Stock Report (Practice 9): Igbinoghene Issued a Challenge

The Miami Dolphins have spent the week experimenting with left guard options.

Every other series during the final three practices there's been one of four players getting inserted into the first-team O-line.

It’s clear that Miami’s coaches realize Liam Eichenberg is the weakest link on the offensive line. Now the question is, what will they do about it, and when?

The Dolphins offense struggled mightily during the scrimmage Saturday, and the fact the offensive line got owned at the line of scrimmage was the main reason for the unit’s struggles in my opinion.

Miami was unable to run the ball effectively, and every quarterback either took would-be sacks, or had pressure in his face every series from a defense that wasn’t blitzing regularly. 

Linemen were just getting beat, and it wasn't the offensive tackles getting victimized.

Overall, it was a disappointing day where Miami’s coaches have to go into tomorrow’s film work and Monday's coaches meetings and come up with a game plan of how to fix the problem.

Play of the Day: Tyreek Hill got behind safety Keidron Smith on a 58-yard touchdown pass where the Dolphins not only max-protected, but had the slot receiver stay in to block a blitzer. Hill was wide open, but had to slow down the catch the ball. I found it interesting there were only two receivers downfield and a check-down on that play, which means it was set up to go big, or go home.

Top Performers

1. CB Noah Igbinoghene - Igbinoghene pulled down an interception on Tua Tagovailoa during an early 11-on-11 rep while defending Hill. Not sure if it was a bad route, bad throw, or poor communication between the receiver and cornerback, but Igbinoghene hawked down a ball in his zone. 

After the scrimmage Mike McDaniel said, “Don’t underestimate the journey of going system to system in a defense.”

He's referring to Igbinoghene actually looking like a respectable NFL cornerback in Vic Fangio's zone scheme, as opposed to the man-press scheme Brian Flores and Josh Boyer utilized.

McDaniel flat-out issued Igbinoghene, a 2020 first-round pick, a challenge, asking, “Is he thirsty enough to say I want more, or will he get comfortable?”

This very well could be Igbinoghene’s last chance to prove he’s an NFL starter, and not an NFL journeyman annually battling for a roster spot.

2. CB Eli Apple - Apple, a seven-year veteran, pulled down an interception on the final play of practice, stepping in front of a Tagovailoa pass intended for Durham Smythe at the 2-yard line. It was the type of play that hints he’s forgotten more about the NFL game than his counterparts — Igbinoghene and Cam Smith — competing to replace Jalen Ramsey actually know. The fact that Miami guaranteed Apple $500,000 of his $1.35 million contract hints he’ll be on the 53-man roster. The question is, will he be the boundary cornerback paired with Xavien Howard and Kader Kohou?

3. DT Jaylen Twyman - I’ve noticed Twyman a number of times, and feel like I’ve considered him for my stock report in three of Miami’s nine practices. But the waiver wire find simply didn’t make the cut on those days. During the scrimmage, Twyman was just behind Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler based on the level of impact he was making, disrupting the interior of the offensive line. He finished the practice with two sacks from me (other media members saw it differently). Twyman is only 6-2, 286 pounds, but he’s able to get skinny and shoot the gaps, leaking into the backfield.

Stock down

Disclaimer: It would be easy to name Tagovailoa in the stock down report because he’s the offense’s leader on a day it performed dismally, and he threw both interceptions on the day. 

However, the animated speech Tagovailoa gave his offense after practice earned my respect, and five years from now that’s what I’ll remember from the Dolphins scrimmage of 2023. Chad Henne or Ryan Tannehill never could have given that kind of speech, and kept his unit's attention for that long. The speech reminds me of the day I saw him chew out Austin Jackson for a poor practice series in 2021, before we all knew Jackson wasn’t suited to play left tackle.

But Saturday was Tagovailoa's worst performance of training camp. I expect him to respond in the joint practices against the Atlanta Falcons. If he doesn't, I'll become concerned.

Center Connor Williams - The interior of the offensive line has been an issue all camp, and Williams is a contributor to the unit’s struggles as well. He’s not as inconsistent as Liam Eichenberg, but he’s still been manhandled by Sieler, Raekwon Davis and Wilkins from time to time. During Saturday’s scrimmage he was a contributor to about two sacks, and he launched a snap high above Tagovailoa’s head that would have resulted in a 20-yard loss.