What role could cookouts, barefoot walks play in helping Dolphins win games?
MIAMI GARDENS — Can a Memorial Day cookout possibly affect how the Dolphins perform in Green Bay on Thanksgiving?
The Dolphins think so.
More than once in the past couple of weeks, players have remarked how much closer the team is.
One of the ringleaders in building this camaraderie is someone you’d expect.
One is not.
The player you’d expect: Tua Tagovailoa. Because if anyone on your team is going to push for players to get to know one another as people, it ought to be your franchise quarterback.
The player you wouldn’t have guessed: safety Jordan Poyer. That’s no knock on Poyer, who with Pro Bowl credentials commands attention when he speaks. Rather, it’s because he’s one of the newest members of the team, having just signed in free agency. And from the Buffalo Bills, no less.
Following the team’s first mandatory minicamp practice Tuesday, receiver Tyreek Hill concluded his session with reporters by volunteering how Tagovailoa, already a team captain, has taken the next step toward being a leader.
“What I’m seeing from him now is like a lot of the guys are getting together outside of here, man, like hanging out, running routes together, spending their off-field time together,” Hill said. “And Tua’s doing a great job of orchestrating that, man. And that’s a beautiful thing because our first few years, we’ll do it here and there, but this year he’s really honing in on the guys hanging out, building that camaraderie with each other.”
Poyer, 33, is a veteran of 12 NFL seasons who has talked about his desire to help fellow safety Jevon Holland take that next step in his career. Holland welcomes it.
“An individual like that, being in the league that long, obviously he’s got some type of secret that I need to know,” Holland said.
Poyer’s not hard to find, including over the recent Memorial Day weekend.
“He has us over for dinner,” safety Nik Needham said of an invite Poyer extended to the secondary. “We haven’t done that as a DB group since I’ve been here. Having that, I feel like will create more camaraderie and have us successful on the field because we’ll really know each other. It’s not just going out and playing and ‘see you at work.’ We can actually create a bond, and he’s the one that started that with everybody. We take walks with our shoes off and (stuff), but we’re just talking and bonding. I feel like that’s what the good teams do.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What role could cookouts, barefoot walks play in helping Dolphins win games?
