Dolfan Radio | Halfway
By Brad Michaels • November 10, 2026
We are 1-7. That is the record at the halfway mark. One hundred twenty-six points scored. Two hundred allowed. Fifteen point eight a game on offense. Twenty-five on defense. The offense is near the bottom of the league. The defense is middle of the pack in yards but still giving up too many points. That is where we sit. A young team in a rebuild. Some things are working. Some things are not. The problems stay on the page.
There will not be a weekly recap from here on. Doing that every week just turns Dolfan Radio into another website. Another news site. Another place that tells you the score and who scored. That is not what this is for. The work here is analyses and deep dives into the roster. What works. What does not. How this team looks. Not cheering. Not gloss. Just the look at the group that is on the field and the work that still has to be done.
Malik Willis is going on injured reserve with a groin that turned into a core muscle injury. He will miss at least four weeks. Eligible to come back in Week 14 against the Bears. He has been dealing with it for a couple of weeks. It showed up in the running numbers. Single-digit rushing yards the last two games. When he is healthy he has a strong arm and he can run. The numbers through eight games: 1,396 yards, six touchdowns, six interceptions. Passer rating in the mid-70s range. Miami is near the bottom in on-target passes. That is not good enough for a starting quarterback. There are reasons. Young line. Young receivers. First year as the guy. But further evaluation is needed, and now we get a chance to see Kyle McCord for at least four games. McCord was acquired from the Packers. He has zero NFL snaps. This is the evaluation window. What has to be done is give him a clean look. Do not force the same things that were not working. See if he can manage the game, take care of the ball, and get the young skill players involved. Willis is expected back. This is not a permanent change. It is a chance to find out what we have.
This is the best unit on the team. They are holding people better than the scoreboard always shows. Jacob Rodriguez is a keeper. The second-round linebacker has 78 or 79 tackles already. One sack. One interception. One forced fumble. He is around the ball every week. Eighteen tackles in Minnesota. Eleven against the Bengals. Ten against the Lions with a sack. He and Jordyn Brooks are a duo you can build with. Michael Taaffe is the fifth-round safety from Texas. Walk-on to All-American. He has two interceptions already. One against the Raiders to open the year. One against the Jets that came from film study. Hafley has talked about his preparation and how fast he sees it. He is playing a lot of snaps. The grade sheets may not love him yet. The production and the intelligence are there. Josh Uche has been a positive force on the edge. Three sacks. Multiple quarterback hits. Against the Lions he had a sack and two hits, one of which helped create an interception. He has said he wants to stay. No toxicity. All football. That is the culture Hafley is trying to build. Chop Robinson is the spark on the rush. The numbers on points allowed are still too high. Takeaways need to come more often. Zach Sieler is out for the year with a ruptured biceps. That is a loss. But relative to the rest of the roster, the defense is the unit that is balling. What has to be done is keep the rush going, get more turnovers, and not let the second half wear them down. Depth is thin. They have to play smart.
Special teams sucks. That is plain. Kickoff coverage has been a problem all year. Long returns against us. An 81-yarder to open the Bengals game. Average return yards allowed among the worst in the league. The kicker situation has been a carousel. Riley Patterson missed kicks and was let go. Zane Gonzalez is in now. Penalties on the unit. Field position has hurt a young team that is already fighting uphill. Chris Tabor has said they have to coach better and play better. He is right. What has to be done is stop giving the other team short fields. Clean the lanes. Make the kicks. A team scoring 15.8 a game cannot afford to lose the field-position battle every week.
The line was looking better until Kadyn Proctor went into the concussion protocol. He missed the Patriots game. The continuity of the same five for the first six games was the longest stretch the Dolphins had had in years. When he came back against the Lions it did not look as good. Most of the problems have been on the right side with number 73, Austin Jackson. I am not saying anything is wrong with the left side. Patrick Paul and Proctor have been a strength in the run game. They have led the league at times in yards per carry behind the left tackle. The left side is big and physical. The unit as a whole still needs work. Chemistry matters on the line. One game out and the timing can be off. What has to be done is get Proctor fully healthy and keep the left side together. Decide what Jackson is. The right side has to get better in pass protection. The run has been a strength. The pass has not. Both of those are true.
Ollie Gordon has been productive since Achane went out. One hundred seven carries for 463 yards and four touchdowns. About 4.3 a carry. Different style. Power. He is the back right now. In the third quarter against the Patriots he was called for a huge unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. He has to learn to keep his mouth shut. Production is one thing. Costing the team yards and field position because you cannot control what comes out of your mouth is another. That has to stop. Caleb Douglas has 19 catches for 296 yards and two touchdowns. The 63-yarder against the Jets was a big play. He is the perimeter threat. Chris Bell is the other rookie starter. He has had stretches without targets. He has talked about needing his confidence back. When Douglas and Bell are both on the field the offense has more juice. They have not shared many snaps yet because of injuries. Get them both healthy and see what they can do together. Malik Washington has been the leading receiver. Greg Dulcich has been a target. The pieces are young. They are showing flashes. What has to be done is get the ball to the ones who can make plays and stop the self-inflicted mistakes that kill drives.
This is a rebuild year. The record says what it says. The young ones are getting better in places. The defense is the unit that gives you something to watch. The special teams and the consistency on offense are what have to be fixed. McCord gets four games to show what he is. The line has to find its chemistry again. The problems stay on the page. So does the work that still has to be done. Colts next. Then the Bills. Then the Jets. Keep developing the kids. That is the job right now.