McDaniel Takeaways Day After Dolphins-Bears Week 9 Game
Head coach Mike McDaniel conducted the traditional day-after-the-game press conference Monday in the aftermath of the Miami Dolphins' 35-32 victory against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
Here were the highlights from McDaniel's media session:
-- First question deals with injuries, and McDaniel says this was the best the Dolphins came out of a game in a while. McDaniel sounds congested, so maybe he'll be on the injury report this week with an illness or a cold.
-- McDaniel reveals that Hunter Long currently is in the concussion protocol.
-- Regarding the improvement of the offensive line, McDaniel credits a fixation on fundamentals. While he won't say it, we will: A lot of it has to do with Terron Armstead being in the lineup every week.
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-- TV cameras caught McDaniel telling Justin Fields on the Dolphins to "stop it," and McDaniel joked that Fields didn't listen to him. Adds that all the Dolphins took the Bears seriously.
-- Regarding Bradley Chubb's first game, McDaniel said he was "pumped" with the "stuff he was able to do." Said he affected pass plays a few times even when he wasn't getting on the stat sheet.
-- Chubb and Jeff Wilson Jr. getting as many snaps as they did speaks volumes to the kind of football guys they are in the way they prepared to get ready.
-- Raheem Mostert and Wilson are both starter-caliber players, but McDaniel says there will be times when both guys become aware that one guy is feeling it and the team is going to ride that player.
-- No change on Byron Jones, who again will not practice this week.
-- Austin Jackson will get some practice time this week.
-- Tyreek Hill's back flip after his touchdown earned a 7.8 from McDaniel, he jokes, because he didn't feel like he stuck the landing. Turning serious, McDaniel says he likes how Hill is serious about getting better and how his individual success leads to team success.
-- Asked about Jason Sanders' missed 29-yard field goal attempt, McDaniel jokes that the media failed to warn him about the wind in Chicago. Turning serious, there was a technical element to the miss, though there was a gust of wind right at the snap.
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