Dolphins practice report: Who impressed, who didn’t and notes from session with Falcons
News, notes and observations from Tuesday’s joint practice with the Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons in Miami Gardens, as the teams did simultaneous 11 on 11 drills on the two fields:
▪ The Dolphins defense got the better of Atlanta’s offense during the first half of practice, before the Falcons mounted two long drives later in the day.
On the other field, Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill provided the highlight of the day with a beautiful 49-yard connection for a TD. Tagovailoa also threw the day’s only interception, to Falcons cornerback Mike Hughes.
The other headliner: Falcons receiver Drake London precipitated a mini-brawl by pushing Ethan Bonner to the ground after a catch. Elijah Campbell then pushed London. Players rushed onto the field from both sidelines.
▪ Among those who didn’t participate Tuesday: safety Jordan Poyer, running back Salvon Ahmed, receivers Braxton Berrios and Jaylen Waddle and Erik Ezukanma and linebackers Anthony Walker and Jordyn Brooks, plus outside linebacker Mo Kamara.
Later on, Waddle appeared on the sideline wearing sweatpants and no helmet. Terron Armstead was not spotted in team drills.
Ahmed is in a walking boot. Perhaps he re-aggravated a foot injury that ended his season last November.
Mike McDaniel has said that Walker and Brooks will return “sooner than later.” No timetable has been offered for Poyer and Ezukanma.
The Dolphins aren’t identifying the nature of any injuries during training camp. Teams aren’t required to identify specific injuries until Sept. 4.
▪ Tua Tagovailoa hit River Cracraft for 15 yards on the first play on 11 on 11 work. Cracraft continues to catch everything thrown near him.
▪ Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was stopped by David Long for three yards. Long was shaken up on a subsequent play but was utimately fine.
▪ Tagovailoa’s pass over the middle to Tyreek Hill was incomplete, barely over his hands.
▪ Falcons defensive lineman David Onyemata beat guard Rob Jones to limit a De’Von Achane run to no gain. That was a rare misstep for Jones during this training camp.
▪ Kendall Fuller and Jalen Ramsey did good jobs in coverage on Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney, respectively. Both incomplete passes were thrown deep by Kirk Cousins.
▪ Duke Riley and Long stopped Tyler Alggeier on a short run. The Dolphins defense was great early, limiting the Falcons to fewer than 10 yards on the first eight carries.
▪ Skylar Thompson delivered a 15-yard missile to Willie Snead IV, who had an uneven day.
▪ Jack Driscoll had a bad snap, ruining a play with Mike White. Driscoll’s snaps at center have been an adventure. Starting right guard Liam Eichenberg looks like the best backup center on the roster, though UNLV rookie Andrew Meyer -- who has had some bad snaps -- is No. 2 on the depth chart.
▪ Tagovailoa hit Julian Hill on consecutive throws. Hill has had a strong camp.
▪ White hit Tyreek Hill for an eight-yard gain.
▪ White hit Cracraft for 15 yards on a sideline pattern.
▪ Jeff Wilson Jr. had a physical run, with Lester Cotton executing an effective block.
▪ Teaiar Tart tackled Allgeier for a two-yard loss. Tart has come on strong during the past three practices.
▪ Michael Penix Jr.’s long pass to James Washington was well defended by Syracuse rookie Isaiah Johnson. Grayson Murphy applied a pass rush.
▪ Chop Robinson had a tackle for loss early in 11 on 11 work. He has set the edge better in recent days.
Robinson also got to the quarterback when he lined up inside on one play.
▪ With Berrios sidelined, Achane returned kickoffs.
▪ Quinton Bell deflected a Cousins pass in the first set of 11 on 11 drills. Bell remains the biggest revelation of training camp.
▪ Bijan Robinson ran for 15, gashing the Dolphins defense, but that was unusual. The Dolphins defense got the better of Atlanta’s rushing offense much of the day.
Simultaneously, Achane ran for four yards on the near field. Achane picked up five yards on his next carry.
▪ Tagovailoa dumped off a pass to Hill for five yards.
▪ Long stopped Allgeier for no gain. Long remains highly impactful against the run after missing the first few days of camp with a knee injury.
▪ Raheem Mostert gained three yards, while Allgeier was simultaneously gaining only two yards on the far field. Atlanta’s Robinson then gained three.
▪ A White 15 yard completion to Braylon Sanders was negated by a false start.
