New Dolphins quarterback Tyler “Snoop” Huntley has already impressed his teammates and coaches

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tyler “Snoop” Huntley’s new Miami Dolphins teammates and coaches had their eye on him before he signed with the team.

Coach Mike McDaniel noted how Huntley’s former Ravens teammates rallied behind him in 2022 as he led Baltimore to the playoffs in place of Lamar Jackson.

Receiver Tyreek Hill was impressed with his running ability. Quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell noted Huntley’s underrated passing skills.

This all contributed to the Dolphins deciding to turn to Huntley as their starting quarterback Monday night against the Tennessee Titans.

“We were very excited about Snoop,” McDaniel said Saturday. “High enough to get him a squad spot at 53rd, which is very few and far between and unseen. So he has accelerated his maturation and he has done an impressive job of settling into the locker room and understanding our language as his own and the team is happy for him.”

Tua Tagovailoa remains on injured reserve with a concussion and with substitute Skylar Thompson nursing a rib injury After the Week 3 game against Seattle, the Dolphins’ quarterback options were Huntley and Tim Boyle, both of whom have been in Miami for less than a month.

Huntley said he has spent a lot of time in the film room since then Joined the Dolphins on September 17th, I’m trying to learn McDaniel’s complicated playbook, which includes pre-snap moves and time-based throws. Huntley compared the process to riding a bicycle.

“You’re a little skeptical the first time,” he said. “You didn’t know how to pedal. Then you just start putting it all together, pedaling, going straight, and after a while you start to stand up.”

McDaniel said earlier this week that he wouldn’t necessarily develop a new set of plays for Huntley, but instead would add elements within the existing system that fit his strengths.

“When you create new plays, the only possibility is that there will be overlap with what you’re already doing,” McDaniel said. “Just because you don’t completely change everything you do, it must be in the language and manner that they’ve learned to identify people, who you read and so on. I think there is a balance.”

McDaniel also has experience with a quarterback joining a team and quickly assuming a starting role. He was with San Francisco in 2017 when Jimmy Garoppolo moved there from New England in the middle of the season and immediately became the 49ers’ starter. The 49ers finished this season with five straight wins under Garopoplo after starting 9-0.

“You obviously think about it: ‘OK, how do you do this?'” McDaniel said.

For him, the answer to that question lay in how Garoppolo’s teammates responded to his leadership.

“There’s an unspoken, I don’t know, confidence and belief that a person has to have,” McDaniel said, “where guys believe they have the components to do something, no matter how long they’ve been playing with him “Every single one of them needs it, they really do.”

McDaniel sees the same components in Huntley.

“He replaced the league MVP and you could tell from afar that he was a guy that the team absolutely believed could lead them to victory,” the coach said last week.

Huntley has a career completion percentage of 64.6% and a passer rating of 79% with eight passing touchdowns. He can extend plays with his legs, adding another dimension to a Dolphins offense that has struggled in three games, scoring just 33 points.

Huntley has 509 career rushing yards at 4.4 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns.

His focus was on being ready when his number was called. McDaniel said he chose to turn to Boyle when Thompson went down last week because Huntley hadn’t had enough time to get comfortable with the offense.

“You literally have to study it like you’re studying for the bar exam,” Huntley said with a smile. “I know some people have probably taken the bar exam, but I haven’t. You have to go all in and just absorb everything that’s in the game plan.”

Boyle will serve as Huntley’s backup on Monday, and Thompson could be available as a third emergency quarterback.

The Titans are still looking for their first win but have been stingy on defense, allowing just 139.3 yards per game. They also had been preparing to face Huntley long before McDaniel announced him as the starter on Saturday.

“We know we’re probably going to see Snoop at quarterback most likely,” defensive end Jeffery Simmons said Wednesday. “That’s one of the things we can definitely pay attention to and pay attention to because when Snoop plays, that’s the case. “It’ll probably be the exact same plays that we saw from Malik (Willis). , with the quarterback runs and getting the ball on the edge and around the edges.”

NOTES: Titans defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Chris Harris will miss Monday’s game. Second coach Steve Jackson will take over his duties.

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AP Pro Football Writer Teresa Walker contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.

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