The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Not much being said about camp but we are more than week in and the team looks pretty good. Larry Csonka said the energy of the team reminds him of the first year when Shula was here. For the first time since drafting Tua Joe Rose said it looks like we will have a chance with him as our QB. Joe has been on the Justin Herbert train. Apparently,  it's almost 50/50 to which side makes the play. I bring up these two guys opinions becuase they are super slow in buying into the hype but it looks like its happening this year. Hell ... they even say the offensive line looks much more comfortable on the field and everyone knows that is our weakest point. The new zone blocking scheme is opening holes for our RBs.

One thing of note ... we are regurally throwing down field which hasn't happened since Dan Marino.

Players who have impressed. Most of the players you would expect or hope for ... Tua, Hill, Waddle, Wilkins, Phillips, Chase Edmonds etc

Other dark horses that are having breakout performances
WR Erik Ezukanma
WR Undrafted rookie Braylon Sanders

Liam Eichenberg got the orange jersey one of those days, meaning he was the best player on the field the day before.  I've heard great things about Austin Jackson too.

I'm pretty hesitant to buy into the "energy" assessments without first looking to see what people were saying about training camp in Gase's first year, or Cameron's, or Saban's, etc.  That's not to say I'm not excited about this team, but right now the most unproven person on the team isn't All-Pro Tyreek, or rookie reception record-holder Waddle, or even national champion Tua.  It's Mike McDaniel.

Tua may have the most on the line this year, but McDaniel is definitely the biggest question mark.  Show me, don't tell me.

Connor Williams is supposedly doing very well at Center too. It's not shocking that our 1st and 2nd round picks at O-Line are doing much better when surrounded by better teammates and better coaching. Hope this carries over into the regular season because if we're throwing downfield more, Tua will need some time.

The old school guys have never jumped on the hype which is different right now. I get being cautiously optimistic but his offense is opening guys up to not only get yards but chunk yards. The biggest question mark is going to be how he reacts to adversity. Preston Williams is kind of his first test IMO. When we lose a game or two will definitley show what he's really made of.

Jason Sanders has been perfect in camp and they say he is killing it. Good to hear he is returning to form. Biggest issue I keep seeing is at center with bad snaps. They aren't geting away from them but surely aren't as smooth as they want them to be in shotgun. 

Kickers are notoriously fickle, which is why you don't see them retire with their drafting team too often. Still, he can be elite when he is on so I'm glad he is doing well.

I really doubt kickers are more likely than other positions to switch teams when accounting for draft position and longevity of career.

Third string QB Skylar Thompson has been getting a lot of love with a strong arm. So much that people are thinking he may not make it to the practice squad. These three preseason games are going to be huge for him in general.

We have been bringing guys to snap. No one is telling the full status of Dieter's foot so who knows?

Joint practices start with the Bucs start tomorrow (Wed & Thurs) with the first preseason game on Saturday night. Brady is not playing.

Oh no.  How is ever going to be ready for the season without the reps?   :)

I know you're being sarcastic but lately I've been seeing a lot more vets being held out of preseason games.   I think preseason games are going to be a thing of the past once the regular season expands to 18/19 games.   Coaching staffs will simply hold joint scrimmages.

I wouldn't expect Tua and company to play much, if at all either. Like Artie said ... they seem to be leaning more on the scrimmages for the vets. 

I don't think the decline in how much the vets play when they got rid of one preseason game has anything with to do with protecting them from injury or giving them rest etc but rather the need to evaluate bubble players and  give rookies practice.  Under the old system if the vet qb played 6 quarters during the preseason the backup could get 10 quarters of experience.  Today if you want the backup to get 10 quarters of experience the starter can only play 2 quarters.

A lot of good things today vs the Bucs. Practice is over so we will see official results but the tweets I've been watching have been enouraging. This last one from Travis Wingfield kind of quickly sums it up.


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Travis Wingfield
@WingfieldNFL
Practice is over - much more difficult to live tweet today so the podcast will have a lot more.

My very unofficial scorecard gave a slight edge to the Miami offense over the Tampa defense, but a decided win for the Fins D on the TB O in team periods.

I'm seeing that practice got chippy today towards the end.   Hopefully these guys can keep their emotions in check during the game.

Today was a mediocre day. Tua had thrown 6 TDs the last time I saw anything, Waddle and Hill are pretty much always open, and our defense controlled them in the passing game.  Unfortunately they won on both sides of the ball in the running game so obviously work to do. 2 - 350lb studs in the middle can sure shut down an inside running game.  We had our monets but aren't there yet in running offense. Last year we had issues at times in defending the run game but worked that out. Hopefullly as we settle in that will help this year's defense too.

-It doesn't sound like Tua and maybe Hill will play in the preseason game.

-Keion Crossen continues to impress at DB



Cameron Wolfe
@CameronWolfe
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1m
Discussing Chef Tua Tagovailoa cooking Bucs defense with Tyreek Hill & Jaylen Waddle slicing and dicing DBs as
@MiamiDolphins pass attack has their best practice I’ve seen all camp.

