The Miami Dolphins may have had a few weeks of organized team activities (OTAs) to get a feel for their 2021 team and ability, but this week’s mini-camp brings new challenges and opportunities for Miami. Most significantly, the team put on helmets for the first time and had the opportunity to dig into their playbook a little bit more aggressively.
After all, Brian Flores pointed out on Tuesday morning that the OTAs were more about alignments, communications and mental reps. Things got a touch more intense physically on Tuesday and there will be no shortage of headlines produced off of the aftermath. The biggest storyline? Seven total interceptions thrown by Dolphins quarterback at practice — five by incumbent starter Tua Tagovailoa.
Give the polarizing nature of Tagovailoa’s profile as a player already, the news that he tossed several turnovers during the first day of mini-camp is sure to capture attention from the national talking heads. But there’s some important perspective to remember for what the conditions looked like in Davie for today’s practice — it was wet.
Very wet.
Love my job! pic.twitter.com/DD8RejBwSC
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) June 15, 2021
Pair this weather with the note that Tagovailoa shared the emphasis today was to push the ball vertically and it is easy to see how things got sloppy for the offense. Perhaps it was a test of the limits of the offense from coach Brian Flores. Perhaps a mental test of Tagovailoa himself. It’s hard to say, but what is most important to remember coming off the heels of Day 1 of mini-camp is that this is an extremely small sample size for the Dolphins’ offense.
Is five interceptions by Tagovailoa noteworthy? Certainly. Is it the indicator of doom that some will suggest? Absolutely not. That is, of course, unless Miami plays 17 games this season in torrential downpour conditions. Then, and only then, could we see today be a predictor of troubles to come.