CHATTER
### There are 129 NFL players who have had at least 25 passes thrown to them this season.
It's troubling that only one of those 129 (Carolina’s Ted Ginn Jr.) has caught a lower percentage of targets than Dolphins tight end JordanCameron (44.2 percent, 19 for 43).
But don’t blame Cameron, who has no drops and is questionable for Sunday with a hamstring injury.
His lack of consistent chemistry with Ryan Tannehill is one reason why he ranks 24th among tight ends in receptions (19 for 257) and why he hasn’t approached his 2013 numbers with Cleveland (80-917).
“Work in progress,” he said of the chemistry with Tannehill. “We’ve been asked to block a lot. I’ve gotten a lot better as a blocker.”
The man Cameron replaced, Buffalo’s Charles Clay, enters Sunday’s Dolphins game with 34 catches for 350 yards.
Tannehill undoubtedly had a better chemistry with Clay, who caught 69 percent of the passes thrown to him last season (58 of 84). The caveat is that some of the passes thrown to Cameron have been longer than balls that Tannehill threw to Clay.
Cameron is averaging 13.5 yards per catch this season; Clay averaged 10.4 yards per catch as a Dolphin last season, and is barely above that this season in Buffalo.
Incidentally, even Mike Wallace caught a much higher percentage of passes from Tannehill last season (58.3) than Cameron has this season.
Cameron seemed surprised to hear he was catching that low a percentage of passes, noting it included some balls thrown out of bounds when Tannehill had to get rid of the ball quickly.
### Dan Campbell said last week that Reshad Jones can effectively cover any tight end in the league one-on-one, so expect Jones on Clay at least part of the time on Sunday. But others also will get a chance. Clay caught five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in the Bills' 42-14 pasting of the Dolphins on Sept. 27.
"With Reshad Jones, we feel like he can lock down any tight end in this league," Campbell said. "And then if you draw Jelani Jenkins on man to man with a tight end, that’s a pretty good matchup, too."
### We hear Campbell is trying something unusual when a player is late to a meeting. Another player - not the one who was tardy - must serve the punishment, usually some form of physical activity.
“There’s no shortage of people volunteering; usually five or six offer,” linebacker Spencer Paysinger said. “Usually, the guy who was late the previous time volunteers. It breeds accountability.”
### More Campbell creativity: The top performers at practice this past week were upgraded to a suite at the team’s Buffalo-area hotel this weekend. He also gave away parking spaces close to the team's charter flight, as he did for the first road game after taking over as coach.
### The Dolphins moved Jay Ajayi from short-term IR to the 53-man roster today, giving them four running backs on the 53. Guard Sam Brenner was cut.... DeVante Parker (foot) and Jordan Kovacs (knee) didn't travel to Buffalo and are out Sunday.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...-games-played-dolphins-canes-marlins-cha.html
### There are 129 NFL players who have had at least 25 passes thrown to them this season.
It's troubling that only one of those 129 (Carolina’s Ted Ginn Jr.) has caught a lower percentage of targets than Dolphins tight end JordanCameron (44.2 percent, 19 for 43).
But don’t blame Cameron, who has no drops and is questionable for Sunday with a hamstring injury.
His lack of consistent chemistry with Ryan Tannehill is one reason why he ranks 24th among tight ends in receptions (19 for 257) and why he hasn’t approached his 2013 numbers with Cleveland (80-917).
“Work in progress,” he said of the chemistry with Tannehill. “We’ve been asked to block a lot. I’ve gotten a lot better as a blocker.”
The man Cameron replaced, Buffalo’s Charles Clay, enters Sunday’s Dolphins game with 34 catches for 350 yards.
Tannehill undoubtedly had a better chemistry with Clay, who caught 69 percent of the passes thrown to him last season (58 of 84). The caveat is that some of the passes thrown to Cameron have been longer than balls that Tannehill threw to Clay.
Cameron is averaging 13.5 yards per catch this season; Clay averaged 10.4 yards per catch as a Dolphin last season, and is barely above that this season in Buffalo.
Incidentally, even Mike Wallace caught a much higher percentage of passes from Tannehill last season (58.3) than Cameron has this season.
Cameron seemed surprised to hear he was catching that low a percentage of passes, noting it included some balls thrown out of bounds when Tannehill had to get rid of the ball quickly.
### Dan Campbell said last week that Reshad Jones can effectively cover any tight end in the league one-on-one, so expect Jones on Clay at least part of the time on Sunday. But others also will get a chance. Clay caught five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in the Bills' 42-14 pasting of the Dolphins on Sept. 27.
"With Reshad Jones, we feel like he can lock down any tight end in this league," Campbell said. "And then if you draw Jelani Jenkins on man to man with a tight end, that’s a pretty good matchup, too."
### We hear Campbell is trying something unusual when a player is late to a meeting. Another player - not the one who was tardy - must serve the punishment, usually some form of physical activity.
“There’s no shortage of people volunteering; usually five or six offer,” linebacker Spencer Paysinger said. “Usually, the guy who was late the previous time volunteers. It breeds accountability.”
### More Campbell creativity: The top performers at practice this past week were upgraded to a suite at the team’s Buffalo-area hotel this weekend. He also gave away parking spaces close to the team's charter flight, as he did for the first road game after taking over as coach.
### The Dolphins moved Jay Ajayi from short-term IR to the 53-man roster today, giving them four running backs on the 53. Guard Sam Brenner was cut.... DeVante Parker (foot) and Jordan Kovacs (knee) didn't travel to Buffalo and are out Sunday.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...-games-played-dolphins-canes-marlins-cha.html
