‘The real feel of football’
Dolphins camp gets more intense.
DAVIE— Corner back Bobby McCain calls it “pajama football.”
Linebacker Raekwon McMillan describes it as “touchy, touchy.”
Whatever you call what the Dolphins did without pads on Thursday and Friday, during the first two days of training camp, forget it.
The Dolphins will practice in “uppers” on Saturday, meaning they’ll wear shoulder pads. In other words, there will be a more contact.
“Tomorrow it gets a little more intense,” coach Adam Gase said after Friday’s practice.
Actually, it got a bit intense Friday. On one play linebacker Neville Hewitt put a hit on running back Kenyan Drake, knocking him to the ground. Drake got up quickly, clearly upset. The two got in each other’s face briefly but the confrontation didn’t go further.
It was an example of the frustration that builds when players are basically playing touch football. Things shift gears Saturday.
It’s not quite tackle football, being in half pads, or uppers.
But being in helmets and shoulder pads is better than being in helmets, shorts and jer- seys, which is what the Dolphins wore the first two days.
“You get the real feel of football — if you’re going make the play, if you’re not going make the play,” McCain said. “There’s no pajama football. It’s allman-on-man.”
Friday’s practice was conducted under stifling July conditions, which prematurely ended the day for cornerback Cordrea Tankersley. The third-roundpick from Clemson overheated and left, but Gase said would would be back Saturday. The heat and humidity didn’t stop some strong play by the defense.
Linebacker Kiko Alonso had an interception, as did safety Jordan Lucas, the latter in the end zone. The defensive line, led by tackle Ndamukong Suh and end Cameron Wake, and bolstered by rookie tackles Vincent Taylor and Davon Godchaux, was very active. And overall, the defense, which struggled on Thursday’s opening day, was much better even as Gase was shuffling personnel in starting lineups and sub packages.
The secondary, led by cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Byron Maxwell, had tight coverage all day. Safeties Michael Thomas, Nate Allen and T.J. McDonald, who must serve an eight-game suspension to open the season, rotated among the starting jobs.
Perhaps most promising from Friday was the run defense, which ranked 30th in the league last year, seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
But the defensive advantage could change Saturday when running back Jay Ajayi, who led the NFL in yards after contact last season (3.5 yards per carry after contact,) can start to get a bit more physical. Andwork under more game-like conditions.
“I think they’re a little anxious to throw pads on,” Gase said. “[On days such as] today, offenses are always going to say, ‘We don’t have pads on. It’s not going look like that when we get pads on.’ ”
Ajayi likes it when the pads emerge, even if it’s just “uppers.”
“In practice it’s a little bit different because you kind of get to see the holes a little bit clearer and the landmarks are a little bit more easy to read,” he said. “To me, practice is all about aiming points and landmarks, so [I’m] just making sure I’m consistent withmy keys and running hard whether I have pads on or whether I don’t.”
Still, pads, even just “uppers,” are a game-changer.
“When we’re in uppers it’s just a mindset for those guys,” Gase said. “They get going.”
Although this is McMillan’s first NFL training camp, he knows from his college days what happens in pads, even merely “uppers.”
“Alot of thinking goes out the window because it becomes more of a physical game, not more mental, touchy, touchy,” he said.
McCain was quick to point out pads don’t equate to fighting.
“People say, ‘Oh, pads come on, you’re going to fight,’ ” he said. “No, you don’t have to fight, you can have good, clean practices. It’s still a physical practice.”
It seems everyone is looking forward to the atmosphere picking up a bit Saturday. And even if that’s not the case now, it’s unavoidable.
“You hear the pads pop,” wide receiver Kenny Stills said, “and that’s pretty much it.”