Now that the pads have come on and players are getting much more physical, the time has come to really start evaluating players in training camp. Naturally, things changed on the offensive line as head coach Brian Flores fired Pat Flaherty, the OL coach. Now it’s up to Dave DeGuglielmo – in his third stint with the Dolphins – to make things work on the line.

Immediately, things began to change in the OL’s approach. And it showed as other players were able to shine as a result.

Michael Deiter, G

Deiter didn’t wow the crowd with his blocking prowess. However, given that all it took was Flaherty being fired for the rookie out of Wisconsin to get time with the starters, one has to wonder what was going on behind the scenes. Either way, Deiter was decent playing left guard between Laremy Tunsil and Daniel Kilgore. “Decent” is admittedly not high praise, but it’s quite a jump from Flaherty’s comments where he said Deiter had a long way to go.

DeGuglielmo is not shy about playing rookies and younger players. They take their lumps and learn like they’re expected to start. Given the state of Miami’s offensive line, Deiter may actually have to do so. Thus, it’s an excellent sign Deiter didn’t sink upon being thrust into the starting lineup.

Jerome Baker, LB

Welcome to the new NFL, where speed is key and big, bruising linebackers are a thing of the past. Baker is thriving with this setup, and that continued on Tuesday. Baker broke up a pass, was excellent in pass rushing, and put a hit on fullback Chandler Cox that knocked him to the ground. That’s no easy feat, especially with how Cox is built. Baker is proving to be the best linebacker on the Dolphins roster by far, and with the defensive scheme emphasizing versatility, he’ll be all over the place.

Baker, along with Sam Eguavoen, could be a good tandem for Miami’s defense in 2019. It’s something to monitor for the future.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB

Aside from one embarrassing slip-up where Fitzpatrick reeled back to throw and the ball fell out of his hand before he could, Fitzpatrick was once again sharp. There’s no question at this point that between him and Rosen, Fitzpatrick is the better quarterback in training camp. This may not always be the case, but for now it’s obvious. Fitzpatrick was aggressive, he was accurate, and Rosen was…well, not.

Head coach Brian Flores even said as much during his press conference. Fitzpatrick has performed much more than Rosen so far, and this puts Flores in an interesting position. He’s repeatedly said there are “no sacred cows” on this team. Everyone has to earn their job, including Rosen. The fanbase wants to see Rosen start because they feel starting Fitzpatrick would be a waste of time. There’s no need to evaluate Fitzpatrick, everyone knows who he is and what to expect from him.

Rosen, however, is still young. If he doesn’t work out, then Miami almost assuredly will draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2020 draft. But if Flores is true to his word, Fitzpatrick must start the season if this continues.

If you were to take all of Quentin Tarantino’s myriad references — the classic deep-cut rock tunes, the vintage TV shows, the Dirty Dozen-style movies, Spaghetti Westerns, grindhouse cinema, martial arts flicks, dark humor, and, of course, women’s feet — you get Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood. It’s Tarantino’s love letter to L.A. and 1960s Hollywood and all that makes him the artist that he is. And it’s a great, if not an oftentimes meandering, ride. 

But meandering is probably the wrong word. 

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is a movie that definitely takes you somewhere — it just takes its time getting there. This Tarantino film, more than most, is about the journey more than the destination. And, much like Jackie Brown — Tarantino’s third movie and a masterpiece in its own right — it leans heavy on an amalgam of interesting hapless low-rent characters you can’t help like and root for. And, like Jackie Brown, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is a film you’ll need to see again and again to truly grasp how good of a movie it really is. 

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood thrives on the edge of old movie and TV references while giving you delicious morsels of great performances from its cast, humorous moments, slow ominous foreshadowing and, yes, women’s feet. The movie centers around three central characters: Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and their lives in and out of the film-making industry in 1969. A fourth character, haunting the movie with an ethereal creepiness, is the Manson family. One can say a fifth character is old Los Angeles itself — beautifully shot and reimagined in all its neon-polished 1960s glory.

