Breaking down the Miami Dolphins first open 2021 practice

For the first time since last December, the Miami Dolphins held their first open practice for the media to watch. With that first practice comes the opportunity to see and hear from the players in a real football environment and get an idea of where they stand.

As OTAs are voluntary, it’s no surprise to see that some players opted not to attend. The most notable absences were Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Jason McCourty, Emmanuel Ogbah, Justin Coleman, Jerome Baker, Benardrick McKinney, Will Fuller, and D.J. Fluker. Just looking at the list, it’s mostly veterans who didn’t show up. This is a regular pattern across the NFL and ultimately means nothing. It’s only when mandatory mini-camp arrives that attendance will matter.

“Like I’ve told them, you don’t just roll out of bed and jump back into it as if you’re in midseason form, so there’s a lot of working through some kinks, I would say, even just from a basic fundamentals, footwork, hand placement standpoint.” Head coach Brian Flores said before practice. “It’s good to get them out here and work through some of those things. We’ll see them these next few weeks to include minicamp.”

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Albert Wilson and Allen Hurns attended practice, with video being taken of Wilson catching a pass from veteran QB Jacoby Brissett.

.@JBrissett12 ➡️ @iThinkIsee12 pic.twitter.com/6s8DSPCFML

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) May 26, 2021

However, Wilson will need every opportunity he can get to prove he still deserves a roster spot with all the weapons that have been added. This Miami Dolphins regime has shown over and over that no player is safe, no matter how good or respected they are.

Speaking of Brissett, it was reported that he and rookie Jaylen Waddle were getting extra work in after practice was over. This is a good sign considering Waddle is projected to be a big contributor to the offense in 2021. Why wasn’t it Tua Tagovailoa instead? One possible reason is he was preparing for a media session.

The offense and defense never faced each other in Wednesday’s practice. Both sides kept to their own work during practice and the players’ only real opponent was the grass in front of them. Part of the agreement the players reached with Brian Flores stated that OTAs would be a much lighter workload. So the session focused mainly on teaching and fundamentals.

After practice was over, players spoke with the media and dropped some interesting tidbits regarding their mindset and the surrounding chatter. One of the most candid of them all was tight end Mike Gesicki.

Mike Gesicki: "Tua has gotten used to hearing stupid, uneducated stuff about him"

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

This is likely in regards due to the recent chatter coming from the likes of Colin Cowherd and others. The criticisms regarding Tagovailoa’s health, arm strength, durability and comparison to fellow QB Justin Herbert has dominated national airwaves. Fortunately, it seems that Tua Tagovailoa isn’t fazed by this talk and appreciates his teammate’s defense of him.

Tua: (On Gesicki's defense of him) "It's appealing to hear, to have guys rally to a QB coming into year 2, but I'm focused on making a jump from my rookie year to year 2."

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

Tua: (On the "noise") "I have no extra motivation to shut anybody up, I have expectations for myself." (paraphrase)

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

Later, Tua offered some insight on his strength and conditioning.

Tua: "I'm getting stronger. My strength and conditioning program is different this year than it was last year."

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

Tua: (on the benefits of his offseason workouts) "Using more of my body this year on throws, it was more "arm" last year."

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

Tua: "I worked on my whole body. Worked on my gluteus to support my hip. My Hip feels 10x better."

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

Obviously, this is excellent news. After all, one of the main concerns of 2020 was Tagovailoa’s health. Now instead of focusing on healing, he can focus on raising his peak physical shape. Everyone has seen the images and videos of Tua Tagovailoa working out, and it’s obvious that he looks much stronger than he did last season.

Man whenever I find pictures of Tua from last year Camp it really makes you think how the hell he was able to play football 😂 he was so skinny he couldn’t even fill out his practice jersey 😭 Tua really did look like a punter they found off the street pic.twitter.com/NQ6yF5Dg6F

— Kev ☠️ (@HollywoodxKev) May 23, 2021

However, the quote that will likely make the national news regarded Tua Tagovailoa’s level of comfort last season. It was speculated by many that Tagovailoa looked lost at times in the huddle and wasn’t sure where to go with the ball. Tagovailoa confirmed these suspicions in Wednesday’s virtual press conference.

Tua: "I really didn't know the playbook really well last year."

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

To clarify, Tagovailoa is not suggesting he did not take the time to learn the playbook. He clarified his comments, saying that when he was in the game, the playcalls were simpler, there weren’t extra alerts or things to take into consideration. He didn’t have the playbook down to such a science that he felt comfortable changing things on the fly, pointing things out, speaking with authority and helping his teammates execute.

Considering he was a step behind all season due to his rehab, this should not be a surprise. He did not get to really focus on learning every detail of the playbook because he had to spend time healing and getting back to his baseline physical shape. Plus, the offense was not catered to his strengths, and neither was the offensive coordinator. Last year’s offense was best suited for Ryan Fitzpatrick, a gunslinger. Not a surgeon like Tua Tagovailoa.

Tua: (on his rookie year) "Getting the order of operation, post, pre snap reads. wasn't comfortable last year. This year, it's a work in progress."

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

Granted, Tagovailoa takes responsibility for not knowing the playbook as well as he should have. But now things are different, now the offense is being built around him. That has already done wonders for his level of comfort, and it’s showing in the huddle.

Tua: "I'm working on making my opinion known, and being more vocal in the huddle, with the guys."

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) May 26, 2021

As time goes on, there will be more opportunities to see what Tagovailoa is truly capable of. His teammates have made it clear they believe in him and they’re excited to work with him. All the other discussions outside the organization are being scoffed at or ignored.

It will be interesting to see where things progress from here.

Quotes aggregated by Alfredo Arteaga (@Alf_Arteaga), who is one-third of the trio that does the Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) podcast

Summary by Luis Sung (@LuisDSung), who has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for eight years.

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