Mike McDaniel talks to Tua Tagovailoa for the first time on a video call

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel intent on maximizing Tua Tagovailoa

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It should be the job of every coach to stand behind their players and find ways to maximize their talents. In 2021, it seemed from an outsider’s perspective that the Miami Dolphins weren’t very good at that. The number of stories surrounding the relationship of QB Tua Tagovailoa and former head coach Brian Flores is well-documented. The relationship had degraded beyond repair.

However, now it seems that Tagovailoa is going to have an ally in his new head coach.

During his flight to Miami, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel got on a video call with Tagovailoa. In it, strong declarations were made.

“We’re going to have an extensive professional relationship, my man,” McDaniel told Tagovailoa. “One thing I know about you is you have the ambition to be great. My job is to coach you, to get all that greatness out of you. And it’s going to be fun, man. It’s going to be work, but I know you’re not afraid of that. So this is an awesome day for me, and I’m damn sure going to make sure that when you look back on this day, you’re going to be like, ‘Damn, that was one of the best days of my career,’ too. OK? But I’ll earn that from you. You got me?”

After a long season of trade rumors and lack of support both on and off the field, this undoubtedly is a breath of fresh air for the Alabama standout. McDaniel comes from a tradition of building a scheme from the ground up. Hence, he looks at the players at his disposal and designs the offense based on that.

Naturally, McDaniel is going to put heavy focus on a running game. He’s expected to reevaluate the blocking scheme and get the most out of the team’s running backs, which will take a lot of pressure off Tagovailoa. McDaniel isn’t coming to fix the quarterback, he’s coming to fix the offense.

Obviously, the offense needs a lot of work. Miami ranked 22nd in total offense in 2021, with the rushing offense ranked 30th in the league. It’s difficult for any quarterback to find success when he has to find ways to overcome so many obstacles. However, with McDaniel, fixing the run game is undoubtedly going to be priority one.

Any quarterback will tell you that having a strong running game makes their job much easier. Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert are benefitting immensely from having the likes of Joe Mixon and Austin Ekeler standing behind them. That’s something Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t have.

Yet.

All of a sudden, things seem much brighter for the Miami Dolphins. Having a balanced offense will undoubtedly force defenses to not focus on only one aspect. With this in mind, a proper evaluation of Tua Tagovailoa can finally begin. He’s going to get a real chance to prove himself as worthy of being a 1st round draft pick. And Mike McDaniel is going to do everything he can to make a scheme that will let Tagovailoa succeed.

“It’s on, bro.” He said to Tagovailoa. “If you don’t have any eyeblack at home, you better get some eyeblack. ‘Cause we’re going.”

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for over seven years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Wizards

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The Miami Heat took down the Washington Wizards on Monday night, and they were without Tyler Herro due to some knee soreness.

There were some up and downs early, but Jimmy Butler controlled, and the young bench group stepped up big to expand that lead.

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: The first half up and downs.

The Heat came out swinging to start this game, finding the appropriate exploitable match-ups on the floor, beginning with the coveted Duncan Robinson DHO. The reasoning was due to them facing drop coverage once again, which always leaves Robinson with a potential explosion. I’ll discuss the other offensive reasons they got out in front next, but a quick fall-out occurred in the second quarter, leaving Erik Spoelstra running on the court to call a timeout early on like he knew what was coming. The first thing was just not taking care of the ball, and bad looking turnovers had the Wizards getting easy buckets on the other end. But a very odd element was to see Miami’s defense start so strong, then go downhill. They were doubling hard and hitting passing lanes in that first quarter, but the second quarter story was major defensive miscommunications. Not talking on screens, allowing them to dictate switches, and just poor close-outs. It was just for a stretch, but those are the things that can lead to a huge run in the other direction, which happened.

#2: Big Gabe Vincent offensive punch early on.

As I said in my last post-game piece, Gabe Vincent has been outstanding at filling the role of Kyle Lowry in the starting lineup over recent weeks, but his best minutes continue to come next to Lowry instead. In this one, Vincent enters, and man was he shooting that ball. He had back to back pull-up triples in that stretch, and they were from deep, which was almost Lowry-esque just due to pulling it with confidence in transition. Big picture, discussing playoff lineups or rotations is weird due to the unknown of who will be available, but it’s clear the rotation will shrink. With that said, Vincent will be the perfect filler whenever they need a specific boost in perimeter defense, while also providing quite the offensive versatility. It’ll be interesting when that time comes, but for now, what a story Vincent has been in terms of climbing the ranks after going undrafted, then climbing those ranks even further once again.

