Mini camp news

Sounds like Skyler Thompson is looking good in practice!

Maybe we have a good QB on the team after all! More of the same from Tua which isn't good to hear.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/miami-dolphins-minicamp-first-practice-observations

By contrast, it was a rough day for Tagovailoa.

Charting every one of his throws in team drills, he completed 7 of 12 passes for 82 yards (the yardage is approximate since there's no tackling), lost a fumble after a bad center-quarterback exchange,

His best throw of the day came on a crosser to Jaylen Waddle that was good for approximately 15 yards. That came after a high shotgun snap, though Dolphins media relations reporting rules prevent us from identifying the center.

The hell is this?!?! They can identify every other player they talked about but the team had forbidden them from saying a CENTER'S name?!?! And since when did today's media follow any rules NT to say something set by anybody other than their global tyrant overlords??? Seriously, that one bit disturbs me more than anything Tua-related.

Although I will say that Skylar Freaking Thompson actually pushing Tua for the starting job, let alone beating him out, would be the sports story of the decade so far. And absolutely hilarious. Remember, the current coaches have no ties or allegiance to Tua...

And if you don't think it can happen there was once some random undrafted guy named Tony Romo who wound up beating Drew Bledsoe out of a job. I wonder what happened to him? Also, 7th rounder Gus Frerotte wound up beating first rounder Heath Shuler out (not right away but eventually) when both were taken in the same draft. Hmmm...

Bledsoe lost jobs to Brady and Romo. Hope we can get QB play close to Brady or Romo.

Tua needs to step up. He should be shining with all the new weapons on the team.

The defense is returning almost every player and almost the same coaching staff. The offense has an entirely new coaching staff and a ton of new players. Of course the defense looked better on day 1 - that was absolutely to be expected. The offense is brand new - it will take time, especially going against an established defense every day.

Skylar Thompson is not going to compete for the starting job or the #2 job, but it is great news to hear that he looks good. The only downside is that we'll likely have to use a roster spot to keep him...I don't think we can stash him on the practice squad without another team taking him.

I've heard positive things about both Austin Jackson (at RT) and Iggy, which is a miracle even if it is only day 1 of mini-camp! By all accounts Gesicki and Jae Phillips look fantastic.

CarsonChris wrote:
Tua needs to step up. He should be shining with all the new weapons on the team.

It's real simple: if the OL improves to at least a competent level, the entire offense will be explosive. If not, it will continue to struggle.

Everyone is focusing on Tua, but IMO the real focus should be on the OL. The new weapons at WR and RB won't matter if the OL sucks at the level it did last season. I'm confident in this new coaching staff, but again - it will take time.

Good Tua news from today's mini-camp:

Marcel Louis-Jacques
@Marcel_LJ
Second day of Dolphins mandatory minicamp just wrapped – another win for the defense today but offensive highlights include a pair of 45 and 50 yard dimes from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill — all air yards, Hill caught them in stride

David Furones
@DavidFurones_
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel spoke glowingly just now of Tua Tagovailoa’s bounce-back practice after going through a tough one yesterday.
12:12 PM · Jun 2, 2022

Daniel Oyefusi
@DanielOyefusi
Mike McDaniel said he’s excited about the reps Tua is getting during OTAs. Said Tua’s confidence is high and he’s seen him let his guard down and come into his own as a young man.
12:13 PM · Jun 2, 2022

Cameron Wolfe
@CameronWolfe
Mike McDaniel says he’s been waiting for a moment where Tua Tagovailoa had a slight obstacle to overcome.

That came yesterday with a subpar practice. Tua was critical of his own ball placement. McDaniel was pumped Tua responded with high energy minicamp day with two big deep TDs

Safid Deen
@Safid_Deen
#Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel says QB Tua Tagovailoa is “coming into his own as a young man.” Says he sees big difference in Tua. “I’m so pumped. He’s gaining respect. Players know when they’re around good players and it’s cool to watch the team grow together.”
12:14 PM · Jun 2, 2022 from Scott Lake, FL

Maybe Connor Williams getting reps at Center is about more than just getting him experience there in case of an emergency?

