Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s what happened at practice.
The Miami Dolphins got back on the practice field of the Baptist Health Training Complex on Tuesday for the first time since their preseason loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.
After Miami’s solo practice session, they’ll play host to the Philadelphia Eagles for a pair of joint practices that will be attended by fans before the two teams meet for their final preseason matchups.
Here’s what happened during Tuesday’s practice.
What did we learn from the day of practice?
After two practices outside at the Baptist Health Training Complex, the Miami Dolphins moved inside for the final practice of the week before their preseason matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders.
With head coach Mike McDaniel not revealing who’s going to play on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium, the players needed to take advantage of the opportunities they got because they might not step onto the field again for another six days when the Dolphins hold joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here’s what we learned from the team’s third training camp session this week.
Here’s what we learned.
The Miami Dolphins have returned to the Baptist Health Training Complex across from Hard Rock Stadium, and on Wednesday, they held their second training camp session of the week.
With head coach Mike McDaniel not ready to make any claims on which veterans are going to be playing this weekend against the Las Vegas Raiders, including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, these practices will be extremely important for the evaluation process.
Here’s what we learned from the team’s Wednesday practice.
Here’s what was seen in Tuesday’s practice.
After two training camp sessions and a preseason game competing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Miami Dolphins returned to Miami Gardens for normal practices at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Tuesday.
Mike McDaniel’s team has made seven roster moves in the last 24 hours, as they signed cornerback Mackensie Alexander and defensive tackle Niles Scott on Monday before making moves to get down to 85 players on Tuesday morning.
As the Dolphins prepare for this week’s preseason matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, here’s what was seen from the first practice of the week.
He allows the defense to do so much.
Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard is entering his seventh season in South Florida, and he’s had some great personal success, earning All-Pro honors once and Pro Bowl honors thrice.
However, while Howard is a great player and has been rewarded for that with a contract that’s among the largest of any cornerback in the league, it’s more than just his play that makes him important to this team.
On Saturday, new head coach Mike McDaniel explained the significance of having a guy like Howard wearing aqua and orange.
“I had never met ‘X’ (Xavien Howard) before I got this job,” McDaniel said. “We had played against him once or twice, but it didn’t take me long being here to understand what he means to the rest of the players. There’s something to be said about when you do something at an elite level, you get notoriety from it. And then you continue to do it, people don’t really do that justice where they don’t have the option to show up and (say), ‘Maybe I don’t feel like being good today.’ So I think he possesses that. I think one of the interesting things is I think he plays off Tyreek (Hill) as well. Two great competitors that are prideful, that know that every day, they can’t afford to be, ‘Oh, I’m just not on,’ because of the consequences and ramifications for the rest of the team and what we count on them to do on a day-in, day-out basis.”
It’s that ownership of his play and compete level that really takes him to the next level. He wants to be the guy who gets it started and sets the standard for the players behind him.
“I feel like it starts with me. I feel like I have to set the tone for the guys,” Howard said after Miami’s first joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “The guys are getting better — I feel like everybody is getting better each week. I feel like we just have to keep striving. I have to take that leadership role in the cornerback room and set the tone.”
With guys like Howard as the veteran leader, the Dolphins’ younger defensive backs like Jevon Holland, Brandon Jones, Trill Williams and Noah Igbinoghene have someone to lean on and learn from.
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This team has some unmatched energy.
While the Miami Dolphins have spent the last two days practicing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the AdventHealth Training Center, Mike McDaniel’s team has been working hard to prepare for the season with practices over the last two weeks.
During those sessions back at the Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens, there were a number of players who were mic’d up for each practice. Luckily, the Dolphins’ social team put out a supercut of all mic’d up clips from the first two weeks, allowing fans a look at some of the wildly entertaining personalities that this team has to offer.
No matter the day, there will always be someone wearing aqua and orange ready to bring the energy.
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Tom Brady was absent from the session.
After a successful, entertaining joint practice session on Wednesday, the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers took the field again on Thursday at the AdventHealth Training Center to delight Buccaneers Season Pass members as well as members of both the local and national media.
Miami’s head coach Mike McDaniel, like many other coaches, appears to be using these practices as the real test against another team rather than have everyone play and go 100% in the preseason games, as during his media availability he spoke about the possibility of Tua Tagovailoa and other veterans not participating.
That’s what makes these joint practices all the more exciting. Here’s what we learned from the Dolphins’ second joint session of the week.
Mike McDaniel didn’t fully commit to an answer.
Miami Dolphins fans may not get a chance to see the team at their full potential on Saturday.
During head coach Mike McDaniel’s media availability prior to the start of Thursday’s joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the coach said that he is “encouraged about the idea” of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa not playing in the preseason opener.
Tagovailoa will be going against Tampa Bay’s first-team defense for two days of practice sessions before the two teams square off Saturday night, so McDaniel may feel comfortable enough with the quarterback’s performance that he doesn’t need to see more in that game and risk injury.
The coach didn’t fully commit to a decision prior to the game, but he did that some veterans would not play in the opener, and he’d be “surprised” if Tagovailoa didn’t play at some point during the three preseason games.
Keeping quarterbacks out of the preseason is becoming more and more common. We’ve already heard that Tom Brady, who would normally be leading the Buccaneers out of the tunnels on gameday, won’t be playing against Miami in the game.
Bowles said Tom Brady will not play in the Bucs’ preseason opener vs. Dolphins next week.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 3, 2022
If Miami were to go this route, fans would get extended looks at backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and rookie Skylar Thompson leading the offense.
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He said they’re unlike other wideouts in the league.
The Miami Dolphins finished up their first joint practice of the 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wednesday afternoon, and both teams flashed at points.
For Miami, one of the most interesting aspects of the session was seeing whether or not their offense could put the pressure on defenses as they had done for periods against their own defense.
With the addition of Tyreek Hill, the Dolphins’ receivers are expected to be much better this year, and after the first practice, Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis spoke about how hard it is to cover both Hill and his teammate, Jaylen Waddle.
“[Hill’s] a different kind of receiver all-around,” Davis said. “He brings something to the game that no other receiver does, so just to be able to go up against him in practice, especially early on in camp just helps you fine-tune your skills and your technique. He was really good today. I’m excited to go back up against him tomorrow, him and Waddle. They’re just two fast, twitchy guys that you just gotta love and embrace going against them because there’s no other receivers in the league that can do what they do.”
Video: Carlton Davis talks about the challenge of going up against Dolphins receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in joint practices. pic.twitter.com/jRAsbE13VE
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 10, 2022
Entering his fourth season in the NFL, Davis has gone up against some of the best that the league has to offer, and in his mind, Hill and Waddle can be found on that list.
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Finally, competition against another team.
The Miami Dolphins are participating in joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the AdventHealth Training Center this week after heading down on Monday and doing some team bonding.
The two teams will face each other on Saturday for a preseason matchup that will not feature quarterback Tom Brady, so this will be a great opportunity for Miami to see how their team stacks up against some of the top competition in the NFL.
Here’s what we learned from the first day of joint practices with the Buccaneers.