#3: Jimmy Butler, the release valve, once again for Miami.

Who was the other person to not only get Miami in front early, but keep the steady pace as Washington edged back? Jimmy Butler. Most of it is just Butler doing Butler things in terms of bulldozing his way down the lane and scoring around the rim, but when zooming out into the actions being run, he was their release valve. We saw a bunch of inverted pick and rolls with Lowry, and that’s due to the need to draw the mismatch, then execute it in isolation. Butler began to do that, even throwing in some unique counters on Deni Avdija when in the mid-post, but it’s just so crucial to see this play out two games in a row. There will be smaller teams, or switchy teams like Charlotte, who Miami could see in the playoffs, and man will that have ‘Butler series’ written all over it. That’s when he’s at his best, but it’s also their offensive savior when things begin to get broken up in their base sets.

#4: A Bam Adebayo third quarter shift.

To continue on Miami’s plan of Butler attacking smaller guards, although that was their base, they didn’t have anything to revert to at times. Kyle Lowry still isn’t looking to score, PJ Tucker just takes what comes to him in that corner, and Duncan Robinson was a bit up and down. With that said, all eyes are on Bam Adebayo to do something as the Wizards creep back in. And he did just that. A big time third quarter was filled with some gifted dunks on the roll to start it off, but things trended back in the direction of what we saw the previous two games. One play, he got the deep seal on a smaller guy, which he then turned right into that post hook with no kick-out crossing his mind. The next play, they insert it into him for a post split, but it turns into iso mode on the clear-out, where he drives off the face-up leading to a foul. These aggressive scoring spurts are the stand-out moments of this past week for this Heat team.

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#5: A little winning streak before the trade deadline.

Tonight’s win over Washington was their third straight win, and it’s a pretty good time to start streaking. This was the final game before the trade deadline on Thursday, and well, I wouldn’t expect many things to change. The Heat could end up making some marginal upgrades to find that back-up 4 as PJ Tucker protection, but simply their rotation seems pretty set. A move that seems most likely is maybe sending a piece out to upgrade Caleb Martin’s contract from two-way to a normal roster spot. Either way, this Heat team sits atop the East with so many guys missing time, but the emergence of these young guys is just the most settling part. If guys go down, there’s protection. If they need to plug a certain skill in a series, there’s protection. They’re in a great spot, and the vets haven’t even hit their main strides.

 

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Miami Hurricanes

Report: Miami Hurricanes targeting UGA DB coach Jahmile Addae

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The Miami Hurricanes are continuing to go after big-time coaches. Now, they are targeting Georgia defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae.

Addae is a Florida native. He has experience in coaching for both Georgia and West Virginia. In 2020, he helped captain a West Virginia defense that allowed 159.6 passing yards per game, the fewest in the country. They finished fourth in total defense with 283.5 yards allowed per game, and were able to snag 11 interceptions.

He also had a strong hand in making the Minnesota Golden gophers special teams unit one of the best in the country. In 2018, the Golden Gophers return unit was tops in the nation with 22.3 yards per return. Their punt return defense was number two in the nation that year as well.

In terms of recruiting, he is currently one of the one of the best recruiters in the country. According to 247Sports, he ranks second in the country right now with six commitments for the 2022 class. The average numerical ranking for them is a 96.93. He knows how to recruit.

What would he be able to bring to Miami Hurricanes?

Overall, the Miami Hurricanes would be able to land a coach that is well-versed in all aspects of football. He is able to run efficient, tight units. He is experienced in several aspects of the game, and that would allow him to be yet another member on the staff that can do multiple things well.

The Miami hurricanes would be landing a complete coach if they were able to get Addae to Miami. He knows how to get the most out of his players, and he knows how to put players in positions to succeed. This would be another home run higher for Mario Cristobal and the coaching staff, and I honestly would not expect anything less at this point. Mario knows what he wants. More often than not, what Mario wants, Mario gets.

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Miami Dolphins hire 49ers coach Mike McDaniel to be new head coach

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In spite of the recent controversy, the Miami Dolphins are moving forward with their plans. Now, former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel will be the new head coach for the Dolphins. The hope is that he will be able to install the same run-game concepts he did with San Francisco and revolutionize Miami’s offense.

