Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Coaches praise Tua, Perry, Igbinoghene
Assistants give insight on 10 Dolphins players
As the Miami Dolphins inch closer to Week 1 of the NFL season, here is some insight on 10 different players from Miami’s assistant coaches on Wednesday:
■ On rookie quarterback Tua
Tagovailoa’s readiness to play in a NFL game:
Dolphins quarterback coach Robby Brown said the team won’t truly know that answer until Tagovailoa sees live action.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic-affected offseason, the Dolphins have tried their best to stimulate scenarios Tagovailoa could experience when he finally plays in an NFL game.
“You don’t know until they go out there and they see that level of competition and that speed,” Brown said of Tagovailoa.
Again, Dolphins coach Brian Flores will ultimately decide when Tagovailoa makes his debut with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick expected to be the team’s starting quarterback to begin the season.
“My goal has been to get him better each and every day. … When it’s time and coach makes that decision, we’ll go with it,” Brown said of Tagovailoa.
■ Rookie receiver Malcolm Perry, Miami’s seventh-round pick in this year’s draft who played quarterback at Navy, continues to make strides during his first NFL training camp.
“He works his a— off all the time. He does a good job of not making the same mistake twice,” Dolphins receivers coach Josh Grizzard said of Perry.
Grizzard saw Perry trying out at receiver while he worked at the East/West Shrine game in January, a major event for unheralded college football players looking to make some strides within NFL draft circles.
It seems like that early connection has paid off for the Dolphins with Perry’s standout performance in camp.
Dolphins running back coach Eric Studesville said he has not yet had the chance to work with Perry, but he “has a unique skill set. His productivity with Navy was unbelievable.”
■ Dolphins rookie cornerback
Noah Igbinoghene, Miami’s last of three first-round picks in April,
could continue to see a prominent role on defense as Xavien Howard works his way back from knee surgery last year.
“You start to see over the course of camp that he’s getting more comfortable as a perimeter corner,” Dolphins defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander said of Igbinoghene, the No. 30 pick out of Auburn.
“He’s still pretty fresh at the position. But you start to see a guy who is developing technically out there on the perimeter.”
Igbinoghene, who used to play receiver before changing positions, has shown an early knack for getting after the football and beating receivers in one-on-one coverage during his first NFL training camp.
■ Alexander did not express too much apprehension for how Howard has progressed now that he has returned to training camp.
Howard, the NFL’s coleader with seven interceptions in 2018, missed extensive training camp time away from the practice fields on the physically-unable-toperform and reserve/COVID-19 lists last month.
“One of the things he’s done, if he’s not talking the physical rep, he’s taking the mental rep. So when he does insert himself on the field, there is some familiarity,” Alexander said of Howard.
“I’m not too concerned about it. He understands the terminology and responsibility that comes with certain calls or communication.”
■ Offensive line coach Steve Marshall said 2019 thirdround pick Michael Deiter, who started 15 games at left guard as a rookie, is working well in his transition to center.
While Deiter may not be on the first-team offense, his progression as an offensive line prospect is significant for the Dolphins’ rebuilding effort.
“He’s working every day. I’ve been very pleased with what he’s done at center, and he’s multi-position learning,” Marshall said of Deiter. “He played center at University of Wisconsin as a sophomore so it wasn’t unfamiliar to him.
“Every day is a new adventure, but Mike has competed extremely hard and I’m happy with his development,” Marshall added.
Marshall says his offensive line’s collective youth — even with its most experienced players like right tackle Jesse Davis, left guard Ereck Flowers and center Ted Karras — has to see live action in order to truly improve as a unit.
“We’ve had our hiccups. But the guys have fought their tails off and they’re working hard,” Marshall said of his offensive line. “We’re anxious to get the season rolling.”
■ Tight ends coach George Godsey singled out Durham
Smythe, a 2018 fourthround pick, for standing out in the position group, which includes Mike Gesicki and Adam Shaheen.
“I really think Durham is a leader in that room, Godsey said of Smythe. “He does a good job of communicating. … He was put in a lot of blocking roles last year and did well. He’s able to help in all three phases, whether it’s blocking, protection or running routes.”
Godsey also said of the players in his position group: “I don’t think any of those guys have reached their ceiling.”
■ Dolphins defensive line coach Marion Hobby has some contained excitement for several young players in his group.
On Dolphins 2020 second-round defensive tackle
Raekwon Davis, Hobby said Davis: “He’s a big, massive guy. He wants to be coached. He’s growing. Last week’s scrimmage was really the first game-day atmosphere for him in the stadium, and I thought he did a good job.”
Hobby was also complimentary of 2020 fifth-round pick Jason Strowbridge ,a former Deerfield Beach High standout who played at North Carolina in college.
“He keeps getting better every day. He has a role on this team, and whether it’s first week or second week, we’re definitely going to need him,” Hobby said of Strowbridge.
Defensive tackle Zach
Sieler, who had a sack and two pass deflections in Week 16 against the Bengals last season, also has some potential to make more plays this season, Hobby said.
“He’s still a young player but he shows up,” Hobby said of Sieler, who could be in Miami’s defensive tackle rotation with Davon Godchaux, Christian Wilkins and Davis. “He’s one of those 6-6 guys with a lot of wingspan in there, and I think he does a great job.”
■ Brown says Fitzpatrick is the same person is he today that the quarterbacks coach remembers him being from their time together with the Jets five years ago.
“He’s not changed as a person in any way shape or form,” Brown said of the Dolphins’ expected starter. “He loves to play the game. He loves the mental aspect of the game.
“We’ve been together for a month here … but he seems exactly the same to me.”