Hope is abound for a 2024 Miami squad coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and four consecutive winning seasons. The Dolphins will put a more immediate streak on the line Sunday when the Jacksonville Jaguars visit Hard Rock Stadium.
The Dolphins will look to make it four straight season-opening wins and Head Coach Mike McDaniel can extend his September record to 7-1. The Dolphins have averaged 32.5 points per game under McDaniel in September contests and return a lot of the firepower responsible for those hot starts.
THE BUILDUP OF A NEW SEASON
Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill - "We're all excited. We got a lot of weapons, a lot of playmakers on this team, man. Everybody is on the very edge of their seats just waiting for this moment. These three days we had off, all I could think about is just lining up playing alongside the guys on offense. I'm very excited. Every year is another opportunity to win games and create memories with a great group of guys. You said it. This is our best team we've had since we've been here. What a time to be alive, to be a Dolphins fan."
Safety Jordan Poyer - "I just feel an energy. It's a different energy than what I felt even playing against them last year. This groups seems really close. It seems like they got something to prove. Obviously, we understand we're a very talented team, and it's in those moments of adversity, in those moments of – whether through a game, throughout a week, whether it's throughout a season, being able to stick together through those moments and continue to just stay the path, and continue to work and continue to grind. You want to go 17-0 – we hope to go 17-0 obviously – but at the end of the day, you might drop a game and it's in that moment right there, how do you handle those moments. This is a well-equipped team with a lot of veterans and a lot of leaders on it. So we just want to continue to build off that and hopefully get that momentum going in the season."
PREPARING FOR THE JAGUARS
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa - "I study the players that they have. Although not the same scheme, just who's good at covering, who's someone that we think, OK, maybe we have a little more leverage with this guy in coverage. And that's how I sort of base it off of just watching film on the guys that are on the field. Then you go back to New Orleans, or when (Ryan Nielsen) was the (defensive coordinator) for the Falcons – we had a joint practice with them last year. There were guys that were on the team last year that played with him in Atlanta and then there were also some guys that were on the team with him when he was coaching the Saints, when he was the DC there. So we got a good amount of information that we can collect from a group of guys in the locker room and then just watching tape."
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Fullback Alec Ingold - "I think it's never why you lead or why you want to be a voice in the locker room – a lot of guys lead a lot of different ways, but when your peers nominate you for the work that you put in, from OTAs to training camp and saying, 'We trust these guys to lead us through all the good times, all the bad times, all the hard times.' It's a lot of responsibility, probably the greatest honor you can have in this league."
Defensive Tackle Zach Sieler - "It's a big blessing. I think God has put myself and my wife here in this situation to be able to help young guys. I've been here for five years, in the league for seven. To be able to guide and lead by example and be vocal hopefully, and be able to set the tone each week, I think that's a big thing. Obviously, you can't lead without being the frontrunner and setting the pace, setting the tone. So it's really exciting to be up there with those guys."
For more analysis on the Dolphins season opener vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, download Drive Time with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