McDaniel beat out Cowboys OC Kellen Moore for the job after his second interview with the team on Friday. The 38-year old McDaniel has 15 years of NFL coaching experience, and has worked under both Mike and Kyle Shanahan in his coaching career. He also worked under other respected names such as Gary Kubiak (2006) and Dan Quinn (2015). While this will be his first time as a head coach in the NFL, McDaniel is well-traveled and has gained respect around the league for his football acumen.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan recently came out with high praise for McDaniel. Although there was a comment regarding McDaniel’s dry sense of humor, Shanahan made it clear that McDaniel is extremely intelligent.

“He’s an acquired taste and you guys are getting it.” Shanahan said on Jan. 19. “So Mike’s a good dude, he’s really good at what he does and he’s himself. He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve been around and he’s been huge to our team and huge for me throughout my entire career.”

Back in 2019, Shanahan actually blocked McDaniel from being interviewed by other teams. At the time, he was the 49ers run-game coordinator. Several teams wanted to see if they could hire McDaniel as their offensive coordinator. Shanahan refused to let him go, as he deemed him too valuable to let escape.

In 2020, fullback Kyle Juszczyk explained just how much work both McDaniel and Mike LaFleur (now the OC for the New York Jets) did for Shanahan and the 49ers.

“They have been extremely involved. Both of them could run their offense right now — probably could have years ago. Right now, LaFleur and McDaniel have been pre-recording videos for us to watch on all our pass concepts, our run game. They’ve done a lot of them — I’m talking 30 15-minute videos, where they’re in their living rooms in front of a projector going over how we install everything. Really just installing the offense for Kyle.

“And then we go into these offensive skill meetings, and Kyle elaborates on what they already have installed. I truly believe both of them are so capable and ready to run their own offenses. It’s going to be a bummer for us when we lose one of them. They’re going to be really hard to replace, because they’re so valuable and important to this offense and contribute so much to what we do as a team.”

Shanahan echoed those same sentiments on Jan. 19. McDaniel is heavily credited for the evolution of the 49ers run game.

“Mike does a ton of it. We all do it in here, but we all have our separate areas that we work on.” Shanahan said. “Then we try to bring it together and patch it all together to make an offense as a whole. And then we distribute it to all our position coaches, so Mike gets as much credit as anyone in this building. [Offensive line coach] Chris Foerster gets a lot of credit, our O-Line, all the assistants, all the guys who draw it, the position coaches, but Mike’s in charge of that. And Mike’s been unbelievable, not just here, he did the same thing for me in Atlanta, Cleveland and was a big part in Washington too.”

Already, pending free agents are making it known they would love to play for McDaniel. Running back Matt Breida, who spent a year with the Dolphins in 2020, was excited about the idea of a reunion.

“It was awesome to play for him,” Breida said per the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad. “He was on the phone with me the entire draft. They wanted me on the team. He wanted me on the team. He’s a players’ coach. Guys relate to him … He understands formations and motions, we had a lot of formations but ran the same runs out of them. He just looks at things differently.”

In that same article by Joe Schad, former NFL WR Andrew Hawkins also came out in support of McDaniel. Hawkins played under McDaniel in 2014 when he was the Browns’ wide receivers coach, and he had the best season of his career by far. Unquestionably, McDaniel’s intelligence stands out to everyone he works with.

“He’s truly a football savant,” said Hawkins. “And I know there are a lot of brilliant minds in football. His approach is very, very unique and it’s why he’s able to exploit the norms. A lot of players swear by him. He has a very unique ability of identifying talent. And also knowing exactly how to get the most of out of a certain skill set. Players swear by him because players have had career years with him.

 

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“When I got with Mike, his whole philosophy turned everything I thought I knew upside down. How you get off the line of scrimmage and here are the options. Here are the two techniques every DB uses. And if you do this he takes all the thinking out of it. How you approach catching the football. How to approach running after the catch. I was very, very skeptical. But we did it his way and it worked. The way be broke down and explained strategies, it felt very Mr. Miyagi-like. You’re doing this and that and this and that and then one day it all ties together.”

In contrast to his offensive predecessor Adam Gase, McDaniel isn’t expected to be a “QB guru.” His job is not to fix quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He will likely be looking at the big picture, creating an offensive scheme that will maximize the available talent across the board. In turn, that will help Tagovailoa to shine brighter. One thing Tagovailoa doesn’t have that his fellow 2020 draftees do, is a running game. Since that is McDaniel’s specialty, that stands to change.

Make no mistake, McDaniel has a lot of work to do. The Miami Dolphins are in dire need of something positive to shake off the dark cloud looming over the franchise. Hopefully, McDaniel can show that his intelligence and creativity were not merely side-effects of working with the Shanahan family. Obviously, the fact he has no head coaching experience is a concern for many fans.

