Sports Buzz: 8-11

[gafin]

Dolphins tidbits on a Monday afternoon:

### After two seasons of roster stability at quarterback, the Dolphins have decided to shake things up by agreeing to terms with veteran Brady Quinn after a workout on Monday.

The Dolphins chose to sign Quinn instead of Rex Grossman and John Skelton, who also auditioned.

The signing could put Matt Moore's status with the team in jeopardy and also increases the pressure on Pat Devlin, who already was on shaky ground.

### They auditioned veterans Brady Quinn, Rex Grossman and John Skelton on Monday, and Quinn remained under consideration as of Monday afternoon. Miami is not expected to sign Grossman or Skelton.
The Dolphins also were thought to be considering taking a look at other free agent quarterbacks, with Josh Freeman, Kyle Orton, Seneca Wallace, Kevin Kolb, Chris Redman and Tim Tebow among those still available. Standing pat also had not been ruled out.
### Coach Joe Philbin declined to answer directly on Monday when asked if Matt Moore will be the team’s backup quarterback this season. “We’re not really at that stage,” Philbin said. “We’re still in a competitive mode.”
### Quinn has played in 24 games and started 20 in seven NFL seasons. He was cut by the Seahawks in training camp last August and split time between the Rams and Jets last season but did not attempt a pass. In his career, he has thrown 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, with a subpar 64.4 rating.
Quinn, 29, signed with Fox earlier this month as a college and NFL analyst but told Fox that playing this season remains his preference. Fox would not stand in his way.

### Amid the uncertainty with their No. 2 and No. 3 positions, the Dolphins feel good about Tannehill, who went 6 for 6 and threw a touchdown on the only drive he led against Atlanta.

Lazor adjusted Tannehill’s footwork, and Tannehill said that has paid dividends.
"It’s helped me get the ball out faster, have more velocity on some of my throws, and just be more consistent,” Tannehill said Monday. “Some of the incompletions I’ve had in the past are due to inconsistent footwork. That was his big key coming in to say: ‘Hey, we’re going to get your feet right and then everything else will take care of itself.’”
Tannehill threw a 30-yard completion to Mike Wallace on Monday and said he believes he and Wallace “are more on the same page now than we ever have been. Not only on deep balls, but [overall]. No matter what the route is, what the play is, we’re able to talk about things, be open with each other and be more on the same page.”
### The Dolphins gave Jimmy Wilson some work with the starters on Monday, alongside Louis Delmas, as they prepare to play without safety Reshad Jones for the first four games of the season.
Jones can practice and play in preseason games but will miss the first four games of the regular season after testing positive for an undisclosed performance enhancing substance.
Wilson is expected to move over from nickel cornerback and fill in for Jones at safety. Meanwhile, Jamar Taylor, Michael Thomas and Will Davis all have received work at nickel cornerback over the past two days.
Another option would be moving Cortland Finnegan to the slot in nickel packages and playing Taylor or Will Davis on the outside, opposite Brent Grimes.
Thomas and rookie Walt Aikens, who has impressed the staff, have been taking snaps as the second team safeties.

### Defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle believes Wilson is well-equipped to fill in for Jones.

“Jimmy has grown tremendously in the three years that we’ve been together,” Coyle said. “He’s probably one of the best communicators on the team. He has been able to direct the players on the field very, very well, as good as anybody we’ve had back there.
“When he’s been in big situations he’s come up big for us. We kind of nicknamed him ‘Red zone Jimmy’ because, down in the red area of the field, if you go back over the last couple of years, he’s constantly making plays that have impacted games.”
### As for the nickel job, Coyle said that decision largely would be based on performance in games. “We’re going to try to make sure that early in these games we get a lot of looks at some different combinations,” said Coyle, who noted that Finnegan has been “an outstanding nickel throughout his career.”
### After missing a bunch of tackles on Atlanta’s opening touchdown drive Friday, and Dolphins have spent considerable time working on their tackling the past two days, including a drill Monday in which linebackers tried to corral running backs and tight ends when they lined up 10 yards apart.
“This week is still a very, very important fundamental training camp week,” Coyle said. “Hopefully… [the tackling] will improve dramatically.”

### Coyle said even though the plan is to stick with Koa Misi at middle linebacker, “we are working different combinations in the event that we don’t feel comfortable with it.”

