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USA Today
11-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Studs and duds from the Dolphins' 24-24 preseason tie vs. the Bears
.@MiamiDolphins @PatrickPaul_76 looked very sharp in his 24 Size yet he moves so easily. He has everything it takes to be as good as he wants. #phinsup #BaldysBreakdowns Positives outweighed the negatives for the Miami Dolphins in their 24-24 preseason tie with the Chicago Bears. While that was helped by the Bears resting the majority of their starters, including quarterback Caleb Williams, the Dolphins still did more than enough to give their fans optimism heading into the 2025 season. Here's who stood out most for the Dolphins on Sunday and who had a preseason opener to forget: Stud: First-team offensive line No, they didn't get the job done near the goal line on their first drive of the game. The list of negatives ends there, though. With Patrick Paul, James Daniels, and Jonah Savaiinaea taking over three of the starting roles and Larry Borom starting at right tackle in the place of the injured Austin Jackson, the Dolphins offense was rolling early. The Dolphins are hoping their rebuilt line can produce better results on the ground than the team managed in 2024. It wasn't perfect Sunday, but there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about their chances. Stud: Washington & Washington Tua Tagovailoa's first four completions Sunday were all to Malik Washington, including a clutch fourth down conversion. His fifth completion was to Tahj Washington. The latter finished the day as Miami's leading receiver with three receptions for 53 yards. Tahj Washington making the defender miss in space. Granted, with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle watching from the sideline, Tagovailoa's non-Washington options were limited. But the two 2024 draft picks looked like a pair of players primed to make an impact in their second NFL seasons. Dud: Backup quarterbacks Woof. Zach Wilson made a couple plays downfield, connecting with Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Tahj Washington for 35- and 34-yard pickups. But the former No. 2 overall draft pick struggled to get the ball out of his hand quickly and missed throws, including a lob to tight end Tanner Conner that should've been an easy score. Zach Wilson in midseason form It seemed Quinn Ewers was primed to hold Wilson's feet to the flame. But the seventh-round rookie's day was significantly worse than the veteran's. Ewers completed only five of his 18 passes and fumbled twice in Chicago territory. Stud: Dolphins special teams So far, so good for Craig Aukerman's squad. It didn't seem to matter who was back to return Sunday, they had room to race upfield into good field position. Dee Eskridge, A.J. Henning, and Erik Ezukanma took kick returns back 41, 38, and 37 yards, respectively. Malik Washington had a 19-yard punt return and Eskridge had a 16-yarder. Meanwhile, the Bears picked up no more than 22 yards on their kickoff returns and they didn't do much with 50- and 59-yard punts from Ryan Stonehouse and Jake Bailey, respectively. Dud: RB Jaylen Wright All signs pointed to a breakout year for Wright in 2025 after the team parted with Raheem Mostert earlier in the offseason. But the 2024 fourth-round pick has put together an underwhelming training camp and parlayed that into a ho-hum preseason debut. While he eventually broke loose for a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Wright was stuffed on three straight runs inside the Bears' 2-yard line on the Dolphins' first drive. The second-year back finished with 16 yards on nine carries, a paltry 1.8 yards per attempt. The two running backs behind him on the depth chart shined, though. Alexander Mattison bulldozed through the defense on a 1-yard touchdown run and broke loose on a 21-yard reception before his day ended with an injury. Rookie Ollie Gordon II took over and recorded 33 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards. Wright's spot on the 53-man roster is safe, but he'll need to show more if he hopes to keep Mattison and Gordon from eating up his regular season touches. Stud: EDGE Derrick McLendon It's tough sledding to stand out as an edge rusher with the Dolphins right now. Buried behind Chop Robinson, Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, and a couple veterans, McLendon has an uphill climb to earn a spot. But he played like a man possessed Sunday. While he picked up a roughing the passer penalty for landing on the Bears' Case Keenum, that's an easy mistake to forgive for a player who made so many plays in the backfield, including a sack. EDGE Derrick McLendon is another guy who was good on the defensive line today. Going to be interesting to see what guys they keep there. There simply aren't many roster spots left for the taking and McLendon may be the odd man out, regardless. But he made a strong case Sunday to stick around in Miami.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Putting the onus on us': Washington latest Peoria-area city to discuss local grocery tax
Washington is the latest city in the Peoria area to discuss instating a local grocery tax increase to replace revenue lost when the state of Illinois removes its 1% state tax starting in 2026. East Peoria Mayor John Kahl announced last week the city would institute a 1% grocery tax to cover the expected $2 million shortfall, while Pekin also instituted a similar tax on November to make up for a estimated $1.5 million loss. Peoria Mayor Rita Ali said last year the city is working on a plan to cover the possible $4 million it will lose. City officials say Washington would lose $500,000 in annual revenue if its does not institute its a local tax. In response, the Washington council shared opinions about the tax, but no vote or action was taken. 'Adverse effect': East Peoria mayor criticizes Pritzker for ending Illinois grocery tax Councilmember Brian Butler said the council should not view the move as a tax increase, but rather a shift of burden from the state to the city. 'It's simply a move from the General Assembly washing their hands of it, because that's money that came to cities anyway. Now they're putting the onus on us,' Butler said. 'The tax is in effect now. I believe we need to keep it in effect, but it takes a hard decision on our part. We look like bad guys, but we have to do the tough work sometimes, and I believe we really need to. It's no impact on anybody.' Council member Bobby Martin III said if the city is going to lower taxes, it should do it from local property taxes instead since cutting the grocery tax would benefit the large number of non-Washington residents who come to the city to shop. Other councilmembers expressed concern about city services needing to be cut, or if taxes would need to be raised to make up for the money used to help feed Washington's police pension fund that must be paid by 2040. Council member Brett Adams said avoiding tax raises is unrealistic, and he worries the city would eventually be forced to levy an even bigger tax in the next few years to collect necessary money for city projects. Washington projects: Here are the road improvements slated for Washington in 2025 'To continually say that the answer is 'Just don't raise our tax,' then start thinking about the multitude of millions of dollars worth of things that you're not going to pay for, because it's not reality,' Adams said. 'Costs continue to go up every year.' Mike McIntyre said a 1% tax is a minimal amount of money, and he would hate to see the city have to push a Home Rule Sales Tax instead to recover if the grocery tax didn't pass. Despite support from half the council, concerns about grocery costs caused hesitation for other members. John Blundy said during his time on council he's seen taxes increase, but has hardly ever seen them go down. He said the city should wait until the money is really needed, since the grocery tax can be implemented any budget cycle. Mayor Gary Manier countered if the city waits until January 2026 to reinstate the tax, it will feel like a brand-new tax to citizens after a year without it. Washington council: Mayor breaks tie on release of legal opinion about own possible conflict of interest Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker defended ending the tax during an appearance in Peoria last year, calling it an "embarrassing" and "regressive" tax. Council member Lilija Stevens, running for Mayor, argued against the tax, saying not establishing it would help lower grocery costs even if minimally. She also pointed out a city bond from 2006 supporting Five Points, set to retire in 2029, will bring in $360,000 the city could use. 'I probably might feel differently if we were a city that would be losing a couple million dollars,' she said. 'I personally do not want to create another ordinance for this tax money.' This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Washington proposes 1 percent grocery tax after end of Illinois tax