Nevertheless, McDaniel comes highly recommended, and what he brings to the table is just what the Dolphins are missing. With this in mind, the future seems much brighter than it did just days earlier. Now, McDaniel needs to assemble a coaching staff. Hopefully, his choices will make things continue to look up from here.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for seven years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

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Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over the Hornets

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The Miami Heat took down the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, behind aggressiveness from Bam Adebayo and a scoring takeover from Jimmy Butler.

But here are some takeaways from the match-up…

#1: Intentional Bam Adebayo transcends any potential trade deadline acquisition.

Watching Bam Adebayo to start this game, it looked like it was heading in the wrong direction. Losing the ball at the head of the offense, almost seeming like his wrapped hand is restricting his ball-handling. But that aside, we saw an intentional version of Adebayo on the offensive end, and that transcends any possible trade or any expected version of Victor Oladipo upon return. If Bam is playing like this, by attacking mismatches on smaller defenders, gaining momentum on drives, and straight up trying to score, then Miami’s ceiling is raising. But to be fair, Adebayo was shooting 3 for 13 at the half, which in my opinion should not matter. The attempts is the main element, and he was causing positive things offensively. Now, he even followed up my piece on his defensive improvements with another absolute masterpiece. This is a team that you can switch everything, and man did he switch everything. Locking up anybody they threw his way, which leads into my next point.

#2: Both Charlotte and Miami matching their first half offensive plan.

The Heat clearly struggled to shoot the ball to start, but how did they generate enough offense? Well, it was simple: attack the mismatch on the block each and every possession. Part of that was Adebayo against PJ Washington early, but it was just simply Jimmy Butler doing Jimmy Butler things. Getting position in the post, scoring around the rim, or drawing fouls consistently. But Charlotte began to blend into a similar offensive mindset. While the Heat were punishing them on the interior, the Hornets were searching for the favorable switch. And well, that was Tyler Herro most of that second quarter. Guys like Miles Bridges would get the switch, the Hornets would space out, and it led to either two things: a score inside from Bridges on the mismatch, or hitting the open spacer after Miami’s weak-side defender pulls down. Both teams navigated the offensive advantage, but funny enough, they were much more alike than you’d think.

#3: Big picture, does the winner come down to who controls the pace?

Coming into this game, my overarching take for Miami was the pace would have to lean in their favor. This is a young and athletic Hornets team who love to run, and the Heat should really slow things down and grind it out. And with the poor shooting on both sides to start, that was point Miami. Yet as things began to pick up, and Charlotte made that second quarter run, you could sense the Heat falling into that constant running trap. Now, to zoom out for a second due to the possibility of these teams seeing each other with higher stakes, that’s who will come out on top most nights. Another reason it would favor Miami in a playoff series is because the game naturally slows down anyway, but when a young quarterback like LaMelo Ball is running the show, he can dictate however he wants. It would just end up being the LaMelo Ball-Kyle Lowry show.

#4: The Jimmy Butler takeover upon us again, but frankly, this one was…odd?

As Jimmy Butler walks off the court late in the third with 27 points, it raises an eyebrow in some ways. Why is that? Well, it was one of the weirdest scoring takeovers I’ve seen from him all year. Sometimes it’s just pure free throw line antics. Other times it’s hunting mismatches to get easy looks off the drive. But tonight, that 27 kinda just…happened. All jokes aside though, the way Butler can just slowly chip away and expand a lead like he did in the third is really a skill. Like I mentioned before, he took over to start with his ability to take control of mismatches on the block, but he was a late shot clock killer as time went on. We’ve seen Miami’s role players takeover many nights, but seeing Butler and Adebayo control throughout is a great sight.

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#5: Navigating the first round match-ups.

We’ve seen Miami face many of the teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff standings, we’ve seen some trends. And no, I’m not just basing this off of one loss or one win. The Cleveland Cavaliers can clearly provide some problems for Miami offensively, just due to the length they can throw out there, and pretty much block off the entire interior whenever they choose. The Toronto Raptors are one of the most unique teams in that range, just due to their switchiness and grittiness, but that’s a series that could clearly wear Miami out before moving on. And now, the Charlotte Hornets. It’s a talented young group who have a high ceiling and low floor from night to night, due to the way they can score in a spark fashion, but Miami matches up with them decently. It’s one of the few teams they can switch everything against, and the attack is pretty much there to be taken all night. It’s Heat basketball, and it wouldn’t be the worst match-up in the world come playoff time.

