Tag Archive for: Preseason

Miami Dolphins

Preseason Week 1 – Miami Dolphins at Chicago Bears: 5 players to watch

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As the Miami Dolphins prepare to face off against the Chicago Bears for their first real game action of the year, there are plenty of players to keep an eye on. But considering the circumstances, there are a few players who deserve more attention than others. Here are five of those players.

1. Larnel Coleman – OT

Larnel Coleman is intriguing for a few reasons. First and foremost, the Miami Dolphins offensive line is – once again – in flux. Liam Eichenberg did not immediately take to right tackle like so many hoped. His left guard ambitions did not go much better. However, in limited snaps in practice, Coleman has shown a certain level of promise. Against the Chicago Bears, Coleman will have a big test ahead of him.

As a 7th round pick, Coleman is undoubtedly a project. But he has talent and he’s already shown he can hold his own against his teammates. Raw speed seems to be a weakness of his, as evidenced by Vince Biegel figuring him out in practice last week. If Coleman develops quickly, Miami may dodge a bullet if Eichenberg doesn’t catch on first. All due respect to veteran Jesse Davis, a long term starter he is not. Miami needs an upgrade.

2. Noah Igbinoghene – CB

To say that Noah Igbinoghene has been disappointing so far in practice would be an understatement. Even the coaching staff briefly demoted him to third string due to his struggles in practice. In one practice he was beaten not once, but twice on deep passes to Isaiah Ford. That is not a ringing endorsement for the 1st round pick out of Auburn. However, once again, patience is required for Igbinoghene.

He’s a physical freak, a one of a kind athlete. But his experience at corner is so limited compared to other players in his draft class, it’s no surprise he’s a step or two behind. Will Miami get to reap the benefits of his drafting? That remains to be seen. Fortunately, the Dolphins worked things out with Xavien Howard, so Igbinoghene’s bought at least one more season to train as an NFL cornerback.

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3. Brennan Scarlett – LB

When Jaelen Phillips went down with an injury, the first player to make an instant impact was none other than Brennan Scarlett. The veteran linebacker went undrafted in 2016 and signed with the Houston Texans, only to land on injured reserve over and over again with various injuries. It’s clear that his career has been derailed by these injuries. Ever since training camp opened, Scarlett has made plays against the first team offense and is a regular contributor on the special teams unit.

So why look at Scarlett instead of rookie Jaelen Phillips? Well, if Phillips plays, then by all means, watch him too. After all, he returned to practice during the joint sessions with the Bears and was immediately placed with the first team. But Scarlett has been given more time to stand out than Phillips, and he’s taken advantage of that time. If Scarlett performs, that could give Phillips more time to heal and develop. No need to rush things along if someone can provide an instant impact already.

4. Gerrid Doaks – RB

If it feels like the choices are a little obscure, there is a reason for that. Remember, preseason is essentially an extended tryout. There’s no question that Myles Gaskin, Malcolm Brown and Salvon Ahmed are the favorites to make the roster as the team’s running back stable. But the Miami Dolphins opted to draft Gerrid Doaks with their final draft pick in 2021, so they must have felt he was worth something to not let him test the market.

Doaks hasn’t necessarily stood out. If he had, he would have pushed for more playing time with the starting unit. But the rotation at running back in practice is so fluid that literally everyone has gotten a chance to take handoffs from Tua Tagovailoa at this point. Doaks will likely receive a lot of snaps, since Gaskin is the clear starter. Brown and Ahmed both suffered injuries in practice recently, and are also expected to make the team anyway.

So keeping the reality of preseason in mind, Doaks will receive more of a chance to stand out than anyone else as the game drags on. His main niche is as a power back, and has a reputation for being a good blocker out of the backfield. Everyone knows how much Miami loves running backs that can block. Doaks has a chance to make his presence felt against the Chicago Bears.

5. Tua Tagovailoa – QB

The one that everyone’s been waiting for. The time has come to finally see Tua Tagovailoa throw the football against an NFL team that isn’t his own. So why, with all the hype surrounding him, is he so low on this list? Simply put, he likely won’t be in for very long. This is not the dress rehearsal. There may not even be a dress rehearsal with the way the NFL has changed the structure of preseason. He’ll get in a few drives, maybe even play a quarter. But it’s unlikely he stays any longer than that before Jacoby Brissett and Reid Sinnett take over from there.

