Mike McDaniel's Miami Dolphins have been called plenty of things in 2024, but they encountered a new one this week: soft.
The words came from a former member of the team, current Steelers safety DeShon Elliott, who said during an appearance on the Punch Line Podcast that he was looking forward to playing against a hard-nosed AFC North opponent in the Ravens primarily because his old team was "soft as f---."
"There were some guys who were tough, but the majority of the (Dolphins) were not mentally tough individuals," Elliott said, via ESPN. "So to be on a (Steelers) team with a full team of mentally tough guys going against a mentally tough team ... this is going to be fun."
Elliott has plenty of experience with the rough-and-tumble AFC North. He began his NFL career with the Ravens, spending his first three seasons in Baltimore before he left for Detroit and became a mercenary, doing one-year stints with the Lions and Dolphins before landing in Pittsburgh. He's seen some things, including the differences in styles of play among divisions.
He's clearly happy to be back in the AFC North. And McDaniel doesn't miss him much, either, responding to Elliott's comments bluntly.
"I am supremely only concerned with the 2024 Dolphins, for sure," McDaniel said Wednesday. "Our team played a tough-fought game the past three weeks and ended up finding a way to win this past week. That's not the easiest thing to do.
"I just worry about this year's team. He said it on a podcast? Cool podcast."
The timing of the comments worked in McDaniel's favor because for perhaps the first time in 2024, his team won the toughness battle on the field. Miami recorded a season-high four sacks in their Monday night triumph over the Rams, including three recorded on third down. They allowed just 15 points, finished with seven tackles for loss, two takeaways and a pressure percentage of 30.
A generally average unit played better than expected, serving as the difference in a low-scoring affair and giving McDaniel a new reason to back his defense.
He likely won't spend another moment thinking about Elliott, a member of a Dolphins defense that got blasted in a key loss to the Ravens late in the 2023 season, which affected their playoff standing and led them to a road game (a low-scoring loss in frigid conditions to the Chiefs) in the postseason. Now, McDaniel's group is focused on trying to dig out of a hole in the standings in order to just get back to the postseason. They truly don't have time to waste on the comments of those employed by other organizations.
Elliott, meanwhile, will steel himself for a meeting with a team he knows well.