 

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Reflecting on Tom Brady as the GOAT Calls it a Career

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In the world of sports, only a few people deserve the title of GOAT or Greatest of All Time. In basketball, Michael Jordan is a name that many people agree on. In golf, Tiger Woods is the GOAT. With hockey, Wayne Gretzky a.ka. The Great One is there. In Boxing, Manny Pacquaio is a name that’s already reached GOAT status. In football, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have done enough to secure the title of GOAT for fans all over the world.

 

The people mentioned above have displayed skill, prowess, confidence, and grace throughout their careers, enough to be named as the greatest to have played in their fields. As the Super Bowl is fast approaching, another legend will be joining the people mentioned above. 

 

With a loss against a solid and hungry Los Angeles Rams team, Tom Brady from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will finally call it a career. Disappointing as it sounds, Tom Brady will not be heading to this year’s Super Bowl event. Many fans and curious onlookers will have to agree that the GOAT’s retirement is well deserved. With that said, here’s a look at what Tom Brady has done to deserve the GOAT status.

22 at 44

In many eyes, Tom Brady has earned the GOAT title even before retiring. Playing 22 seasons alone is a mere feat as the NFL isn’t exactly known for its gentleness. At the age of 44, Tom Brady is considered by many as an artifact, an old “dude” in a young man’s game. Despite what naysayers call it, the GOAT continued to defy the odds and went on to become one of (if not the greatest) quarterbacks in NFL history.

 

Although Tom Brady isn’t the oldest quarterback in the NFL at 44, he never experienced a drop in terms of performance. At the age of 40, Tom Brady was the oldest to win the NFL MVP in 2017. And to add to the greatness, he has three NFL MVP awards to his name.

A King Deserves a Queen

Already a smooth player on the field, Tom Brady is also smooth with his love life. He’s married to none other than supermodel Gisele Bündchen. If you don’t know who Gisele Bündchen is, she’s a model from Brazil and one of the highest-paid in the industry. Tom and Gisele have been married since 2009 and have two children together.

 

With Super Bowl Prop Betting Odds getting exciting, many exotic prop bets are popping up. In fact, Gisele’s appearance on TV while Tom Brady is a legit exotic prop bet. The bet goes like this: How many times will Gisele Bündchen appear on the screen? Many exciting things happen when Tom Brady is playing, such as this weird yet amusing prop bet.

Accolades

Tom Brady didn’t reach the top by just sitting pretty. He did many things on the field that left both opponent and onlooker in awe. For starters, he’s won 7 championships when he was playing for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If that’s not amazing enough, take note that there are 12 franchises in the NFL that haven’t even won a trophy.

 

If you’re still not convinced of Tom Brady’s greatness, hold your breath and see these stunning personal records he has:

 

  • Most Wins in the NFL – 243 Wins
  • Most Pro Bowl Appearances – 15
  • Most Super Bowl MVP awards – 5
  • Most Starts: 316
  • Most Three-Touchdown Games: 101
  • Most Four-Touchdown Games: 39
  • Most Attempts: 11,317
  • Most Passing Yards Accumulated: 84,520

 

And that’s just a few of his personal records during the regular seasons of his career. Tom Brady doesn’t even bat an eye when it comes to the playoffs and the biggest stage of them all. Here are some of his personal records in the postseason:

 

  • Most Appearances in the Super Bowl: 10
  • Most Wins in the Super Bowl: 7
  • Most Appearances in the Playoffs: 19
  • Most Games started in the Playoffs: 47
  • Most Game-winning Drives: 14
  • Most 4th Quarter Comebacks: 9

 

These are just some of Tom Brady’s personal accolades. We’re not even including his franchise records. As you can see, there’s really no argument as to why Tom Brady deserves to be called the GOAT.

Talent Recognizes Talent

As news broke out that the great one was retiring, many superstars from other sports greeted the GOAT. From Basketball, LeBron James congratulated Brady and thanked him for the memories and inspiration. He ended his greeting by putting in a goat emoji. In Boxing, a fellow GOAT, Manny Pacquiao, says that Tom Brady earned it and ended his greeting with another goat emoji. 

 

Even Tom Brady’s nemesis in the NFL, Eli Manning, came out and greeted the GOAT. It should be noted that Manning defeated Brady twice in the Super Bowl. His greetings were a bit cheeky as he mentions Brady’s generosity in “sharing a few of those Super Bowl with me.” Never has a sports personality garnered the love from fellow GOATS like Tom Brady. Indeed, talent does recognize talent.

