Dolphins offer clue to 2021 offensive mentality during rainy minicamp
If you just read the headlines from yesterday afternoon, you’d have thought the Miami Dolphins were transported back to 2019. Five interceptions for Tua Tagovailoa at Tuesday’s Day 1 of mandatory minicamp and another two for quarterback Jacoby Brissett. A comedy of errors — except for that little thing called context. It poured in Davie yesterday for the team’s first practice outside and Brian Flores kept his team out in the elements to push through it.
And if you’re willing to look just below of the surface of what happened in the rain, there’s a confirmation of what the Dolphins are hoping their offense is going to look like in 2021 — as told by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after the session.
“I think today, the emphasis for us quarterbacks – we wanted to be aggressive today within the pass game. We wanted to see if we could fit throws in, we wanted to see what throws we could make under these conditions. We were just trying to push the ball vertical down the field. There are some plays that didn’t go our way, but (those are) plays that we can take a look at in the film room and move forward with,” said Tagovailoa.
Aggressive. Push the ball vertically.
These are not words that come to mind when thinking of the Dolphins’ 2020 passing game under Tagovailoa. His 6.3 yards per attempt average from last year is plenty of a reminder of that. But nevertheless here is Miami, in a torrential downpour, trying to push the field vertically in June.
Because if that’s what your identity is going to look like, why not? What’s the harm in giving it a go here when the stakes are low and there’s no ramifications. That is, of course, other than some bad headlines for your young quarterback. But Tagovailoa has been so hyperanalyzed as a talent over the past 8 months that what’s another few days worth?
We figured Miami’s offense would feature more vertical action with the additions of Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle to the mix. But this is a nice confirmation from Tagovailoa that the mentality of this passing attack is going to be more vertical than it was last year.
“That’s just been the emphasis for us coming out to this first day of minicamp, was just to be aggressive and push the ball down field. Obviously you want to be smart; but if there is a time to make mistakes, now is the time to make mistakes,” said Tagovailoa.
“We’re trying to see what we can fit in the hole, what we can throw within coverages, come into the film room and then learn from it.”