Make no mistake, as with any NFL team, the season hinges on the performance of the quarterback. Tagovailoa seems to have taken a huge step forward so far, so if he can follow up his camp performance with an amazing showing in limited time against Chicago, then Miami Dolphins fans everywhere have a massive reason to be excited for the upcoming season.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for seven years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung

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Josh Rosen risks

Dolphins head coach Brian Flores wants Josh Rosen to curb risk taking

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One major difference between Miami’s current quarterbacks and the one that departed in the offseason is their willingness to take chances. Both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen are aggressive in their decision-making, a trait put on full display during the Dolphins win against the Falcons. They attempted plays that can only be described as incredible. Some of them worked, while some of them did not.

That willingness to be aggressive is part of what makes Rosen such an intriguing prospect. However, it can also lead to mistakes that Miami can’t afford to make. One such mistake was when Rosen attempted a pass in the middle of the field to WR Isaiah Ford, only to be intercepted by linebacker Jermaine Grace. The three-year veteran stepped right in front of the route and Rosen could do nothing but watch as his team chased the defender down.

Rosen is taking chances, but head coach Brian Flores wants him to tone it down a bit.

“Yeah. A couple times there I thought, maybe, those are a little dicey.” Flores said after the game. “And at some point as a quarterback you’ve got to take the sack. That’s the best play. But the guy’s got a little bit of a gunslinger mentality and wants to let it rip and obviously got the nice one out to Preston, but I think we want to play smarter than that I would say in that situation, not just let the ball go like he did.”

Once again, Flores functions on the premise of basics and fundamentals. Even if risky plays end in favorable results, that doesn’t mean Flores condones the decision. He wants smart, calculated football. That means taking advantage of what the defense gives, not forcing something when things get dangerous.

“I felt some guys at my ankles.” Rosen said. “I knew Preston kind of had a stop coming back to me, I saw he was a bit inside of him. So I knew if I just put it up he would kind of have the break on it. It might have been a little bit too dicey; but I don’t know. A couple fall in your favor, a couple don’t. I probably should be a little smarter with that, even though this one worked out.”

Not having consistent protection can easily lead to more of these mistakes. Josh Rosen had to spend the majority of his playing time dodging defenders before he could make a throw. In reality, it’s a testament to Rosen’s improvement that he was able to accomplish what he did against Atlanta. Rosen completed 13 out of 20 attempts for 191 yards, and of course his interception. That averages out to a 75.2 passer rating, which does not reflect his overall performance. Rosen grew more comfortable as the game continued, and soon those risky plays started looking routine.

“I feel substantially better now than I did two weeks ago.”Rosen said. “But like I said, I’ve got a long ways to go. The way ‘Fitz’ (Ryan Fitzpatrick) in our meeting room can break down a defense and how quickly he can make comments on where everyone is, where the ball should go, is pretty impressive and I think if I can kind of hedge that gunslinger attitude a little bit and put a little bit more thought into it, I think I could develop pretty nicely.”

It’s encouraging that Rosen recognizes the flaws in himself. He even goes as far as to admit he’s struggled with taking unnecessary risks throughout his entire football career. He’s learning when the best move is to give up on a play and try again on the next down, and when it’s okay to throw up a prayer. It’s something he’s been dealing with all through the offseason and training camp already.

Josh Rosen isn’t making excuses for himself, though he easily could have on Thursday. With the offensive line unable to protect for him, he didn’t have much time to think about what he was doing. But that’s moot. He made a mistake, and he knows it. He isn’t about to whine about something he feels has no bearing on his ability to make wise choices.

“I threw the pick in a completely clean pocket. So football is football.” He said. “You’re never going to have a completely clean pocket all of the time. When you get it, you’ve got to take advantage of it and when you don’t, you can’t make stupid mistakes by trying to play hero ball. I did kind of a little bit of everything, so I’ve got a lot of film to watch. Just because like good plays gained yards doesn’t mean that the way we got that was like a sustainable way to do that in the future. So I think that like I said at the beginning, there’s good, bad and everything in between.”

If Rosen can eliminate some of the bad, then he can easily take the starting job away from Ryan Fitzpatrick. If he eliminates the everything in between and keeps only the good, then Miami will finally have their franchise quarterback in Josh Rosen. The sooner he learns those lessons, the better off everyone will be.

“I think that’s what this time is for, that’s what training camp is for.” Flores said. “It’s to develop these guys, help develop them, help work on their techniques, fundamentals, consistency. That’s what training camp is for. That’s why I got into coaching, that’s what I love about coaching. We want to win, there’s no doubt about that. But we’re going to try to develop these players as best we can and try to win at the same time. And I think development of players is something that’s ongoing.”