Five Takeaways from Heat’s Win Over Nets

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The Miami Heat had a good looking lead against the Brooklyn Nets early in the 4th, but Kyrie Irving began to happen. Miami would try and mix things up, but he would beat every double that came his way.

Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo had some big shots throughout to keep some padding, but it’s something to keep an eye on. As PJ Tucker noted previously, leads aren’t a comfortable nature on this team.

A big time Jimmy Butler drive with 20 seconds left put Miami up 3, which should always be his late-game outlet. An eventual Lowry steal iced it as they tried to get it to Irving.

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one, heavily focused on the early game positive elements…

(Twitter thread incoming on the 4th quarter stuff later)

#1: Gabe Vincent: Two-Way deal to two-way dominant force.

When you hear the word “versatility,” your mind immediately flows in the direction of someone like Bam Adebayo, who can guard positions 1 to 5, be placed in different roles, and still be an evolving young player. But when watching Gabe Vincent, versatility is a key word. For one, you see him make unexpected plays on the defensive end, like Iguodala-esque steals and a highlight block at the rim. But more importantly, he’s constantly shifted within the offense. He’s running sets and dissecting the mid-range immediately. Then they go small with Lowry-Vincent-Herro-Strus-Adebayo, which relies more on his off-ball spacing and ball movement stringer. He kept Miami’s offense afloat in that first half, and it wasn’t just because of that 11 point mark in the scorers column.

#2: Tyler Herro looking fresh early on.

Staying the course of Miami’s first half offensive avenue, Tyler Herro was the other piece next to Vincent to keep things above water early on. But aside from that, he just looked fresh. After getting two games off, he came back in full dissector mode, but one play in that first half showed major growth. When facing drop, which he has major success against, the defender looped over the top of the screen and cut him off as he flowed into a potential mid-range pull-up. Instead of retreating back out per usual, he turned the corner, kept his dribble alive baseline, and found himself wide open around the rim for a lay-in. The phrase “turning the corner” is the interesting part, and it’s something we didn’t attach much to him in the past. But I’ve found myself noticing it a ton this season. He ended up not closing which was a bit surprising, but I’m not sure the specifics yet on why.

#3: My minor offensive evaluation: Bam Adebayo growing in “Kyle Lowry world.”

Watching Bam Adebayo get the ball on the break, run in the open court, then finish in traffic for a transition lay-in provides some flashbacks to what we’ve seen throughout this week. But seeing it on repeat over this recent stretch leads to further evaluations. Kyle Lowry basically forces surrounding pieces into playing at an extremely fast pace, but there’s an adjustment period with that, especially with Adebayo early in the season. Yet recently, I’ve seen Bam filling up transition gaps in a much more comfortable way. It may be Lowry’s world, but Bam seems to really fit the mold of his community.

#4: PJ Tucker. That’s it. That’s my takeaway.

Miami’s off-ball movement begins, the ball starts to swing, and finds the hands of PJ Tucker as he rises up from the dunker spot to post position. He gives a quick little post move, then turns into a nice looking post hook. Yeah, abnormal. The following possession, two defenders end up doubling Kyle Lowry in the corner, which he then flips it to Tucker on the baseline slip. He gets into post position again, kicks it out, but the ball gets tipped. What do you usually do next? Well, a normal person would see the Nets defense scoop it up and get into transition. But when you are PJ Tucker, you dive on the floor and tap it out in perfect fashion for a Duncan Robinson corner three. Plays like that just sum up Tucker, as he crawled back to the defensive end with Adebayo simultaneously picking him up.

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#5: The solidity of a back-up big.

Looking at the teams that sit atop their respective conferences as the 1 seed–in the Heat and the Suns– we can pick out many similarities between the teams. But one that grazes under the radar, yet shouldn’t, is the solidity of the back-up big spot. JaVale McGee is another story with the way he can plug into the starting lineup or provide spark minutes, but Dewayne Dedmon just shows that he can be Bam Adebayo’s playoff minute eater. Bam playing 40, while Dedmon keeps them afloat across the other 8. Looking at tonight, it clearly wasn’t his most efficiently impactful night. He had some moments where he’d snag a needed rebound, or even hit a three early on, but perimeter teams who go small can play him off the floor and put him in an odd spot. When watching runs like the one seen from Brooklyn tonight, it shows the importance of his impact. Or better yet, the potential of Miami going small in a shrunken rotation against certain teams in the post-season.

