Dolphins Notebook: Playoff Projections, Tua Talk, Practice Squad and More
The Miami Dolphins' odds of making the playoffs are now at their highest so far in the 2020 season.
The Dolphins' chances are at 47 percent following their 20-3 victory against the New York Jets, according to FiveThirtyEight.com.
The Dolphins' previous high this season was 45 percent after their 29-21 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers gave them a 6-3 record.
The low point, in terms of playoff percentage, was after the 31-23 loss against the Seattle Seahawks made the Dolphins 1-3 and their chances came in at 7 percent.
INDIVIDUAL AWARD ODDS
The Dolphins' odds of winning the AFC East, the AFC title and even the Super Bowl remained the same despite their victory against the Jets, though Brian Flores' odds improved in the race for NFL Coach of the Year honors.
Flores moved from 5/1 to 7/2 following the victory against the Jets and remains a second solid choice behind favorite Mike Tomlin, who's even money.
After missing the Jets with his thumb injury, Tua Tagovailoa is now off the boards for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, though we suspect there'll be odds on him again once he returns to action. Jutin Herbert remains the overwhelming favorite to win the award at 1/7.
Finally, two players have been added to those getting odds for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and one of them is Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard.
Howard is listed at 33/1, tied for 11th-favorite with J.J. Watt, Joey Bosa and former Dolphins first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick. Aaron Donald is the favorite at 3/2, followed by T.J. Watt at 7/4.
IN DUE TIME WITH TUA
Rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa obviously was a popular topic when offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and quarterbacks Robby Brown visited with the media through Zoom on Tuesday morning.
One specific issue that Gailey addressed involved Tagovailoa and developing a trust in his receivers to throw them the ball without them being clearly open, the way veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick has done throughout his tenure with the Dolphins.
Gailey says that will come for Tua as well.
“I think there are a couple of things involved there," Gailey said. "I think, one, ‘Fitz’ had last year with all of these receivers, so he knows what to expect, how to read them and how to read body language and know break points and things like that. Tua has had four games with these guys. I think there is a learning process that goes on there, that you have to get a feel for it and you have to understand that. Is Tua at that point yet? No. But I think we will get there at some point in time. I’m hoping it’s sooner than later.
"I think he’s getting a better idea of it. He threw a couple of balls in Denver that were sticks right on the right side to DeVante (Parker) that was like that, where he’s not just standing wide open and you’ve got to throw it and give him a chance to make a play. I think we are getting there, but we don’t have that kind of experience yet with these receivers with each of the guys yet to be able to do that.”
Brown, for his part, discussed what the coaches wanted to see from Tagovailoa against the Jets after he was ruled out because of his thumb injury.
“What we did, the backup quarterbacks and the guys that are down there, we always have things for them to look at," Brown said. "Just for him, per Chan and ‘Flo’ (head coach Brian Flores), just use it as a learning experience. Look at all the pictures, try to look at it as if you are playing, in that way. So you go over all of that and he just tried to treat it as if he were playing or as if he were trying to help out. He saw some things and really did a good job of trying to use it as a learning experience.”
PRACTICE SQUAD PROTECTIONS
The list of Dolphins players they protected from being poached off the practice squad looks awfully familiar because it's the same as usual.
The list includes tight end Chris Myarick, quarterback Reid Sinnett and long-snapper Rex Sunahara.
Sinnett, of course, was elevated for the game against the Jets on Sunday to serve as Fitzpatrick's backup.
"Reid does a really good job on the mental aspect of the game," Brown said Tuesday morning. "He studies like he’s supposed to. He does everything the right way. He really works hard when he is running the look squad. We’ve been pleased with what we’ve seen so far. He’s got to come in and do the same things that we’ve talked about with the other developmental guys. It doesn’t matter what position it is, he needs to come in and try to get better mentally, try to get better when he gets individual throws during special teams and whatever it may be. He just has to continue to try to raise the bar for himself and see what happens.”
