Skills on display
Miami starts camp getting advanced work done on offense
DAVIE — Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill celebrated his 29th birthday Thursday, the opening day of training camp, and he did so in a way that showed how far he and his offense have progressed.
During a red-zone drill, wide receiver Kenny Stills adjusted his route and briefly shielded off a defender, allowing Tannehill just enough time to hit DeVante Parker for a two-point conversion. Tannehill said the way Stills and Parker worked together shows the difference between simply running a play and understanding a play.
“Once you get to that step, that next step in development as an offense,” Tannehill said, “that’s when you see more plays being made because guys have an overall understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Dolphins, who finished 10-6 last year and earned their first playoff berth since 2008, are looking to build on the success they had in coach Adam Gase’s first season. They think Thursday’s opening day of training camp was a step in that direction.
“I really feel like our guys came out there with a purpose, really knowing what they’re doing,” Gase said.
It’ll be tough to tell anytime soon whether the Dolphins, who
soon whether the Dolphins, who return nine offensive starters and eight defensive starters, have improved their overall defense (29th on NFL), run defense (30th in NFL) or scoring offense (17th) from a year ago.
But knowledge and familiarity seem better.
In a practice that featured lots of red-zone work, both the offense and defense made plays inside the defense’s 20-yard line.
Michael Thomas, who got the starting job at strong safety because Reshad Jones is on the non-football injury list, said the second-level knowledge showed defensively, especially in the nickel package.
“Instead of trying to teach guys the defense like we were last year, now we’re trying to work on the details,” Thomas said. “And it’s a process. You can’t jump ahead at any point, but at the same time because we’re not having a whole new coaching staff, now we can try to start honing in on the details.”
Even little-known cornerback Torry McTyer, an undrafted rookie from NevadaLas Vegas, got in on the action, recording two interceptions.
Despite McTyer’s success, Thursday’s opening day of training camp was about the top-level returnees, players such as Jones, Parker, center Mike Pouncey, whose hip ailment meant he didn’t do any individual or team drills, and linebacker Koa Misi, who was placed on seasonending injured reserve due to a neck injury.
Gase admitted he was “caught a little off guard” by the Misi diagnosis but he also said he trusts the team’s depth at linebacker.
“When that second group goes out there,” he said, “there’s not a lot of worries.”
Rookie defensive end Charles Harris, the firstround pick from Missouri, didn’t attack the quarterback with as much success as he did in offseason workouts, but Gase liked what he saw. The Dolphins mixed up their looks so Harris couldn’t just attack passing situations the way he did in those aforementioned offseason workouts.
“Every time he gets a look he hasn’t seen before or something he hasn’t seen in college it’s good for him,” Gase said.
But Tannehill’s progress was probably the most encouraging aspect of Day One.
Not only was he good on the field, he was entertaining off the field, such as when he fielded questions about his left knee, the one that ended his season early due to two sprained ligaments. After a second knee-related question Tannehill paused, smiled, then made an announcement/declaration.
“Just so everyone hears,” he said, speaking a bit more loudly, “the knee is really good, it feels really good. I haven’t had any changes since the spring, so I was full [participation] in the spring and still going really well. All right? Now we don’t have to address that any more.”
When a smart-aleck reporter jokingly asked Tannehill about his other knee, Tannehill laughed.
“The other knee’s feeling really good,” he replied.
Around that time, Stills happened upon Tannehill’s interview and announced it was Tannehill’s birthday and asked, “Did you get anything special for your birthday?”
“I’ve had nothing special so far,” the 29-year-old Tannehill said.
Stills asked Tannehill if reporters told him “Happy Birthday.”
“No, they didn’t,” Tannehill said with a smile.
It was that kind of day at Dolphins training camp. There was hard work, success on both sides of the ball, and smiles all around. But most importantly there was a central theme of advancedlevel improvement instead of basic-level learning.