 

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Goldie’s Best Bets: Rams will be Champions

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All the twists and turns of a wild NFL season have led us here: Super Bowl 56. Just like the NFL, Uncle Jeff and I have also endured our own set of twists and turns in picking games this season. After many ups and downs in a very hectic season, again I find myself completely level versus the spread. One game to go, for all the marbles and for a positive record! Win or lose, I appreciate you all for coming along for the ride… Here.. We.. Go!

 

Goldie:

All Time Record: 297-149-1          

Vs. Spread: 223-223-1

 

21-22 Season:  171-94-1               

Vs. Spread: 134-134-1

 

Conference Championship Record: 1-1          

Vs. Spread: 1-1

 

Guarantee Record: 17-15

Upset Record: 18-13              

 

Crazy Uncle Jeff 

All Time: 36-19              

21-22 Season: 20-18       

Final 2020: 16-1

 

Super Bowl 56

Cincinnati Bengals (13-7) vs. Los Angeles Rams (15-5)

Vegas Picks: LAR -4

Goldie’s Take: Rams Win 30-24

We couldn’t have asked for a more likable Super Bowl matchup. On one end you have a true Cinderella story with the Bengals making it to their first Super Bowl since ‘88, and on the other end you have veteran QB Matt Stafford who is making his first Super Bowl appearance in the midst of a tough 13 year career (thanks, Detroit). Hard to root against either team in this one. Before the season, FPI only ranked the Bengals above three teams in their odds to win the Super Bowl at +10000, or 100 to 1. Now Joe Cool has the chance to lead the Bengals to their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history, and he also has the opportunity to be the first QB ever to win the Heisman, a Collegiate National Championship and the Super Bowl. This, in just his second season. Unbelievable! However, what stands in his way is his toughest test yet. The Rams went all in on a Super Bowl this season, and they absolutely have the roster to back it up. The Rams had one of the most complete rosters in football to begin the season, and additions such as Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. have only made them stronger. Aaron Donald and that fierce Rams pass rush should have Burrow on the run (or on the ground) a lot, and unlike Tennessee, LA has a high powered offense to go along with their rock-solid defense. Burrow and the Bengals have already way outperformed expectations this season, and they’ll be competitive for years to come, but Jeffy and I agree that this is Matthew Stafford’s time. Stafford has been waiting a long 12 year career for this moment. He beat the Goat. He finally got the Rams over the 49ers hump. And now it’s time for Matt Stafford to finally get that elusive Super Bowl win. The Rams win their first Super Bowl since 1999 with a win over the Bengals! 

 

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Josh Boyer observes practice

Dolphins opt to retain Josh Boyer as defensive coordinator

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The Miami Dolphins revealed on Friday that defensive coordinator Josh Boyer would be retained for the position. This report comes shortly after the news broke that secondary coach Gerald Alexander would not be staying on the staff.

The decision to retain Boyer comes from a place of desiring continuity. Boyer was handpicked by Brian Flores in 2020 to run his defense after being on his staff as the defensive pass game coordinator & cornerbacks coach in 2019. By keeping Boyer, head coach Mike McDaniel hopes to keep the same level of defense that gave him fits in San Francisco.

“What I saw was a defense that I didn’t want to go against.” McDaniel said during his introductory press conference on Thursday. “What I saw was a collective group of people that I could, from the tape, I knew they loved football and that is such a key component that people undervalue because there’s so many dollars, there’s a lot of fame out there for players, but the teams that win, the people love football and you can feel it and it’s visceral.

“To win (seven) consecutive games, I think it was, (near the) end the season, you could see players playing hard. You could see a defense that again, I’m glad is our defense.”

There is some controversy surrounding the decision. Rumors are swirling that the defense’s sudden turnaround is because of Brian Flores taking over the play calling. However, many Dolphins players attributed the defense’s success to Josh Boyer, if only in part.

