Mike McDaniel October 19 Takeaways

Head coach Mike McDaniel addressed the media before the Miami Dolphins practiced at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Wednesday

Head coach Mike McDaniel addressed the media before the Miami Dolphins practiced at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Wednesday.

Here were the highlights from McDaniel's press conference:

-- First question deals with the health of WR Jaylen Waddle, who hurt his shoulder late in the Minnesota game, and McDaniel points out he's a "tough competitor." McDaniel says he's optimistic, though he adds he probably won't do much in practice Wednesday.

-- Asked to assess the work of the special teams so far, McDaniel says the results haven't been where the team wants them but he does like the effort. Adds the mistakes that show up aren't always the same ones.

--  Because of Brian Flores' familiarity with Tua Tagovailoa, McDaniel is asked whether anything needs to be adjusted and he basically suggests — as he's done in the past — that notion is overblown.

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-- On the idea of playing on Sunday Night Football, McDaniel says what's really cool is that it's the only game on and it's an opportunity for players to perform in front of their peers. Says that idea came from Kyle Shanahan, and he jumped on it.

-- QB Skylar Thompson was not placed on IR this week, and McDaniel said the tests on his injured thumb were "not the worst" they could have been. He'll be limited in practice and won't throw, but should be back to throwing sooner rather than later.

-- As for what he wants to see from Tua over the next couple of days, McDaniel just points to his focus being the same as it was before his injuries.

-- "I've seen his love for the game in a simple but not simple form. I've seen how much he loves his teammates and how much he loves the game of football," is what McDaniel said he saw from Tua the past couple of weeks.

-- At practice last week, what Tua did that showed his focus was saying the play in the huddle, then watching the timing of the concept, watching the footwork of Skylar, getting excited when perfect technique is executed.

-- McDaniel believes in the importance of turnovers as a key to winning and losing, and he buys to a certain degree the old Bill Parcells saying "You are what your record says you are," but adds he believes more that a team is defined by what it is at the moment. His bottom line is striving to continue to get better regardless of how your record progress.

-- The 1972 Dolphins will be honored at halftime of the Sunday night game against the Steelers, and McDaniel suggests there could never be a team that accomplished what it did and still not get the credit it deserved — mentioned injuries, such as QB Bob Griese going down in Week 5 and not coming back until the playoffs.

-- McDaniel is asked the popular question of whether he prefers the throwback jerseys or the current one, and he jokes that he likes "winning jerseys." He then takes the politically correct approach and says he likes both jerseys.

-- With Byron Jones and Nik Needham out, McDaniel is asked whether he's comfortable with the depth at cornerback and McDaniel answers as one would expect, saying he's confident in the players on the roster. This, by the way, was a question that surfaced all the way back in training camp — and, yes, his answer was the same back then.

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