all sadly grown accustomed to.
For a fine example of subpar results, let’s actually examine this week’s game for a second.
Three plays in and the game felt over
The *Patriots opened with three running plays, which was all they needed to go the whole way down the field and score a full on touchdown.
Sure, this game was worthless from the Dolphins’ POV, but it’d still be nice to see the team show up a little bit.
There were positive elements: some efficient passing, one smooth touchdown drive, a 4th down stop, a blocked field goal, etc. There were also, in traditional Dolphins fashion, a larger amount of negative elements: no run stopping whatsoever, silly penalties, a lost fumble, pathetic defense at the end of the 1st half, etc.
There were sooooo many missed tackles.
The score was only 10-17 at the half. That’s a point where a few dice rolls go the Fins’ way and they’ve got an upset on their hands.
Alas.
Instead, they came out of halftime as they have all year: dreadful.
By the time the smoke cleared, it was a 10-38 blowout loss with New England being led by Josh Johnson behind center.
It was another installment in a long line of meh, which leads me to my final overreaction of the year:
Weekly Overreaction: This was one of the least engaging seasons I can remember
Tyreek Hill getting injured.
Chris Grier getting fired.
Tua getting benched.
These are the only things I’ll remember about this season.
It’s possible, maybe even likely, that the end result of all three of those events will be a net positive for the franchise.
But in the moment, when all I want as a fan is to see my team win games, they don’t really move the needle.
Miami finished 7-10, will pick 11th in the upcoming draft, and just didn’t really do anything of note all year.
They had a small winning streak. They had a medium losing streak. They beat bad teams and lost to good ones.
They just were.
Maybe it’s me becoming more disillusioned with football the longer I watch and the more sports betting bleeds into it and colors everything greener by the week.
Or maybe it’s just the reality that this team was boring and unremarkable.
I know the players and coaches and front office and everyone else in the program give everything they’ve got toward winning games in pursuit of a Superbowl; I’m not denying that.
But, at the end of the day, it’s entertainment and I was not entertained.
Perhaps all the changes that’ve happened (and the additional changes that are sure to come) will kick the franchise in the ass and we’ll see a turnaround like Indiana’s worst-to-first NCAA shake up.
Who’s to say it’s not possible?
Stranger things have happened.
Do you think Miami’s 2026 quarterback is in the building? How about their 2026 GM? How about their 2026 head coach? How about we check back in August. Until then; later ‘taters: you be safe out there.
