Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Inexperienced McCain, Rowe could be starting duo at safety
With the 2020 NFL season fast approaching, the South Florida Sun Sentinel takes a look at 10 storylines to watch for in a 10-part series ahead of the Miami Dolphins’ first day of training camp, which is set for Tuesday, July 28, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The two players viewed as the frontrunners to start at safety for the Miami Dolphins have played the position for 19 games in the NFL.
Not 19 games each. That’s the collective body of work at safety Eric Rowe and Bobby McCain have on their NFL resumes.
Rowe was moved from cornerback to safety in late October after Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded to Pittsburgh, and he started 11 games at the position he played early in college at Utah before being switched to cornerback.
And McCain, who served as the Dolphins nickel cornerback for the first four seasons of his NFL career, started eight games at free safety last year before suffering his second shoulder injury of the season, which led to him
Marlins.”
“No one knew any of the players. Their two biggest names were Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly, and neither played. But the Marlins came out hitting, the pitching was strong, and they quickly discovered a serious advantage in that virus format.”
“What’s that, Grandpa?” “No fans in the stands. The other teams weren’t accustomed to that like
Marlins players were in their ballpark. All the other teams took a while to adjust hearing an umpire’s call echo through the stands. It unnerved those players, but by the time they got used to it, the Marlins were on their way in a 60-game season and kept it going in the playoffs. What a run. Magic.”
“Who was next?”
“The Panthers. See, they were helped by the virus format. The games weren’t played in South Florida, where most people couldn’t name two players or spell one properly. The games were in two Canadian cities. They felt the passion even with no fans at games. All the money they spent on goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was seed money to what he gave that spring. And it’s where coach Joel Quenneville got his nickname — Joel Quarantine.”
“Ugh. Now comes the Heat.”
“Don’t forget that big day in early August that Tua Tagovailoa became the Dolphins starter. What stood out about him was his durability. He didn’t miss a snap all camp! They started calling him “Cal Ripken Tagovailoa” for the manner he showed up and anchored the offense with those beautiful throws.
“What was the big deal, Grandpa? He didn’t miss a game in his first 10 years.”
“Well, the coaches agreed with you after watching him practice like that day after day after day. They had no choice but start him, and you saw what happened then.”
“Tank for Tua became Trophy for Tua.”
“And then Two for Tua.”
“And now comes the Heat.”
“They had some fun, young talent. But the key was their young players like Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro played older after the break, and an old Andre Iguodala was miraculously rejuvenated after it. Nunn and Herro played like they did for the rest of their great careers, while Iguodala played like he did for the next seven years with the Heat.”
“It helped too that LeBron and Giannis got sick.”
“Well, yes. They were asymptomatic, but there were a lot of conspiracy theories about a Disney character interacting with them just before their series with the Heat. You could see from the Corona Cam they weren’t too happy when the Heat won.”
“Weren’t fans popping champagne on Zoom?”
“Oh, it was a memorable night in the quarantine.”
“More memorable than the virtual parades, Grandpa?”
“No one left their homes during those either. They were so much fun.”