Dolphins
Miami was blown out in Week 1 against the Colts, losing 33-8 in a game where QB Tua Tagovailoa turned the ball over three times. Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel admitted Tagovailoa’s performance wasn’t up to par, but also acknowledged plenty of guys didn’t do their jobs.
“It was something left to be desired … there’s throws he makes nine times out of 10, and he didn’t make them today,” McDaniel said, via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “Definitely not all on him — too many people failed at the execution of their jobs for him to have anything extra on his shoulders.”
Despite the loss, Miami WR Tyreek Hill said he felt great after missing time in camp with an oblique injury.
“I was still moving fast. I was moving good in and out of my route, so I felt great, man,” Hill said. “Obviously timingwise, the first [target] that we had, I wish the connection was there — but it’ll get there with time. We obviously know what we got to fix and get better at, so that’s what we’re going to continue to attack.”
- Former Dolphins and Saints LT Terron Armstead said that Broncos HC Sean Payton called him two days after retirement and offered him a job, yet Armstead isn’t interested in a job with those kinds of hours at this point. (Katherine Terrell)
Jets
Jets QB Justin Fields had a strong debut with the team, leading them to 32 points in a tough loss to the Steelers. New York WR Garrett Wilson is happy to be reunited with his old Ohio State teammate and hopes to build on a strong start.
“Yeah, man, that boy is a dog,” Wilson said, via ESPN’s Rich Cimini. “That’s the man I know. He comes out and puts everything on the field on every play. He doesn’t give up on any play. He doesn’t give up on anything.”
“I know that stuff is inspiring to the dudes out there with him and probably to the dudes watching. It felt good to be back out there with Justin and to know he’s got my back, and I got his. That’s the mindset, the relationship that we’re going to take into every week.”
Jets RB Breece Hall explained the differences in having someone like Fields under center with great composure.
“Yeah, he brings a sense of calm,” Hall said. “He never gets too high, never gets too low. I’m hurting for him. Obviously, you never want to lose to your old team or whatever, but I think he commanded the offense, had control of the offense and he was a great leader for us today.”
- Jets CB Sauce Gardner: “We put up 30-something points in Week 1. Us as a defense, guys that have been here, we ain’t really used to that, the offense putting that many points up. We need to do a better job complementing the offense when they are playing well.” (Zack Rosenblatt)
Patriots
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel offered some interesting feedback on QB Drake Maye after a Week 1 loss in which his second-year passer was a little up and down. Maye finished the game with 30 completions on 46 attempts, 287 yards, one touchdown, one interception and four sacks taken. Vrabel was asked about Maye showing his emotions and frustrations at times during the loss.
“I think that he wants to be, at times, perfect. I need to get past that. We all have to get past that. You need to be precise and not perfect,” Vrabel said via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “And if you make a mistake, it’s the reaction that you have to the mistake that everybody sees and then they’re like, ‘Oh, wow, that was a mistake.’ We have to clean our reactions up. Our responses have to be much better. And then getting into the flow. Because you see really good timing, precision and accuracy. And then we see some other misses.
“I don’t ever concern myself with that. I just want the better performance. More consistent. And continue to grow as a leader and make sure that there is a command to what we’re doing — that this is the situation, this is the play. Those are the things that I’m focused on.”
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