HOUSTON — Want to know how clunky the Miami Dolphins offense has been recently in camp? They had their best performance in more than a week here against the Houston Texans — on a day that Tua Tagovailoa threw two interceptions, including a pick-six on the final throw of the day.
What went well, and what went wrong? We explore in our Day 14 Miami Dolphins training camp practice report.
Miami Dolphins Practice Report: Latest News From Training Camp
Tua Tagovailoa’s Interceptions Explained
A disclaimer at the top: The media viewing setup at the Houston Methodist Training Center is not great. Even thinking about keeping stats was a fool’s errand when we could barely see most snaps the Dolphins offense ran.
But we saw the big plays.
Locked in. 🔒 pic.twitter.com/jU4nxjwiFk
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 16, 2023
And the Dolphins had their fair share, particularly in the red zone where Tagovailoa had at least three touchdown passes.
He also had a beautiful 38-yard completion down the seam to TE Durham Smythe in a hurry-up situation late in practice.
But Tagovailoa also threw two interceptions — one to former Alabama linebacker Christian Harris and the other to second-year safety Jalen Pitre.
pINTre ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ChHdVVZEWL
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 16, 2023
Following practice, Tagovailoa broke down both throws for reporters:
“On the first interception, I think it’s what I’ve done best is looking guys off and no-looking throws into holes like that. I talked to Christian Harris — buddy, Alabama — and told me that ‘Dude, you did that so much to us last year that, like, I was like, OK, just trust my drop in this area.’ And he’s like, ‘I’m not falling for it,’ and that’s basically what happened.
“So it’s a good play for him, and that too, you know, the mind game of that. It’s like, ‘Wow, I never, never thought that you’d figure that out. That piece of the game out.’ So kudos to him.
“And then on that last one, that man, I wish I could have had that one back. … That one, I was trying to maneuver someone, and it didn’t work out with one of the receivers, and that was the only place to ditch the ball. I probably should have just sailed it to the ground, but it was a good play by him.”
Offensive Improvement?
On the whole, however, the Dolphins were much better on offense than they were during joint practices against the Atlanta Falcons last week.
The run game flashed at some moments, and the Texans had few answers for the Dolphins’ quick-strike passing attack (Harris’ interception notwithstanding).
“Liked today,” Dolphins tackle Terron Armstead said post-practice Wednesday. “I liked today. We’ve been having some challenges and struggle. Just the timing and just the vibe of the offense. Trying to run that operation and make it run like a machine. We haven’t been able to do that the way that we have grown accustomed to when we’re rolling.
“Today, felt normal, felt more normal. Still had some hiccups, of course, but from an operational standpoint, it felt like a real [good day].”
Miami Dolphins News and Notes
- Some of the biggest names in Miami and Houston sports history were invited guests here Wednesday, including 11-time All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens, who met Tagovailoa post-practice. “How cool is that?” Tagovailoa said. “That was really cool.”
This dude is here today pic.twitter.com/FXp9mLWxd0
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) August 16, 2023
- Miami Dolphins Honor Roll inductees Dan Marino, Mark Clayton, and Richmond Webb were also present.
- The list of Dolphins who did not practice Wednesday included CB Jalen Ramsey, WR Jalen Waddle, and DBs Justin Bethel, Keion Crossen, and Brandon Jones.
- Truth be told, Houston practices were more comfortable from a temperature standpoint than the ones held recently in Miami, despite the mercury topping or nearing 100 degrees almost every day here.