Miami Dolphins Quarterbacks Coach Puts Skylar Thompson’s Performance in Perspective

Quarterback Skylar Thompson’s Miami Dolphins debut in 21 months did not go as well as he had hoped, even before he had to leave the game due to a rib injury.

The Dolphins’ 24-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks was tough overall, with Thompson front and center at quarterback.

Thompson finished the afternoon’s abbreviated performance on 13-for-19 passing for 107 yards and a passer rating of 82.6. His longest pass of the game was a 22-yard completion to De’Von Achane on the Dolphins’ first offensive snap.

Although quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell noted the challenging conditions, it wasn’t the type of performance that inspired much confidence going forward.

“Frankly, I think Seattle is an underrated place … I mean, it’s probably not underrated. I mean, I had a lot of experience with it and I tried to communicate (that) … but it was really loud, there was a lot of chaos,” Bevell said on Thursday. There was something going on in the game, and by the way, the game was being managed in a lot of different ways without anyone’s name attached to it,” he said. “But when we took all that into consideration, I thought he did a really good job of it. He let the ball get ripped a few times, but as he will tell you, he should have let it go a few more times and a few more opportunities.

“There were still some games to be played, and that’s why we go back to the lab and continue to evaluate, and then go back and practice and try to get better.”

As Bevell noted, one of the glaring issues in the Seattle game was Thompson’s penchant for keeping the ball in the pocket rather than letting it rip.

Tua Tagovailoa’s ability to throw quickly is perhaps what he does best when he and the offense are operating at peak efficiency.

“So, that’s the foundation of our offense,” Bevell said. “Our offense is a very elite timing offense. You’ll see us keep our feet on the ground and move faster than most of the other teams in the league. Tua is very elite at that and that’s something we want from all our point guards, so timing is very important.

“There are a few opportunities where he’s had a chance to let that fall apart, and he’ll be the first person to tell you that. He’s being hard on himself, and he’ll be the first person to tell you that he needs to let some of that go.”

In the bigger picture, Bevell said Thompson should be judged on the body of work he’s done, not just his disappointing performance in Seattle.

“I think you’re covering the whole business,” Bevell said. “We’ve had Skylar since day one. I think you’ll remember the young rookie started a playoff game and did really well for himself in that game, a hostile environment and some tough atmospheres. Great tackle with Mike White here in training camp There was and those two really got into it and he fought hard.

“So he deserves opportunities when he can get them. Unfortunately, he got injured in that game and that’s going to set him back a little bit. He’s still working on this week to see where he can take it, but obviously how much does that change his reps and if he can play and be effective does that count of reps have an impact? ? So he’ll continue to work on it, but you really get the hang of it.”