From Tua to young corners to developing o-line, story lines to track in Dolphins-Bears game
Ten story lines worth monitoring when the Miami Dolphins open preseason against the Chicago Bears at 1 p.m. Saturday at Soldier Field (CBS 4 and NFL Network):
▪ Will the 2021 training camp incarnation of Tua Tagovailoa be a harbinger of what he will look like in games?
Tagovailoa threw only five interceptions — and well over 20 touchdown passes — in 12 practices so far, including two sessions against the Bears. Though many of those TDs were in red zone drills, he was far better with his intermediate and deep throws than a year ago.
But it’s one thing to do it against a Dolphins’ secondary that wasn’t devouring the QB and was playing without Xavien Howard for most of those practices.
It’s quite another to do it in a game against a Bears unit that was 11th in total defense, 12th in passing defense and boasts Khalil Mack, who has 70.5 sacks in seven seasons, including nine last season. Tagovailoa was very good Wednesday against the Bears and decent but not extraordinary Thursday, when he threw a pick. He still has room to improve in getting the ball out quickly against a pass rush.
Brian Flores said Tagovailoa will play Saturday but didn’t say how much. The Bears say rookie quarterback Justin Fields will start and play into the second half.
▪ Will young linemen Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt become consistently reliable?
Both have solid camps and are penciled in as starters, Jackson at left tackle and Hunt at right guard.
Jackson wasn’t great last season (Pro Football Focus rated him the sixth worst of 83 offensive tackles), but he was never overwhelmed. He studied nearly all of his snaps from 2020 and the Dolphins believe he will take a jump.
Hunt graded out among the six best right tackles during the final month of last season, per PFF, but the Dolphins see greater upside at right guard and he has been efficient there all camp.
▪ Which receivers distinguish themselves in a battle or one or two jobs?
DeVante Parker, Will Fuller, Jaylen Waddle and Albert Wilson will be on the team; all but Waddle have been out with injuries this week.
Mack Hollins looks very likely, though Robert Foster still has a chance to overtake him. But if Preston Williams misses the first six weeks (which would be the case if he begins the regular season on PUP), can Isaiah Ford — initially a long shot — take his excellent practice work into games?
Can Lynn Bowden Jr. shake off a subpar training camp and flash the playmaking skills seen at times and needed to salvage his roster spot?
In theory, Bowden should be better this season because he had only a week to learn the Dolphins playbook before the regular season began after his early September trade from the Raiders to Miami.
“When I got traded,” he said, “I had a couple days to try to learn the whole playbook. But just being out here from Day 1 to whenever it’s over, it’s just way easier for me and for the coaches to see what I can put on film and do in the offense that we’ve got.” It’s time to show that.
And can veterans Jakeem Grant and Allen Hurns do anything to save their roster spots? Grant could be traded to a team needing return help but has a chance to stick because of injuries at the position.
▪ With Jaelan Phillips being brought back slowly, can another edge rusher emerge opposite Andrew Van Ginkel?
Brennan Scarlett has looked in camp like he could be that guy, generating consistent pass rush and a lot of first-team work. But he had only 5.5 sacks in five NFL seasons with Houston.
Vince Biegel has been active, more than a year removed from Achilles surgery, but was in a walking boot Thursday, leaving his August status in question.
Sam Eguavoen, who showed promise as a pass rusher late in the 2019 season, had a very good stretch of practices late last week and could carve out a niche if he impresses in preseason.
▪ Will this front seven stop the run?
Miami didn’t do that nearly well enough last season, allowing 4.5 yards per carry (which tied for 13th worst).
The top newcomers to that group include Benardrick McKinney (considered a very good run defender), Phillips (generally set the edge well at UM), former Patriots defensive lineman Adam Butler (pass rushing is more of his forte; PFF ranked him 99th of 125 defensive linemen against the run last season) and run-stuffing nose tackle John Jenkins.
It would be a surprise if Phillips played Saturday; he’s working his way back slowly from a lower-body injury.
▪ Can Jevon Holland continue to make a strong case for the starting free safety job?
In his first four days replacing Jason McCourty as the first-team starting safety opposite Eric Rowe, Holland had three interceptions, a fumble recovery and at least one pass breakup. He looks ready to step into Bobby McCain’s shoes.
But McCourty opened with the first team Thursday. Holland must make the right calls to teammates before the snap; McCain was an ace at that.
“He’s growing pretty fast in the defense,” Rowe said of Holland. “I keep telling him he’s got to be louder with the calls. It’s nothing with his physical ability. He has that. It’s all mental now. He’s a smart kid; he picked up the defense fast. He has [good] range.”
▪ Will Noah Igbinoghene or any of the young corners prove worthy of regular-season playing time if needed?
Igbinoghene made a nice pass breakup in the final practice at the Dolphins facility last weekend after being beaten multiple times in camp. But he needs to be consistently better. If he isn’t, then McCourty or Nik Needham would be the fill-in on the boundary if Xavien Howard or Byron Jones is unavailable.
The Dolphins pride themselves on finding young corners, and we have seen moments from Trill Williams and Javaris Davis in this camp. But can those two or Terrell Bonds or Tino Ellis or veteran Cre’Von LeBlanc make a convincing case in preseason games for the sixth cornerback job?
▪ Will the pass defense — too leaky in training camp — improve, especially against the deep ball?
In practices against the Bears this week, “we missed a couple checks,” Rowe said. “It’s little things, some alignment issues, missed a check on a call or blow a coverage. Once we get that timed up, we can get back to where we were. If we were still making the same mistakes from the first couple days of training camp, I would be pretty worried.”
▪ Will Michael Palardy prove to be the answer at punter, a year after an ACL injury?
The Dolphins initially tried to re-sign Matt Haack last February but the sides couldn’t agree to terms and Miami then pivoted to Palardy, who missed last season after sustaining the knee injury while playing basketball in his driveway.
Palardy struggled a bit at the start of camp but has been fine since. He averaged 45.3 yards per punt in four years with the Carolina Panthers. Haack, now with Buffalo, averaged 44.7 in four years with the Dolphins.
“My first two and a half years I was probably the epitome of a journeyman,” Palardy said. “I was on nine, 10 maybe, 11 teams. Sometimes I lose track. I had 26 different workouts, so I was all over the place. I was always looking for an opportunity. I think that allowed me to really appreciate having the opportunity of being at a place like here and Carolina the previous five seasons. [The knee] feels great.”
▪ What bubble players make a case for the 53?
Besides the aforementioned young receivers and corners, keep an eye on running backs Patrick Laird and Gerrid Doaks, defensive end Jason Strowbridge, linebacker Shaquem Griffin and Eguavoen and safeties Clayton Fejedelem and Nate Holley.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 1:10 PM.
