The Miami Dolphins performed their penultimate training at the Baptist Health Training Complex Saturday before heading to Tampa for a joint drill with the Buccaneers.
It was the second day in a row that defense had the upper hand and perhaps the first as seventh-round rookie Skyler Thompson was easily the most productive player in the middle.
With that, let’s delve into the practice report:
attendance report
Salameh Sheldrake Redwin and veteran striker Thomas Morsted joined the list of injured players, which already included safety Clayton Vigidelm, forward Michael Dieter and linebacker Jon Lovett.
Defender Elijah Campbell has made another appearance due to illness.
Defensive linebacker Christian Wilkins wore the orange jersey as the best practice player on Friday.
Practice outstanding performance
Rookie cornerback Trail Williams had another hard training, with a sack of Teddy Bridgewater in a blitz and a couple of great plays in covering passes.
– – Linebacker Duke Riley made his presence felt against the run, with an intervention behind the line of scrimmage and another on the line. He later had a quarterback squeeze.
– Jaylen Waddle had another fruitful workout, getting five passes. He swayed in one of his receptions, though he was still able to get off with the catch.
QB . watch
Because it’s a bootcamp, we need to talk about the quarterback’s performance in each practice.
– This was probably the toughest training camp exercise for Tua Tagovailoa. He completed 7 of 15 passes in team practice and barely avoided a poor throw-in when Noah Igbinoghene failed to catch a low ball. Xavien Howard also nearly hacked another pass over the middle. His first passes were sent over Jaylen Waddle’s head, and the fact that it came after a high shot doesn’t cancel out a weak throw. Tua attempted deep passes to Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr. But he could not contact any of them. On the plus side, Tua continued to show remarkable passing accuracy in midfield, which he obviously baked and buttered. Tagovailoa’s last pass from practice was a short landing to Waddle on a pass that appeared to veer at the line.
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Teddy Bridgewater also didn’t put in very good numbers, completing 5 of 12 passes in the team’s drill. There were a couple of built-in throws where he threw the ball to dodge the sack. His best throw was deep for Waddle, who also deserves play credit for a fine flick.
– Thompson completed 5 of 7 passes (usually gets fewer reps than Tagovailoa or Bridgewater) and delivered his first interception to camp – a day after a reporter referenced the stat. But we have to mention that on the pick, through junior Veron McKinley’s third safety, receiver Cedric Wilson Jr. didn’t turn the ball around and likely was at least able to pry it off the waiting McKinley. Among his completions, Thompson had made it through training camp so far when he rolled to his left, threw his body and called rookie Eric Izukanma for a 40-yard pass.
Other practical notes
– Because of his tweet on Monday night, we have to keep watching Preston Williams, and it was another quiet day for him. For the third time in four practices since posting that he wanted a chance, Williams has not been targeted once in team training.
– Sudden gun issues were there again, with three high shotgun shots by Conor Williams snatched away by the quarterback, a low attack from Cole Banwart, and a high drop that ended behind Bridgewater, who grabbed the loose ball before throwing it away from the shortfall.
– Zach Sealer also entered the backcourt in a running play.
– In Riley’s second good play, Andrew van Ginkel deserves credit for putting the edge on and forcing him back inside.
– Gillan Phillips got sent off against Tagovailoa, although the coverage deserves part of the credit.
– Kader Kuhu, who starred in a solo practice on Friday, got good coverage against Cedric Wilson Jr. in trying a deep pass from Toa.
– Braylon Sanders got a really bad drop in a bombshell perfectly thrown by Bridewater after he succeeded D’Angelo Ross.
– When fans chanted “Twa, Tua”, Bridgewater put his arm around Tua’s shoulder, waved his hand and released him until Tua admitted to the fans. When fans started chanting, “Teddy, Teddy,” Towa returned the favor.
All three quarterbacks threw the ball into the net from about 50 yards, to the delight of the crowd.
Rookies Jordan Williams and Ben Steel lit up the crowd before practice, with Steele doing the worm.
Christian Wilkins met Rahim Mostert on the backcourt in a row.