Tagovailoa makes one thing very clear. And Beckham, Achane and more Dolphins notes
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Saturday:
▪ Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made it abundantly clear that accountability will not be an issue with this team.
“If somebody slips up - on this team - this year, you best know you’re getting called out,” he said after Saturday’s ninth practice of training camp.
Tagovailoa explained it in these terms in referencing a message supported by coach Mike McDaniel: “This isn’t Mike’s team. This is our team. Our coaches are there to give us the tools we need to help us and be successful.
“Our mantra of how we got out there and do things, it’s not [quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell] that threw the pick, it’s not McDaniel’s play call that threw the pick. That’s my name on it, that’s our offense’s name on that. That’s sort of how our outlook is... We are trying to make it as hard as possible for each other” in practice.
A week after signing a four-year, $212.5 million extension, Tagovailoa said he’s “100 percent” happy that the deal is done. He said “it’s one less thing I need to think about for the security of my family.”
Tagovailoa said a couple of quarterbacks in the league reached out to congratulate him on his new contract but declined to name them.
▪ Tagovailoa also was asked whether he has been able to get in any work with Odell Beckham Jr., who cannot practice because he’s on the physically unable to perform list. Beckham was spotted running at full speed in the past two days.
“I’ve been able to talk with O a lot off the field,” Tagovailoa said. “The main focus for me and for O is we communicate about how you’ve got to study the playbook, how I study it. The most important thing is he has to take care of himself,... try to do everything he can to get back on the field. From there, we can start getting into the feel of how these plays are.”
Tagovailoa also gave an unsolicited endorsement about Beckham as a person, calling him an “A list celebrity” who’s kind with his teammates.
“I sort of have this thing in my head where, ‘Is he a dude or is he one of those I’m-to-myself, I’m-just-here-because-it’s-Miami. Whoop-de-do.’ No?’” Tua said.
“He’s a genuinely great dude. I hang out with him a good amount off the field, as good as they come in my opinion. With that being said, I would say before you start saying things about people, make sure you get to know them.”
▪ Everyone is eager to see whether De’Von Achane can become an even bigger factor in the passing game. He caught five passes during Saturday’s practice, including a five-yard TD reception to end a Tagovailoa-led hurry-up possession late in practice.
Though it wasn’t clear if Achane actually got in the end zone, he used his sometimes underappreciated lower body strength to convince the referees he did.
But Achane also dropped a pass on the drive and couldn’t haul in a high throw that was well defended by Duke Riley.
Achane, who had 27 receptions for 197 yards last season, said Saturday that his receiving skills have “improved a lot.”
“That’s something I’ve always been doing, even when I was young,” he said. “I like catching the football, even though I am a running back; I also like doing receiver-type of stuff. So it makes me very different and unique in my own way.”
Last year, “he showed a lot of capabilities of what he could do for us offensively, from the backfield, going out, running routes in the slot,” Tagovailoa said. “So, it wasn’t new to me seeing what he can do, but it was really cool getting him involved. And that was what the defense gave us, were those throws to him. Trust him, and awesome to make some plays for us.”
▪ Outside linebacker Quinton Bell has been a revelation in training camp; he looks on track to be a starter Sept. 8 against Jacksonville.
He had another sack on Saturday and was around the ball a lot, as has been the case throughout camp.
“The number one thing [with Bell] is his mindset,” outside linebackers coach Ryan Crow said. “He attacks everything 100 miles per hour and does it the right way. He is a hungry player. When you look at how the players respond to him, you see a great player that flies around and tries to do everything he can to help the defense.”
From a physical standpoint, “he’s powerful and he has length and he knows how to use them to his advantage,” Crow said. When you combine that with an attacking mindset, good things happen on the field.”
▪ While Bell’s spot on the 53 seems secure, UCLA undrafted rookie Grayson Murphy also is making a case for a roster spot.
“He’s more of a serious approach, which I love,” Crow said. “They ran similar systems at UCLA, so he came in with an understanding of what we do. That has really helped him.”
While Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb recover from major injuries, the team’s outside linebackers continue to put in good work.
First-round rookie Chop Robinson set the edge very effectively on two plays in particular on Saturday (including one against skilled blocker Alec Ingold), and spoke afterward about how that’s a priority for him. Fifth-round rookie Mo Kamara said a sack.
And Emmanuel Ogbah was again very good, with at least one sack and a pass deflection.
▪ Quick stuff: Former Giants linebacker Cam Brown and former Bills cornerback Siran Neal, who were primarily special teams players with their former teams, continue to flash on defense. Brown had a good day on Saturday...
When McDaniel showed players a successful run block by Tyreek Hill during a meeting Saturday, the overarching message, as Achane said, was “Tyreek Hill is the No. 1 player in the NFL. So if he can go out there and block, why can’t nobody else? If he can go out there and lay his body on the line for us, why can’t we do the same?”...
Achane, on rookie running back Jaylen Wright, who has had some sizable runs and others bottled up by the defense: “He’s great. I told him he’s doing better than I was last year as far as camp wise, picking up stuff pretty fast. He’s learning and he’s a quick learner. See me last year, it was kind of hard for me during this part of camp.”...
CBS-4 will use Steve Goldstein and Kim Bokamper in the booth for the three preseason games.
This story was originally published August 3, 2024 at 6:56 PM.
