Tag: Lisa Johnson

Week 2 brought the Miami Dolphins back to reality

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303

Week two of the 2021 NFL season brought the defending AFC East Champions Buffalo Bills to the Miami Dolphins for their home opener. Last year, they handed Miami a 56 – 26 loss to end their 2020 season.

After losing their home opener to the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 1, the Buffalo Bills looked to rebound against the Dolphins.  And rebound they did.

On Miami’s first drive of the game, the Bills defensive line caused Miami’s offensive line all kinds of issues for a quick 3 and out. Following a Dolphins punt, Bills quarterback Josh Allen wasted no time driving the Bills down the field on a 2 play, 46-yard touchdown drive that took all of 12 seconds.

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AFC East Quarterback preview

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson //@LJ1303

It’s the official start of the 2021 NFL season, team captains are being selected, and the first injury reports are coming out. We are starting to have that old familiar feeling…football is back.

With stadiums expected to be at full capacity, fans are eagerly awaiting to see what this 2021 season will bring.  Especially in the AFC East, where we’ll see two starting rookie quarterbacks in Zach Wilson for the New York Jets and Mac Jones for the New England Patriots.  Let’s look at all four of the teams in the division and how they look in the QB position going forward.

The Buffalo Bills, led by 3rd-year starter Josh Allen, look to be the clear favorites to repeat as AFC East champions.  With Buffalo coming up 1 game shy of the Super Bowl last season, it looks, for now, like a solid pick.

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Dolphins Training Camp weekend

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson //@LJ1303

After spending the last 48 hours down in Miami watching and observing the Miami Dolphins practice sessions, I did indeed need to keep reminding myself this is only practice.  I tried not to make too much fuss over dropped passes or missed blocks. Because trust me, there was plenty of that going around.

I take training camp with a grain of salt. I mean one day you’ll get focused on a player that has had a great week. You can write all about it, only for that player to struggle the following week.  I have seen this happen every single year.

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Miami Dolphins Junior Dolphins program

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

Lisa Johnson //@LJ1303

***OFFICIAL MIAMI DOLPHIN PRESS RELEASE***

The Miami Dolphins Junior Dolphins program will announce its impact on youth football supporting every high school football program and its athletes in South Florida in the last five years.

In an effort to transform lives and grow participation of boys and girls football teams, the Dolphins have supported all 142 varsity high school football programs in Broward, Miami Dade, and Palm Beach County schools through team visits, equipment donations, character building, or game day experiences.

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Inside training camp – Miami Dolphins

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson //@LJ1303

 

The Miami Dolphins opened training camp yesterday by welcoming back the fans!

For the first time in over a year, fans were welcomed back by Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores.  Coach Flores during his pre-practice press conference said he was excited that fans were back in the stands.  [He] always enjoys the fans’ support and was excited that the fans could watch practice.

It’s also worth mentioning that the fans were able to watch their beloved Fins from the team’s brand new training facility.  Baptist Health Training facility is 217,200 square feet of state-of-the-art technology.  It features two full-size natural grass fields and a full indoor practice facility as well.

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The “No Excuses” tour begins for Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303

The Miami Dolphins have released their 2021 NFL training camp schedule. It will be held at their new facility, the Baptist Health Training Complex, located in beautiful Miami Gardens, Florida.

There is no doubt that all eyes will be on Miami’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who, to say the least, had some struggles during the coronavirus plagued 2020 season. Tagovailoa was benched by Dolphins head coach Brian Flores during the team’s playoff run late in December, only to have to go back to him after named starter Ryan Fitzpatrick tested positive for COVID-19.

Now comes a brand new season. Let’s, for the sake of argument, give Tagovailoa the benefit of the doubt. I say sake of argument purely because the fans have seemingly divided, making it so you are either for him or against him. I find myself on the fence. I have spoken to many NFL experts on his play and the 2020 season. They all agreed that as unorthodox the season was, it is still too early to make a call on him. And from all that I have seen, the Dolphins agree.

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Pre draft quarterback preview

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson //@LJ1303

It’s that time of year again. The 2021 NFL Draft is just weeks away. Pro-Days are wrapping up, draft boards are being built, and of course, rumors are flying.

Final preparations are well underway, especially for the top 5 teams. All of which (with the exception of the Cincinnati Bengals) could be in the market for a franchise quarterback.

Here are my top 5 quarterbacks going into the NFL.

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The Miami Dolphins shake up 2021 NFL Draft

Lisa Johnson
AFC South
AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303

Miami Dolphins General Manager Chris Grier wasted little time shaking up the top 10 picks going into the 2021 NFL draft. The Dolphins held the third overall pick (which they acquired from the Houston Texans) followed by the 18th pick in the first round.

In a trade that rocked the football world, Grier traded the 3rd overall pick to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for their 12th pick, a 2021 third-round pick, and first-round picks in 2022 and 2013. Fans were left reeling at the master craftsmanship Grier was pulling off.

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Dolphin Fans and Coaches ready themselves for the start of a new NFL year

Lisa Johnson
AFC South AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores addressed the South Florida media Thursday, March 11th  to finally discuss the up-and-coming 2021 NFL season.

The season is set to begin on March 17th, highlighted by the start of free agency.

Head Coach Brian Flores

(Opening statement) – “It’s good to see everyone. I hope you and your families are doing well, safe, healthy. Just kind of want to start with a little kind of, let’s call it ‘state of the union’ since we didn’t speak at the Combine this year. A couple quick updates the last couple months – the last time we talked, I want to say at the Senior Bowl and really at the end of the season, I talked about us kind of doing a full evaluation of our team and really, the entire operation – the 2020 season.

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The impact of social media on sports journalism

Lisa Johnson
AFC South AFC East Reporter

By Lisa Johnson // @LJ1303

As we prepare for the new NFL league year, which officially starts March 17, the league will continue to follow the current Covid-19 protocols put into place in 2020, holding all NFL team meetings and press conferences virtually. Beat writers and major network journalists are limited to virtual interviews only, bringing the importance of social media platforms to a whole new level.

As we continue to face challenges due to the 2020 pandemic, the one thing that has become crystal clear is every sports super fan has started a sports podcast and sports page. So what (if any) impact does this have on those that spent their lives working and earning sports journalist degrees?  I reached out to two sports journalists and asked them each the same question. One is from the good old print-only days, while the other is a little younger but can still remember newspapers.

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