QB play underwhelming. And Dolphins defender carted off in Day 2 of padded practices
Notes and highlights from Day 2 of Miami Dolphins padded practices on Tuesday:
▪ The quarterback play was underwhelming.
During his first work in team drills on Tuesday, rookie Tua Tagovailoa threw three safe, short passes for completions and botched the first of two poor center exchanges with Michael Deiter, who is working a lot at center after starting 15 games at guard for the Dolphins last season.
Tagovailoa was pulled after the second botched snap, though it’s unclear if that was specifically the reason. Tagovailoa and Deiter then worked on center/QB exchanges in the sidelines. Keep in mind that Tagovailoa played a lot out of the shotgun at Alabama. He was under center on the two botched snaps Tuesday.
Deiter is being re-acclimated to center after not playing much there in three years, since his sophomore year at Wisconsin.
During his second time in team drills, Tagovailoa threw poorly to receiver Mack Hollins on an out route and connected on a slant to Chester Rogers, who fumbled on a hit by cornerback Nate Brooks. Later, Tagovailoa had that second botched snap.
But here’s the good news: Tagovailoa, late in the day, hit Hollins on a beautiful crossing pass for 30 yards.
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw an interception, had at least one other pass nearly intercepted and was erratic with his accuracy.
On one play, Noah Igbinhoghene jumped a route on a Fitzpatrick pass but couldn’t hold onto the interception. Jakeem Grant was the intended receiver.
Safety Bobby McCain intercepted a terrible pass by Fitzpatrick on the next play.
On the bright side for Fitzpatrick, he connected with Isaiah Ford for multiple completions, including one leaping catch in double coverage.
Ford came on strong last season and has a decent chance to stick on the 53. He had a nice TD against Bobby McCain, turning around for the football, in 1-on-1 drills.
At least for now, Ford and Rogers stand as next men up when Miami is without one of its top three receivers (DeVante Parker, Preston Williams — who was absent Tuesday — or Grant).
▪ Linebacker Vince Biegel sustained an Achilles injury during practice and is expected to miss the season.
▪ Beyond Xavien Howard (who remains on the COVID-19 list), there was one other notable absence: Wide receiver Williams, coming off November ACL injury, was not spotted on the practice field.
We have been told by a team source that the Dolphins are being cautious with Williams. There’s no new issue.
On Monday, Williams participated in all of practice and ran routes crisply and maneuvered in and out of breaks cleanly, showing no ill effects of the major knee procedure.
▪ Shaq Lawson, a key piece of Miami’s revamped defensive line, left practice for a short time with an undisclosed issue. Lawson initially walked inside the locker room and then returned to work with a trainer. But then Lawson returned to the field, suggesting it was nothing major.
▪ Malcolm Perry, Grant and Chester Rogers worked as punt returners.
▪ Eric Rowe had very good coverage on Mike Gesicki on one pass breakup.
▪ Though the Dolphins are not permitting us to identify particular lineup groups, it’s safe to say that Igbinoghene is valued as a fill-in for Xavien Howard. In 1-on-1 work, Igbinoghene had a pass breakup against Parker in the end zone. The Auburn rookie had a better Day 2 than Day 1.
▪ Though his play was uneven last season, Jamal Perry remains very much in Miami’s thinking for the nickel job if Igbinoghene is needed on the boundary; that obviously could change if Perry struggles in camp.
▪ In 1-on-1 receiver/defensive back drills, Grant shook Perry for a catch; a double-moved by rookie receiver Kirk Merritt beat Breon Borders; and Josh Rosen hit Ricardo Louis for a touchdown, beating Nik Needam.
▪ Left guard Ereck Flowers and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins were very good in 1-on-1 blocking drills. Left tackle Julien Davenport was manhandled. Flowers was excellent overall on Tuesday.
▪ We’re not permitted to identify the first-team offensive line, but let’s just say the Dolphins think a lot of their rookie linemen. At least two — and probably three eventually — will be being given every chance to earn a starting job.
Rookie left tackle Austin Jackson generally hasn’t seemed overwhelmed.
▪ Elandon Roberts, Kamu Grugier Hill and Raekwon McMillan are all competing to start alongside Kyle Van Noy and Jerome Baker.
▪ Durham Smythe, battling Adam Shaheen for the backup tight end job, dropped a pass.
▪ Nuggets from 1-on-1 pit drills: Wilkins put Kindley through the ringer.. Ted Karras had a win on Davon Godchaux... Flowers and Jesse Davis battled to a stalemate... Austin Jackson had a great rep on Biegel, putting him on the ground (that was not when Biegel was injured)... Zach Sieler put Deion Calhoun on skates... Flowers made easy work of Brandin Bryant... Davenport stopped Lawson straight up... Raekwon Davis annihilated rookie center/guard Donell Stanley... Flowers destroyed Christian Wilkins, who otherwise had a good session...
Andrew Van Ginkel ripped around the corner to beat Austin Jackson... Ted Karras was really sturdy against bull rushes in the pit today, beating Sieler and Raekwon Davis... Rookie defensive end Tyshun Render buried Davenport... Wilkins forced a hold on Deiter... Lawson destroyed Davenport with an inside move... Undrafted rookie Benito Jones has a good pad level, slides well under blocks and forces the interior to open up.
Here’s what Dolphins coach Brian Flores said on Tuesday morning, with updates on Xavien Howard, Malcolm Perry and more.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
