'Eff Off!' Cowboys at Dolphins: Coach Reacts to Critics 'Narratives' with Locker Room Message

'Eff Off!' Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins: Coach Mike McDaniel Reacts to Critics 'Narratives' With Locker Room Message

FRISCO - Coach Mike McDaniel has a knack for quirky entertainment when he takes to the Miami Dolphins podium, and this week he is applying that talent to the Dallas Cowboys ...

And "with all due respect'' to any media types that would steer "the narrative'' away from that focus, McDaniel has a message that he's delivered to his team.

"I instructed the players that anything other than concerning yourself with the next opponent, which for us is the Dallas Cowboys, any other narrative that has to do with good teams, or playoff seeds, or the next three games, all that stuff, I gave them the clearance to tell all members of the media, to, with all due respect, 'Eff off.'

And then, McDaniel, having fun with his speech, added, twice to the giggling media, "With all due respect.''

Respect accepted. And message respected.

The Dolphins and the Cowboys are very much in the same boat here at they approach Christmas Eve in NFL Week 16. Both teams are 10-4 and leading their respective divisions while fighting for more.

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And yes, both teams have dealt with critics who in some cases seem obsessed with the things Miami and Dallas do not do well ... as opposed to the positive accomplishments.

The Dolphins have the highest-scoring offense in the NFL and are two games ahead of the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East ... but the 8-6 Bills are chasing. They already beat Miami once this year and will get a second shot their rivals in Week 18.

The Cowboys have the No. 2 scoring offense in the NFL and need wins, and some help from Eagles opponents, to stay in the top slot in the NFC East.

And all of that is enough, as McDaniel notes, to fill up players' brains, "narratives'' be damned.

"All we’re focused on is the Dallas Cowboys, and they definitely deserve our attention,'' McDaniel said. "So ... we’ll be thinking about that and the narratives will be what they be. We’re not really concerned. We know that will exist but it’s really inconsequential to what we’re trying to do."