Miami, FL
The Miami Dolphins are one of the league’s most penalized teams through five weeks
Last Sunday’s 15-10 win over the New England Patriots was a step in the right direction, but at 2-3, the Miami Dolphins have plenty of work left to rebound from an early-season three-game losing streak.
The Dolphins tied the Arizona Cardinals with a league-high 118 penalties in 2022, Mike McDaniel’s first season as head coach. Though Miami dropped out of the top 10 last season with 105 penalties, through five weeks of this season, penalties have again become a defining part of their identity.
With the Dolphins on their third-string quarterback instead of Tua Tagovailoa, the 390 penalty yards this season are tougher to overcome without a high-powered passing attack. Miami is tied with the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns with 43 penalties this season. Only the Houston Texans (47), Seattle Seahawks (47), and Baltimore Ravens (44) have been penalized more.
“Just moving forward, no matter what the call is, we got to go execute and without the negatives bringing us back after we have some positive gains,” left tackle Terron Armstead said on Oct. 7. “So that’s going to be something that we continue to do, and the more we can do that, we can execute without the penalties, our offense will start to look a lot better.”
The Dolphins average 4.7 yards per play and while penalties have impacted the No. 26-ranked offense, pre-snap problems have doomed the unit. Miami’s 21 pre-snap penalties rank second behind only Cleveland’s 23.
“There’s a lot of nuances in an offense, especially when you have a lot of motions, you have a lot of personnel,” Armstead explained. “You have quarterback changes so the cadence could be different; he might hold the cadence longer than others or he wants to operate faster than Tua [Tagovailoa] or maybe Skylar [Thompson].
“So the illegal formation, illegal shift, guys are taking their time getting set as opposed to [Tyler Huntley] being in more of a hurry – we got to get set off of him. So those small little details or nuances that nobody really pays attention to until it’s a problem.”
The Dolphins have been called for eight false starts, six illegal formations, and five illegal shifts. On average, teams have averaged 1.41 illegal formations and 0.84 illegal shifts per game through five weeks. Additionally, their nine offensive holding penalties rank among the league’s highest.
Tight end Jullian Hill has been responsible for a team-high seven penalties, including four pre-snap infractions. Three of Liam Eichenberg’s four penalties also came before the snap.
The Dolphins offense, averaging a league-low 12 points per game, has struggled, but the outing against the Patriots showed improvement. Miami’s 15 points in New England matched its combined scoring output from the previous two weeks — a few special teams blunders were the difference from breaking 20 points in the outing.
The Dolphins were called for a season-high 11 penalties Week 3 against the Seahawks but the team set a season-low with just six penalties on the road in New England. Miami struggled significantly in the season’s first quarter but appears to be slowly trending in the right direction.
https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast/breaking-down-the-miami-dolphins-pass-rush-concerns-o/id1435206744?i=1000672688151
Miami, FL
Can Jason Marshall push for a starting spot – The Splash Zone 7/10/26
The Miami Dolphins will have new starters at their cornerback positions since both Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas are not back with the team. The team drafted Chris Johnson in the first round and it’s pretty likely he’ll have a large role and should claim the one starting spot. The other starting spot should be up for grabs among the rest of the group. Jason Marshall is one of those players who has a better chance of claiming that starting spot after showing some flashes his rookie season. Jeff Hafley has already said he envision Marshall playing on the outside and the second-year corner should get plenty of chances to prove himself during the preseason.
You can check out that story here, and the rest of the day’s round-up below.
Phinsider News You May Have Missed
Miami, FL
Miami-Dade Schools names six semifinalists for superintendent
With Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres’ contract ending in February 2027, school board members are now looking to have his replacement by August.
Dotres has served as the superintendent for the third-largest school district since 2022. The school board started the search for his replacement in April.
More than 20 people applied for the position, but now only six have secured spots as semifinalists.
Here’s a closer look at who Miami-Dade’s superintendent might be:
Jose Bueno
With roughly 33 years of experience within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Bueno currently serves as Dotres’ Chief of Staff.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bueno’s tasks include coordinating and implementing major projects “that have significant district-wide impact on the goals of the district and involve coordination of other divisions and offices.”
He started as a teacher within the country back in 1993 and is a Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University graduate.
Ernie Lozano
Lozano is currently Broward County’s Public Schools Chief Human Resources Officer.
His passion is creating a safe and secure environment for both students and staff.
“He has been recognized for his contributions to the District’s safety and security initiatives, receiving accolades for his exceptional leadership and commitment to student and staff well-being,” according to a bio on the site for the National Student Safety and Security Conference & Workshop.
Before his career in human resources, Lozano served within education as a teacher, assistant principal and more.
Sylvia Mitchell
Hope builder, executive leadership coach and seasoned superintendent are all descriptions Mitchell has on her LinkedIn.
Living in Houston, Texas, Mitchell is familiar with the Sunshine State since she was a principal at Charter Schools USA in Fort Lauderdale back in 2012.
She has also served as superintendent twice in Texas and is currently Executive Vice President, Curriculum, Design & Development for Per Scholars.
Carlos Perez
Perez is a charter school principal in West Palm Beach and the former executive director of the Education Reform Project, a nonprofit organization based in Miami Beach.
According to the nonprofit, Perez has over 25 years of experience within education, mainly in New York, but now in Florida.
Perez has also been an assistant superintendent in the past, as well as taking part as an Executive Board Member for the New York State Association of School Personnel Administrators.
Christopher Ruszkowski
Currently based in South Carolina as CEO of South Carolina’s Children’s Fund, Ruszkowski has moved all over the country, and Florida will be no exception.
According to his LinkedIn, he served as New Mexico’s Secretary of Education back in 2019. Before living in South Carolina, he was a conservator for the Texas Education Agency. A conservator oversees the state’s takeovers of large school districts and charter school networks.
Getting his master’s at Stanford, Ruszkowski was a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institute located within the university.
Rafael Villalobos
Since 2022, Villalobos has been the South Region Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Before that, he was a principal for over ten years.
The Nova Southeastern alum has been in Miami for most of his life, even graduating from South Miami Senior High School in 1990.
Miami, FL
I went to 2 famous Miami restaurants, a flashy steakhouse and a Cuban hot spot. Here’s how they compared.
Café La Trova celebrated the city’s Cuban heritage through live music, warm hospitality, and dishes that felt deeply rooted in local culture.
Papi Steak, meanwhile, embraced Miami’s flashy, see-and-be-seen reputation with theatrical presentations, celebrity appeal, and an atmosphere that often felt more like a nightclub than a standard steakhouse.
Despite Papi Steak’s over-the-top reputation, nearly every dish I tried — from the wagyu pastrami to the hamachi crudo — was thoughtfully prepared and tasted just as good as it looked. If you’re looking for an indulgent, special-occasion dinner where the spectacle is part of the fun, it’s easy to understand why the restaurant has become such a phenomenon.
Still, if I could only recommend one restaurant to a first-time visitor, I’d choose Café La Trova.
While Papi Steak offered the more decadent, once-in-a-lifetime meal, Café La Trova delivered a more authentic Miami experience, pairing outstanding food and cocktails with a genuine sense of the city’s history and culture.
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