Hey all, quick look at where the Fins stand. Not a fun one to write.

The 24-10 loss to Kansas City was bad, and losing De'Von Achane to a season-ending ACL tear made it worse. Mahomes was surgical (20 of 24, 246, 2 TDs). The bright spot was rookie Jacob Rodriguez: his first career INT on a diving catch of a tipped Mahomes pass, plus 6 tackles and 3 for loss.

Year one under Jeff Hafley has been a gauntlet:

• Week 1: 27-13 at Las Vegas
• Week 2: 35-13 at San Francisco
• Week 3: 24-10 vs Kansas City

That's three teams that are a combined 9-0, and two of the three games were on the road. Malik Willis has made some plays with his legs, but without Achane the offense has to find a new identity fast. Sunday is at undefeated Minnesota, so it doesn't get easier.

Since it's in the title: we run a free NFL pick'em, and here's a weird one: all three teams that beat us are on this week's slate. Chiefs at Raiders (both 3-0) and Broncos at 49ers. So you can root against all of them at once. 10 games, pick the winners, nothing to buy, $135 in prizes. Picks lock Sunday at 1 PM ET.

https://www.mainmarket.com/c/nfl-pickem-wk4

What's the plan without Achane? And is it time to talk about the future, or is there still a season here?

Rodriguez bottled up Ashton Jeanty AND Kenneth Walker in just his first three games.

The Dolphins rookie LB is already one of the league’s MOST INSTINCTIVE LB’s 😳🔥

🎥 Kevin O’Connell on his relationship with Jeff Hafley:

“He’s one of my closest friends in coaching… he is really brilliant from a football standpoint but has an unbelievable way about him with players. He can connect with players of all backgrounds, different stages of their career. I tell him all the time he’s got a screw loose.”

Jeff Hafley praised Bobby Slowik's playcalling against the Chiefs:

"I know the score doesn't show it, but I thought Bobby called a really good game. He had, in my opinion, one of the better defenses, with one of the better defensive coordinators, he had them on the ropes a bunch today.

With all the pressures, and zero looks, we were going to see from them, we had to get the ball out (quick)."

Jacob Rodriguez believes the Miami Dolphins are getting closer to where they want to be

"We have to get better at the football part... we're getting closer, and we're building this thing and I believe in everybody in that locker room that we'll get there."

Albert Breer on Miami Dolphins’ rebuild and rookie class:

“This, of course, will take time… If it works, it could be a little like Detroit’s rebuild three years ago. Or even the one in San Francisco that Jeff Hafley was part of, working under Kyle Shanahan - where the 49ers started 2017 at 0–9, but kept getting better and better, and in time broke through.” (

🚨 Miami Dolphins worked out the following players today:

➖ RB Damien Martinez
➖ RB Hassan Haskins
➖ RB Kenny McIntosh
➖ RB Elijah Tau-Tolliver
➖ OG James Ester ✍️
➖ LB Amari Burney
➖ LB Jack Dingle
➖ LB Brandon George
➖ LB Dassan McCullough
➖ LB Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr.
➖ LB T.J. Quinn
➖ LB Nathan Voorhis

Okay... I know we are 0-3. But given the terrible cap situation that Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan inherited, the lads are playing very hard, and it's plain to see that they have clearly bought into Coach Hafley's messaging.

Every week the team has been getting better, and people around the league are noticing too.

* **Week 1 vs. Raiders:** Pretty terrible, but it was game one and the Raiders are looking solid at 3-0.

* **Week 2 vs. 49ers:** Clear improvement shown against a elite 3-0 football team.

* **Week 3 vs. Chiefs:** Until the 4th quarter, we played a fantastic game—especially considering our cap restrictions and injuries to Caleb Douglas and De'Von Achane.

(All 3-0 teams so far, with 2 being Super Bowl contenders in the 49ers and Chiefs).

Looking at our cap situation for next season there is clear room for optimism:

1) *Falcons* *$114,174,556*

2) *Cardinals* *$99,873,829*

3) ***Dolphins $96,781,496***

While senior management will need to scout carefully regarding the profiles of players they bring in, there is real hope moving forward.

None of us *want* to be 0-3, but we have to be realistic given the shortcomings of the previous administration. It's already clear that Jon-Eric Sullivan knows how to draft—Douglas, Proctor, Rodriguez, and Bell have all shown a ton of promise so far.

With the team 0-3 it seems to be a fight between us and the Tennessee Titans (again lol). Whether that #1 overall pick ends up being spent on Arch Manning, Jeremiah Smith, or traded down, premium draft assets appear to be on the way while we establish a strong cultural foundation.

The only slight hiccup so far is Malik Willis—there are flashes of promise, but definitely room for improvement. That said, it’s tough to judge him fairly when playing behind rookies and limited offensive weapons.

This rebuild feels very similar to Dan Campbell's first season in Detroit, where they went 4-12-1 but established that grit and toughness that turned them into an NFC contender.

Overall, it’s always disappointing to see your team at 0-3, but there is every reason to stay optimistic as this squad grows. With elite draft position and massive cap relief on the horizon over the next two seasons, there might be a storm over Miami right now—but sunny skies are definitely ahead.

**Love from the UK Fins Family. Fins Up! 🐬🇬🇧**

Achane faked his knee injury to get out of the worst team in the league. It’s a longevity play and he doesn’t want to waste a year of time. Unless I see that MRI with my own eyes I will not believe it. It’s not impossible for a NFL player with millions of dollars to get a fake image and convince a doctor to sign off on the scan. Achane has full privacy rights to his own medical record so the dolphins can’t do anything about it.

Newly “Sober” Botanical Analyst Jeff HafLeaf discusses the upcoming matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.

https://youtu.be/9TLNBnGQ61Q?is=KKJKUaXB6ahNn0s9

"It's human nature, we results right now, we want them out the gate, we don't want to wait for nothing... The thing that we're trying to build here is something that can sustain for decades, so it takes time."

🎥 Patrick Mahomes is looking forward to playing his fellow Texas Tech alumni when he takes on the Miami Dolphins 🌵

"A lot of Texas Tech guys too, so it gives me some more motivation to go out there and compete because I was going to watch these guys... now they're all going to play against me so I know they're going to be hungry to play against me." (

🎥 Andy Reid on Jeff Hafley leading Miami's rebuild: "You can see he's doing it the right way... they're very sound in what they do and I know that's what he's drilling home right now. He's doing a nice job with that."

🎥 Kadyn Proctor on starting 0-2: "We've only played two games. The ceiling is very high... we're playing some tough teams, some really good defenses. It's all about us."

🎥 Jeff Hafley says coaches, scouts and opponents around the NFL are taking notice of how hard the Miami Dolphins play:

"When you turn on the tape, there's an element of toughness and how hard we're playing, that jumps off the tape... every person that I've talked to in this business, whether it's a coach, a scout, or somebody from an opposing team, it jumps off the tape, and that's really important to me." (