David Furones
@DavidFurones_
Connor Williams expresses that he “most definitely” has the confidence that he can effectively play center for the Miami Dolphins after playing guard in his first four NFL seasons.
12:22 PM · Jun 2, 2022

JMP wrote:Maybe Connor Williams getting reps at Center is about more than just getting him experience there in case of an emergency?

David Furones
@DavidFurones_
Connor Williams expresses that he “most definitely” has the confidence that he can effectively play center for the Miami Dolphins after playing guard in his first four NFL seasons.
12:22 PM · Jun 2, 2022

Barry Jackson
@flasportsbuzz
Connor Williams Says as of now, his expectation is that he will play center for Dolphins
12:23 PM · Jun 2, 2022

So who is playing LG??? Apparently, Eich:

Barry Jackson
@flasportsbuzz
He [Williams] said Dolphins told him he likely will play center. So that gives Liam chance to be left guard as we've reported, with Kindley competing.. Barring change of heart, that's the plan.

On the OL, I guess we are looking at a potential starting 5 of:

LT Armstead
LG Eich
C Williams
RG Hunt
RT Jackson

Very, very interesting. That's an insanely athletic group. Curious to see how it all pans out, but this is a great example of how coaches say they want to get their 5 best linemen on the field regardless of position.

Awesome:

Jacob Meshel
@fins_dynasty
“Twitter warriors, keyboard warriors, whatever you want to call them, they're not out here practicing with us working hard. I don't know if you guys recorded that last one to Tyreek but that looked like money.”

-Tua
12:31 PM · Jun 2, 2022

Glad to hear the Tua news. Hope these deep passes are a harbinger of things to come!

CarsonChris wrote:Glad to hear the Tua news. Hope these deep passes are a harbinger of things to come!

While I love all the info, that's why I hate all these practices...it's so hard to know what any of it means, and everything changes from day to day! I guess we'll learn more in training camp next month, and of course preseason will tell us even more. But yeah...let's hope we get these good Tua reports more and more often!

I can't wait until all the reports from self-declared physics experts analyzing every rotation of every Tua pass according to distance traveled, making velocity calculations, etc. You know it's coming.

DolFan 316 wrote:I can't wait until all the reports from self-declared physics experts analyzing every rotation of every Tua pass according to distance traveled, making velocity calculations, etc. You know it's coming.

Oh, without a doubt! I don't think I've ever seen a player under the microscope as much as this kid is...the Tannehill and Fiedler criticisms were bad, but this is on a whole other level.

JMP wrote:

DolFan 316 wrote:I can't wait until all the reports from self-declared physics experts analyzing every rotation of every Tua pass according to distance traveled, making velocity calculations, etc. You know it's coming.

Oh, without a doubt! I don't think I've ever seen a player under the microscope as much as this kid is...the Tannehill and Fiedler criticisms were bad, but this is on a whole other level.

I think a large part of this is where he was drafted and who was drafted next. Herbert has looked like an NFL QB and Tua hasn't looked that good. Sounds like Tua was really hamstrung by Flores and the terrible offense. If Tua puts up similar stats to Hebert this year the talk goes away. If Tua does have a big year 35-40 TD, 4500 yards Miami is a playoff team. If Hebert has those numbers it's anyones guess since their coach does weird play calling.

CarsonChris wrote:

JMP wrote:

DolFan 316 wrote:I can't wait until all the reports from self-declared physics experts analyzing every rotation of every Tua pass according to distance traveled, making velocity calculations, etc. You know it's coming.

Oh, without a doubt!  I don't think I've ever seen a player under the microscope as much as this kid is...the Tannehill and Fiedler criticisms were bad, but this is on a whole other level.  

I think a large part of this is where he was drafted and who was drafted next. Herbert has looked like an NFL QB and Tua hasn't looked that good. Sounds like Tua was really hamstrung by Flores and the terrible offense.  If Tua puts up similar stats to Hebert this year the talk goes away.  If Tua does have a big year 35-40 TD, 4500 yards Miami is a playoff team. If Hebert has those numbers it's anyones guess since their coach does weird play calling.

