What has become clear with McDaniel, Tua and Tyreek, and what analysts are saying about it

Over-reaction, after one game, runs rampant in sports, which is why the Dolphins’ dismal run defense against the Chargers shouldn’t cause widespread panic in Miami Gardens or anywhere else. After all, Miami was fourth in run defense last season.

But on a few other matters, there’s a large enough previous sample size, reinforced by what we witnessed against Los Angeles, to make these grand pronouncements entering Sunday night’s game in New England (8:20 p.m., NBC):

1) Tyreek Hill is as impactful as any non-quarterback in the AFC.

2) Tua Tagovailoa’s early-season brilliance in 2022 wasn’t a flash in the pan. It seems generally reflective of who he now is, health provided.

3) Mike McDaniel, at his best, makes a tangible difference with his play-calling and game-planning.

McDaniel flummoxed the Chargers’ defense with pre-snap motion, creative use of personnel (Erik Ezukanma lining up in the backfield on the game-winning TD throw to Hill, as an example) and enough wrinkles to keep the Chargers guessing.

His play-calling was so impressive Sunday that ESPN’s Ryan Clark called it “one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from a head coach who’s an offensive mind.”

Clark said McDaniel was “aggressive, assessed everything correctly, and he attacked relentlessly. The J.C. Jackson [pass interference penalty, setting up a late first-half Dolphins field goal] happened because he was constantly attacking.”

McDaniel is looking like he might be Stephen Ross’ best head coaching hire ever, because he has accomplished perhaps his most important mission: Maximizing every ounce of Tagovailoa’s ability and creating a potent offense.

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky noted that most “teams get in personnel because they want to. Mike McDaniel gets in personnel because he wants [your defense] to be in something specific.”

Orlovsky observed that McDaniel uses 21 personnel - two running backs, one tight end - because it is conducive to formations and motions that “help his wide receivers.”

Orlovsky showed video of one play, in that personnel package, where “no one is touching Tyreek Hill until 17 yards down the field…. Mike McDaniel has gone to Tua and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll get [your receivers] open.’”

Most of that is a credit to Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but McDaniel’s formations make a difference, too.

McDaniel’s offense is “tailor-made for guys to get open,” running back Raheem Mostert said this week.

ESPN’s Rex Ryan also credited McDaniel, saying that “the way Tua sees” things develop so quickly is in part the byproduct of coaching.

As for Tagovailoa, “there is no quarterback in the NFL seeing football faster than Tua is right now,” Orlovsky said. “The way he sees the field and how quickly it happens for him is special.

“I don’t think you can play man [defense] against this offense because of Tyreek. I don’t think you can play zone against this offense because of how Tua sees it so quickly. I don’t know how you defend this offense when they’re playing like this.”

As ESPN’s Mina Kimes noted: “To me, what was so impressive was… when the play breaks down, when he’s flushed out of the pocket, can he create? [On Sunday], he wasn’t just an operator; he was a playmaker.”

As Kimes noted, on throws when he was running seven mph or more, Tagovailoa went 6 for 9 for 122 yards, including that 3rd and 10 deep throw to Hill to keep alive the game-winning drive.

What’s more, Tagovailoa was 5 for 7 for 76 yards when flushed outside the pocket,

“If he continues to make plays like that outside the structure of the offense, the sky is the limit because I don’t know how you stop these Dolphins,” Kimes said.

As for Hill, ESPN newcomer Shannon Sharpe - in a lively debate on Stephen A. Smith’s First Take - said the Dolphins’ Pro Bowl receiver is now, “regardless of position,... the scariest player in the NFL for the simple fact there is no answer for him. You can’t double team him because he can outrun you and take the top off the coverage. I’ve never seen anything like that since I’ve been playing, and I go back to 1990.”

Then Sharpe brought up Hall of Famer receiver Jerry Rice: “I’m not saying he’s a better receiver than Jerry, but he’s scarier than Jerry because he’s one of the few men in the history of the game who’s able to take a five-yard route and turn it into an 80-yard” touchdown.

THIS AND THAT

▪ In the wake of their preseason verbal dustup, Tagovailoa and Clark spoke recently. “We had a man to man conversation,” Clark said. “He’s tired of people talking about him and he’s a grown man and he wants to be approached like that.”

If you missed the background on this, here’s the Cliffs Notes version:

Clark, who played 13 seasons in the NFL, said on ESPN last month that Tagovailoa looked like he “wasn’t in the gym” much during the offseason and his body looks “thick.”

Tagovailoa responded that he is playing at the weight that the Dolphins think is best for him and that he “would appreciate it if you [Clark] kept my name out your mouth.”

▪ Per the Dolphins’ Brett Brecheisen, Miami had 17 plays of 15-plus yards in Sunday’s win. That’s the most 15-plus yard plays by an NFL team in any game since Jan. 1, 2012, when New Orleans and Detroit both did it on the same day.

▪ Hill has now had 10 career games (including five with the Dolphins) with at least 10 receptions and at least 150 receiving yards. That’s tied with Antonio Brown, Andre Johnson, Julio Jones and Jerry Rice for the most such games in NFL history.

▪ Sunday marked the second time Tagovailoa has posted 450-plus passing yards and at least three passing TDs in a game. He also did so in Week 2 at Baltimore last year. Only three other NFL quarterbacks have multiple such games in their first four NFL seasons: Marc Bulger, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes.

And Tagovailoa joined Tom Brady, Boomer Esiason, Mahomes and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to have multiple road games with those stats.

▪ The Dolphins’ opener was viewed in 11.46 percent of Miami-Ft. Lauderdale homes with TV sets, per Nielsen. As a comparison, Denver’s series clinching Game 5 win against Heat was viewed in 15.97 percent of Miami-Ft. Laud. homes with TV sets.