As Dolphins begin OTAs, Super Bowl mindset continues
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa raised eyebrows slightly last season when he declared they’re not afraid to talk about the Super Bowl.
That mindset hasn’t changed during the team’s offseason program and will resume this week, on and off the field, during Miami’s organized team activities.
I know that because I’ve asked the players.
You might not actually hear the words “Super Bowl” uttered, but players understand preparation for their ultimate goal has already begun physically and mentally.
“We know that a playoff berth in the first round, that’s cool,” edge rusher Bradley Chubb said, “but it’s not what we work these tireless hours for, go through training camp for, and that’s not what our standard is.
“So the competition doesn’t just kick up in training camp. It starts now.”
Expectations are high for the Dolphins inside and outside of their training facility.
The Dolphins, who finished 9-8 last season and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season, have five nationally televised games and will face Super Bowl champion Kansas City in Germany.
They have a fancy, aesthetically pleasing offense and a revamped defense.
Big things are expected from second-year coach Mike McDaniel, first-year defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Tagovailoa, Chubb, cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard, wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and scores of others.
“You look around the room, you can tell we have a talented group,” linebacker Jerome Baker said. “We had a talented group last year, but we just added more guys, guys got more experience.
“So I don’t think we said it out loud what our expectations are, but you can just feel the energy of our expectations are high.”
Accomplishing such a special goal takes effort on all fronts.
Baker said that starts at the top with McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier.
“I always said this (and) I never told them this, but Mr. Grier and Mike, they do a great job of just getting guys that are just like, they’re a great teammate outside
of great players,” Baker said. “They’re just great people.”
Baker admitted he initially wondered how “superstars” such as Hill and Chubb would fit in the locker room.
“Man, it’s no complaints at all, like even going back to last year when Tyreek came,” Baker said. “He pushed us to hang out with each other more. Having a Halloween party, those little things of just getting the team together, he pushed it and he was all for it. He was the first one to say, ‘Let’s play ping pong.’ ”
Last season McDaniel, in an unorthodox NFL move, switched up the locker room seating so that it wasn’t the traditional groupings of offensive linemen together, defensive linemen together, and so on. Players sat in random order. The idea was players would talk to guys other than ones in their position group.
In keeping with that theme, players have taken it upon themselves to hang out and get to know each other. For example, running back Raheem Mostert and kicker Jason Sanders are among a group that’s been going to Florida Panthers games.
“When we were headed to the Super Bowl down here at Hard Rock in 2019 ,” Mostert said of the San Francisco 49ers team that included him, McDaniel and fellow running back Jeff Wilson Jr., “the camaraderie on that team was unmatched.
“It was something that was very special because everybody was hanging out with everybody. So that’s what Mike is trying to do with this team now, just trying to make sure that everybody’s on the same page. Try to get to know your teammates, because you’re going to need them at some point during the season. So what better way than to start that early on and that’s what we’re able to do right now.”
On the field, the Dolphins are trying to accomplish a lot of things this season, among them, smoothing out the offensive communication process, and installing a new defense.
The intensity is high. It’s not yet at Super Bowl level, playoff level, or even regular-season level.
But it’s building toward that goal.
Multiple processes are underway this week at Dolphins camp.
The one I like most is the mindset, the controlled focus.
“With OTA practices and stuff coming up,” Chubb said, “we’ve still got to be smart, understand that this is the team we need to go into the season and do all the things that we say we want to do.
“So it’s a little bit about being smart, but still having that competitive nature.”