Many reports out of camp that third string QB Skylar Thompson is doing well but Boston reporter Ben Volin brought him up unsolicited yesterday on the Hoch and Crowder show after seeing him compete against Tampa for two days. He was impressed too which is kind of cool. Volin was in town doing a story on Tom Brady.  Again ... I'm sure we will see a lot of Thompson on Saturday night.

A sleeper for me when announced at the draft, but reading about his College career, his progress in camp and pre-season game against the Bucs, it has me rooting for the guy.

I like that he has a winning edge in close games... that sort of leadership, the ability to rally guys around him, it's worth investing in.

If we go into the season hanging on to him as the primary backup and releasing Bridgewater, I would not be surprised... and I'd be kind of pleased. It's a huge vote of confidence in both him and Tua, and the direction the team is headed.

Like I said ... Thompson will QB the whole game ... hahaha. Not a bad start for a legit rookie at his first NFL game ever.

News of note from the game ... Dolphins cornerback Trill Williams tore the ACL in his left knee while making a tackle for a 5 yrd loss. He's been pretty good in camp and it was almsot certain he was going to make the 53 man roster. Sucks to lose him for the year.

Bridgewater could be trade worthy is somoen goes down early in the season.

And if that's the case, he'll make his millions.   Because we were talking about a clause in his contract that pays him millions if he starts a certain number of games.

Bridgewater's contract with the Dolphin's is fully guaranteed with no incentives.  He gets the same amount if he plays 17 games, wins the league MVP and takes the team to the SB while breaking the all time passing record as he does if he spends the season holding a clip board -- $6.5 million. 

He has $3.5M in incentives, at least according to the usual sources:

https://overthecap.com/player/teddy-bridgewater/2971

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/miami-dolphins/teddy-bridgewater-14441/

https://dolphinswire.usatoday.com/2022/03/19/dolphins-teddy-bridgewater-contract/

Dolphins vs Eagles today in practice. Philly has one of the best offensive line and one of the top defensive lines per stats. They ran for almost 5 yards a carry last year. Overall we looked pretty good but are still having trouble running the ball.

- Tua and Hill looked really good today

Cameron Wolfe
@CameronWolfe
·
2h
Tyreek Hill has been showing why he’s different all day today. Running wide open thru Philly secondary. Been a v strong day for Hill and Tua Tagovailoa so far. At least 4-5 connections of 10+ yards in team drills today. Tua has been precise with anticipation & timing.


Travis Wingfield
@WingfieldNFL
·
2h
Tua, man. Eagles send a blitz, Ahmed gets out without a chip and Tua locates him for the quick check and he’s off to the races… pushed out of bounds after 25-30 yards

Mike Gesicki had a really nice one handed grap as he can do

The defense mostly defended against short passes but Jalean Phillips harrassed Hurts several times today including what woud have been two sacks. As ususal Ogbah and Wilkins showed out

Travis Wingfield
@WingfieldNFL
·
2h
Remember last year when Jaelan Phillips stretched that Lamar Jackson run out for a loss? Just did the same thing to Hurts – then Brandon Jones cleaned it up for a loss


Cameron Wolfe
@CameronWolfe
·
2h
Jaelan Phillips rocking orange jersey today having another strong practice. Looked like he got in for what has been at least 2 sacks today on Jalen Hurts.




Travis Wingfield
@WingfieldNFL
·
2h
Tua is absolutely slinging it today – he drops it in right over the top of the curl/flat defender to Cedrick Wilson for a 20 yard gain

Along the lines of what I said here about Gesicki in the offseason:

https://twitter.com/flasportsbuzz/status/1562425505399201794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1562425505399201794%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=

The Dolphins canceled the joint practices today as some players came up sick and they didn't want it to spread. I'm told it's either food poisoning or a stomach bug. The Eagles held practice on their own including time in the indoor facility.

As mentioned the Dolphins didn't practice today but I saw this from an Eagle's reporter about yesterday's joint practice.

• Pretty hot and humid day in Florida. I was sweating through my clothes (apologies for the visual) just watching from the end zone view. I can only imagine what it was like to be the players practicing in this weather.

• Big picture takeaway: The Dolphins were the better team on Wednesday. Their offense moved the ball with relative ease while their defense prevented the Eagles’ offense from getting much cooking. First time in the Nick Sirianni era that the Birds weren’t the better team in a joint training camp practice. The undefeated streak is over.

• In fairness to the Eagles, home field advantage may have been in play with the Dolphins players more used to the weather. The Dolphins also had a rest advantage from having last played on Saturday while the Eagles played on Sunday. And the Fish were at home while the Birds were on the road in Cleveland. Of course, the Dolphins actually played their starters in their second preseason game while the Eagles completely rested theirs.

• JALEN HURTS STOCK REPORT: While he didn’t make an obviously terrible throws, he also didn’t flash much. The offense as a whole failed to get much going against the Dolphins’ defense and the quarterback didn’t help them get going.