“I’ll say giving the offenses different looks.” DE Emmanuel Ogbah said when asked what Boyer had done to fix the defense. “That attributes to practice, just giving our offense different looks just to see how they react to it. Coach Boyer, he’s done a great job disguising plays, all-out blitzes. We kind of went back to our old thing but I’m glad he’s switching it up and giving offenses different looks, confusing them.”

The endorsement by Ogbah speaks volumes. He was asked for specifics into what Boyer contributed to the defense and that was his answer. What’s more, it heavily implies Boyer was still calling plays. For Boyer to give opposing teams different looks, he has to call the play in the first place.

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McDaniel further explained the decision during his interview with WQAM on Friday morning, when the news first broke Josh Boyer was staying.

“Here’s another simple formula.” He said. “I feel like if you’ve coached offense your whole career, one litmus test is if you are deciding what defense you play, how awesome would it be if you didn’t want to play that defense? For it to be the defense you have? And the defense was miserable. They crushed us in 2020.

“And I believe in their style. I think versatility is paramount. You say aggressive? I think every play is aggressive, I think when you’re playing a four-man rush, it’s aggressive. I think you do things that give your players an advantage and you keep offenses off balance. So our style of football is going to be aggressive but we might be rushing four, we might be rushing six. It’s the way we play, our fundamentals, how we attack blocks, the way we use our hands, the way we come off the ball, the way we tackle, the way we strike, the way we go after the ball. The list is long. But it’s an aggressive mentality that I really enjoy. And I enjoy the philosophy of the defense and case in point I don’t want to go against it. So why don’t you join us?”

With Boyer as the defensive coordinator in 2021, Miami’s defense was ranked 14th in rushing and 16th against the pass. Obviously, the numbers would have been better if not for the 7-game losing streak after Week 1.

The real reason behind the defense’s drastic drop off may never be known. However, if most of the personnel can stay the same, then at least there is a template to follow. Obviously, some players will leave. But the young core is now firmly in place. The very last quote from Boyer before the season ended offered insight into how he views the game of football.

“The reason I love football so much is because it really kind of relates or correlates to life.” Boyer said on Jan. 4. “Sometimes you get knocked down and all of us have experienced loss or tragedy, and sometimes you have to push forward and put your foot in front of the other for others. That’s why I like football because when you sign up for that, you’re a part of something that’s greater than yourself. We’ve got a lot of good guys, a lot of mentally and physically tough guys in our locker room. We’re excited about the challenge this week, for sure.”

The quote may have been before the Patriots game, but it still stands today. Miami’s players on defense are going to push hard to be successful. True, Brian Flores is gone now. But he would not have picked Boyer or let him continue his job from 2020 if he thought him incapable. Flores fired offensive coaches on a whim. It’s unlikely he would tolerate failure from his defensive coaches if he felt expectations weren’t being met.

Josh Boyer deserves at least one chance to prove he can be a good defensive coordinator. If the defense doesn’t play up to par, then McDaniel will have a new set of options to choose from in 2023. For now, give Boyer the benefit of the doubt and keep the scheme intact.

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 Pelicans

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The Miami Heat faced the New Orleans Pelicans on the night of the deadline, after a rather quiet afternoon, but still got the win.

A Kyle Lowry triple-double, Jimmy Butler dictating, and Bam Adebayo aggressiveness.

The Heat’s 3 best players were their 3 best players.

Anyway, here are some takeaways from this one…

#1: Another high awareness offensive start from Bam Adebayo.

Bam Adebayo entered this game in New Orleans with some pretty aggressive offensive showings right behind him. He’s found ways to exploit these switchy teams, put his back to the basket when needed, and find some clear lanes to attack. But in this match-up, it was clearly a bigger body than we’ve seen recently, in Jonas Valanciunas. But right from the jump, we saw a similar mindset. It’s one thing to be aggressive, but it’s another thing to be decisive. Tonight, we saw both. Instead of taking advantage of a one-on-one match-up, he found the dead spots on the floor and rose up. That exact area was the middle of the floor inside the free throw line, where he flowed into that jumper early. He dominated around the rim yet again, even with the surrounding size, and that’s when you know we’re noticing change. He’s evolving.

#2: Jimmy Butler hunting again, as Miami tries to find a rhythm.