Well, I'll give you an example:

Deshaun Watson just signed a $230 million fully guaranteed contract after the Browns traded about 100 picks for him. At his first minicamp day, learning a new offense, he started out with 4 straight incompletions in a full-team drill - one of which would have been a pick-6. And the national media didn't say anything about it. I had to do a Google search and found it mentioned by a Cleveland reporter on some obscure website.

On the other side of the coin, at Tua's first OTA, learning a new offense, while wearing a bucket hat Tua threw a completion to Tyreek Hill in a warmup....just the two of them on the field. Despite being completed, the pass was slightly underthrown. And the "story" went viral, being talked about by every national media outlet and used as "proof" to show how Tua can't throw deep.

To recap: a criminal who just got the highest guaranteed contract in history looked like crap on his first 4 throws in a team drill, and no one cared. Meanwhile, a young QB (and non-criminal) slightly underthrew a completed pass in a pure practice setting and it became a national story.

The talk WON'T go away no matter what happens. If the Dolphins play poorly, it will be all Tua's fault. If the Dolphins play great, it will be because of everyone but Tua. The media absolutely HATES this kid, and it seems like nothing he does can ever change that. I have absolutely no idea where the hatred comes from, but it is real.

As for Herbert, he has a worse winning percentage and just as many playoff appearances as Tua...as of right now, he's all stats and no substance. But he gets talked about like he's the best thing since sliced bread. The funny thing is, the Chargers completely upgraded their roster this offseason, and if they win anything Herbert will get the credit. But the Dolphins also completely upgraded their roster, and if they win anything the narrative will be that Tua was just along for the ride.

HELL YEAH!!! JMP OUT HERE TELLIN' IT LIKE IT IS!!! PREACH AWN, BRUTHA!!!

This type throw is why people think Hebert is great. https://youtu.be/akn2Yq8he-E

Tua needs some wow throws. The wow throws have been missing. The throws that not many people can make.

Like Drew Brees, Tua isn't going to make the "wow" throws that guys like Josh Allen and Justin Herbert can make, so if that's what you're expecting you will never be happy with Tua. Tua will win with elite pocket movement, accuracy, timing and ball placement. "Wow" throws are fun to watch on highlights, but they don't win games.

I would argue that no one in the NFL has a better arm than Josh Allen, yet despite putting up excellent numbers he is just 3-3 in the playoffs and hasn't made it to a Super Bowl. He threw a couple of the sweetest passes I've ever seen against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game - and lost.

Team football and big plays in key situations are what win games. So far, Herbert hasn't won anything, and in fact his record as a starter is below .500 despite his "wow" highlights. If it was just about arm strength, Jamarcus Russell would be in the Hall of Fame alongside Jeff George and Jim Druckenmiller.

Drew Brees still made wow throws. There's something about knowing it when you see it. Watching sports certain players when you watch them look special. Tua's been a JAG so far. This is his time to shine. I don't think he gets another year to wow the coaches, the fans, and the pundits.

The Fins may be having fun BUT I'm having fun this off season enjoy the Yankees playing the best baseball in MLB.

Former Dolphins special teams coach said that practice was the worst practice he's seen in the NFL. He doesn't sound impressed with Tua.

https://dolphinstalk.com/2022/06/former-dolphins-coach-not-impressed-with-fins-offense-from-ota-visit/

You could've just said Mike Westhoff. Surely he's a reliable source who's not bitter at all about how he and the Fins parted ways...

Also, nice going to make sure never to be invited to another practice again.

Makes me wonder if Flores paid him to be there and say that stuff. Sure seems like someone with an agenda.

CarsonChris wrote:Former Dolphins special teams coach said that practice was the worst practice he's seen in the NFL.  He doesn't sound impressed with Tua.

https://dolphinstalk.com/2022/06/former-dolphins-coach-not-impressed-with-fins-offense-from-ota-visit/

Westhoff attended the first day of OTAs, when the offense struggled. He was not their on day 2, when the offense played better and Tua completed two 50+ yard passes. Anyone with any knowledge of football should expect the offense to struggle early - as I've already pointed out, it is an entirely new offense playing against an established defense. This is all to be expected.

Westhoff is a bitter, angry man who hasn't said anything positive about anyone in decades. Every time I hear an interview with him, he comes across as a grumpy old man.