March 29, 2024

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NFL think tank gives good grades to Miami Dolphins

A six-pack of media notes on a Monday:

The 33rd Group — an NFL consider tank — graded the Dolphins by placement previous week.

Here’s how Miami fared on offense, with an excerpt of the responses offered:

B-minus at quarterback (“while [Tua Tagovailoa] has not been negative, his engage in has not been up to par for a staff searching to contend”)…

B-additionally at managing back again (“this posture group is pretty reminiscent of a vintage Shanahan-procedure backfield, with no legitimate amount 1 again, but a handful of ball carriers that can be distinction makers”)…

B- on the offensive line (“They are an improved team but nonetheless are not great and have some question marks, precisely on the proper side”)…

A at vast receiver (“this team has star energy and a lot of speed”)…

B-as well as at restricted conclusion (even outside of Mike Gesicki’s receiving expertise, “between Durham Smythe, Adam Shaheen, and Hunter Extensive, Miami has gamers that can block and capture, as McDaniel can operate as quite a few two TE sets as he would like”).

Here’s how Miami graded out defensively:

B for defensive linemen and edge gamers (“while there is expertise, this is a top-large group, but the grade can very easily improve given an even bigger year from Jaelan Phillips and Emmanuel Ogbah”)..

C- for linebackers (“this team is a crystal clear weak position on the staff. While Jerome Baker is excellent, he is not plenty of of a celebrity to make up for the… deficiencies in this group”)…

A for cornerbacks (“at the leading, there may not be a superior CB duo in football” than Xavien Howard and Byron Jones)….

B for safeties (“Jevon Holland is coming off a very excellent rookie season and is becoming a single of the much better safeties in the entire league. Brandon Jones and Eric Rowe will have to compete for the other place, but the two are possible not significant-stage starting-caliber players”)

COVID-19 carries on to handicap ABC’s NBA Finals coverage. Mike Breen skipped the 1st two video games — and Jeff Van Gundy skipped the opener — soon after screening optimistic for the virus.

That left South Florida-centered Mark Jones, the network’s No. 2 NBA participate in-by-participate in voice, filling in for Breen on each Video game 7 of the Warmth-Celtics collection and Game titles 1 and 2 of the Celtics-Warriors sequence. ABC says Breen is anticipated again for Recreation 3 on Wednesday.

Facts gentleman Adrian Wojnarowski and reporter Kendra Andrews (Malika’s sister) also were being sidelined in the early phases of the Finals thanks to COVID.

As anticipated, previous UM and NFL standout tight close Greg Olsen was promoted to Fox’s guide NFL announcing workforce, on an interim basis, till Tom Brady retires and normally takes the occupation in 2023 or at some stage immediately after that.

With Joe Buck and Troy Aikman leaving Fox to be a part of ESPN’s Monday Night time Football, former Fox No. 2 NFL voice Kevin Burkhardt will sign up for Olsen on Fox’s direct crew upcoming time, which features the February 2023 Tremendous Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

Olsen possible will shift back to the No. 2 team when Brady retires, though Burkhardt figures to stay on the direct group extended-time period.

Fox opted to market from within just for the reason that network executives beloved the Burkhardt/Olsen tandem they experienced a energetic, conversational rapport. Or, as Fox executive producer Brad Zager mentioned, “an undeniable chemistry and potential to phone soccer at an elite degree.”

Olsen explained to Dan Patrick: “Even if I get a single year at it, I’m going to try out to destroy it. I’m going to try to make it a fun time, to have people today seriously appreciate our broadcast. And with any luck , Tom plays for a handful of extra decades.”

Olsen said he would tell Brady that there is a “very fine balance calling the online games. You really don’t want to dumb it down and get away from the elaborate mother nature that can make soccer so distinctive and so exciting. But you also can not communicate on air like I would communicate to my mentor or I would converse to a recent participant or teammate who understands the language and terminology mainly because you could get rid of a ton of persons.”

With Xmas and New Year’s Day on a Sunday this yr, here’s how that impacts the NFL and college football schedules:

The NFL will program most of the Christmas weekend video games on Saturday, Dec. 24, with three online games on Xmas Day: Packers-Dolphins (1 p.m. on Fox), Broncos-Rams (4:30 p.m. on CBS), Buccaneers-Cardinals (8:20 p.m. on NBC).

Jaguars-Jets will be the Dec. 22 Thursday night time activity on Amazon, with Chargers-Colts the ESPN Monday night time activity on Dec. 26.

Throughout 7 days 17, just about every NFL activity will be played on Sunday, Jan. 1 except Cowboys-Titans on Thursday, Dec. 29 and Expenses-Bengals on ABC and ESPN on Monday night time, Jan. 2.

To stay clear of conflict with the Rams-Chargers match on NBC on Sunday night time, Jan. 1, the Sugar Bowl has moved off its traditional primary-time Jan. 1 slot to midday Dec. 31. The very last time the Sugar Bowl was played before Jan. 1 was 1995.

The two university soccer semifinals will be performed on Dec. 31 in the late afternoon and night, in Atlanta and Glendale, Arizona.

No bowl online games will be played on Christmas or New Year’s Working day, hence preventing levels of competition with the NFL.

4 bowl online games are scheduled for Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, beginning with the Tampa Bay Bowl at midday on ESPN2.

Also on tap Jan. 2: the Cotton Bowl (1 p.m., ESPN), Citrus Bowl (1 p.m., ABC), and Rose Bowl (5 p.m., ESPN).

Alonzo Highsmith, who past week commenced his job as UM’s standard supervisor/soccer operations, instructed WQAM: “The initial point I’m going to do — when you arrive in, you sit back and enjoy. I want to sit back and hear, observe, master. I can’t come in there and say `do it like this, do it like that.’ I want to look at how items operate and then I’ll interject at a further time.

“I’m coming to the University of Miami in a incredibly humble manner. I’m not the savior of the faculty. I want to be a part of the program the very same way I was as a freshman in school. I want to enable make some thing.”

Between other items, he will evaluate recruits and portal players and “try to be a mentor to our gamers, educate them what it normally takes to get to the up coming amount.”

Swift things: As NFL Network documented, former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is negotiating with Amazon to be a studio analyst on its Thursday night time bundle. Fitzpatrick has the intelligence, character and self-deprecating humor to prosper on television….

Former Marlins CEO Derek Jeter — whose ESPN documentary about his daily life will debut this summer season — joined Twitter and introduced his arrival to the social media service by responding to a tweet from Dec. 9, 2014, two months following his last recreation as a participant.

That tweet mentioned: “Derek Jeter has no excuse not to have a Twitter account by now.” Jeter’s to start with tweet: “Looks like I’ve officially operate out of excuses.”

Inside a 7 days, he experienced 354,000 followers. Dick Vitale, Pedro Martinez and the Yankees are amongst the 17 folks he’s pursuing, none of whom are associated with the Marlins….

Mick Hubert retired right after 33 many years as radio voice of the Florida Gators…

The Detroit Lions will be the target of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” throughout education camp….

New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollom, who offers substantive answers in interviews, will simply call NBA Summer season League games for ESPN, among the other tasks for the network….

The Portland Path Blazers hired ESPN NBA Draft analyst Mike Schmitz as an assistant typical manager.

This story was at first revealed June 6, 2022 5:25 PM.

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Barry Jackson has prepared for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has composed the Florida Sports activities Excitement column due to the fact 2002.