Latest on ‘Hard Knocks’: McDaniel issued a wise warning about Titans
The fourth episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks: In Season with the Miami Dolphins” premiered Tuesday night with a focus on the team’s preparation for its first “Monday Night Football” home game since 2017 and its fourth-quarter collapse against the Tennessee Titans.
Here are the highlights from the episode:
The program opens with a spotlight on a Dolphins off day as they had an extra day ahead of their Monday night game. Running back Raheem Mostert, whose family was featured in the episode, is shown visiting the beach with his wife and two kids.
Coach Mike McDaniel’s family also is highlighted, and he’s seen catching up with his wife and daughter at the team’s facility.
As the team shifts its focus to preparation for Tennessee, comments from McDaniel almost foreshadow the outcome of the game.
McDaniel tells players in a team meeting that the Titans will “[expletive] you up physically ... they are trying to be bullies.”
He later tells defensive coordinator Vic Fangio that Tennessee is “a team that can [expletive] you up if you’re not ready.”
Fullback Alec Ingold is shown being recognized as the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. The recognition includes a video that features Ingold’s wife and parents.
The Dolphins’ sod farm, about an hour north of Hard Rock Stadium in Loxahatchee Groves, is highlighted in the show.
It’s believed to be the only one in sports, and the Dolphins use it to maintain the playing surface at the stadium.
Thirty 18-wheelers are used to transport the sod to the stadium. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa gets a tour showing the process, getting a sense of the countless people who have a role in the organization.
There is a look at inside linebacker Duke Riley stepping into Jerome Baker’s role as the defensive signal-caller. During practice, McDaniel compares
Riley’s voice to Tagovailoa’s and urges him to be vocal with his teammates.
In the aftermath of one of the franchise’s biggest in-game collapses, McDaniel delivers his message to the team. In the lead-up to the game, he told the team that it was the No. 1 seed but reminded them that there was still a lot of time until the playoffs. And after a loss that knocked the Dolphins to the No. 2 seed, McDaniel tells his players: “Let it hurt . ... if that game forces us to go places and play football not here, so be it. Who gives a [explective]. We are about getting to our best and that was definitely not it.”
SUNDAY
N.Y. Jets at Miami, 1 (CBS)
Atlanta at Carolina, 1
Chicago at Cleveland, 1
Houston at Tennessee, 1
Kansas City at New England, 1 (FOX) N.Y. Giants at New Orleans, 1
Tampa Bay at Green Bay, 1
San Francisco at Arizona, 4:05 Washington at L.A. Rams, 4:05
Dallas at Buffalo, 4:25 (FOX) Baltimore at Jacksonville, 8:20 (NBC) MONDAY
Philadelphia at Seattle, 8:15
(ABC, ESPN)
WEEK 16
THURSDAY, DEC. 21
New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 8:15 (Prime)
SATURDAY, DEC. 23
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 4:30 (NBC) Buffalo at L.A. Chargers, 8 (Peacock)
SUNDAY, DEC. 24
Dallas at Miami, 4:25 (FOX)
Cleveland at Houston, 1
Detroit at Minnesota, 1
Green Bay at Carolina, 1
Indianapolis at Atlanta, 1
Seattle at Tennessee, 1
Washington at N.Y. Jets, 1
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay, 4:05
Arizona at Chicago, 4:25
New England at Denver, 8:15 (NFLN)
MONDAY, DEC. 25
Las Vegas at Kansas City, 1 (CBS)
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, 4:30 (FOX) Baltimore at San Francisco, 8:15 (ABC)
WEEK 17 THURSDAY, DEC. 28
N.Y. Jets at Cleveland, 8:15 (Prime)
SATURDAY, DEC. 30
Detroit at Dallas,, 8:15 (ABC, ESPN)
SUNDAY, DEC. 31
Miami at Baltimore, 1 (CBS)
New England at Buffalo, 1
Atlanta at Chicago, 1
Las Vegas at Indianapolis, 1
L.A. Rams at N.Y. Giants, 1
Arizona at Philadelphia, 1
New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 1
San Francisco at Washington, 1 Carolina at Jacksonville, 1
Tennessee at Houston, 1
Pittsburgh at Seattle, 4:05
L.A. Chargers at Denver, 4:25 Cincinnati at Kansas City, 4:25 Green Bay at Minnesota, 8:20 (NBC)
SUNDAY, DEC. 31WEEK 18 Buffalo at Miami, TBA
Cleveland at Cincinnati, TBA Minnesota at Detroit, TBA Chicago at Green Bay, TBA Jacksonville at Tennessee, TBA Houston at Indianapolis, TBA Denver at Las Vegas, TBA
N.Y. Jets at New England, TBA Atlanta at New Orleans, TBA Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, TBA Seattle at Arizona, TBA
Kansas City at L.A. Chargers, TBA L.A. Rams at San Francisco, TBA Dallas at Washington, TBA
Tampa Bay at Carolina, TBA Pittsburgh at Baltimore, TBA