Chris Perkins: Here’s where I differ with Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — I’m trying to be reasonable. Really, I am.

But after sleeping on it for 24 hours, I’m having a problem reconciling what Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said on Monday.

I truly liked what McDaniel said Sunday, not long after Miami’s 21-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Germany.

“We shouldn’t feel entitled to high opinions from the masses,” he remarked.

I love that, and totally agree.

That’s good stuff.

I take exception to what McDaniel said the following day.

McDaniel, answering a question about why the Dolphins have lost to top-caliber opponents this season, basically said the problem Miami faces isn’t that it gets outplayed, it’s that the AFC East first-place Dolphins (6-3) beat themselves with inopportune mistakes and their opponents make them pay.

Reality check: Quality teams generally don’t beat themselves on a regular basis, especially against quality opponents. That’s a large part of the difference between so-so teams and quality teams.

At this point, the Dolphins aren’t Super Bowl-caliber, and there’s no shame in that.

The storyline of the season can flip in the next eight games.

My concern is that the Dolphins must change their behavior in their remaining games against quality opponents (specifically Dallas, Baltimore and Buffalo), and I’m not sure that can be done in this eight-game stretch that begins after this bye week.

It’d represent a dramatic change.

And, no, I didn’t expect McDaniel to say Buffalo, Philadelphia and Kansas City, the teams that have beaten the Dolphins this season, are better than Miami.

I have no issue there.

But just as McDaniel isn’t a fan of the narrative that Miami can’t beat quality teams regarding its losses, I’m not a fan of the narrative regarding the reasoning behind the losses.

McDaniel was asked Monday whether there’s a recurring theme in the losses such as dropped passes, mental focus or penalties.

McDaniel said for the narrative to change the Dolphins must win games against quality teams. He’s right about that, and he’s never hidden from that fact.

My issue comes with the next part of his long answer.

“I think it’s interesting that inside the locker room and indirectly the question that you just posed, you guys are sharing the same sentiment, which is not that we’re not good enough,” McDaniel said.

“So, that, I think is what the feeling of the locker room is, is that when we lose, we beat ourselves. And it so happens I think in this season, that when we have beaten ourselves, there’s been three teams that have really taken advantage of that and they all have winning records.

“Correlation, causation? The bottom line is we’re finding different things out that have nothing to do with our opponents, in my opinion, as much as they deserve credit. The Kansas City Chiefs have hardware from last season and are used to winning and they played hard. But we look at ourselves, how we can get better and I think it’s an example of, you have to be your best when your best is required. And when we take a little bit of time to get into a rhythm when those things happen, you’re losing the game that you have capabilities to win every week and that’s what we’re focused on.”

McDaniel wants to focus on the things he can correct as a coach, and the things they can correct as a team. They don’t want to focus on the stuff their opponent does.

That’s cool.

But at some point you must look at the caliber of opponent as the reason for these self-inflicted errors and subsequent losses.

The Dolphins have been outscored, 100-51, in their three losses. They’ve almost been doubled up.

The average score of these games is roughly, 33-17.

They trail in turnovers, 4-3, in these games.

They have 24 penalties for 213 yards while their opponents have 13 penalties for 89 yards.

The key numbers go in favor of Miami’s opponents.

The Dolphins defense is going the right way, allowing 48 points to Buffalo, then 31 to Philly, then 21 to Kansas City. It’s gotten better each time.

The offense is going the wrong way, scoring 20 against Buffalo, 17 against Philly, and 14 against Kansas City. The offense hasn’t scored three touchdowns in any of those games against top-notch opponents and its scoring total gets worse each time.

I’m not anti-offense.

I give the offense credit for scoring 36 at the Los Angeles Chargers, 24 at New England, a franchise-record 70 against Denver, 31 against the New York Giants, 42 against Carolina, and 31 against New England in their second matchup.

It scored at least three touchdowns in each of those games, showing its high-scoring capabilities, showing that speed kills, showing that this offense is capable of doing impressive things.

The problem is this offense, and this team, according to McDaniel, beats itself.

It’s happened three times in nine games.

And by coincidence, it’s happened against the best teams on Miami’s schedule.

The narrative is the narrative for a reason. I happen to disagree with McDaniel on that reason.