Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa, Xavien Howard knock being on in-season edition of ‘Hard Knocks'

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Asked for his reaction to the Dolphins being on the in-season edition of HBO’s "Hard Knocks," quarterback Tua Tagovailoa paused for 11 1/2 seconds Wednesday.

"That’s probably my reaction," he said.

Cornerback Xavien Howard didn’t pause at all.

"'Hard Knocks'’' is (expletive), especially during the season," Howard said. "No, I’m serious. I’m not a fan."

The "Hard Knocks" cameras won’t start rolling until after the team plays the Kansas City Chiefs in Germany on Nov. 5, but Howard is concerned with the timing of the news, following a 31-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.

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"I feel like being around cameras and stuff like that − I feel like we’ve got to do better. We’ve got to beat teams with good records. So I feel like before we get all the little fame that’s coming right now, I feel like we’ve got to put in work."

Edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah was with the Cleveland Browns in 2018 when they were focused on the training camp version of "Hard Knocks." He’s one of the few Dolphins with direct knowledge of what to expect.

"It was definitely different, especially with cameras everywhere," Ogbah said. "You know, we’ve got sometimes to watch what you say. Sometimes you could just throw stuff out there and then you might not want it on TV."

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel worried about distractions

Coach Mike McDaniel also was concerned about the possibility of the show being a distraction but said he’s confident any issues, particularly with in-house, game-planning secrets, can be amicably worked out before the final copy is aired.

"It’s impossible not to feel a camera in front of you, right?" receiver Braxton Berrios said. "The thing is we want to make it as organic as possible. We want to make our building as normal as possible. So obviously there’s a fine line. … We’re not here for a TV show. We’re here to win games."

Berrios acknowledged that some of the allure, from the perspective of HBO and NFL Films, is the quotable and personable McDaniel.

"I get it," Berrios said. "From their standpoint, I’m sure there’s a lot of viewers that want to see it. There’s money to be made."

Receiver Jaylen Waddle wouldn’t say if he preferred seeing another team on the show.

"It’s going to be something that we’ve got to adapt to, having cameras all the way around," he said.

Howard: "Once you put cameras and everything and you see every move people do, they won’t be themselves."

Tagovailoa is determined to be himself regardless.

"I’m not going to let any of that affect how I prepare, how I talk in our meetings, with how we want to get things done and what we want to do," Tagovailoa said. "I’m going to be myself and I think the guys are going to do their best to be themselves as well, although it is different when there is a camera. You’re trying to do something that’s very private."

Bottom line for Tagovailoa: "I just like to keep things private in how I do things. But this isn’t just about me. This isn’t something that’s for me. This is something for the entire team and the entire team has to figure out how they go about that as well.

"So I know having conversations with some guys in the locker room that for them, it’s going to be tough as well."

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.