▪ A Penix dump off to Rondale Moore gained 10. Meanwhile, Thompson hit Cracraft for about 10 on the near field.
▪ Chris Brooks had a hard run for about 10 yards.
▪ Thompson’s poor throw couldn’t be corralled by Sneed. But Tagovailoa then hit Sneed on a crosser for about 15.
▪ Tagovailoa hit Tyreek Hill on that gorgeous 49 yard deep ball for a touchdown, beating Falcons cornerback Mike Hughes. Hill then jumped over a makeshift wall in celebration.
▪ David Long nearly intercepted an errant Cousins pass.
▪ A Tagovailoa dump off to Achane gained a few yards. Achane then gained 10 on a rushing attempt.
▪ Falcons receiver Drake London caught a pass, shoved Ethan Bonner to the ground and then a mini-brawl started. Falcons and Dolphins players came rushing off the sideline to join the brouhaha, which was controlled after about 15 seconds. It wasn’t immediately clear if any punches were thrown.
London’s reception, for about 20 yards, before that play was probably Atlanta’s best play in the first hour of practice.
▪ Atlanta’s Anthony Johnson stopped Wilson in the backfield.
▪ Chop Robinson applied pressure before Penix completed a seven yarder to KhaDarel Hodge.
▪ Snead dropped a pass from Thompson, his second drop of the day.
▪ Tagovailoa had a missile to Tyric McGowan for an 18-yard gain.
▪ Tyreek Hill caught three short passes in one-on-one drills. AJ Terrell closed defended him.
▪ Wisconsin rookie cornerback Jason Maitre intercepted Kirk Cousins on a deep throw into the end zone on 1 on 1 drills.
▪ Dolphins rookie left tackle Patrick Paul won all but one of his one-on-one reps against Falcons defenders.
▪ Robert Jones, the Dolphins’ first team left guard, did a good job winning all of his one-on-one blocking matchups, including some against Falcons standout defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
▪ Linebacker Duke Riley wore the orange jersey bestowed on the player who stood out in the previous practice.
▪ Jason Sanders hit all seven field goals, with a long of 50.
▪ DeAngelo Malone tackled Mostert for no gain. Tagovailoa was then pressured into a throw-away in Achane’s direction.
▪ That was followed by the Dolphins’ most glaring mistake of the day: Tagovailoa was intercepted by Falcons cornerback Mike Hughes on a pass intended for Cracraft. It looks like Tagovailoa was throwing to a specific spot and Cracraft didn’t get there.
▪ White hit McGowan for a short gain, then hit Malik Washington for about 15 over the middle and then hit De’Quan Burton on an excellent throw for about 20.
▪ The Falcons’ Zyon Logue blew up Jack Driscoll to foil a running play. This hasn’t been a great camp for Driscoll.
▪ Penix hit KhaDarel Hodge for 40-yard pass, beating Siran Neal.
▪ An Onyemata sack wiped out a Tagovailoa TD throw to Cracraft. (Tagovailoa played through the sack; there isn’t tackling during these joint practices.)
▪ Fuller and Jevon Holland prevented an end zone completion to Mooney. Holland got up slowly and walked to the sideline with a trainer but was fine.
▪ Falcons linebacker Milo Eifer knocked away a White pass to Jaylan Wright near the goal line.
▪ Penix hit Charles Washington for a 10 yard TD. Penix then hit Ross Dwelley for another red zone touchdown.
▪ Each team then ran hurry up drills simultaneously.
The Falcons moved the ball down the field quick into Dolphins territory, with a Cousins pass beating Duke Riley to take Atlanta to the Dolphins 12. But the Falcons then went backward before Younghoe Koo kicked a 39 yard field goal.
On the field where the Dolphins were simultaneously on offense, Lorenzo Carter sacked Tagovailoa to start a two-minute drill. Tagovailoa then hit Mostert for a short gain, then hit Mostert for 10 yards to keep the drive alive. Tagovailoa hit Durham Smythe for eight and then Mostert for two short gains for a first down.
A Cracraft catch took the Dolphins to Atlanta’s 32. With time about to expire, Sanders hit a field goal from 50 yards.
The teams will practice together again on Wednesday morning in Miami Gardens, then meet in the preseason opener for both teams at 7 p.m. Friday at Hard Rock Stadium, with CBS-4 televising locally.
This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 12:14 PM.
