Mike Oliva of DolphinsTalk.com recaps the Wednesday Morning Headlines, community news, and more for your Miami Dolphins.
Morning Headlines
It was announced on Tuesday that Miami Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker is the Walter Payton Man of the Year Nominee for the Miami Dolphins. Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer was asked about Baker's work off the field. Boyer said, "The thing that sticks out about 'Bake' to me is that he's a very even-keeled guy. I think he has a good perspective that you need balance in life. Our sole focus when we're in the building is about getting better, executing better, coaching better and becoming better football players. I think that oftentimes what gets lost in that is the balance of being a good human being and being kind, being considerate, being able to be compassionate by listening. I think 'Bake' embodies all of those things."
Miami Dolphins are now 16-15 all-time in games preceding the bye week with the Week 13 win over the New York Giants. Miami is 18-14 all-time in games following a bye.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has completed 80%+ of his passes in three of his past five starts. He's only the fourth quarterback in the NFL since 1950 (Kyler Murray, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning) to have back-to-back games with 80%+ completion percentage after doing so in Week 11 at the New York. Jets and Week 12 vs. Carolina.
Despite starting just six games since Week 6, Tua Tagovailoa's 178 completions are second in the NFL since then. His 98.9 passer rating is ninth, his 11 passing TDs are tied for ninth and his 1,730 passing yards are 10th.
Jaylen Waddle's 86 receptions are tied for second in the NFL this season among all players. Waddle has 29 more receptions than any other NFL rookie this season.
Miami Dolphins co-offensive coordinator George Godsey spoke about what it is like during the bye week for coaches. Godsey said, "I think every club is different, I'm sure, but there's obviously a lot of things that we need to work on and get better so that's kind of what we're focusing on right now. Guys are coming in tomorrow, so we'll inform them on some of the things that we've looked at and we try to do that every week. But when the normal schedule of inserting a gameplan, getting that together is not really at the forefront, it's more of self-inspecting calls, situations, how we're doing on techniques, tendencies that we have created."
Latest Dolphins Podcasts
Quote of the Day
I wanted to start off asking about WR DeVante Parker. What does his re-insertion in this lineup do for this offense?
George Godsey: "It creates a lot of defensive issues outside. He does a good job blocking in the run game. He's got a lot of experience to help out the guys in the meeting room. He hasn't necessarily been there every day because of his treatment and making sure he's trying to get back in the lineup. But just having his experience and his productivity out there is definitely a helpful thing for our whole unit."
Miami Dolphins in the Community
Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders spent the day at the Robert Renick Educational Center playing with students and Special Olympics athletes for International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Trivia
Who was the first Dolphin to rush for 100 yards in a game?
(scroll to the bottom of the page for the answer)
On This Day
The Miami Dolphins went to 10-4 on the season after a 34-24 win in Lambeau Field vs the Packers. Dan Marino had a memorable day throwing for five touchdowns and 345 yards. Each of the five touchdowns went to different receivers. Nat Moore, Joe Rose, Dan Johnson, Mark Clayton, and Tony Nathan each caught one of the scores. The Dolphins defense intercepted Packers Quarterback Jim Zorn twice on the day and sacked him once.
Answer to Trivia Question: Abner Haynes had a big day in the opening game of the 1967 season, running for 151 yards on just 12 carries.
