The Dolphins last took the field at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday, September 30. With two road games bookending the bye week, being back under the South Florida sunshine is a welcome sight. So is the return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who makes his return to the lineup for the first time since September 12 during the Week 2 game vs. Buffalo.
Here's what the Dolphins are saying ahead of the Week 8 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.
Tua's Return
Head Coach Mike McDaniel – "It will be a big deal considering he's the captain and leader of this franchise. The franchise QB that, without question when the players are voting for the captains, he has the most votes. That to me is the best way to establish an indicator of who they feel is their leader. He had tremendous growth each year, particularly this year, in terms of that and being a leader and what that means and growing into that."
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill – "He looked great. Felt like old times, me and him connected on a few deep shots today and that kind of got me feeling good today. I missed that and I missed him. I told I've got to take him and his wife to dinner because I missed him so much … (It) almost made me cry today like just having him in the lineup, having him call the plays, having him direct the offense, like just hearing his voice."
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – "I don't think for myself I put any pressure on myself coming back and having to save the team. I think what we have to do is we've got to look at this past game, all 11 guys on the field, were we given an opportunity with the plays that were called to score on every drive? And if we can say yes, then we can look at ourselves and see what we can do to get better moving forward."
Run-Game Rollin'
Running back Raheem Mostert on offensive balance – "We have to play complementary football, that's something that's been harped on since I've gotten here and that's what we're going to continue to do. Just having Tua back just gives us an extra boost of morale and confidence within the offense because he has a great understanding of it and he's also connected with the receivers as well. So all of that stuff goes hand in hand."
McDaniel on different routes to victory – "You try to have a football team that is able to do whatever it takes to win the game. We have found the ability to run the ball with the way we kind of forecasted our evolution into Year 3. That's hugely important when you're talking about down the stretch, matchups and when you have a game that it's win or go home, which invariably everyone does. You don't get to pick, 'Well we like passing the ball.' Is your advantage running it? Well you better be able to run the ball that game because their pass rushers are unbelievable and if you put yourself in known passing situations, you're going to have four turnovers."
For more on the Dolphins, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available wherever you get your podcasts.