Conclusion

Being eliminated from the playoffs, Tom Brady will be calling it a career after 22 seasons. He’s the oldest active player and has accumulated accolades that will be tough to beat. Even if he’s already 44, many experts feel that Tom Brady has a lot left in the tank. 

 

Just like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady retires at an elite level. Will he opt for a comeback on the field? Only time will tell. For now, let’s allow the GOAT to relish the moment and join him in looking back at his incredible career.

 

Bam Adebayo Taking Another Defensive Leap As We Speak

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Bam Adebayo has been climbing the ladder of labels for some time now. A good defender for his size to a great defender. A great defender to an elite versatile defender. And now, an elite versatile defender to the the most versatile defender in this league today.

Adebayo has missed a big chunk of time this season to finish off the calendar year, which blended into some of the month of January as well, so that basically hurts his case for defensive player of the year in the big scheme of things.

But putting that award aside, he’s doing things on that end that we haven’t seen from him before. It’s one thing to be so physically gifted and elite at clamping up your team’s favorite perimeter player, but it’s another thing to be taking the necessary leaps on the minor side of things, just like many talented offensive players develop.

Just as a quarterback or a point guard pick up on certain reads to make as time progresses, safeties and back-line defenders do the same. And at this moment in time, we’re seeing the reads of Bam Adebayo hitting new levels.

It’s a pretty tough task to try and dissect a pick and roll that includes both Adebayo and PJ Tucker, but Erik Spoelstra has developed a plan to make that what is seen most frequently against talented guards, while Jimmy Butler roams on the weak-side.

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In this play above, Fred VanVleet comes off the screen as Adebayo blitzes him immediately. Bam gets a decent portion of the ball to throw off the trajectory of the pass, but Scottie Barnes scoops it up anyway. As Barnes begins to make the next simple read, which is the lob inside to the big in the dunker spot since Miami’s rotations are off, Adebayo fixes that problem.

He swarms in to one-hand pick off the pass, just showcasing the amount of area he can cover in a matter of seconds.

It’s instinctive, and that is when the best quarterbacks, point guards, and safeties reach their peak in terms of reads.

Half of the matter is just pure reads, and the other half is utilizing that physical gift of his to make his presence known each and every possession. Like I said before, it’s one thing to lock up these superior guards on switches time and time again, but it’s another thing to do it once ball-handlers try to avoid you.

Since Adebayo has returned, we’ve seen him pick up on something that I haven’t seen before this point. When that offensive player picks up that ball without the ability to put it back on the deck, he’s going to swarm you. At an uncomfortable rate.

This is unlike the sneaky Jimmy Butler steal and scores, since in that instance, they don’t know it’s coming.

With Adebayo, they see it developing, but there’s nothing they can do to stop it.

Looking at the clips above, this is something Adebayo has been doing on a regular basis since his return, which is not allowing any type of entry pass. We constantly have talked about the mismatches on the back-side being problematic following switches, but well, it isn’t an issue when they can’t actually make that insertion.

How is this eventually countered for the offense?

Well, it leads to them making that extra swing pass to their left or right, so that player can then feed it inside to the mismatch, but this isn’t Omer Yurtseven blitzing anymore.

As seen in that earlier play against VanVleet and the Raptors, his recovery speed is one of the best I’ve seen in the half-court. So by the time that swing pass is being made, Adebayo is in route to recover.

But more importantly, it can’t be figured out as easily as it was last year. This Heat team has the personnel to mix things up defensively at an outstanding rate, which just leads to pure Bam Adebayo fun.

Speaking of that personnel around him, that’s what is propelling his play, and that’s an absolute fact.

How is that exactly?

Since this isn’t last year anymore, Adebayo actually has a ton of trust in his back-line help when that switch is made. He couldn’t usually make that gamble to try and break up a pass on an entry pass, since if he was unsuccessful, it was an easy bucket 100% of the time.

Now we see a defensive front-court trio of Butler-Tucker-Adebayo, who can all make up for the others mistakes when they occur.

In that clip above from last night against the Spurs, they’re running their primary action with the Butler-Tucker-Adebayo trio navigating screens. Once again, there’s no clear outlet there.

Butler and Tucker switch on the screen, then Tucker and Adebayo switch again on the next stagger screen. Derrick White ends up losing it into the hands of Adebayo, but the point is that no advantage was created.