### Coyle said linebacker Philip Wheeler “at times can be his own worst enemy when he plays out of control. He gives such great effort, but he, at times, overreacts to things. We’ve just got to slow him down, let the game slow down for him some and I think he’s going to be fine. He was a little anxious in the opening game.”

### Running back Knowshon Moreno participated in 11 on 11 drills for the first time since returning from June knee surgery and seemed to have good burst. “He looked better today,” Philbin said. “He’s definitely making progress.”

Moreno said he still has to “get into that football shape” and wasn’t sure when he would play in a preseason game.

### Receiver Brandon Gibson, returning from last October’s knee injury, is starting to “remind us more of the player we saw on film last year,” Philbin said.

### Philbin said tight end Dion Sims “is looking more like an NFL player.” He caught a TD pass from Tannehill today.

### Coyle said he likes the potential of defensive end Terrence Fede. "He's got good awareness," Coyle said. "He's got a chance to help us."

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/spor...phins-camp-monday-heat.html#storylink=addthis

 

[LordTua]

That Wheeler quote is something you see when talking about a rookie or 2nd year player, not someone whos been in the league for 5+ years. Cut his ass and be done with it, get ZT 2.0 on the field already.

 

[njFinsForever]

Why no looks at Vilma? Still out there right?

 

[AL R]

Why no looks at Vilma? Still out there right?

Don't think he is healthy and has much- if anything left.

http://atlantafalcons.blog.ajc.com/2014/06/18/report-jonathan-vilma-worked-out-for-falcons-today/

 

[roy_miami]

Sims was my favorite pick from last years draft, hope he makes me look good.

 

[Dr. Phin]

Is that another way of saying "Wheeler sucks"?

 

[hoops]

that sure wasn't a ringing endorsement from coyle of the misi at mike stuff any more...interesting...maybe a change is coming...i hope theyare smart enough to put misi back where his best fit is...solb

 

[flynryan15]

Seems like linebacker by committee to me.

 

[datruth55]

Something just struck me while reading the blurb about Lazor and helping Tannehill with his footwork. What the heck has the "QB coach" been doing the last season plus?

 

[Sirspud]

Pretty funny to think that signing Brady Quinn could put pressure on anyone. Based on his 4-16 career record and career 64 rating, I'd start Devlin 100 times out of 100, much less Moore.

 

[finfan54]

Sims was my favorite pick from last years draft, hope he makes me look good.

I like him too. love his demeanor. I think he was a rookie last year....which is why he was used sparingly. That and Sherman took half the season to start using two TE's.

---------- Post added at 12:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 AM ----------

What is the cost savings for trading/cutting Matt Moore? Thinking he doesnt fit this offense. injury or no.

 

[hoops]

Wow not a ringing endorsement from philbin on Matt moores job is safe either...it feels like this staffs getting smarter to me

 

[uk_dolfan]

Wow not a ringing endorsement from philbin on Matt moores job is safe either...it feels like this staffs getting smarter to me

Give his money to clay and odrick. I like Matt a lot but those 2 are much much more important

 

[NRA]

Lazor adjusted Tannehill’s footwork, and Tannehill said that has paid dividends.
"It’s helped me get the ball out faster, have more velocity on some of my throws, and just be more consistent,” Tannehill said Monday. “Some of the incompletions I’ve had in the past are due to inconsistent footwork. That was his big key coming in to say: ‘Hey, we’re going to get your feet right and then everything else will take care of itself.’”

DERN!! i think we just may have us one uh dem dare coach feller's on the team!

i done heard about those and their supposed to be perty dang good fer a team to have.

WOW!! you know, theres that thing called "beauty in simplicity"? you see this in play with lazor. tanny has had footwork issues since DAY ONE!! and you would have thought that the previous staff would have seen that and also corrected it, seeing how the former o/c had been coaching him EVERY SNAP of his qb life up until this year. lazor, watches 10 minutes of tanny tape and comes in for his interview and says, "ok, we solve your footwork issues and everything is good to go. SIMPLE!! and it should have been to the other staff. even the archairs have yelling about his footwork since year one.

i guess they thought that would just work itself out over time. :idk:

 

[jtoomuch]

Lots of reasons to be optimistic. I feel that way every year but it does seem like we have some real talent this year, and Lazor could be a huge plus for us.