Dolphins Camp 2022 Day 11: Practice Observations
The Miami Dolphins conducted their next-to-last practice at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Saturday before heading out to Tampa for joint practices with the Buccaneers.
It was a second consecutive day where the defense had the upper hand and probably the first where rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson easily was the most productive quarterback.
With that, let's dive into the practice report:
ATTENDANCE REPORT
Safety Sheldrick Redwine and veteran punter Thomas Morstead joined the list of injured player, which already included safety Clayton Fejedelem, offensive lineman Michael Deiter and fullback John Lovett.
Defensive back Elijah Campbell again was out with an illness.
Defensive lineman Christian Wilkins wore the orange jersey as the top practice player Friday.
PRACTICE TOP PERFORMERS
— Rookie cornerback Trill Williams had another strong practice, with a sack of Teddy Bridgewater on a blitz and a couple of nice plays in pass coverage.
— -- Linebacker Duke Riley made his presence felt against the run, with a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and another at the line. He later had a quarterback pressure.
— Jaylen Waddle had yet another productive practice, catching five passes. He did bobble one of his receptions, though he still was able to come down with the catch.
QB WATCH
Because it’s training camp, we need to talk about the quarterback performances every practice.
— This might have been Tua Tagovailoa's roughest practice of training camp. He completed 7 of 15 passes in team drills and barely avoided an interception on a bad throw when Noah Igbinoghene failed to catch a low ball. Xavien Howard also almost came up with another pick on a pass over the middle. His first pass was sent over the head of Jaylen Waddle, and the fact that it came after a high snap doesn't negate the poor throw. Tua attempted deep passes to Waddle, Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr. but wasn't able to connect on any of them. On the positive, Tua continued to show remarkable accuracy on pass down the middle of the field, which clearly is his bread and butter. Tagovailoa's last pass of practice was a short touchdown to Waddle on a pass that appeared to get deflected at the line.
-- Teddy Bridgewater also didn't put up very good numbers, completing 5 of 12 passes in team drills. There were a couple of throw-aways included where he just dumped the ball to avoid a sack. His best throw was a deep out to Waddle, who also deserves credit on the play for a great toe-tap.
— Thompson completed 5 of 7 passes (he usually gets fewer team reps than Tagovailoa or Bridgewater) and threw his first interception of camp — one day after a reporter pointed out the stat. But it needs to be mentioned that on the pick, by rookie safety Verone McKinley III, intended receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. never turned around for the ball and likely would have been able to at least get it away from the awaiting McKinley. Among his completions, Thompson had the pass of training camp so far when he rolled to his left, threw across his body and connected with rookie Erik Ezukanma for a 40-yard touchdown pass.
OTHER PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS
-- Because of his tweet Monday night, we have to continue keeping tabs on Preston Williams, and it was another uneventful day for him. For the third time in four practices since posted that he wanted an opportunity, Williams was not targeted once in team drills.
-- The shotgun snap issues were there again, with three high shotgun snaps by Connor Williams that were grabbed by the quarterback, a low snap by Cole Banwart and a high snap that ended up behind Bridgewater, who scooped up the loose ball before throwing it away for an incompletion.
-- Zach Sieler also got into the backfield on a running play.
-- On the second good play by Riley, Andrew Van Ginkel deserves credit for setting the edge and forcing the run back inside.
-- Jaelan Phillips had a sack against Tagovailoa, though the coverage deserves part of the credit.
-- Kader Kohou, who starred in one-on-one drills Friday, had good coverage against Cedrick Wilson Jr. on a deep pass attempt from Tua.
-- Braylon Sanders had a really bad drop on a perfectly thrown bomb by Bridewater after he got behind D'Angelo Ross.
-- When fans chanted "Tua, Tua," Bridgewater put his arm around Tua's shoulder and waved his free up and hand until Tua acknowledged the fans. When fans began chanting, "Teddy, Teddy," Tua returned the favor.
-- All three quarterbacks threw the ball into a net from some 50 yards, much to the delight of fans.
-- Rookies Jordan Williams and Ben Stille fired up the fans before practice, with Stille doing the worm.
-- Christian Wilkins met Raheem Mostert in the backfield on back-to-back running plays.