Tucker deserves a ton of credit for this all coming together, since it almost feels like he’s the base to it all. But Bam Adebayo is the propelling factor. He’s the guy that can elevate this defense to another level come playoff time, as the dynamic duo with Erik Spoelstra continues to emerge.

Conversations can be had on a regular basis about Adebayo’s play in terms of offensive aggression or different ways to score, but nobody can question his defensive impact. And actually, it should hold a lot more weight than currently viewed.

The amount of consistency he provides on that end of the floor on a regular basis is unreal, and he hasn’t skipped a beat after missing about seven weeks of time.

He’s an elite, versatile talent on that end of the floor, but his increasing reads and stronger supporting cast is leading to these extra steps being made at a faster and faster rate.

“Best defender 1 through 5 that I’ve seen in a while in this league,” said Heat’s back-up center Dewayne Dedmon on Adebayo.

And that’s a hard point to argue.

 

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Ft. Lauderdale native Diego Fagot named Shrine Bowl Defensive MVP

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LAS VEGAS — Despite the West winning the Shrine Bowl 25-24 on Thursday, both the offensive and defensive MVP went to the East.

Navy linebacker and Ft. Lauderdale native Diego Fagot was named the defensive MVP for totaling seven tackles and a sack that brought the fans at the lower bowl of Allegiant Stadium to their feet.

“It was a great feeling,” Fagot said.

After a career in Navy in which he led the Midshipmen in tackles for three straight seasons, it wasn’t until he was invited to play in the Shrine Bowl

“I always went into the Naval Academy loving football,” Fagot said. “I didn’t know it was gonna happen really until the end of my senior year.”

The entire week was a learning experience for Fagot, who spent days of practice and meetings with NFL assistant coaches and scouts, leaning a playbook and gel with contemporaries on the fly, all while enjoying what Las Vegas has to offer.

“It was really cool to compete with all these guys out here and just take the time and do what I do best,” Fagot said. “I’m just playing ball and doing what I love.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Brown quarterback EJ Perry entered the game in the second half down 11 points and threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns to nearly complete the comeback. The only quarterback from the FCS turned in the best performance of all and was named offensive MVP.

By comparison, the West’s passing trio of Norte Dame’s Jack Coan, Kansas State’s Skyler Thompson and Iowa State’s Brock Purdy combined to throw for 171 yards and two touchdowns.

His team may have lost but he certainly felt victorious, running to the stands to celebrate with his friends and family, all wearing shirts showing pride in their hometown of Andover, Mass.

“I just wanted to come here and get better,” Perry said. “They set up an amazing game. We got to learn all week from NFL coaches who taught us so much. [Seahawks quarterbacks coach Kerry Jospeh] was awesome. We got to learn a playbook in a week, which is something we’re all going to have to do in minicamp. It was great practice for that and it was an unbelievable learning experience.”

The Shrine Bowl has historically been the game where the often overlooked NFL Draft prospects showcase their skills and make an impression on coaches and scouts. Turning in MVP performances in a college football all-star game puts these two underdogs one step closer to their NFL dreams.

Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Spurs

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The Miami Heat took down the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, as Kyle Lowry made his return.

Tyler Herro shined, Bam Adebayo controlled, and Jimmy Butler provided just enough to take the 4th quarter off.

So, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: The early game Heat story: the bench mob carrying the way offensively.

Bam Adebayo got Miami going early with a quick six, and Duncan Robinson followed with the following nine. But other than that for the first 20 minutes of play, no other starter was providing that scoring juice. Yet as the bench group fully got themselves in, we saw things begin to click. Dewayne Dedmon’s solidity jumps off the screen, just through his ability to play such a simple game and receive constant relief points when other things breakdown. Max Strus had moments where he hit the three-point gaps to fire away, and took advantage. Gabe Vincent is an interesting one, since as much as we view him as a high level Kyle Lowry filler, his best minutes this season have actually come next to Lowry. And well, Tyler Herro looked like Tyler Herro when he was out there leading that group, which is the most important element on nights when it seems like the vets just kinda want to coast through.

#2: More big man lineups?