As we saw in a recent game against Charlotte, there’s one difference in this Heat team compared to recent ones. Even though there’s a similar focus on three-point shooting, it isn’t the only deciding factor in winning and losing a game. In past years, if they weren’t shooting well, they would keep going to it since it was their only choice. This season, that is usually a signal for Jimmy Butler time. He always finds a way to keep them afloat during that time, and that begins with mismatch hunting and camping out at the charity stripe. For one, Kyle Lowry being slotted next to him allows for much quicker insert passes, but it’s still all Butler in terms of seeking out opportunities to get to the line. And that’s how they survive.

#3: Omer Yurtseven next to Bam Adebayo again?

When looking at this Heat roster tonight, without Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin, I was intrigued with how the rotation might shake up. But it should’ve been obvious against a bigger Pelicans’ team that they would go big. We saw Dewayne Dedmon next to Bam for stretches, but Omer Yurtseven entering was the part to mention. It makes sense to go big in that manner when losing depth options, but we saw it in a positive light once again. The reasoning: it’s for short stints. Anyway, we saw the high-low actions being spammed, and man did they look good. Adebayo would get position down low on a 4, no help was in sight, and he went up in the post for a decent look. We’ve seen this as Bam as the ‘high’ one and PJ Tucker as the ‘low’ guy, but Tucker isn’t a post threat. That’s the small difference in the offensive sets, and it’s good to see that diversity depending on the personnel.

#4: Heat dodging a bullet in New Orleans, and it’s not about the game.

As the Heat play the Pelicans on the night of the trade deadline, it blends right into the conversation many have been having about this team the past 24 hours. If a move was going to be made, they needed someone at the back-up 4 to eat up some minutes for PJ Tucker. And well, that’s what the buyout market will be for. Anyway, as Tucker drives baseline for a bounce pass into Bam in the middle of the floor, the play quickly escalated to more than an offensive set. Tucker went down on the floor grabbing his knee, leaving many Heat observers in freak-out mode. (If that doesn’t showcase the importance of Tucker, I don’t know what does.) Anyway, it ended up being named a left knee contusion, and there was Tucker standing on the court as the third quarter started. I personally wouldn’t have played him after he went down, but it’s hard to hold back Tucker when in that competitive state.

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#5: The impact of Kyle Lowry.

Forget the stats tonight, which were as Kyle Lowry as Kyle Lowry stats get. (Triple-double btw.) But when watching impact, there’s no one better. For starters, it is just simply night and day in the ways the offensive sets are run with this Heat team. Their first action begins so much sooner in the shot clock due to his initial full court entry pass, but the half court stuff is much more noticeable. The main element ties back to Bam Adebayo. It isn’t a coincidence that Adebayo’s aggression and comfort aligns perfectly with the return of Lowry to the lineup. Looking at his assist numbers, he just sets Adebayo up quite perfectly, and not just out of the PnR. He finds him. He aborts the play. And forces him to go to work. The best play for Adebayo.

 

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Dolphins hire Jon Embree to assist Mike McDaniel

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Jon Embree has been hired as the tight ends coach and assistant head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

 

 

This past Sunday, the Miami Dolphins hired 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as their new Head Coach. 

 

Embree follows Mike McDaniel to South Florida to coach a TE group consisting of rookie 3rd round pick Hunter Long and Adam Shaheen

 

 

Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe are Free Agents, unless Miami retains one or both of them. 

 

Embree first made his mark on the NFL in 2006 as a Tight End coach with the Kansas City Chiefs. There he coached Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez who led the league in 20007 and 2008 in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. 

 

He then joined the formerly known Washington Redskins in 2010 where TE Chris Cooley ranked 2nd in TE receptions. He also helped Jordan Cameron reach the Pro Bowl in 2013 as Cameron ranked 2nd in receiving yards (917). 

 

In 2016 with Tampa Bay, Embree helped TE Cameron Brate establish career highs in in receptions (57) yards (660) and touchdowns (8) which tied most in the NFL among tight ends. 

 

 

From 2017-2021, George Kittle was developed under Embree who helped him earn All-Pro honors, 49ers franchise records for tight ends, PFWA All-NFL and All-NFC and was selected as a starter in the Pro Bowl multiple times. 

 

 

Embree has played in college and been in the NFL for 12 years and brings an experienced mind in the offensive room and help develop talented tight ends in Miami.

 

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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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