Dalton is a down-on-his-luck actor who used to be the leading man on a hit Western TV show and starred in an Inglorious Basterds-like movie where he blow torches a bunch of Nazis (which is as fucking cool as is sounds). Now, as his career begins to wind down and with his show canceled, Dalton finds himself forced to take bit parts as the bad guy in other TV shows like FBI. Booth, meanwhile, is Dalton’s best friend, hype man, and stunt double who works mostly as his personal assistant and driver. He also has a shady past (turns out Booth may or may not have murdered his pain-in-the-ass wife). And Tate is, well, Tate — a gorgeous up-and-coming actress married to the hottest director in town, Roman Polanksi, starring in movies with Dean Martin and going to parties at the Playboy Mansion with Steve McQueen (portrayed by Billions’ Damian Lewis, who is a dead ringer for the acting legend), and other Hollywood luminaries. Tate also happens to be Dalton’s next door neighbor on Cielo Drive in Benedict Canyon in L.A. (Manson Murder aficionados will no doubt recognize that fateful street). The juxtaposition between Dalton and Tate is obvious — one is climbing the ladder of stardom, while the other is seeing his star fading hard and fast. Booth, an aging stunt man with incredible old man strength who lives in a trailer with his dog, meanwhile, is just happy to be here. And in the midst of it all is an unsettling Charles Manson and his band of young, mostly female, cult followers living on a former movie-set ranch and being super weird and creepy and murdery. 

But to be sure, this movie is not about that. The Manson Murders merely acts as a means to an end in a way. And that seems to have thrown off some moviegoers a bit — if not frustrated some outright. Which is quintessential Quentin, really. 

Like most people, when I first heard Tarantino was making a movie that dealt with the Manson Murders, my initial instinct was to cringe a little. Anyone familiar with the Tate/Bianca murders perpetrated by Charles Manson and his deranged followers in August of 1969, knows it was a gruesome, terrifying act of pure evil. And that subject matter in the hands of a director that loves to play in the ultraviolent world of people getting shot in the face, people being shot in the dick, people puking buckets of blood, people being anally raped by leather-clad gimps, and people having their ears severed off to the tune of Stealers Wheels’ Stuck In the Middle With You can be dicey, at best. Especially when you consider the utter heinousness of the Manson Murders. But then you remember that Tarantino’s greatest knack (aside from slipping in a shot of a woman’s feet without you seemingly noticing) is to tell stories in a way that the viewer doesn’t see coming, and that’s when you begin to see where this movie is taking you. It’s why we love Quentin Tarantino so much. It’s why Pulp Fiction was an instant classic. It’s why Inglorious Basterds is a goddamn masterpiece. 

Here’s all you need to know about how the Manson Murders plays into Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood: Quentin Tarantino loves the movies, he loves the sheer beauty of 1960s cinema and Hollywood and he — like the rest of us — is very pissed off that Charles Manson and his brood of murderous dirty hippie weirdos barged their way into that world and not only put an end to all that beauty, but left a permanent stain on the culture and the American psyche in the process. And the way he deals with this seminal moment in Hollywood history is pure Quentin Tarantino. 

But the highlight of Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood are its characters. DiCaprio is absolutely brilliant as Dalton, struggling with facing his new reality and trying desperately to keep a very slippery grip on a once shining career. DiCaprio has a blast playing this character and it comes through. Pitt, meanwhile, channels a little of The Dude from The Big Lebowski — a breezy Angelino who smokes acid-dipped cigarettes, pals around with his loyal pitbull and takes things as they come while reminiscing about the time he had a fight with Bruce Lee on the set of The Green Hornet. Robbie, meanwhile, is amazing as Tate. A lot has been made about her not getting enough lines in this movie, but once you see her performance you see that less is indeed more (the scene where she goes into an L.A. theater and watches one of her movies and takes in the audiences’ reaction to her scenes is just great film making). 

Following the immensely disappointing and self-indulgent The Hateful Eight, and the tragic death of Tarantino’s long-time editor Sally Menke, I was worried QT had begun to lose his touch. But with Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, my faith has been restored. 

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is a fun winding ride. It hits most of the Tarantino sweet spots: It’s funny, it’s irreverent, it’s violent, it’s nostalgic, it’s stylized and it’s cool. And it’s going to be a movie that, in ten years or so, will be considered one of his best.

