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The Dolphins have officially completed their first week of practices, with session #7 taking place this morning under a sweltering South Florida sun. The team wore upper shells, helmets and shorts as it was overall a lighter, less physical practice in anticipation of tomorrow night’s scrimmage.
Here are some takeaways from today’s practice:
1.) Maintenance Day
In addition to less physicality, the morning’s work featured fewer participants than in any other practice so far in camp. Cornerback Will Davis
(knee), linebacker Koa Misi (calf), wide receiver Kenny Stills (calf) and guard Dallas Thomas (shoulder) all sat out today’s session due to injury. Meanwhile, tackle Branden Albert continues to be a limited participant and safety Don Jones and wide receiver DeVante Parker are on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list. Additionally, safety Louis Delmas, wide receiver Greg Jennings and defensive end Cameron Wake all rested. That trio stayed involved by helping with their respective position groups, but didn’t endure the rigors of practice. Coach Joe Philbin explained that giving players off from practice is a strategic decision with the idea of preserving their long-term health.
2.) Tannehill to Matthews Connection
With three of Miami’s top four wide receivers (Jennings, Parker, and Stills) not practicing today, there was a great opportunity for the other wideouts on the depth chart to impress the coaching staff. No one did that more than Rishard Matthews. In chatting with him yesterday, he explained that he has great chemistry with Tannehill that has developed since they both entered the league together as part of the Dolphins 2012 draft class. That cohesiveness was on display this morning, with Tannehill consistently connecting with the fourth-year Nevada product in all areas of the field. Most impressively, the duo combined on a deep ball in team drills, which saw Matthews beat Zack Bowman for what likely would have been a long touchdown in a game. This play was an example of Tannehill’s continued consistency and accuracy when throwing the ball down the field and his trust in Matthews.
Meanwhile, Matt Hazel and Michael Preston both flashed during practice, catching touchdowns. But as the morning wore on, the receivers were either tired or lost their concentration because there were far too many drops late in practice. Also, I can’t write about the wide receivers and not mention Jarvis Landry, who had a great grab of a deep Tannehill pass over Jamar Taylor during 1-on-1 drills.
3.) Competition at Kicker
There is truly a competition going on at kicker this training camp between Caleb Sturgis and Andrew Franks. The pair continues to alternate days, with neither distinguishing himself as a front-runner for the position. While Sturgis is definitely the favorite as the incumbent, he hasn’t been as accurate as you’d expect your starting kicker to be through the first week of practice. That’s opened the door for the undrafted rookie out of RPI, who has a very strong leg. However, Franks couldn’t take advantage today, finishing just 2-for-4 in competitive kicking situations. He made kicks from 46 and 44 yards while missing from 44 and 41 yards. More time is needed for the coaching staff to evaluate both players and it will be interesting to see how each is utilized in tomorrow’s scrimmage.
Other Notes:
- Great to see the Hall of Famer Dan Marino so involved and at so many practices. Today, he took time out to chat individually with both Parker and Jennings.
- The Dolphins got a lot of situational work in today with a heavy emphasis on the red zone and goal line. Also, there was one team drill dedicated to picking up blitzes, with the quarterbacks being forced to make quick decisions and his targets needing to be on the same page on hot routes.
- With Misi out again, Kelvin Sheppard (MLB), Jelani Jenkins, and Chris McCain worked as the first-team linebackers.
- Jamil Douglas, Jeff Linkenbach, and Billy Turner continued to rotate as the first-team guards in the absence of Thomas.
- Safety Shamiel Gary left the practice field with an apparent shoulder injury after a collision with Preston at the goal line.
- Rookie Bobby McCain intercepted a Josh Freeman pass in team drills that likely would have been returned for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Sammy Seamster (Freeman) and Brent Grimes (Tannehill) both added interceptions.
Here are some takeaways from today’s practice:
1.) Maintenance Day
In addition to less physicality, the morning’s work featured fewer participants than in any other practice so far in camp. Cornerback Will Davis
(knee), linebacker Koa Misi (calf), wide receiver Kenny Stills (calf) and guard Dallas Thomas (shoulder) all sat out today’s session due to injury. Meanwhile, tackle Branden Albert continues to be a limited participant and safety Don Jones and wide receiver DeVante Parker are on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list. Additionally, safety Louis Delmas, wide receiver Greg Jennings and defensive end Cameron Wake all rested. That trio stayed involved by helping with their respective position groups, but didn’t endure the rigors of practice. Coach Joe Philbin explained that giving players off from practice is a strategic decision with the idea of preserving their long-term health. 2.) Tannehill to Matthews Connection
With three of Miami’s top four wide receivers (Jennings, Parker, and Stills) not practicing today, there was a great opportunity for the other wideouts on the depth chart to impress the coaching staff. No one did that more than Rishard Matthews
. In chatting with him yesterday, he explained that he has great chemistry with Tannehill that has developed since they both entered the league together as part of the Dolphins 2012 draft class. That cohesiveness was on display this morning, with Tannehill consistently connecting with the fourth-year Nevada product in all areas of the field. Most impressively, the duo combined on a deep ball in team drills, which saw Matthews beat Zack Bowman for what likely would have been a long touchdown in a game. This play was an example of Tannehill’s continued consistency and accuracy when throwing the ball down the field and his trust in Matthews. Meanwhile, Matt Hazel
and Michael Preston both flashed during practice, catching touchdowns. But as the morning wore on, the receivers were either tired or lost their concentration because there were far too many drops late in practice. Also, I can’t write about the wide receivers and not mention Jarvis Landry, who had a great grab of a deep Tannehill pass over Jamar Taylor during 1-on-1 drills. 3.) Competition at Kicker
There is truly a competition going on at kicker this training camp between Caleb Sturgis
and Andrew Franks. The pair continues to alternate days, with neither distinguishing himself as a front-runner for the position. While Sturgis is definitely the favorite as the incumbent, he hasn’t been as accurate as you’d expect your starting kicker to be through the first week of practice. That’s opened the door for the undrafted rookie out of RPI, who has a very strong leg. However, Franks couldn’t take advantage today, finishing just 2-for-4 in competitive kicking situations. He made kicks from 46 and 44 yards while missing from 44 and 41 yards. More time is needed for the coaching staff to evaluate both players and it will be interesting to see how each is utilized in tomorrow’s scrimmage. Other Notes:
- Great to see the Hall of Famer Dan Marino so involved and at so many practices. Today, he took time out to chat individually with both Parker and Jennings.
- The Dolphins got a lot of situational work in today with a heavy emphasis on the red zone and goal line. Also, there was one team drill dedicated to picking up blitzes, with the quarterbacks being forced to make quick decisions and his targets needing to be on the same page on hot routes.
- With Misi out again, Kelvin Sheppard
(MLB), Jelani Jenkins, and Chris McCain worked as the first-team linebackers. - Jamil Douglas
, Jeff Linkenbach, and Billy Turner continued to rotate as the first-team guards in the absence of Thomas. - Safety Shamiel Gary
left the practice field with an apparent shoulder injury after a collision with Preston at the goal line. - Rookie Bobby McCain
intercepted a Josh Freeman pass in team drills that likely would have been returned for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Sammy Seamster (Freeman) and Brent Grimes (Tannehill) both added interceptions.
