Dolphins
Former Dolphins LT Terron Armstead made an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday and said that he feels QB Tua Tagovailoa has similar qualities to future Hall of Famer QB Drew Brees, whom he played with during his time with the Saints.
“I see similarities. I’m not saying they’re the same player or same person, no two people are,” Armstead told Eisen. “The anticipation, the accuracy, timing of throws, the ability to knock a wing off a fly repeatedly. Those guys throw darts. They don’t throw to areas, they are very precise. And that’s an elite talent, it’s an elite trait. Very few people possess [it]. He’s one of them and Drew Brees is another.”
Armstrong noted that Tua needs more time and reps and was curious as to how similar Brees was going into his sixth NFL season.
“I would say time on task,” Armstead continued. “Having more experience, getting more reps, getting more snaps. I don’t know exactly where Drew Brees was going into his sixth year. I know he had a shoulder that had to get reconstructed when he signed to New Orleans and really pushed his career even further, to be the Hall of Famer player that he was.”
“The thing about Tua, he plays the game with such love for the game. He’s such a fierce competitor,” Armstead added. “He is willing to put his body on the line in any situation. But he has to understand — and I think he’s starting to understand — his value is deeper than any one play or any one game. Him being out of the lineup changes the franchise — it does. It changes the identity of the offense, it changes the franchise. So, I believe that he has to play the game with that in mind, as opposed to let me do whatever I need to do to get this first down. That first down is not nearly as valuable as him being there the next series.”
Despite having more challenges to overcome, including injuries, Armstead still believes that Tua can answer questions about both his skills and durability.
“Yeah, he has narratives in front of him that have to be answered,” Armstead concluded. “Not necessarily by me or in an interview form, it’s from him, and his play, and getting the job done. Any quarterback or any team that [doesn’t] hoist that trophy at the end of the year, you have questions, you have narratives, you have challenges, you have adversity, you have things to answer. Only team that don’t really have that is Philly. Everybody else, they have their questions going into the season. Tua has his questions, and it’s up to him to answer these question — not me. Do I believe he can? I do. Do I believe he will? I do.
Jets
The Jets’ signing of Justin Fields reunites him with his college teammate, WR Garrett Wilson. The receiver said they’ve already established good communication and trust based on their time together at Ohio State.
“I’ll just say that, he trusts me, I trust him, we’ve got a good communication, we speak to each other well, we know what the other is thinking and that’s key,” Wilson said, via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “Him being able to say: ‘Garrett, I don’t want you running like that, that was the wrong route.’ Stuff like that in a certain way where he knows I’m not going to take it the wrong way and we’re just trying to get the best out of each other. I know what he can do. I still think the world’s gotta see it. We all got something to prove on this team.”
Fields mentions that Fields is proving to be “very commanding in the huddle.”
“Guys keep coming up to me saying: Man, that’s my guy,” Wilson said. “He’s got a different way about him. It’s very commanding in the huddle. Like: Hey, we’re messing up. Let’s get on that s—. But you get it from the standpoint of, he’s not degrading anybody, he’s not going to put it a certain way.”
Although HC Aaron Glenn said Fields typically has a quiet demeanor, players are responding well to the quarterback.
“Yes, he has a quiet voice, but that quiet voice doesn’t mean that people don’t hear him. People see the way he works, that speaks more than what you say, and I like that about him because he is himself and he’s authentic, and he’s not going to change for nobody. I’d rather have that than somebody that’s fake.”
Patriots
Patriots QB Drake Maye enters the second year of his career and first season playing under OC Josh McDaniels. Maye said he’s “catching the stride” of McDaniels’ system and is often trying to test himself against CBs Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez.
“I think it’s feeling good. I think we’re catching the stride. Trying to get as many reps out there as possible. I think you got to take the meetings and what you learn from when you do get a chance to run the plays, just take it and take it in the next time you run it. It’s all the same concepts in the league, but it’s different verbiage. Mostly same guys running them, but just feeling out how they run it, timing and just getting different concepts. I think it’s been good. I think I’m starting to find a stride. I’m bummed out we’re about to leave, but it’s fun. Anytime we’re going against a great defense, you got good players, two great corners. I tell Gonzo every day, ‘I’m going to test them.’ I’m not going to not throw at him or CD [Carlton Davis], two of the best corners and one of the best duos in the league. What an opportunity for us to go out there every day and throw against those guys,” Maye said, via the team’s site.
When asked about McDaniels’ system having more post-snap adjustments, Maye responded that their offensive coordinator does well in creating good matchups.
“Post-snap? I wouldn’t say that. I think every offense has different pre-snap, different post-snap. I think Coach does a great job of getting guys in match-ups and letting them win. I’m looking forward to doing that. I’ve got to do my part in getting guys lined up, playing the right side and just doing my part of taking what’s open. Taking the first thing, sometimes when you tend to wait for the big one, holding the ball, and sometimes it’s not open.”
Maye feels they are still discovering their offensive identity and it’s difficult to practice their running game when players aren’t in pads.
“I think you’re starting to find it. I think it’s hard out here because running the football is such an identity for those guys up front, kind of being physical in the running game. Also, it’s hard – nobody’s getting tackled, so it’s hard to tackle these guys. They’re just tapping off and saying ‘I tackled him,’ but that’s how it is in OTAs. But I think it’s good work. It’s good for us to kind of install the plays, get a feel about what I like. Coach McDaniels has been awesome about asking what I like and what he expects from me on certain plays. So, it’s been good to be able to get that outside and on the field. It’s been fun watching Tom [Brady] and a bunch of great quarterbacks in this offense do it.”
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