Chris Joseph (@ByChrisJoseph) is a host of Ballscast, and has written about sports and movies for Deadspin, Miami New Times, CBS Sports, and several other outlets.

Miami still has a professional football team? 

That’s what a friend of mine asked me. This was typical of his assholery, knowing that I have been a die hard Dolphins fan since watching John Riggins run over the Miami defense in the aqua and orange’s penultimate Super Bowl.

That’s when I said to myself, “Man, I gotta root for that team!”

Anyway, the question really got my Irish up. And I’m not even remotely Irish nor could I even play one on television. 

As for my friend, he is a suddenly emboldened with the promise of Baker Mayfield and the acquisition of game changer Odell Beckham, Jr. Cleveland Browns fan. I guess never in his 40 years had the brown and orange looked so majestic to him. Wearing the colors outside of Cleveland elicits looks the way a steak house waiter glares at you when you ask for A1 steak sauce for your filet. Or so people tell me.

Anyway, this was a Browns fan! This is a team that has been the gold standard for failure apart from one season thanks to the troika of Derek Anderson, Braylon Edwards and the athlete formerly known as Kellen Winslow, Jr. This is a team whose coach is named Freddie Kitchens. Google him. Has there ever been a more appropriate name? He looks like the “after” picture of a single guy in an Olive Garden “Buy One Take One” ad.

As for my reply? I could only counter with a new coach plucked from the Belichick tree (because we all know how well previous coaches have fared) and the potential of the UCLA edition, not the Arizona Cardinals iteration, of Josh Rosen.

He was terrible last year, my friend would tell me. He would point to Rosen’s 26 QB rating after a quick perusal of Pro Football Reference on his phone.

I would counter that he had a poor team around him. The moment I said it I truly felt like I was bringing a whiffle bat to a gun fight. My friend waved me off dismissively.

I don’t care. I’m on the Josh Rosen bullet train. The Dolphins traded picks to acquire Rosen from the Cardinals, the particulars (a second in 2019 and a fifth in 2020) were the equivalent of swapping your carrot sticks and bottle of water for a bag of Doritos on the trading floor of the cafeteria. It’s a play in investment circles that will either yield a return like Amazon stock or fall precipitously like every crypto currency out there. Regardless, I make that trade and I make it 10 out of 10 times, assuming we don’t already have a quarterback in place. Minds far greater than mine have already made this case and done so with more authority and respectable analysis. I am just needlessly piling on.

What I, as a fan, want to say is that I am actually psyched. I’m psyched more than when we had Daunte Culpepper or even Ryan Tannehill. One came with a decorated resume from throwing to a generational talent and one came as a high, first round draft pick with his own offensive coordinator. I’m psyched because no QB post-Marino has come with so much promise and wonder. Remember Tannehill was a converted WR. Yeah I was WTF-ing at that pick.

By my elementary school math and superficial research, 19 quarterbacks have started for the Dolphins since Dan Marino retired in 1999, give or take a Cleo Lemon or a Tyler Thigpen. I’m not even counting any back-ups.

By contrast, 29 QBs have started for the Browns and this list includes Academy Award winners Johnny Manziel, both McCown Brothers and something called Brandon Weeden.

Setting football aside, from all that I’ve read and all the pods that I’ve listened to (almost exclusively anything Five Reasons) I have gathered that Rosen is not a bad guy, that he has some commendable arm talent, that people really liked him and that there is a belief that he could still be really great. My thirst for a QB to have skills at least in the orbit of Dan Marino is great enough to blind me from the abomination of a season Rosen experienced in 2018. Also, the story of Rosen getting a pretty raw deal in Arizona is what makes me want to root for the guy to succeed. And please note, I’m not a Kyler Murray Believer.

You see, I know what Ryan Fitzpatrick is. He’s FitzMAGIC until the season strikes eight games and he becomes FitzMUGGLE. Had we not traded for Rosen I would be fine with Fitzpatrick starting, knowing that on the horizon were the QBs of 2020: Tua, Fromm, Herbert and whoever 3 Yards Per Carry anoints as the new Easton Stick.

