Tua bounces back, Tyreek Hill shines in Dolphins’ last practice before Texans trip
After a three-interception performance and one of his worst outings this summer, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa bounced back well on Monday.
The fourth-year player was sharper in team drills and with multiple pass-catchers sidelined, connected with wide receiver Tyreek Hill throughout the practice. Tagovailoa found the veteran wide receiver multiple times in 11-on-11s. His first was a 10-yard completion on a crossing route with room for yards after the catch. He then found Hill for a gain of about 25 yards, again with space for more. Later on in 11-on-11s, Tagovailoa found Hill for a diving completion on an in-breaking route that gained about 20 yards.
Maybe most importantly, Tagovailoa took care of the ball. He wasn’t perfect. The offense struggled at times when he attempted to target non-Hill pass-catchers, but it was an improved performance from Sunday.
Here are other observations from Dolphins training camp practice No. 13:
▪ Hill wore the orange jersey in practice, given to the top performer the previous session, and was by far the most impressive player on the field. Players don’t tackle to the ground in practice, so it’s hard to tell, but it seemed like there were a few instances in which he could have beat the defense to the end zone.
▪ Outside of Hill, outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips and defensive tackle Zach Sieler were the most dominant players. Both were in on multiple would-be sacks, run stuffs and applied pressure throughout the session.
For Phillips, his dominance as a pass rusher this summer has been noted. But one of his more impressive plays was in coverage. He was in the perfect position in the flat on an incomplete Tagovailoa pass attempt to rookie running back De’Von Achane. The pass was too high for Achane but Phillips was in perfect position for a likely big hit.
▪ Wideout Robbie Chosen was Tagovailoa’s second-favorite target on Monday. He caught at least two deep passes from the Dolphins’ starting quarterback that gained at least 25 yards.
▪ Skylar Thompson received the most quarterbacks reps behind Tagovailoa, which gives credence to coach Mike McDaniel’s comments that he will likely play before Mike White in the second preseason game.
Thompson’s best throw was a downfield completion to Hill in 11-on-11s. Hill skied over defensive back Jamal Perry to complete the catch and may have been able to separate for a 60-plus-yard touchdown.
Thompson did throw a bad interception, though, on a jump ball along the sideline that was picked off easily by cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, his second in as many days. Sieler applied pressure and may have sacked Thompson in a real game.
▪ The Dolphins again had some end-of-game/half simulations. In this situation, the ball was placed at the offense’s 25-yard line with two minutes left, two timeouts remaining and the offense down, 13-10. Tagovailoa was the first to lead the offense and drove the unit as close as the 9-yard line. He was 5 for 8 with completions to running back Raheem Mostert, Hill, Hill again and Chosen. With the ball at the 10-yard line, Tagovailoa’s screen to wideout Erik Ezukanma went for 1 yard and then his attempts to wide receiver River Cracraft and tight end Durham Smythe were incomplete, setting up fourth down.
▪ Thompson then had his opportunity in an end-of-game situation. The ball was placed at the offense’s 42-yard line with 39 seconds left and the offense down, 14-10. Thompson was 2 for 5 with completions to tight end Eric Saubert and Cracaft. The completion to Cracraft was particularly impressive, in between corner Eli Apple and safety Elijah Campbell, and got to around the 20-yard line, allowing the offense to have one more attempt into the end zone. But Thompson was pressured and his attempt dropped incomplete in the back of the end zone.
▪ Twice in a span of four plays, both Thompson and White had trouble corralling the quarterback-center exchange under center. On Thompson’s mishap, Connor Williams was the center. Williams had issues with shotgun snaps last summer but has gone through this year’s training camp without many troubles getting the ball to the quarterbacks.
▪ Linebackers Duke Riley and Cameron Goode also had strong practices as pass rushers.
Attendance
▪ The following Dolphins didn’t practice: cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey (knee), Keion Crossen, Justin Bethel and Ethan Bonner; backs Myles Gaskin and Alec Ingold; wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (midsection); and safety Brandon Jones.
▪ For the second consecutive day, rookie cornerback Cam Smith (shoulder) and wide receiver Braxton Berrios (forehead stitches) participated in individual drills but sat out team drills. McDaniel said both would be sidelined for the next few practices.
▪ Offensive linemen Terron Armstead, Liam Eichenberg and Dan Feeney; defensive lineman Christian Wilkins; and cornerback Kader Kohou participated in individual drills but were not participating in team drills. Wilkins’ participation in team drills has been sparse since the team’s stadium scrimmage on Aug. 5.
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 2:53 PM.