We’ve seen a minor trend that Erik Spoelstra has thrown our way over this recent stretch, and that’s big lineups with Adebayo at the 4. We saw it for longer stretches next to Chris Silva in a recent game, but does that really even count? Probably not. Anyway, as much as many Heat fans seem to be screaming about the insertion of Omer Yurtseven next to Bam, we got to see some more of Dedmon next to him. For one, we’ve actually seen more of that stretch ability from Dedmon at this level than Yurtseven, as he drilled another three tonight, but that’s besides the point. It almost feels like they’re just getting in these reps on nights they know they can have trial runs. Why would they want to get in these reps? Well, some teams like Cleveland could be a potential playoff match-up in the future, and they want to dictate pace at all times. They aren’t going to go to that long in that scenario, but it’ll be on their bingo card.

#3: The best version of Tyler Herro? Third option attacker.

Looking at the first half shot profile of Tyler Herro, it was a good amount of drives. More specifically, it was a lot of fast-break drives, but things were still being generated in the half-court. It’s something to monitor when evaluating the guys out there around him, since he’s not a primary attacker on a team, which we saw when both Butler and Lowry were out. Butler returns, Lowry still out, and Herro is in a secondary attacker role which still is an adjustment in many ways. It isn’t that free-flowing offensive role that he sees so often off the bench. But now as both Butler and Lowry are back, we see him shift back into his usual semi-driving role, which he undoubtedly is most comfortable in. It may not seem like a big shift, or at least one that jumps right off the screen, but it differs in terms of the plate sitting on Herro’s lap.

#4: The telling factor when it’s a Jimmy Butler type night.

It’s one thing to get hyped up for big games so that your skill-set can elevate. But it almost seems like a completely other thing for Jimmy Butler, since when he almost plays in the manner that he isn’t even trying, that’s when his game looks to be at its best. Starting from the end of the second quarter on, we saw that turn with him. Sealing down low for over the top post position for easy lay-ins. Getting to the line. And something that hasn’t been gone to enough recently: driving off the catch. It’s one of Butler’s most elite offensive elements, since simply there’s no one on this San Antonio roster that can handle a shoulder dropping Butler on the attack following a healthy head-start. Once again, that may seem like a minor tweak, but it’s a major shift when he starts getting to it in game 3 of a playoff series. And much of that head-start is adding back their primary ball-handler in Lowry.

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#5: Kyle Lowry back. Heat offense is back.

Kyle Lowry made his return tonight vs San Antonio, and he seemed to burn the most calories hysterically laughing, since he looked to just be having a great time joking around with Jimmy Butler. But in terms of on the floor, Lowry doesn’t have to do a lot to impact the game. Actually, he doesn’t even need to have a made field goal to shift the offense. His presence alone changes the looks for all those around him, and simply, the other main 3 counterparts understood the assignment. Butler-Adebayo-Herro all controlled this game during different spurts, and that’s a good change of pace compared to the heavy reliance on role players as of late. It should be said that the Heat just did what they should have against this low tier Spurs team with missing pieces, but they needed one to get back on track. And they did that.

 

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Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes land disruptive playmaker in Ahmad Moten

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The Miami Hurricanes had a busy National Signing Day on Wednesday. They were able to land to major commitments. One of those commitments was defensive lineman Ahmad Moten.

Moten played football at Cardinal Gibbons High School. he is the brother of former Miami Hurricanes four-star defensive lineman Anthony Moten. The younger Moten is a three-star recruit.

He had offers on the table from the likes of Miami, Iowa State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Nevertheless, he chose to stay home. He was recruited by defensive line coach Joe Salave’a.

Moten played well for Cardinal Gibbons in 2021. He totaled 29 tackles in two sacks in his senior season.

What is he able to bring to Miami Hurricanes?

Moten has good skills for his position. Measuring in at six-foot-three, 290 pounds, he is able to both rush the passer and stuff the run. One of the things that I noticed immediately about the way he played was that he can move quickly. He is not slow in his movement. As soon the ball is snapped, he fires off the snap and is able to get into the backfield quickly.

Moten’s agility is going to be something that works in the Miami Hurricanes favor. He can shed blocks quickly, and that allows him to be a disruptor. In some of his film that I’ve watched, he didn’t get to the quarterback all the time. However, he was still able to impact the play by using that athleticism to get into the backfield and throw the offenses timing off.

The 2022 Miami Hurricanes recruiting class ranks 14th overall nationally and third in the ACC per the 247Sports Team Rankings. The class itself currently has six players already enrolled in the school.

One of the things that the Miami Hurricanes have done well in this class is getting agile defenders. Moten certainly fits the bill there. Although he doesn’t have the same skill set as a defensive end for instance, he is still able to use his speed to be a disruptive force.

It was an up-and-down day for the Miami Hurricanes, but the commitment of Moten certainly was a positive thing.

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