I am of the camp that says throw Rosen in there. And yes, I write this as I refresh my Twitter feed detailing how he’s off, struggling in the red zone and was just intercepted by a guy who likely won’t make the team. I don’t care. Rosen’s draft status and hype are still fresh that I want to see him play and see if this coaching staff can indeed make chicken salad out of chicken bleep, and will have to do so minus the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Jim Caldwell’s departure.

Just play Rosen. He’s had only one season! The regret of What If by not playing him is greater than the pain of What the hell wherein he plays and stinks up the joint. At least in the latter scenario we will know what we have and we will be that much closer to the class of 2020.

First and foremost, I want Josh Rosen to succeed because we need a QB. I want Josh Rosen to succeed because his success would validate this Dolphins management team and elevate them as having the brass pair to make this trade and then the chops to coach the talent out of him. I want Josh Rosen to succeed because the resulting national story would be that the Dolphins are exciting again and not the irrelevant mess of the last God knows for how long. I want Josh Rosen to succeed because I read of the cockiness and confidence and I want a successful QB who can drip with confidence and cockiness similar to a guy we drafted in 1983. I want Josh Rosen to succeed because of that euphoric feeling of discovering something hidden or discarded that turns out to be of tremendous value. Josh Rosen is our afikoman!

Ultimately, I want Josh Rosen to succeed because I fear that this management team will NOT pick one of the decorated 2020 QBs and will instead try to outsmart everyone (or at least show how they’re smarter than everyone) and pick a little known defensive tackle from some small school that I never heard of. In all likelihood, he becomes a Hall Of Famer, a pillar of the community and a Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient. We will likely put him in the ring of honor and retire his number. And despite all of that, the Dolphins will still be average still be irrelevant and will still be looking for a quarterback.

So yes, I want Josh Rosen to succeed.

 

You can find the author at @ByRamonLo. He also hosts an aviation related podcast. Photo by Tony Capobianco.

Day two of training camp is in the books, and the Miami Dolphins are getting ready for things to get real. While the pads still haven’t come on, minimizing the amount of hitting that can be done, there are still takeaways to take under consideration.

The top three performers of day two, strangely enough, are going to look oddly similar to the top performers of day one. But when players stand out, they stand out.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB

The first player to stand out is the first player who stood out on day one. Redundant, perhaps, but unavoidable. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was on point for the second straight day of camp. He was decisive, he was accurate, and he looked a lot more like “Fitzmagic” than the player he was known as before earning that nickname.

If this sort of performance continues, it’s hard to imagine young Josh Rosen will ever keep up. Fitzpatrick is gunning for the starting job, and he’s not slowing down to let Rosen get a chance to take it from him. This puts head coach Brian Flores in an interesting position. The common sense solution would be to let Rosen start in order to get full evaluation of his skills. But Flores keeps saying that the best player will play. Letting Rosen start when he’s not the best forces Flores to go back on his word. Players struggle to respect coaches who don’t keep their word.

It’s still early, there’s still time for Rosen this training camp. But with Fitzpatrick earning top honors two days in a row, it’s hard to imagine Rosen getting to start under those circumstances.

DeVante Parker, WR

More of the same from day one of training camp. In the battle between Brice Butler, Preston Williams, and of course Parker…Parker is the best player of the three. Shocking, considering Parker’s checkered past on the football field. Then again, it may not be so shocking.

Parker is well known for making big plays when hitting isn’t involved. He did so again on Friday, making plays and tough catches that Miami always wanted him to make but he never did when it counted. This is the source of the frustration with him. He looks great in practice. He matches up fairly well against Xavien Howard of all players, everything he’s done so far indicates he can take the next step.

And yet…this is not the first time that assumption has been made. If Parker can continue his dominance when the pads come on, then maybe it’s safe to get hopes up. However, we can still credit him for stringing along two excellent practices.

Preston Williams, WR

Time to give one of the dark horses a little bit of love. After a somewhat disappointing first day, Preston Williams showed improvement and was able to make some impressive catches. While Parker still has the upper hand on him, it’s encouraging to see that he’s not going down without a fight.

His real chance to show what he can do comes on Saturday, when the pads come on for the first time and players start hitting each other. Parker tends to shy away when that happens, as noted previously. If Williams doesn’t, that will be telling. That will give him something he can hold over Parker, and it might be the difference between making the team and landing on the practice squad (if someone else doesn’t swipe him first).

DAVIE – Welcome to the Dolphins season of low expectations.

As freshman coach Brian Flores opened his first training camp Thursday, it is OK to hope for pleasant surprises. But before climbing about this express to parts unknown, be aware that it could get butt ugly along the way.

That is not to say there aren’t some talented players and an accomplished coaching staff to guide them. There also is nothing that suggests the makings of a formidable pass rush, even with Flores’ moxie as a defensive strategist.

It is very difficult to counter competent NFL offenses without one.

When this team needs a stop on third down there is no Cameron Wake to count on to put the heat on the opposing quarterback – not even the aging Wake of last season.

More from Dolphin Maven: Josh Rosen has long climb to fulfill hope as QB of future

Without pressure up front, skilled DBs like Xavien Howard, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Reshad Jones can only be expected to maintain coverage for so long.

That is the most dangerous scenario I see derailing Sunday after Sunday in the early stages of this rebuilding project.

What should fans wish for?

There is always the possibility they may overachieve, particularly if key playmakers can dodge the rash of season-ending injuries that dragged down last season.

That could lead to a middling record, too good to achieve the Tank for Tua objective of those hoping the Dolphins will lose enough to have a chance to draft Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

This can be a more confusing season than most for genuine Dolfans who must be wary of what they root for.

Rest assured, the concept of tanking is anathema to Flores, his coaches and players. They will be doing everything they can to win every week.

The best approach for fans could be to watch with an eye to identifying players that will form the platform for winning, if not this season then hopefully soon.

Some players to watch

How good can versatile DB Minkah Fitzpatrick be in his second season?

Can Josh Rosen show enough to make Tua unnecessary?

Will tight end Mike Gesicki prove worthy of a second-round pick in his second season? He showed the athleticism Thursday with a leaping, one-handed snatch of a goal-line fade from Ryan Fitzpatrick over Bobby McCain.

Can rookie Christian Wilkins translate his championship pedigree at Clemson to become the anchor of a stalwart defensive line?

I am glad they didn’t bring back Frank Gore to afford the opportunity for the younger backfield tandem of Kenyan Drake and Kalen Ballage to show what they can do.

Even gladder they finally moved on from Ryan Tannehill.

It was good to see jitterbug receivers Jakeem Grant and Albert Wilson on the field Thursday, healthy after last year’s debilitating injuries.

Flores out of Belichick’s shadow

Meanwhile, eager to see what Flores and his coaching staff can accomplish after predecessor Adam Gase failed to measure up to the hype as an offensive prodigy.

Flores is coming off leading one of the greatest Super Bowl defensive performances in the Patriots shutting down the high-flying Rams in February.

Granted, Bill Belichick assistants don’t have a distinguished record of success after leaving New England, and Flores doesn’t have the Patriots defensive personnel in Miami.

But New England defenses often turn out to be greater than the sum of their parts. They play right and exploit opponents’ weaknesses.

So part of the intrigue of this season will be to see if Flores can fashion prime rib out of ground chuck with the defense.

Can he get the most out of young linebackers Jerome Baker and Raekwon McMillan while working in rookie Andrew Van Ginkel as a situational component.

“Obviously, we haven’t played in a real game yet, but he’s got the attention, command and respect of the team right now,” veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said Thursday.

Message to Dolfans

Flores is reluctant to be drawn into discussing expectations, repeating the mantra of focusing on getting better each day.

It’s not sexy, not what fans want to hear. Especially fans who may not be quite sure what they expect or want out of this season.

Prior to Thursday’s first workout of training camp, Flores was asked what he’d tell the fan base that feels conflicted about winning and looking ahead to the future and wanting a high draft pick?

Flores response: “I tell them, support the Dolphins. You’re going to have a tough, smart, disciplined team that works hard. That’s not going to beat themselves. And, we’re going to fight to win every week. That’s what I tell them. And they’ll support us if you do that.”

Craig Davis has covered South Florida sports and teams, including the Dolphins, for four decades. Follow him on Twitter @CraigDavisRuns

More from Dolphin Maven

Please check out our site, dedicated to bringing you Dolphins news, insight and commentary year round.